Whitehall Newsletter May 2011 By Harold Aune

Some kids have parents around them who are musicians, others are gardeners but around Whitehall Rowing & Sail it's rowers and sailors and these kids really get to enjoy and learn valuable life skills from an early age.

The latest young addition is already feeling a strong rowing influence and that would be Jefferson Kaleb Kreek, the 5 month old son of four time world rowing champion and Olympic gold winner (and Solo 14 owner) Adam Kreek. Here only a couple of weeks back, he's being held by his mom Rebecca Sterritt as he enjoys the very first row of his life in a Whitehall Spirit® Tango 17 while wearing his very first pair of cool shades and with dad on the sculling oars.

Joey Hernon is a neighbor of ours. He's now nine years old and has been a very proficient rower for some time now. In fact two years ago I filmed him slide seat rowing a Solo 14 and a few thousand people have now seen all 4 foot 3 of him sculling along in the video posted on You Tube. If you haven't seen it it's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCsM-qzjbhQ

Whitehall's Andrea Guyon's nine year old daughter Kestrel is also getting to be a proficient rower and will likely be a pretty fearless open water rower when she gets older. She was also featured at the end of a video on You Tube a year or so back demonstrating how easy it is to pivot a Tango 17. If you haven't seen it it's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdKEJ5_-Gow

Below is a shot of Joey and Kestrel rowing a Solo 14 together.

And here's production manager Colin Rolls' son, Brinley, shown here rowing along with his buddy Johnas while coming back from a fishing expedition with his dad. Rowboat fishing with kids opens up their worlds to human power is and how satisfying it is to accomplish things using own muscles rather than simply pushing a throttle forward and of course slide seat rowing is the best exercise going for keeping fit.

Whitehall Spirit® Rowing Club Franchise Opportunity

The WSRC franchise is now available to Qualified California residents as well as many others and across Canada. This is s business that is as good for you as it is for the club members.

Here is a link to a PR WEB press release posted just recently about this great franchise opportunity prweb.com/releases/2011/5/prweb8412697.htm

The Victoria Floating Boat Show

Whitehall R&S, the WSRC and Sport Port Docks teamed up for a great display at the Victoria Floating boat show April 28 to May 1. We were in a prime location right in front of the Empress Hotel in the Victoria's Inner Harbour and put on a great display of boats and docks. With the help of Jan Hermann and Diana Lesieur several people got out for sample rows around the harbour.

New Boat Gear

Here are some items that will appeal to some owners. They were built for owners who asked for solutions these new items address.

This handy device is called a Gunnel Guard and will protect your teak gunnel from being chafed by the web strap when you are trailering your boat over a long distance. You will either need two or four. They are made from tough Starboard® polymer in our shop. $90.00 pair.

Sometimes boats are left anchored on a mooring. How do you keep the boat cover firmly attached without running lines underneath the hull where they can get gucked up pretty fast? A few months back Colin Rolls solved this problem by inventing this handy cover hold down device. It mounts securely onto the gunnel and is easily removed. Once the cover is on the boat it can be fasted down tight to the eye strap on the hold down. It's made out of starboard plastic in our shop. You need one per cover strap position, usually six or eight of them. This is a solution for longer-term storage when a mooring is used. Combined with Lexan cover battens and a good Sunbrella® cover this setup offers a very weatherproof package. Hand made out of tough Starboard® polymer. Cover hold down $90.00 pair.

Many slide seat rowers have wanted to be able to use an old pair of running shoes fastened onto their footstops. Now you can with this black starboard footstop board that you can drill right through and bolt on your personal running shoes. The footstop board is maintenance free easy care built to last forever.

In the northern hemisphere rowing and sailing season is here. If there are any accessories you may need give us a call and we can ship them out. Visit whitehallrow.com/accessories

We are available by phone Monday to Friday between 9:30am and 4:30 pm PDT Call toll free 1 800 663 7481 in NA and from Europe or elsewhere call 00+1 250 361 2628.

We would love to assist in any way to help you enjoy your boat more or to assist you to purchase one of your own please call or email.

Email to info@whitehallrow.com