By Cecil Hoge

There is a nursery rhyme that many of us learn when we are young. It goes like this:

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

This song dates back to 1852 and it has been sung by every generation of American children thereafter.

February 17, 2024 – It does not look like a good day to go rowing – see the picture above. There is a thin layer of ice on my bay, about 4” of snow on the ground and it is still snowing. The wind is blowing out of the Northeast at 25 to 35 miles per hour. Yes, I think I will pass on rowing today.

I have written many times about the pleasures of rowing. Still, I do not think I have ever truly explained my love and appreciation of this simple activity, whether it be in winter, spring, summer or fall.

First of all, let me dispel you of some misconceptions about rowing in winter. Provided the temperature outside is above 30 degrees and my bay is not frozen over and it is not snowing or raining or the wind is not blowing above 20 miles per hour, it is easy and pleasurable for me to go rowing in the winter. But, if I tell someone I like to go rowing in the winter, they almost always look at me as if I have lost my mind.

It is my position that if you dress warmly – and I do like to be warm when rowing – it is a fantastic sport, even in the dead of winter. I will say that a lot depends on what you are rowing and how you are rowing. Presently, I am using a special prototype rowing SUP (that is, a Stand Up Paddleboard) that I had made for myself. Now, not everyone can have special rowing craft made for themselves, but since I sell and design inflatable boats, it is very easy for me as long as they are inflatable.

As far as how I row, I am using a sliding rigger arm system. That is where the stainless steel rigger arm that holds oars slides back forth as you push and pull with your arms and your feet.

I believe rowing this way results a true full body workout because your arms and legs are continuously pushing and pulling. Literally, every part of your body gets continuous exercise while rowing.

What really surprises me is that many of the people who are horrified at the idea of rowing in winter never question people skiing on mountain or jogging on road in equally cold weather. So I think people are crazy not to understand that rowing in the winter on water can be both warm and very pleasurable. That said, I am not sure I will ever overcome people’s prejudices about my chosen sport.

That leads me to another question: why rowing over some other sport?

I have already said it provides wonderful full body exercise, but that is not the main attraction.

I find rowing provides a kind of inner peace and calm. As such, it is an escape from worries, frustrations, news of the day and other problems. Part of that escape comes from the fact that the continuous and repetitive motions of rowing tend to become hypnotic. When rowing you tend to slip into a “zone” of where motion is the lotion.

A larger reason that worries and other agitations tend to fade away when rowing is because you are out on the water with scenic views of surrounding waterways and differing landscapes that you are continuously passing by. It is, perhaps, the interplay of repetitious, continuous exercise while passing different and ever changing views of water, sun, weather, land and sky. Indeed, rowing on the water is like being in a dream.

The changing views are never the same no matter how many times you go rowing. Each minute, each hour, each day what you see and what you feel is different when rowing. When you are out on the water, you fall into a repetitive, continuous rowing motion, the water you are on, the sky above, the land in between. The views around you are all different in different directions. All are a continuous, changing mosaic where it is hard to tell where water ends and land and sky begin. What is sky and what is land and what is water…as you glide along, it all seems like one fluid changing substance.

A few points about rowing. You get on the craft and you push off a few feet onto open water. You start by strapping in your 2 feet to the 2 footrests just below the rigger arm. The footrests are attached to the sliding the rigger arm. The rigger arm also holds the 2 oars. So the rigger arm slides back and forth with the footrests and the 2 oars. You grab the 2 oars with your hands and push the rigger arm forward with your feet. That pushes the 2 oars backward. Then you lower your oars into the water and pull with your arms as you push the rigger arm backward with your feet. That pulls and pushes the craft forward.

You then repeat the process, leaning forward and pushing forward with your arms and pulling back with your legs, leaning backward. You do that again and again and again and that becomes one continuous motion.

There are couple of things you have to understand and think about. When you row, you go forward with your back to the bow. That means you do not see where you go because your eyes are located on the front side of your face while your back is located on the backside of your stomach. Most rowers solve this problem by stopping every now and then and turning their head and body around to see where they are going.

I choose another way…I have a mirror mounted on the back end of my rowing frame so I can see where I am going.

