’ “I thought we would be playing tennis together during our retirement years,” laughs 49-year-old Amanda Browne, a recent transplant to Wilmington via Hawaii. Instead, she and her husband Kavron decided to row off into the sun-set together. “I’m excited,” says Browne, who drove by the Wilmington Marine Center entrance, home to the Cape Fear River Rowing Club (CFRRC) on River Road for a full year before signing up for a Learn to Row class in spring 2014. She jumped in with both feet, and after a couple of months, signed up to compete with the club in Richmond, Virginia. Browne, an emergency department nurse with a rare type of arthritis, knows it’s critical to care for her body. She steers clear of weight-bearing activity, avoiding sports like running and exercise biking. Rowing is ideal, she says, since the movement requires the legs to do most of the work while the arms serve as an extension of the oars. “I’m not feeling the stress on my joints and I’m getting exercise with my legs,” Browne says. “I’m getting cardio-vascular exercise and it’s not hurting my lower back.” Above: Photographer Allison Potter’s view of the Cape Fear River looking out over the stern of a Peinert single. Opposite: Maureen Rea, Donna Brown, coach Eric Ford, Loretta Eggeling and Sandy Cobb lift a four out of the water following an evening row. 57 www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM Rowin on the River by S t e p h a n i e R o s e M i l l e r photography by A l l i s o n P o t t e r
2014-9
To see the actual publication please follow the link above