‘As long as I have water around me, I’ll continue to row’

Just five years ago, Christine White, then a UC San Diego economics student from Thousand Oaks, discovered rowing. Giving in to a co-worker’s goading to try the sport, White spent many mornings on San Diego Bay attempting to master the stamina, coordination and concentration required. Now White, 27, has honed her skill so sharply that last August she won her age division in sculling, an individual event, at the U.S. Masters Rowing Championships. White now works out with a club, the Eosophobics (aptly named for members who loathe early-morning workouts) when not teaching others the sport. She spoke with Times staff writer Terry Rather at the Mission Bay Aquatic Center and was photographed by Barbara Martin Pinhero.

I started working here at the Aquatics Center in 1984 and, on my first day, a coach came up and asked if I wanted to learn how to row. He set me up with lessons. I started in September, and I spent all of the winter, through January, just practicing in the singles. I was not a natural. I spent almost the entire winter in the water because I was flipping the singles (scull) so much!

I then took up racing, and that’s what really hooked me.

I first competed in 1984. They stuck me in a 3-mile race. Not having any kind of athletic background behind me or training, I was heaving puppies out there. It was bad. My competition had all passed me. It was like I was taking little scenic tours. The finish line was just beyond the dock. I remember thinking, “I’m going straight to the dock. I don’t care about this, I hurt, I’m miserable, I’m never doing this again.” But I decided I could make it to the finish line.

I had a friend who had just started rowing for UCSD, and he was waiting for me there beyond the dock. He really helped me out a lot that day. Rowing was still intriguing. I wanted to get better. I knew I could get better at it, so I kept going. I guess I’m stubborn.

Right now, my team, known as the Eosophobics, meaning the natural fear of dawn, meets down here at 5 a.m. We finish by 7 a.m., so we have enough time to get ready to go to work. In the morning, there are better water conditions, especially out here on the bay.

Rowing I can do for a long time. It’s really relaxing, calming. Even though I’m still working hard out there, if it’s in the single, it’s quiet. And I can watch the sunrise and in the evening watch the sunset. You’re working but you’re not straining. Also, we’ve seen dolphins out there. Every now and then you can see the seals’ heads pop out of the water. It’s really neat.

Once during practice, a baby harbor seal crawled on top of my boat and played with me for about 45 minutes. I was out there alone and all of sudden I saw this seal. I took a couple of strokes, and he started playing in the puddles the oars left. He crawled up on the stern of my boat. There’s a little ball there on the bow that protects the boats in case other boats hit you, and he starts nosing the ball around, pushing my boat around. It shot the practice to hell, but it was fun.

I’ve gone to races and come in dead last, but I’d rowed very well. I feel just as good after a race like that, knowing I rowed well, as when I win the race. For me I get satisfaction when I row well.

I’ve really never been active. Rowing is the first time I’ve ever been active in sports. I think I like rowing because I’m the right height, the right build for rowing, so I fit the sport pretty easily, and I’ve been able to accomplish a lot. Ever since I’ve been down here to San Diego, I’ve become more active. Rowing is the type of exercise where you’re not going to pound your knees out. For me, running is miserable because I just ache when I have to do it.

It’s a group I fit into, people I like hanging around with. It gives me a goal to work for. It also keeps me in shape, being a painless way to stay in shape. It’s one of those sports that, since it’s a cyclical type of motion involved, no pounding or jarring, it doesn’t tear the body apart like jogging for 10 years would. As long as I have water around me, I’ll continue to row.