Rowing in the cold

Dear Adair,

I hate rowing in the winter here in Canberra. I know I shouldn't admit this but my hands and toes ache and my poor nose goes red. What can I do to make rowing more bearable in this cold hole?

Fair weather rower

Dear fair weather rower

There are a few things you could do to relieve your misery besides searching out warmer climes:

1. Warm up properly: a warm-up on the ergo or stationery bike somewhere inside in all your warm clothes will help considerably. If you can get on the water soon after this while you are still warm, your extremities won't get so cold.
2. Appropriate clothes are essential not wimpy! Use multiple thin layers of clothes rather than one or two thick layers, starting with decent thermal top and tights/leggings, as used by skiers.
3. Beanies make a big difference to your warmth as over 50% of your body heat is lost through your head.
4. Woollen socks are the warmest, and will keep your tootsies warm even if your feet get wet. You can get pure wool socks at Canberra's Gorman House markets on Saturday mornings and at other flea markets.
5. Gloves or mitts can be a problem in rowing-woollen ones wear out very quickly, other types are slippery or diminish your 'feel' of the oar. You can get purpose-made gloves for rowing called 'pogies'. These are like baggy mittens made out of a thin polartech-type material that have a hole or holes in the side for the oar/sculls to go through, so your hands keep warm but you retain that full bare-hand blister-building grip on the oar.

Try to source pogies from the Internet-they are very popular in Canada. Alternatively, slip an old warm sock over your hand and cut a hole in the side for the oar to go through (not necessarily in that order)!

Adair