Last month several of our members were lucky enough to attend Craftsbury Sculling Camp, the first rowing camp in North America. It was a 6 day/5 night intensive workshop in Craftsbury Vermont. Having gone to camp in New Hampshire as a kid, I was Sugarmaple-green with envy.
I asked them to send verbal postcards sharing their experience. Thanks everyone! Thanks Michele for getting the word out, and thank you Patricia, our friendly mailman. And thanks for the photos, Dick Viall view album here.
Michele – Craftsbury is like being back in college and at summer camp all at once! Excellent coaching, outstanding food, good company and extremely rewarding.
Patricia – I was a little nervous about a week’s rowing camp because my goals were not to become a top racer but to just become more comfortable in a single and Craftsbury’s coaching and time on the water did that and more. I loved the early mornings, when after coffee at 6:30 we would go to the dock and watch one of the coaches demonstrate a technique such as backing. Then with that visual, we would break into small groups, get in our boats, meet a coach on the lake and practice some balance drills. By the end of week I feel exhilarated, stronger, and that good type of tiredness. If anyone is thinking of going and has some questions, please ask……we all love talking about our experience.
Jeanne – Basically camp consisted of rowing and being coached, eating, socializing and learning about other clubs, and then rowing and eating some more. We learned to balance, tip over, and climb back in skinny singles and discovered that Rat Island t-shirts were very popular in the t-shirt exchange. And I learned that we have a great club right here in Port Townsend.
Mari – We got to row a lot! Habits we’ve been working on in PT were reinforced by a dedicated group of coaches. I enjoyed rowing in a different setting with rowers & coaches from all over.
Dianne – Rise at dawn, travel across the USA to Boston. Rise at dawn, drive to Vermont, check in at Craftsbury, row, dinner. Rise at dawn, mini-breakfast, row, big breakfast, teaching session, row, lunch, rest or tour or yoga, row, dinner, sleep. Repeat x 4 days. Rise at dawn, mini breakfast, row. Drive to Boston, travel across the USA, drive home from SeaTac at midnight, sleep. The most fun I’ve had in ages. Still absorbing it all. Would go again, yes!
Trish gets the brave soldier award. She was sick the last two days but kept rowing and had a great time at Craftsbury.
