Recreational Rowing 

Dustin Ordway, author of Row Daily, Breathe Deeply, Live Better has a very cool article he wants to share with us. 

Recreational Rowing and Nature
By Dustin Ordway

Sometimes the focus on competition overshadows the natural beauty of rowing.  Getting closer to nature is a side of rowing recreational rowers can enjoy as much as, if not more than, competitors.  It is not just the fact that knowing you will be out on the water in sun or rain, calm or wind causes you to become more attuned to the weather.  It is also enjoying the miles of water parks that our lakes and rivers offer, along with the wildlife that comes with it.  And that wildlife is more than the usual fare of seagulls, ducks and geese.  It can include swans, loons, hawks, and eagles; jumping fish and basking turtles; dolphins and manatees in certain inland waterways; deer along the bank; and much more.  Last year, as I rowed back to the boathouse while the sun set, I thought I saw a large diamond shaped anchor along the far bank of the river where there had been no anchor before.  As I got a better view, I realized I was seeing a great blue heron standing like a statue, not ready to pounce on a fish but with its wings held back forming a diamond shape to catch the sun’s last rays.  Send in your favorite story of an unusual natural sighting you have had.

Contributed by Dustin P. Ordway, Author of “Row Daily, Breathe Deeper, Live Better.” A Guide to Moderate Exercise. Dustin is an author, attorney, and mediator. He learned to row as an undergraduate at MIT where he competed nationally and internationally in the 1970’s. Ordway has coached rowing at Brown University and University of Michigan and now works with both youth and adult rowers. He continues to row in Grand Rapids and Grand Traverse Bay, MI.

Mission Peninsula -Grand Traverse Bay, MI