I recently spent time in Paris, so good food is top of mind. Often the case for rowers! I also like to cook, and quote Julia Child’s maxim, which basically says that if you don’t start with good ingredients, how can you make good food? Reflecting back on our recent rowing adventure, the analogy of a recipe which requires quality inputs in order to create something amazing, seems appropriate.
We recently rowed in paradise and where no one had rowed before on our Belize Oar Board rowing trip. We have also rowed in another stunning paradise, the Maldives, where we also dipped our oars in pristine rowing waters. So what is the recipe to row in paradise?
Key ingredients are location, equipment and people. There are many places in any given paradise, so narrowing down the rowing venue is a challenge. For Belize, partnering with Island Expeditions narrowed the choice in a positive way. Timing can be significant: wind, waves and heat affect the quality of the experience, while accessibility is important. During our Belize trip, the chance to not only do rows out of our two bases, but to row from point to point was fantastic, especially with a snorkeling stop in between!
Equipment can be a challenge in paradise, since there are few rowing clubs. In the Maldives, renting equipment was an excellent way to support the development program in the southern part of the country. For Belize, another partnership solved the problem – with Oar Board – a SUP rower manufacturer based in Canada.
The final ingredient was the people. Our wonderful guests who were willing to try something completely new with a terrific spirit of adventure were essential, of course. We had guides from Oar Board and Rowing The World, plus our Belizean guides. Budge and Capi were expert kayakers and knew the cayes intimately, but had never rowed before. Combining equipment experts with local guides plus our knowledge on what makes a great rowing trip was like creating a perfect spice mix.
Give the mixture a little stir, test it carefully and adjust as needed. A new rowing in paradise trip has been created. We have carefully noted the recipe, so that we can repeat our creation in 2018 – or maybe we might try some new ingredients …
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