True rowing enthusiasts will say this is cheating. I disagree because I think is it is important to know where you are going. I have to admit that my system is not perfect because the mirror, unlike Superman, cannot see through my body. What that means is that I have close up view of my chest and stomach and peripheral views of the water on either side of my body. I can tell clearly what is on my left side and what on my right side. As to what directly in front of me…that is what you call a blind spot. Over the years I have had multiple collisions with buoys and sometimes, even moored boats. So my system is not perfect, but it is surely better than having to turn your head and body anround every 3 or 4 minutes.

Living where I do, on a small and narrow cove at the end my bay and rowing the same or similar routes most days, I, of course, know the various obstacles that might be close. Part of that is by memory and part of that is by mirror. My system works most of the time and collisions are relatively rare. But each year, I do have one or two collisions with a buoy or moored boat. One time I almost ran into a busy clam digger. He was happily scratching for clams until he saw me approaching at ramming speed and let out an alarmed scream as I was just about to crash into his rather wide clam digging boat..

When rowing, you tend to slip into a hypnotic trance as you slide along over the water. While you are fully “in the zone”, you may forget even to look in the mirror, especially when you are passing over familiar waters with familiar landmarks. You push and pull the rigger arm with your arms and legs…again and again and again. As your craft surges forward and you pass over the water…all around you…near or close, is the shore of the land and the sky above as you slide silently onward.

Well, not always silently, because often I have the Bluetooth speaker going…so, the silence might broken by the Talking Heads or Kacey Musgraves or The Rolling Stones or The National. And in truth, on the water there are other sounds you commonly hear. There are often geese squawking, boats motoring, seagulls screeching, the Port Jefferson Ferry blowing its horn as it plows its way out of Port Jefferson Bay.

No matter what I see or hear, as I row along in a kind of peaceful trance. An inner calm settles over me and my worries and doubts and frustrations dissolve away as I pass from Little Bay to Setauket Bay to Port Jefferson Bay.

What worries do I have, you may ask? A fair question, no doubt. I am guessing most of us have lots of worries to ponder and each of us has some way of dealing with their worries. It just so happens I find rowing to be my chosen escape route from worries.

As to the worries…I have many. I am worried about my son’s health. He is autistic and he has to take a number of different pills to either prevent or reduce his seizures and/or health issues.

I am worried about the deer that jump over the fence in my yard and then devour all the veggies in my wife’s garden. I am worried about wife’s aches and pains. I worried about my dining room and home office, which presently is occupied with a vast assortment of kitchen stuff because our kitchen is being redone.

But as some ads say, that’s not all folks. I am worried about the disfunction of Congress, I am worried about upcoming Presidential elections, I am worried about the possibility of new tariffs that may be applied to some goods that I sell.

The list goes on.

I am worried about the Ukraine War and Vladimir Putin. I am worried about the terrible attack by Hamas on Israel. I am worried about the collateral deaths and destruction happening in Palestine because of the reciprocal attacks on Gaza by Israel.

In short, I am worried about this country, the state of the world, my family, life in the United States, world peace, my two businesses, famine, plagues, how young people will get by, inflation, Northeasters, climate change, AI, pollution, algae in my bays, excessive rain and wind this winter and rising flood waters coming up on my lawn and the present lack of a kitchen sink, stove and oven.

Yeah, that’s a lot to ponder.

So rowing is my reprieve, rowing is my exercise, rowing is recharging my batteries, rowing is getting out on the water with blue skies, scenic horizons, rising and falling tides, blowing winds, calm glass-like water, choppy waters, picturesque cumulus clouds drifting by, ever-changing weather, scenery and blue or not so blue skies.

March 16, 2024 – I have decided to switch out my rowing craft. So I exchanged rowing craft for an earlier prototype that I was rowing for the last several years.

This winter I managed to row 11 times in January, 13 times in February and 11 times, so far, in March.

March 19 – The Ides of March have passed and nothing so notable as Caesar being stabbed has happened.

But some things do seem ominous:

The War in Ukraine seems to be turning in Mr. Putin’s favor. He is up for election this weekend. Having killed most Presidential opponents and imprisoned all other opponents who he thinks might impinge on his powers, things look good for Vlad the Bad. He has a first rate chance of being elected. After that, he will be free to concentrate on bringing Ukraine and few other neighboring states under his control. Yes, things are looking up for Vlad the Bad.

