Stroke by stroke, Yarmouth rowing club grows

YARMOUTH – It’s not the Olympics, but the group out rowing on the Cousins River is still a devoted bunch.

The sun hasn’t yet risen and the mosquitoes are out, but that doesn’t keep the four men and 13-year-old Zach Hynes from their morning ritual of rowing the Cousins River. They are members of the Yarmouth Rowing Club, a 2-year-old organization.

“We’re a motley crew, aren’t we,” said club president Ed Simmons.

The Olympics in Greece has brought new attention to rowing in Maine.

That’s to be expected with Portlander Wyatt Allen winning gold as part of the American men’s elite eight crew, which ended a 40-year drought in the rowing event. J. Sloan Duross of South Portland was a member of a four-man rowing team, but didn’t earn a medal.

The Yarmouth Rowing Club has spent its second summer practicing in groups of three teams, holding about 60 practices that begin around 5 a.m. or 5 p.m. They put in at Lowell Brothers boat yard, where the Lowell brothers let them put in a float and store their boats.

The 17 regulars range in age from 13 to 59. There are beginners and advanced rowers, men and women.

Charlie Poole of Yarmouth said water access is the lifeline of rowing.

“We really treasure having a place to launch from,” he said. “I sculled this morning. It’s one of the best ways to start a day.”

Don Carter of New Gloucester rows 25 miles a week on the water or on a rowing machine.

“I’m in a boat on the water every month of the year,” he said.

Simmons said the club might buy an eight-person boat one day if interest continues to grow. To get the club going last year, 20 members pooled their funds and bought two four-person boats. It cost another $100 per person to buy new oars.

“We’re run by a shoestring,” Simmons said.