| Looking for a sport that will improve your fitness program in the tranquility of Cape Coral's miles of canals?
Show up at Cape Harbour any weekend morning or even during the week and join a club that has quietly slipped into town with little fanfare.
The Fort Myers Rowing Club left its longtime home in downtown Fort Myers when development transformed the site, and it moved to Cape Harbour Marina.
Rowing club officers John Bell and Alis Jordan think the move will elevate the organization and enable the membership to grow.
The move came about accidentally when Bell was having a conversation with Cape Harbour developer Will Stout.
"Will and I were talking about rowing one day, what a great sport, and I mentioned we were going to be looking for a new home," Bell said. "Will indicated it sounds like fun and eventually offered us a spot at Cape Harbour."
Bell said there are six miles of pristine rowing conditions, going all the way from Cape Harbour and spreader waterway to Veterans Parkway.
"Where the Caloosahatchee had become a little rough with a lot of traffic in Fort Myers, the waterway is beautiful — a natural habitat," Jordan said. "The waterway is flat and calm, what rowers want."
The Southwest Florida Marina Industry Association donated a floating dock with ramp. A permanent boathouse will eventually be built.
"Will wants to build a true Charles River boathouse with a restaurant on the second floor," Bell said. "We just need to grow the club membership. We already have great equipment and a good coach."
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The coach is veteran Brad Leonard, 35, a former Marist College rower who moved to Fort Myers 13 years ago and has coached the 50-plus members for nearly a decade.
"Rowing takes some skill in the beginning, especially getting your muscles accustomed to the different strokes," said Leonard, an Atlantic City, N.J., native. "Age is not really a factor.
"Regardless of your ability, you're outdoors getting a great workout. It's very social, not cut-throat and you can make it as hard or casual as you want."
The rowing club presently consists of Masters rowers, 27 and older, but the club will start a youth program this spring.
"We need to grow, and one opportunity is getting students involved, along with their parents," Bell said. "There's a great opportunity for kids to receive college rowing scholarships, a fact that a lot of folks don't realize."
The club will also organize a "Learn to Row" in the next two months.
The husband-wife team of Bell and Jordan cemented their relationship while rowing.
"John said early one morning he was going out to row when we lived near the old location on Riverside Drive," Jordan said. "I said you're crazy but eventually gave it a try. And since that day I've never stopped."
The club will also introduce a corporate challenge learning program in 2007 where the business community trains together with fellow employees and then competes in events.
"The Oxford Rowing Club in London, England, is very successful with this program, raising funds for the club while teaching people the sport," Bell said. "With our growth in Lee County, we feel the time is right to introduce the program." |
