Crew Reunion

A coxswain once again.

1997 Crew

This past Friday was the annual Varsity Boat Club banquet and a reunion for me and my 1997 Men's JV boat. It has been 10 years since we won at Nationals and went to Henley and at least 10 years since I've seen a lot of those guys. It was a little nerve-wracking at first- but after a glass of wine and coming to grips with my anxieties- I actually had a great time. Friday night was the dinner- they honored all the boats that swept Nationals that year. I saw a lot of faces that were from all parts of my rowing (coxing) career.

Saturday morning my boat wanted to get together and row again, so we all met at the boathouse and took out an 8. It was very eerie- we fell back into old routines just like that. It all came back to me, which side was port and which was starboard; starts and drills; steering the boat. I was even more impressed with the guys who remembered all the commands and knew exactly what to do when we "weigh 'nuf'd". Blades hung in the air until I said "and down" and they all slapped the water at once. We spent about 30 minutes in the boat, we went through the Cut twice. Even though some of them were out of shape and begging not to do any hard strokes- we all had a great time.

Saturday after the row and watching the Class Day races we headed over to Erik's parents house on Bainbridge Island and sat around laughing, looking at old pictures and re-hashing old crew stories. It made me realize what an amazing year that was and how lucky I was to be a part of all it.

All in all, I am so glad I went to the reunion. I did "weigh myself in" on Saturday morning before the row and I am happy to report that I was 138 pounds. It has been a long haul since October and starting my weight loss experience- but I'm not through yet. I still have a couple more to go and a new goal in mind.

More pictures here! Pictures