Reality Comes Splashing Down

Thursday night we arrived at Leander for our first official lesson. We immediately learned that getting the bus to the water was no easy feat. That sucker is heavy! Boat in water, oars in place, we proceeded to clamber aboard and strap our feet in. So far so good! We had a few minues practicing at the dock before shoving off into lovely Hamilton bay. That's when reality started to sink in.
The shells are very long, very narrow and also very shallow - which means that they are also very tippy! Once our starboard side oars cleared the dock, we began to list alarmingly and, I'm sorry to say, we all screamed like girls. Which made me laugh. Within a few minutes, though, with the patient guidance of our coaches, we managed to balance ourselves and take our fledgling strokes through the water.
I kept imagining us slicing through the water, pulling hard and slipping gracefully across the bay. What I saw, however, when I looked away from my oar, was what appeared to be a giant elongated spider tragically stricken with some arachnid disease that left it completely unable to control its limbs. All eight legs were flailing and splashing spastically about in an insane desperate attempt at motion. I couldn't help myself. I started laughing, long and loud, until my sides were splitting and my oar was all but paralized. It was such great fun!
Eventually we did manage to coordinate ourselves and row a few hundred meters out, turn around (another hilarious feat of uncoordination) and make it safely back on shore. We didn't tip. We didn't crash. And we didn't give up.
Next week we name our team (I'm voting for fuscia shirts and the name "Cox in the Henhouse") and get back out there for round two. It's a huge learning curve, but I'm sure we'll just keep getting better and better.
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