Rowing Like Luke from Andrew Chen on Vimeo.

Come sun, come rain, come wind, come calm, come icebergs, we were on the water. The river became our second home, though we couldn’t always claim it was hospitable. To balance the icebergs and whipping current in the spring, and the icicles forming on our riggers in the fall, there were warm sunny days, and clear crisp fall days surrounded by green pines and bright yellow birch and maples. And to complete the picture, a lot of sweaty dudes. Exceedingly sweaty.

These dudes spent countless hours in skinny, unstable boats, looking at each others’ backs. Sounds great, right? Thanks to the good company, it was. So were the spring ‘break’ 18-hour bus rides from New Hampshire to Georgia, the $24/night hotel room (four to a room), and the 7am runs to the boathouse, wading through unbelievably humid air. Even the twice-daily buffet meals on spring break were something to look forward to, not because of the mediocre food, but because of our teammates.

Luke was at the center of all of this. He was the team’s rock, leading calmly by example, and occasionally with more vocal encouragement. The chill surfer dude was evident, but this surfer dude had drive, determination, and passion that sometimes bubbled to the surface in spite of his laid-back So.Cal roots.

Thanks for being our Captain, Luke.