Open-Water Rowing The 19-foot-long rowboats weigh upwards of 300 pounds, and the course ranges in length from one to ten miles. Even on a calm day, fighting the surf to launch the boat and battling the surging water just offshore to make headway takes a special breed of athlete. That would be Dave Healy. Last year, Healy, 46, an assistant principal at Middletown High School North and a veteran Asbury Park lifeguard, formed the Jersey Shore Rowing Association with a group of friends and fellow competitors. When Healy began competing in the United States Lifesaving Championships 23 years ago, open-water rowing was a popular event. For some reason, enthusiasm for it dwindled over time, especially among younger lifeguards.

So to introduce a new generation and keep themselves in the game, Healy and friends formed JSRA (jsrowing.org) last summer after several months of planning. The karma must have been right, because in August, Healy and his rowing partner, Warren Towns, 40, of Ocean Township, won the open surfboat race at the United States Lifesaving Association’s national competition in Huntington Beach, California. “You stick with something long enough and work hard enough,” Healy says, “and the time will come.” The ten-mile Old School Row starts at 7 am on July 14 in Bradley Beach. The New Jersey State Rowing Championships (rowrace.com) kick off at 5:30 pm July 26 at Toms River Yacht Club. —JB