Today at 7am was another early morning practice session for the Blackburn Crews.  No rain or thunderstorms, but black clouds filled the horizon.

John Liffmann took out a CMI Mainiville Pilot Gig with Coaches Alice and Dave (Dave was subing for Natalie) pulling along with Jackson Dean and Tara Goodwin.  Jackson and Tara rowed especially well today considering they had only just returned from their week of volunteer work in West Virginia for the Appalachia Service Project.  Strong drives with the legs and smooth recoveries at a rating of 22 strokes per minute for 8 nautical miles.  They looked great!

At least, they looked great during the brief periods of time when I could actually see them.  I was struggling to keep up in my Alden single.  Near the nautical mile marker the waves and choppy waters threatened to swamp my little single.  The bow would routinely dive into waves at the finish and the stern would submerge on the catch.  Very frustrating.

Unfortunately, my partner in crime Matt Coates is away on business (thus, I was out in the single).  This upcoming weekend or next week we should (hopefully) finally be able to see how the Alden Double fares against the Pilot Gig.