At the same time, Congress seems to be unable to pass an aid bill for Ukraine…it seems a past President wants to wait until he becomes a future President when he will solve the Ukraine War within 24 hours.

Other things are happening in the Middle East. Israel is getting ready to invade the city of Rafah, having already moved most of Gaza into that one city. To date, Israel has destroyed about 40% of the buildings in Gaza and killed over 25,000 people. It is not clear how many of the 25,000 are Hamas terrorists or how many Hamas terrorists are still alive. Israel has promised to completely destroy Hamas and is presently planning to invade the city of Rafah where presently one and a half million Gazans are gathered.

And then there is the upcoming Presidential elections. I am way worried about that…need I say more.

This brings me to an announcement: two days ago, I put my FishSkiff 16 back into the water. Now I can take occasional cruises on that. It is set up with a Torqeedo electric motor and a solar panel that automatically recharges the battery. This now allows me to cruise about our 4 inland bays without spending a penny on gas and see the changes that winter has brought to those 4 waterways.

In between rowing and taking solar boat rides, I am also testing our FishSUP 126 to see what changes we will make to this model. We are planning a new larger model with many new features. That requires group meetings going over what features we want to have. In our business, different people have different ideas and getting all to agree on exactly what to do takes time. It is like herding cats.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add to the list of worries: we just finished two new designs. One is a redesign of our LB 11, aka Longboard 11. We made it wider, more rigid and more stable. And we changed the graphic design. Samples are coming soon and you would think that would be the end of my worries, but think again because it just the beginning of new worries…will the samples get here on time, can we get them photographed and videos made on time, will the first production get on containers on time. Will the containers get here in time for us to introduce it in the new summer catalog.

There are problems out there in supply chain land. We are on the East Coast…containers have to pass through the Panama Canal. There is a drought in Panama and getting through that slice of water takes waiting your turn and paying a lot extra for that privilege. Then there is the fear that the canal might get so low on water that container ships just can’t get through. Oy vey.

Then there is the other product we will be introducing…a new ultralight kayak. Samples are also coming and the same worries apply.

March 30th, 2024 – on this day, another worry made it to the fore. A very large and very heavy container ship accidentally crashed into one of the key supports of the Key Bridge in Baltimore. That led to 1.6 miles of the Key Bridge collapsing. That led to closure of the Key Bridge, I-695 Highway and the container port of Baltimore. For those you who may not know, the Key Bridge Road /I-695 was a major artery for vehicular traffic going up and down the East Coast.

So this was a pretty big deal and a very sad event. When the bridge fell down did multiple cars, people and construction workers – 6 people died. And as might be predictable, all sorts of pundits, you-tubers and political theorists and commentators offered diverse and dark theories on what really happened. I will not to list the many culprits in the various conspiracy theories that emerged out of this strange and sad event.

I will list just one of the conspiracy theories brought forth by an expert mathematician YouTube influencer. This gentleman entitled his video “This cargo ship was FILLED with HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS and the containers have been breached.” I do not want to say this was a lie, but the term hyperbole might be appropriate. There were 56 container on that ship that were listed with HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS, but that was out of 10,000 containers. By my math, that means that .0056% of the containers had hazardous chemicals. I am not sure if that percentage justifies the claim that the ship was filled with hazardous chemicals.

No matter and needless to say, the crash into the Key Bridge by a huge and heavy container ship was a weird and unsettling event and added to the worries of day and the world.

Time for me to go for another row.

April 5th, 2024 – the month of April has started out busy at work the first day and busy with a non-stop Northeaster for the next 3 days thereafter. During the Northeaster, the tide rose over my walkway to my dock and then lapped up on my lawn, rains came down sheets and new ponds emerged on my small property. The winds were steady 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 & 60 mph. So, the first days of the April were either over busy or in storm and flood stage.

I finally got the opportunity to go rowing on April 5th. The conditions were not ideal, but doable…high winds out of the west were still a feature, but the gusts only maxed out at 30 mph. Still doable.

I headed out of my cove and directly across my small bay into the West wind. At first progress was slow, but I kept pushing and pulling and in a few minutes I plowed across my bay to other side – it is only about a half mile wide. There the water was relatively calm, protected by land and houses and trees, so I glided along the shore in the “lee of the land”. It was another world, the winds raged 50 feet above my head but they did not affect my rowing because at sea level the wind was docile and mostly blocked.

