Whitehall Newsletter October 2010 By Harold Aune

Hey, Nobody’s Perfect Right?

We especially like the one in red that you can’t read too well…”Environmentalists who buy paper plates”

This is a wonderful time of the year! Nonetheless up here in the North we need cheering up as the hours of light get shorter and the temperature goes down. So we’ve done our best to bring you a great selection of submissions in this Newsletter, to help keep your endorphin levels up.

We are also doing our best to give you a great deal on our classic models and many of the accessories for orders placed for Christmas. We will be emailing out a Christmas catalog in a few days!

Out With the Shell, Into the Tango! By Erin Lacharity

Here’s a short piece from Whitehall Spirit Rowing Club member Erin Lacharity. I’ve rowed with Erin quite a few times and I can say she is a really great rower and fun to get out on the water with.

My name is Erin Lacharity and I am totally blind. While growing up, I hated to exercise and was always bored with the conventional ways of exercising, such as going to the gym, riding an exercise bike, running, etc. All of that changed when I found out about Peter Copeland who was a retired rowing coach who wished to start up a rowing team completely comprised of blind or partially sighted women. So, with a call to Peter, a few questions and an experience on the ergometor later, I was on my way to becoming a good rower and an athlete.

I experienced my first regatta in a Mass single shell. I finished last in that race but it was a wonderful experience. When I started rowing with my other teammates I found it quite challenging to keep my strokes in pace with the other girls. I found I had a lot to remember as well as keeping the shell balanced with the positioning of my body but it was fun and a great physical workout. It’s great to push yourself and see just how far your physical limits reach. I found the results of rowing three times a week exhilarating and wonderful. I felt better and had lots of energy.

I came to love the sport and wished that the experience could have lasted. Sadly, my teammates and I went our separate ways and rowing ceased to be a part of my life for a few years until quite recently. I had searched extensively online for a way in which to start rowing again. When I found the Whitehall Spirit Rowing Club my desire to row was rekindled as I read the intriguing description about the unique style of boats and how relaxing and pleasurable it appeared to be to row them. After an inquiring phone call and conversation with Harold Aune, I was excited to get going!

Make way for the Whitehall Spirit Tango 17! I have been rowing in the Tango for approximately two months now and enjoy it thoroughly! I raced in the classic Boat Regatta that was held on September 4, 2010. My rowing partner and I came in Second place! It was a memorable experience. These boats are an absolute pleasure to row! They are extremely stable and can handle rough water. They are not your typical shell racing boat, folks! No more carrying the oars or the boat down to the dock! It’s a breeze to get them prepared for the water too! Just remove the cover along with the bungee hold-downs which help the cover to stay on top of the boat, pull the boat toward the water with its bow line and you’re rowing within five minutes! These boats are beautifully crafted and are very responsive in the water. Navigating the boat is very easy as well. I look forward to rowing these boats for years to come! Out with the shell, and into the Whitehall Spirit!

You can see a video clip of Erin rowing the Tango 17 on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eysdky4ZNGA

Simple to use Whitehall Dock Davits

Many happy Whitehall Spirit owners enjoy the simplicity and ease of using a set of custom heavy duty Dock Davits. We build them in-house so they are perfect for the job. Your boat is easily hoisted up clear of the water, safe from waves and scummy stains around the waterlines. Tough Spectra Fiber lifting strops placed through the bow and stern eyes snap onto the hoisting strap on the davit’s winches. These Davits are suited for any of the Whitehall Spirit boat models as they all have reinforced bow and stern eyes.

When using davits be sure that the drain plug is pulled so your pride and joy doesn’t fill with rainwater because a boatload of water is likely heavy enough to pull out the mounting bolts. Or you can use the optional lexan cover battens and a snappy Sunbrella boat cover to button up totally. Taking out the plug is still advised as is replacing it when launching….

These great Davit shots were taken by Sheryl Thone who rows her Solo 14 “Munch-Kin” on Shawnigan Lake and is just lovin’ it.

The Davits are not yet featured on our accessories list but they list at $729.00 The Spectra lifting strops list at $228.00 Give us a call if this is a solution you would like.

Doc Side has returned - married, relocated, and energized

Here’s another Docside column from our favorite Orthopedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist, Dr. Jonathan Degnan, back after a long and busy hiatus that included his wedding…with why slide seat rowing is the ideal form of aerobic exercise.

We will have a brief discussion as to why rowing may be better than most aerobic exercises. A miracle molecule called nitric oxide is produced during aerobic activity by the cells that line the blood vessels (endothelial). This molecule you will have to read about, (google Dr.Ignarro) but in short it lowers blood pressure and reduces platelet adherence. These actions reduce hypertension and deep venous thrombosis, both killers of the 20th century human. Rowing being non-traumatic gives you the benefits of nitric oxide without the harmful cytotoxic byproducts of muscle breakdown that occurs say in the large leg muscles of a runner and is great for the arm muscles as well.

I did my medical school research paper on this stuff with Dr Ignarro in 1981 for which he won the Nobel prize in 1998. If you can’t row, run, but if you have a choice do what I did after 30 years of running....(Dr. Degnan started rowing on his local river in a rowing shell and then upgraded to his Whitehall Spirit 14 Classic slide seat rowing model)

PS. When cruising on our Harley my wife loves to fondle my forearms.....

Strength and honor
Dr. Jon

Nimble's Cove: By Andrea Guyon

WOW! What a great summer out on the water! I've been rowing so much I didn't have time to wash my boat more than twice in months. Luckily "Nimble", my Solo 14, doesn't need a lot of TLC. A quick wipe… fling the sticks and leaves overboard and off we go!

There have been too many trips to the playground in Nimble to count. My daughter Kestrel and the kids in the neighborhood have had a blast exploring the waterway and we have found some very cool spots along the way. Kestrel, now 8, is getting to be quite the little slide seat rower!

Now that the weather is turning cooler, and the students are back to school, the boat traffic on the water is less and less. Soon it will be just the Whitehall Spirit owners and Rowing Club members on the Gorge Waterway along with a few outrigger paddlers and the odd kayaker. Many people think that after September, it's time to put their boat away… but they are missing out… big time! Sure, you may have to put on an extra layer or two when you start out but after a few minutes, the body warms up, the mind quiets down and the spirit soars free.

Crecia and Jade Sailer... exploring Local Creek

Out like a light on the foredeck...

For many, the trials of life can really take a toll on our attitudes and outlook for the future. Rowing is my sanctuary… it's where I can be present, enjoy those "special moments" like watching the birds learn to fly or the otters play. I row my worries and frustrations away… and that's all it takes to start fresh in my mind and get some of those "feel good" endorphins coursing through my body.

I wish that I could transfer how I feel after a row to everyone I speak to and let them share how fantastic it is to pull on the sculling oars, feel the strength in my body and the vitality of spirit. What it looks and feels like to be directly under a low flying flock of 40 Blue Herons as they glide in towards the shallows for their evening meal? Or… to watch the stars come out during an evening cruise as my child drifts off to sleep in the bow all tucked up cozy in her favorite blanket listening to the sound of the water tickling the lap strake hull as I glide along?

There are some things that you just have to do yourself to fully appreciate them but I guess what I am trying to say is that it is the simple things in life that makes it good. For me, rowing is right up there at the top of the list.

Call us here at Whitehall Rowing & Sail and we would love to assist in any way to help you enjoy your boat more or get into one of your own. NA 1 800 663 7481 or 250 361 2628 or info@whitehallrow.com