Erik Zehender, of Lake Leelanau Rowing Club at Fountain Point, shares eight tips for getting started rowing.
- Stop by to check out a practice. Call the office (number below) and arrange a time to go out on a coaching boat.
- Check the rowing club’s schedule (l2row.com) for the next Learn to Row class. The three-hour lesson costs $60 and typically has about 16 people.
- Gather six or seven friends and schedule a convenient time to learn to row in an “8”—an 8 is the full eight-man boat plus coxswain. This the most popular option, Zehender says, because it’s fun to do with friends and you don’t have to wait for the next Learn to Row class.
- Schedule a private rowing lesson, during which you would train one on one with a coach in a single and double rowing scull. The class runs three hours and costs $60.
- If you can’t find enough friends to fill an 8, but that’s the learning experience you want, post a message on the Lake Leelanau Rowing Club Facebook page saying you are looking for people to fill out an 8 for a lesson.
- If you decide to start rowing regularly, either make a team with your friends (the best option) or post word on the Facebook page that you want to join a team. One big bonus: at Fountain Point you can schedule your weekly rowing time. So if you are, say, a group of teachers with summer off and want to row at 2 p.m., every Tuesday, you can make that happen.
- The regular rowing cost is $20 per row. So if you row once a week, you will pay $20 per week per person. Another bonus: You can row on the club’s high-tech rowing machines at any time for no additional charge.
- Connect: 231.356.9800, fountainpoint@gmail.com, l2row.com, 990 S. Lake Leelanau Dr., Lake Leelanau
Read the full Lake Leelanau Rowing Club feature in the July 2017 issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine.
