View from ARC The home of the second Recreation Centre in Canada is in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. This small, tight knit community with a lot of potential for great rowing is about a 2-hour drive north of Halifax and a stone’s throw away from Cape Breton. The University there, St. Xavier (also known as St. FX), has a small rowing team but with the introduction of Rowing Canada Aviron’s Recreation Centre, which includes 1 touring 4x+, 2 touring 2x, a trailer and enough oars for all boats and eventually a trailer, the goal is to offer rowing to the community at large. Already there are plans in the club’s current location for a community outdoor Recreation Centre. This would include “storage lockers” for community members’ canoes, access to many beautiful walking trails, a kayak and sail club and, of course, a bay for rowing.

I had a real adventure at this developing club, which is going through the same growing pains as all new Canadian clubs. It all started when I helped Erica Underwood, Antigonish Rowing Club’s (ARC) coach, to teach the first adult LTR at Antigonish. ARC has a basic building (no electricity or running water) that houses forgotten sailing equipment from an inactive sail club. The structure is mostly secure and locks sufficiently to keep the honest people out. Erica had managed to squeeze one of the touring doubles in there diagonally.

Antigonish Building Erica drives a “mini” van. My first ride in it clearly laid out where the rowing club stores most of its stuff (the double taking up most of the space in the building). Everything from the bubble wrap that came off the new boats, to the club safety kit for the coach boat to the club tools, rode in Erica’s cube van (not to mention the saddle for the riding courses she teaches and her swing dance shoes) ... talk about dedication! After arriving for the first LTR lesson and taking in the pure beauty of this location, Erica started the class. We got a tour of the site. This included the walk down the trail through the woods to the launch site for the boats. Erica, having just taken the RCA LTR workshop, was very clear with all safety measures. By the time we were done walking the trail everyone knew what poison ivy looked like and how important it was to avoid it. Potholes, potential hazards like steep, muddy areas and large rocks were pointed out. Erica also ensured everyone knew the emergency action plan, and safety measures that applied to the coach boat and rowing shells. Great job, Erica!

The first learn to row session The first lesson went well despite a few mishaps with rubber boots getting stuck to feet and one small fall. The water wasn’t too cold after the wet launch and Erica was particularly happy to learn that the touring equipment can be placed right on the beach. Lesson 2 was two days later. Now that everyone was well versed in getting down the path to the wet launch site, it was time to get out on the water. The first night we did not need the coach boat, but this night I was to drive it while Erica coxed from the 4X+. I asked Erica where the coach boat was…she said it was at Big Joe’s. I asked, “What is Big Joe’s?” thinking that perhaps it was the local pub. Turns out Big Joe was a person. Apparently Big Joe loaned his boat and motor to the Antigonish Rowing Club…we had to drive one bay over, launch it and then drive the boat back to the site. We took the minivan. I was nestled between the saddle and the toolkit while Erica and Janessa (Nova Scotia’s amazing admin coordinator) rode up front. Big Joe lived in a big house…I eyed up the huge white Cadillac that said “Big Joe” on the license plate as we drove up to the house and wondered how big Joe really was. I didn’t wonder long. Big Joe was tall and robust - he came out of the house smiling broadly with a spatula in one hand and an apron on that had wine bottles all over it. The apron read “Complex, rich and full bodied”. He told us the motor was in the garage and the boat was down by the dock. We were able to quickly get things set up.

ARC launch site As per usual, the coach boat took a few tries to start… about 30. Once we were moderately satisfied it would stay running Janessa took the van back to the rowing site while Erica and I headed across Antigonish Bay. As soon as the van was out of site the motor died. Big Joe had mentioned that some paddles were in the boat but we could not find them. Luckily Erica and I had grabbed a two by four that was laying by the dock. After trying several times more to start the boat and floating for about twenty more, we wondered if the boat would in fact start again. Erica started to call the motor “little buddy” (I think with the hope she could coax it to start.

Pretty soon Erica and I switched spots. As I was using the 2x4 to paddle us across the bay I made a mental note to let Yetta, Nova Scotia Rowing’s president, know that a new coach boat might be in order for ARC. We finally got the boat started and made it across. The class, surprisingly, began on time and everyone had a great time despite the waves and a few more engine troubles. Antigonish Bay’s beauty is incredible. It is a fantastic location with a supportive community. A few small changes like working with the inactive sail club on lowering the docks (which would effectively eliminate trail blazing and poison ivy), getting a rain barrel for water and new motor boat would really make this club hum. In spite of the wet launch and path to the current launching site, everyone (including me!) had a great time in the learn to row. I’ll look forward to seeing more growth this year and next at Antigonish Rowing Club. With the university team starting up in a few weeks, there is bound to be more interest in coaching and rowing with the RCA equipment.