14 Photos
Rowing is half brawn and half art! MICHAEL MELLA
Sinéad FitzGibbon putting her quadriceps and back into it! MICHAEL MELLA
A Ross School rower showing perfect form as the sun etches out each delightful detail. MICHAEL MELLA
Concentration to put every muscle into each stroke is written on Team Orange Andrew Orme’s face. MICHAEL MELLA
Neck and neck and giving it their all, three quad-scull teams nearing the finish line. MICHAEL MELLA
In the final race that ultimately put Team Orange into overall first place seconds ahead of Team Pink, bowman Andrew Orme steers the boat and calls out the stroke pace timing, while red-haired Venetia Satow’s stroke into the water is what the other three oarsmen follow. Sebastian Corson is in seat two in front of Andrew and Luke Shannon in seat 3. These two middle oarsmen are considered the engine room on a quad scull. MICHAEL MELLA
Sinéad FitzGibbon of the Luv Michael team rowing a single scull in beautiful ballet-like form. MICHAEL MELLA
With a picture-perfect fall backdrop, Team Green is seen here edging by the Luv Michael rowers. MICHAEL MELLA
Two of the nine rowers on the first place Team Orange working their way up on third place Team Green. The reeds and evergreens in the background separate this body of water, Sag Harbor Cove, from Long Beach’s Noyack Bay. MICHAEL MELLA
Sag Harbor Community Rowing Director Lee Oldak has a full on-the-water life! He campaigns his Henderson 30 sloop Purple Haze in such regattas as the Sag Harbor Cup, the Whitebread ‘Round Shelter Island race and he never misses a BYC Wednesday night race. The Sunday before this rowing event, Lee sailed his JY15 into first place for the day and first place overall for the JY Fall Series. MICHAEL MELLA
First place Team Orange, once again edging out second place Team Pink, in this quad-scull duel to the finish line. MICHAEL MELLA
Team Yellow giving Team Green a run for its money! MICHAEL MELLA
High school kids putting their all into each stroke helped their Team Orange win gold. MICHAEL MELLA
There is no age limit as to who can row, as Team Green demonstrates in spades. MICHAEL MELLA
Sag Harbor Community Rowing and its longtime director, Lee Oldak, held its end-of-season team racing last Saturday, a fundraising series of single, double and quad rowing scull races to build a community dock for rowers, kayakers and paddleboarders.
There were four teams, each recognizable by their distinctive T-shirts/slickers: Team Yellow, the Luv Michael team, made up of autistic rowers and their support professionals led by Scott Rodeo; Team Orange, a mixed group of Sag Harbor and Southampton high school students, captained by Rumi Kaye and Reese Trotter; Team Pink, Ross School rowers captained by Ari and Alexi Kardaras; and Team Green, consisting of adult rowers.
What brought this rowing event into the “wow” spectrum was Luv Michael. A nonprofit pioneering organization with four Southampton residential homes, it is dedicated to training, educating and employing young autistic adults. Their spirited rowing in iridescent yellow slickers brought smiles to everyone’s faces and the ringing of cowbells as each autistic team crossed the finish line.
The 36 rowers and countless more enthusiastic folks in the cheering section were blessed with a blue-sky day and, challenging to the rowers, a chilly northwest wind ranging from 8 to 12 knots. Although all four teams won in their own right, Team Orange took home the gold, with Team Pink just seconds behind, placing second.
