michael chilmaid and dad row the river
Dawn is breaking over Robious Landing Park as Stephen and Michael Chilmaid hoist their boats over their shoulders, carry them to the riverbank, and gently place them into the James.
Together, father and son attach the oars to the sides of what are technically known as sculls, secure themselves into their seats, and glide westward into the early morning mist. There’s little conversation. The only sounds are the oars cutting through the still water and the voices of nature along the shores.
It’s a moment, repeated often, that they savor.
“We’ve had some absolutely great mornings,” said Michael, a 17-year-old Collegiate junior. “It’s just being there with him, doing something he’s done pretty much all his life. He’s been the catalyst and the driving force behind my rowing. It’s learning lessons from him, both as a dad and as a coach.”
Stephen Chilmaid, 47, was 9 when he took his first strokes along the River Wey in his native England. He became so accomplished that twice (on a four-man boat in 1977 and a double with Julian Scrivener in 1978) he won British national titles and competed for the world title.
In later years, he rowed in regattas throughout Europe, in Canada, and in the United States and from 1982 through 1984 participated in the Senior World championships.
He conveyed his athletic passion to his son.
Before his family moved to Richmond in 2003, Michael rowed in a junior program in Great Britain but put his boat in drydock as he settled into his new life. In the fall of his sophomore year, however, the urge returned, and he made his first tentative venture onto the river. When winter drove him inside, he trained religiously on the ergometer (rowing machine) and last spring and summer began serious on-water workouts. The results, especially for one relatively new to sculling, were outstanding.
Representing the North Mooreland Rowing Club (a group of Collegiate students coached by his dad) in the Eastern Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association races on Lake Whitehurst in Norfolk, he captured the 2007 state independent schools singles title with a 5:50.50 clocking over 1,400 meters. Under the auspices of the Virginia Boat Club, he won the junior men’s 1000-meter championship (4:12.5) in the Rockett’s Landing Regatta in Richmond. A week later, in the prime-time Independence Day Regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, he covered 2,000 meters in 8:26.97 to place third in the junior 16’s singles event.
“There’s sheer energy in the competition,” he said. “You could have up to six boats side by side, and you can see where you are, see how much time is left, see how far you have to go. Really, that’s what drives you through races.”
This past fall, Michael played soccer for the Cougars and managed a rigorous academic schedule. When time allowed, he hit the long, smooth stretches of the James for 5-9 mile base-building workouts. This winter, he trained usually 4 days per week on the ergometer and pulled stints on the exercise bike and in the weight room.
When he returned to the river in mid-March, a typical outing was anywhere from 3 to 5 miles including timed intervals along the way. Sometimes, he did time trials at race distance just to gauge his training as he prepared for the racing season which begins in earnest with state level interscholastic competition May 10.
“One of the blessings Michael has is that he’s technically natural,” said his dad, a finance manager for General Electric. “He doesn’t have to think about technique. It just comes, so he can concentrate on fitness, strength, and developing experience. “I’m so passionate about it. I’m very pleased that there’s someone who can carry the family linkage into the sport.”
Michael hopes to row competitively in college and beyond. Whatever the future, though, he’ll never forget the liberating, even spiritual, feeling of the James at first light.
“It’s a great way to start the day,” he said. “You’re out on the river. There’s nobody else out there except the occasional fisherman. It’s just wonderful.”
