A slight breeze laps the top of the water, the sheltered areas of the lake are perfectly still. Ideally conditions for a mornings row.

He collects Mona from the trailer, unloads her and carefully places her in the water, next he attaches each scull. After removing his shoes he carefully steps over the shell and sits down, grasping both sculls in one hand he tightens the boats shoes around his feet with the other. With the help of a gentle shove from one of his fellow rowing club members he is away.

Cautious at first, he gets a feel for the shell and how she handles, he admires the way she sits elegantly on the waters surface. Satisfied everything feels fine, he takes a quick glance over his shoulder, careful not to put himself off balance. With a clear line behind him, he pushes his arms forward – moving the sculls back, a flick and small rise of his wrist rights the sculls and drops them in the water, pushing with his legs then pulling with his back and finally his arms, he completes his first full stroke of the morning and the shell lurches forward, gliding gracefully.

As he laps the large lake, he thinks to himself how he must look like a large insect from above; a single sculler mimicking the Strider insect. His stern leaving behind a long line break in the water and the regularly spaced breaks in the surface either side from each scull.