The other night, I was rock climbing with a friend when I got a phone call. It was from my crew coach at around 9pm. He informed me that he pulling me up to a varsity boat for a regatta in Seattle this weekend, and I had one last water practice the following day at 5:15am.
It's 5:35am when we arrive to the lake, and it’s pitch black. Normally when I come to this lake the water is coated in a thick fog, and the sky is obscured in clouds. However, this morning it's clear out. The black sky is littered with stars, and dark silhouettes of pine trees break the horizon.
We carry our boat to the water and rest it beside the dock. I can't make out the faces of my boat. The newly waxing moon is barely illuminating the waves, and the canopy of stars was little more than scenery.
When we launch from the dock, I realize that the cove it was nestled in was protecting it from a flurry of winds ravaging the lake. It’s fun because we’ll be rowing and trying to maintain the balance of the boat, when a squall clotheslines our oars into the water.
Every buffet of wind kicks up a spray of freezing water across my chest and face, and the only warmth I can get is from rowing harder. I could’ve brought a jacket, but that’s not the level of foresight I like to put into my life.
In winds like this, if you’re imprecise with the oar then the wind will take control for you. A small hesitation at the catch, and then the oar blade crashes into the waves.
“The wind and waves are only gonna be worse in Seattle!” my coxswain reminds us.
You always gotta love a silver lining.
Being a freshmen in a varsity boat is nerve wracking. It would have been nervewracking even if I had rowed for four years. When the boat’s balance is off, I'm terrified that everyone will say, “Huh, that’s weird it was set yesterday when Jordan wasn’t here.” But that doesn't happen, the boat decides today is a good day, and we’re pumped for the race.
When we're just getting off the water, the sun barely starts to crack over the mountains, leaving streaks of orange across the horizon.
