A Year Ago.....

A year ago on Christmas Eve, Charley boarded a plane bound for Kauai, Hawaii to visit his two sisters, Muriel and Barbara. Charley's baby sister Barbara, sensing the shortened time together, arranged a magnificent holiday for Charley. It was a beautiful gift of time spent together in a splendid setting.

Charley had a wonderful Christmas with Muriel, Alvin Sr., Barbara, and Alvin Jr. Charley described his trip to me in great detail upon his return. He enjoyed the lazy afternoons spent with Alvin, Muriel's beloved husband of more than fifty years, looking at the ocean and lamenting their beautiful surroundings. Mostly though, he very much enjoyed time with his sisters.

I was in Alameda, CA last week both working and spending time with my Aunt Barbara. It felt like we were on a marathon slumber party and I wore bags under my eyes to prove it. We had such fun together. I felt Charley's presence very strongly when close friends, Joann Pheasant and Marijo Gillan joined the fun. The four of us shared a meal together and our memories of Charley in front of a warm fire.

That night, Aunt Barbara and I fell asleep passing Charley's reading glasses back and forth between us. We both miss him terribly, we decided, but agreed he is in a much better place.

Soft Hands

There are many technical subtleties, plus years of training required to reach the level of mastery in sculling once enjoyed by Charley McIntyre. For Charley, the sculler's catch was the holy grail of sculling.

Arguably, one of the most critical elements of the sculler's catch is the relaxation of the hand on the recovery phase of the stroke. It is an important prelude to the relaxation required to make the sculler's catch. Any gripping or tightening on the oar, on the other hand, guarantees a very slow and inefficient catch, resulting in poor sculling.

In this photograph of Charley together in a double with Christi, he provides us with a clear illustration of total relaxation. He maintains contact with the oar, only with the top of the palm of his hand. He makes it look easy and effortless, but trust me, it's not!

Those of us who had an opportunity to scull with Charley are very familiar with the sensation of letting go of the oar just before the entry. In a single, it feels like you are suspended over the edge of a cliff holding onto a string, whilst Charley instructs you to let go for a very brief moment.

Charley spent countless hours teaching me to row. I am not certain how close I came to mastering the elusive "sculler's catch." It hardly matters now. What's matters most is the joy of time spent with Charley McIntyre devoted to the pursuit of the perfect stroke.

Shannon McIntyre Woods