Monday, July 27, 2009

Skulling as the day comes to a close

Several skulls and a chase boat were moving rapidly up and down Seddon Channel this evening as the sun began to drop pretty low and the temperature dropped into high 80s. The air actually began to feel cool. Our heavy afternoon rainfall took much of the humidity with it so the evening is delightful. When I spotted the skulls I thought they were students from the university or visiting crew teams but as they passed they looked like older adults. (The colleges and universities send their rowing teams in the winter months...makes sense.) If this is their idea of exercise after dinner they deserve our hearty applause. The nice, pleasant gentleman in the chase boat, with the giant handheld megaphone, was gently correcting, exhorting and encouraging the rowers. I would imagine he could be heard in Ocala or even a farm in upstate New York. He was serious about his charge and the amount of effort they were exerting was exhausting to watch. But what a beautiful sight on the water as our day came to a close. Some cooling refreshment must be awaiting these men and women after an extremely hard workout. I need to put my feet up and let my heart rate recover from watching them row by. Again and again and again. I lost court. (I do wonder what the nice fellow was suggesting to the rowers? At at least 110 decibels.)

6 comments:

  1. That's what that noise was! I thought it was thunder!

    Interesting shot and commentary, Frank. Who would these oldsters be and why would they be out there and not ensconced on some patio sipping a Mai Tai?

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  2. I heard it here, too. I don't think I ever did anything more exhausting than rowing.

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  3. Hi Frank, Tampa sure does offer some amazing views and you do a wonderful job of capturing and sharing them. Thanks :D

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  4. I am fascinated by the architecture in the back of the photo. What a typical and interesting houses!

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  5. @MaCoBra - The neighborhood behind the rowers is called Harbour Island. It is reached by two bridges from Tampa’s downtown. A mix of offices, hotel, bars/restaurants, small to giant-size, multi-million dollar homes, condos and apartments. A nice pace to live. Most of the architecture could be called Mediterranean but you can almost see some Italian along the waterfront. Each of those homes has a private dock and most have pools/spas.

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  6. Thanks, Frank, for visiting my blog all the way over in Africa :) it's always nice to 'meet' new readers. Thanks for sharing photo's of your part of the world on your blog - phew, that rowing sure looks like hard work to me !
    Bye for now
    Lynda, Kilimanjaro, East Africa

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