- November 24, 2024
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For the last year, every time Heritage Oaks resident Lisa Fay drove by Nathan Benderson Park, she told herself, “I want to row there.”
When she saw a Facebook post that said the park was offering a Learn to Row class, at 60 years old, Fay took the plunge and registered.
The two-day, six-hour course is one of several activities Benderson Park offers, and even though the park is most well known for rowing, it's not the only option. Fitness classes, summer camps and dragon boat paddling are part of the programming too.
Newly hired Programs and Aquatics Manager Greg Steinberg is looking to "beef up" the already robust rowing and paddling programs and add more education camps to the fishing, archery and water sports lineup.
"We have Mote Marine being built next door, so if we can start working some STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) camps and programs in, it’s a perfect spot because it’s a large, natural body of water," Steinberg said. “There are different disciplines of paddling other than the dragon boat, so we’re looking to start an outrigger canoe specific program as well."
The main lake is 400 acres, but there’s also the smaller West Lake that’s used for fishing and remote control boats. The Sarasota Model Yacht Club races nearly every day of the week at West Lake and offers a mentor program for beginners.
When signing up for Learn to Row, Fay had paddled a kayak before, but that only requires using one oar.
“One of the challenges is just the motion of the hands, not trying to bend the wrist, and then your left hand is higher than your right hand,” Fay said. “It’s a lot to learn in the two days, but they’ve done an amazing job explaining everything.”
Class begins inside the Finish Tower on rowing machines. A volunteer modified one of the rowers so it has two oars attached to it, which Fay found helpful before getting onto the water.
“We learn how to move our body up there, and then we come down here (to the lake) and we start in singles, a boat made for one person,” Masters Rowing Coach Owen Corr said. “We start with them tethered to the dock, so they’re taking strokes out and we pull them back in.
By Day Two, it’s onto quads. With four people rowing the boat, Corr said the most difficult step to learn is how to follow the person in front of you. Once that’s mastered, it’s easier to row with a team.
The course includes two free months of membership to the Masters Team, which holds practices four mornings a week. Fay is considering it, but said she will definitely row again either way.
