It was Heroes Row the Harlem, the first annual crew race between NYC’s finest: NYPD vs. FDNY. The event was hosted by the non-profit Row New York, which teaches underprivileged kids to row competitively, in partnership with the festival and one of my favorite fitness studios Row House.

After the race (P.S. my firemen smoked the cops!), we got in on the action, hopping aboard a training barge docked at Peter J. Sharp Boathouse, Row New York’s home base in the Harlem River, with a coach who taught us the ABCs of crew in just over an hour. It’s MUCH more complicated on the water than on an erg and a different experience, altogether.

When the yachts cruised by at high speeds, we were suddenly drenched in their wake and for me, there was no escape–I got the worst of it.

So, I was happy to be in Sperry H2O Escape sneakers. As our coach said, “It IS a water sport.” Ships ahoy!

Sneakers provided by Sperry; all thoughts/assessments are my own.