I rowed peacefully along, listening to my Bluetooth. A new singer came and told the tale of The Ten Dollar Cowboy. Apparently, the singer was in fact the one and same $10 Dollar Cowboy. It did not take me long to like the song.

I cracked a seltzer…the temperature was only in the low 50s, the motion of rowing warmed me, so I had my bubbled water.

I took in the sky, the water and the nearby shoreline. I was joined by some swans paddling blissfully by. They too had taken advantage of the lee of the land…no dumb birds they. By contrast, I pass a cluster of Canada geese on the shore who promptly panic and rise up in a squawking mass only to fly a few hundred feet and splash down in the direction I am rowing…some noisy and not so bright birds they.

I cruised along the shoreline of Little Bay and then along the west shoreline of Setauket Bay. With this route, I can easily and pleasantly row. I looked out on Setauket Bay where it leads out Port Jefferson Bay…there I can see angry whitecaps in the distance. Along the shoreline, a few flags fly and they are whipping the wind. Yup, better to stay close to the shoreline today and enjoy these sheltered shores. I row to the very end of Setauket Bay where down below my SUP I can see the railroad ties on the bay bottom. I know from the local history, this is where once 40’ to 70’ long sloops were built and launched in the early 1800s. The iron rails and rotting wooden ties are still visible on the muddy surface below. History is always there, just below the surface.

April 8th, 2024 – An eclipse is arriving today and later this afternoon the moon will fully block sun. From YouTube videos that have been forwarded to me from my Prepper friend, I know there are many theories out there about what really is happening. You can be sure that the videos being forwarded are promising very dark events…It Only Gets Worse From Here one says…The Next Week Will Change Everything You Ever Knew From Here…Now is the Time To Prepare or Beware, yes, YouTubers are predicting dark days indeed.

One video predicted the imminent arrival of The Devil himself, another predicts solar storms will flare up on the sun and wipe out all computer chips across America, another forecasts Raccoons walking on their front 2 paws only and fish rising out the seas and standing up on their tails. All ominous things to be sure.

There is common thread to all these videos…sometimes it is direct plea, other times it is a threat, still other times it is just a subtle recommendation…one way or another…whether it is said to be your last chance on earth to do so or it is a more subtle suggestion, these videos all seem to come to the idea that this may be the best time ever to buy freeze dried foods and/or some form of gold coins. And, by the way, by some strange co-incidence, it turns out that most of the Prepper gals and guys making videos have a special deal on freeze dried food and/or faux gold bar investments. Color me a doubting Thomas.

Anyway, the eclipse came off without a hitch to be seen. My wife and I sat outside – it was pretty warm – and we had a nice looksee at the eclipse thanks to our neighbor who dropped off some special cardboard glasses. And it was an interesting sight to behold and to date I have not heard of any of the dire Prepper predictions coming to pass.

April 9th, 2024 – on this morning, I went out testing with some of our guys and gals. This was our first test of the actual production models. Yes, the samples did arrive…that was two things to check off my million plus worry list.

It turned out to be a stellar day for testing…sunny and warm…glass-like water…pale blue skies…perhaps it should be called R & R for research & recreation.

By the way, I do not consider any product ever finished. We continually make improvements on the products as time passes and experience shows us new ways to do things. In the case of the LB11, this was the fourth design of our LB11 SUP. The EZLite 10 kayak was a brand new design…it is a new ultralight kayak weighing only 26 lbs. The tests of the 2 different products went swimmingly…all involved were pleased. Below is a pic me on the EZLite 10.

After we finished with the tests and got a few pics, I went back and worked out of my crowded home office. After checking on sales and cogitating various problems, I said the heck with it. I went down to my dock and took a cruise on my solar FishSkiff. It was just too good a day to not be out again on the water. I had my Bluetooth speaker going…Iron and Wine came on with a new song from their upcoming album. The song featured Fiona Apple singing along. It was called, “All in Good Time”.

The song seemed appropriate as I glided over the glass-like water…there was no wind to speak…just the sound of the song and the murmur of the electric motor churning up water behind the transom and it was All in Good Time.