Whitehall Newsletter September 2011 By Harold Aune

If you’re one of those who has been patiently waiting for your special someone(s) to buy you your dream Whitehall as a gift, such as a Christmas present, we say ‘Get real!’ Life’s too short! Buy yourself the boat first and let them give you one or more of the many accessories we provide. They’ll enjoy wrapping them up and putting them under your tree to ‘surprise’ you. And for many years ahead when we’ll make it easy for them to give you something special from your list of Whitehall boat goodies.

Next month we’ll be featuring some of our newest additions in innovative options for the boats right here in the Enews. So be sure to forward it right away to those who ask you what you want for Christmas. That way we’ll have time to get them delivered before the rush.

And to make it easier for you to make your boat purchase right now, we’re offering you a special gift of a free oar package on all boats purchased within the months of September and October 2011. So give yourself the gift of fun on the water in one of the best investments in yourself you’ll ever make. Ask any of our happy customers.

Rowing from Victoria to Port Angeles Ð Almost

Many times we’ve looked across the 16.4 nautical miles of open water to the town of Port Angeles and thought, “It would be fun to row across to there.” Usually it’s calm enough to do this quite easily allowing for tide, which needs to be falling so that it’s not flowing against you, and the shipping which is not crowded but must be considered, and finally the weather which needs to be calm because Juan De Fuca can get really nasty on occasion.

Many members of the Whitehall Spirit¨ Rowing Club wanted to row across to Port Angeles from Victoria with the club boats. So we set this as a goal for this year.

This summer though, there was either a Small Craft Warning (a small craft is anything under 65’ long) or a Gale Warning (winds over 40 knots) for any of the dates we attempted get the rowers and boats coordinated.

Finally on August 27 there appeared to be a weather window, the two preceding days were calm and sunny. The forecast for the 27th was for light airs in the morning with a 15 knot westerly later in the day. We were down to two boat crews. Adam Kreek and Andrea Guyon in WSRC boat #5 and Diana Lesieur and Sarah Thornber in boat # 6. We met at the club docks at 4:30am and were underway by 5:00 from the Ogden Point Breakwater.

There are more pictures posted on the Whitehall Spirit¨ Rowing club website Photo Gallery Page

And a short video that really shows what the rowing was like is posted on YouTube.

And finally we got some rough water action shots that show how well these open water handle relatively nasty waves and wind. WeÕll be back, and hopefully on a nicer day.

Whale of a Tail Photographed While Rowing

Jim Light was out rowing his Classic Whitehall Spirit¨ 17 in nice calm conditions about a mile and a half off Redondo Beach, California. He captured this great photo of what is believed to be a Blue Whale, or more precisely itÕs tail as it dove fairly close to the boat.

Whitehall Spirit¨ Tango 17 Special Offer

The WSRC of Victoria is selling one of it's Tango 17 double position rowboats for $2250.00 off list price. This boat is in perfect condition and can be included on the next delivery trip later this month. Here's a picture of this boat being rowed at the Victoria Classic Boat Festival this last Labor Day by a ninety year old rower and her friend. Call us for details.

We are available by phone Monday to Friday between 9:30am and 4:30 pm PDT Call toll free1 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 for this fall.

Email to info@whitehallrow.com