By Barbara Black | From BayLines Express, January, 2021
I live in western Massachusetts. A retired early childhood educator and public school administrator, I am totally un-athletic, and something of a wimp. Also, I have Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and haven’t had any usable vision for at least 25 years. So, why am I writing about rowing and how did I become a jock?
Around 20 years ago, I read about the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Universal Access Program and decided to check it out. Universal Access is designed to get people with disabilities into the outdoors – hiking, skating, biking, kayaking and rowing. Since I live near the Connecticut River, I picked rowing, about which I knew absolutely nothing. Now I am a fanatical rower – going out on the river at least 3 times a week from April to November.
“Crew” usually refers to 8 people rowing together in a long boat, each person with a very long oar. We stroke in unison with a ninth person (the coxswain) steering and telling us when to row. This can definitely be challenging if you can’t see (and I can’t) but there are many other cues for figuring out the timing – especially having your teammates telling you when to do what. It has taken a lot for me to figure it out but it’s possible, and so totally satisfying when it works!
“Sculling” is the other kind of rowing – you go out in a single (yes, blind people can row alone) or a double. You can use pontoons (like training wheels on a bike) and never worry about tipping or, once you know what you are doing, you can go out without them. I usually go out in a double so the other person can steer, but I have rowed in a single with someone in a boat nearby giving me directions through a headset – “harder on the right, harder on the right, harder on the right!”
When I tell people that I am a rower, their first comment is usually about how strong my arms must be. That isn’t actually the case. Both crew and sculling are whole body work-outs. You sit on a seat that slides forward, and you push back with your legs, with your core being the most important part of the whole thing; the arms just come along for the ride. Rowing has definitely made me stronger but more than that: it has given me a sense of competence.
You might ask how I get in and out of the boat. The boat is level with the dock and when someone shows me where it is and holds onto it, I sit down on the dock, slide over to the seat, and strap my feet into the “shoes” at the end of the slide. The bigger trick is navigating the dock, but my fellow rowers are great at guiding and giving directions. They tell me when to step up onto the dock, and if there are cracks or other obstacles coming up. I have also been known to crawl on the dock, so I am moving slowly and can feel where it ends. I must admit that I have walked off the dock twice but nothing terrible happened – I hopped right back up!
Getting a boat to the edge of the dock and lowering it into the water is definitely tricky for me, but fellow rowers give me great guidance – indicating how many baby steps I am away from the edge and when we will lower the boat into the water. It always feels like a major victory when I help get the boat in or out of the water.
And, then there is being on the river – it’s quiet and lovely – sometimes smooth and slow, sometimes faster or a bit choppy. Herons and eagles fly above us. Even if I can’t see them, I hear about them. It’s a treat – except when it is pouring down rain or freezing cold, but that isn’t too often.
I row at a community boathouse called Holyoke Rows, where people row at all hours of the day. There are rowers of all ages – young kids in the summer, high school kids in the spring and fall, and adults in the spring, summer and fall. Holyoke Rows includes adaptive rowers – including folks who have had strokes, head injuries, use wheelchairs, amputees, or are blind. A large number of the rowers are what I call “mainstream,” ranging in age from their twenties to seventies. When I do crew, it is with the “mainstream” rowers and they adapt to me. Since sculling is more individual, I go with anyone who is willing and able to steer.
I am always trying to convince friends to join me so I will extend that invitation to all of you. Holyoke Rows has the bests coach in the world, who figures out how to make things work for each individual. If you live in the eastern part of the state and are interested in checking out rowing, Community Rowing in Boston also has adaptive rowing. Feel free to get in touch with me at barbarablack413@gmail.com if you want to know more. I am always happy to encourage and proselytize!