A Coaching Launch with a View
The author, coaching masters rowers on the Anacostia River, in Washington, DC.
Sure, I'll tell you that I coach to help inspire people to realize their potential, and that rowing is about more than learning a skill, but about developing self-awareness and self-confidence. I'll preach the benefits of fitness and healthy living, and I love when rowers share their weight loss stories, or stories of overcoming depression or tragedy in part because of their involvement with a team. I'll wax on about being good environmental stewards for the river. And I'll mean every last word of it.
But sometimes, it's just a ton of fun to drive my coaching launch.
The fiberglass wakeless catamaran that I unhitch from our wooden five mornings a week is the smallest offered from Still Water Design, with basic forward/reverse gear shifting and a steering wheel that's reminiscent of first-person driver arcade games circa 1987. The driver's bench lacks any sort of padding to cushion my rump or support my back. There's no windshield to keep my hat from blowing off when I push the engine to full bore in pursuit of a crew doing race pieces. There IS a cup holder, so there's that.
The white stern light, and red/green bow lights are probably too small to be seen from more than a few hundred meters away and they turn on/off with the push/pull of a silver tab that looks like a 1960s automobile cigarette lighter. There are no railings, lifelines, or seatbelts to help keep me aboard in case of rough weather, or when I come across an errant wake from a sightseeing boat, barge, or inconsiderate power boat captain.
To say the least, the coaching launch is purely utilitarian. But for 90 minutes every morning, it's my personal tour guide on the Anacostia River – a sliver of water that pushes through the south eastern edge of Washington, D.C. I get a front row seat to schools of tiny jumping fish in Spring, ducklings every summer, spectacular Autumn sunrises, the smell of pancakes and bacon wafting from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, and, oh yeah, my awesome rowers developing athletic prowess. And I always think: "How lucky am I?"