Sherry Grindeland / Times staff columnist
Fun is a lock for sightseers in racing shell

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Ten Eastsiders earned bragging rights Sunday. The group from the Sammamish Rowing Association should also get medals for bravery. They rowed a four-person racing shell through the Ballard Locks.

One rower, Steve Isaac, described the event as a combination of cool and treacherous because the shells are so low in the water and the rowers had to juggle their sets of long oars.

"A rower rarely experiences something like this," Isaac said.

A lightweight four-person racing boat, not much wider than the rowers' derrieres, is about 40 feet long. The boats are designed to glide smoothly across the water, but not for sightseeing expeditions. Unlike the typical yacht, cabin cruiser, rowboat, kayak or canoe, shells have no cleats for attaching a rope, said one coxswain, Patti Miele.

And ropes are required for going through the Locks. In case you haven't noticed, the boats closest to the wall are required to tie ropes to cleats on the edge of the lock when the boats ride up and down with the change in water level. Other boats tie up to the wall boats — all the way across the lock — ensuring that the boats stick together in the rush of water coming in or flowing out.

One association member called the Locks administration in advance to arrange the unorthodox passage..

Part of the group rode in two support motor launches. When they reached the Locks, the motorboats were put on each side of the racing shell and tied up to the lock cleats. People in the launches leaned overboard and held the racing shell.

Locks workers told the group it was the first four-person racing shell they'd seen go through the system. (Bill Titus, who is a legend in rowing circles, took a single racing shell through some years ago.)

The trip plan began last year when a few members of the Sammamish Rowing Association thought it would be cool to put the experience up for auction at the club's annual fund-raiser. Ten Eastsiders bought the item, bringing in about $800.

Max de Long, Hanna Yuse, Jane Millar, Nece Neyland and Miele got in the racing shell on Lake Union, near the Fremont Bridge. They rowed through the Ship Canal, past Fisherman's Terminal in Ballard, through the Locks, and beyond Shilshole Bay to Golden Gardens Park. There they beached the shell.
 
The launch crew and rowers then picnicked on the beach in high style. Another team member, Bob Cox, who owns Applewood Catering in Bellevue, provided a gourmet lunch.

Launch supporters Isaac, Tawney Roller, Kimberly Rowley and Alyssa "Bubba" Roller traded places with the first rowing crew — except de Long, who rode both ways — and made the trip back through the Locks.

"One of the first things you learn when you're training is to keep your eyes inside the boat," said Isaac. "This time we were looking out and saw amazingly cool things like the houseboats, and we got to say hello to the sea lions."

Although the Sammamish rowers want to believe they were the first, Miele isn't banking on it.

"We've heard rumors that a team went from Lake Washington to Pacific Lutheran University in the 1940s," she said.

But did she get faster service?

Ken Nikolaisen, an Eastside plumber, recently received a long message from a customer discussing details of an upcoming job. The woman ended it with "Bye, I love you."

As he chuckled over the farewell, his pager went off with another message.

It was the same woman — laughing and apologizing for her farewell spiel. She explained that she had just talked to her husband before calling Nikolaisen and said the "I love you" out of habit.

"I think it is great how we treat our hardworking plumbers," e-mailed Cindy Nikolaisen, the plumber's wife.

Early warning

If you're a Dr. Seuss fan, you'll love the exhibition coming to Kenneth Behm Galleries in Bellevue Square Oct. 8-25. The show highlights the life of Theodor Seuss Geisel, including his editorship of the Dartmouth College humor magazine, his early career in advertising and his personal art collection. (It also includes work done during the years when 60 publishers rejected him.)

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com