Neil Tarlton enjoys a certain affinity for high-school rowing.

“I hang my hat on high-school rowing because I was a high-school rower,” said the 77 year-old retired Agricultural Economist and father of three. “That is the future. It’s not guys like me who are getting slower all the time.”

It is, however, folks such as Neil Tarlton who have been instrumental in allowing the possibilities of high-school rowing to flourish in Sudbury. The treasurer of the Sudbury Rowing Club for more than 20 years, until just recently, and one who draws regularly upon the nostalgia of this sport in his youth, Tarlton is just the type of long-time volunteer that current partisans of the Club should thank.

His was definitely a circuitous route to Sudbury, one which was originally launched in Darbyshire (England). It was in a country well-known for great rowing that Tarlton would garner his introduction to a variety of water sports.

“We had a house on the coast of Norfolk,” recollected the current resident of Walden. “We purchased a kayak when I was young - but the English don’t use the word kayak; they call it a canoe. It was four shillings and six pence - I remember it to this day.”

“Between the North Sea and where the house was on the cliffs, there was a sandbank,” Tarlton continued. “There was an area of water in between that was really safe. My earliest memories of summers are of my mom doing all of the work in the house, feeding the kids and I would play on the beach and I had this kayak, from the age of five or so.”

“And mom was emphatic that we learn to swim.”

That early love of the water evolved into a lifelong relationship, one that would enjoy the growth that always seems to occur during the high-school years.

“In high-school, we had a river nearby, so we had a rowing team - and we also had cricket,” Tarlton recounted. “You either did one or the other. In cricket, you might see one ball as a fielder in 45 minutes, and some cricket games seem to last forever and it’s a draw at the end.”

Go figure - Tarlton would make his way to rowing, partaking in a little sailing along the way as well. It was easy to see how the pleasant young man could allow his mind to wander, envisioning the tradition-rich history of a sport in a country that features the pinnacle that is the Oxford - Cambridge rivalry on the water (The Boat Race, as it is simply known in those parts).

“We went out in a tub, a wider boat with two coxes,” said Tarlton. “We went rowing and we conquered the world; we must have gone a good 550 metres,” he laughed. “Later on, after growing up a couple of years, I realized that in 550 metres, we hadn’t even warmed up.”

While many high-schools in England would have rowing teams, most do not. The experience that Tarlton had garnered during his secondary schooling would come in handy at the University of Reading, but only after his decision of water sports had been made.

“When I first arrived at Reading, I went to the rowing club, which was magnificent,” he stated. “The sailing club, which was below the next lock, was very nice as well - but the River Thames isn’t really wide enough for sailing. And so I got into the first eight as a freshman, which was pretty unusual.”

A better than average athlete, Tarlton would enjoy slightly more success in boats that featured far fewer teammates. “When I was younger, I was very much a single sculler,” he noted. “I didn’t want to row in eights or in fours. The biggest race I won was in Marlow, one fall. I kind of screwed up the first kilometre but the good news was there was six kilometres to go.”

“I won the distance championship by two seconds.”

On July 28th (1967), at the age of 23, Tarlton would make his way from the United Kingdom to Toronto, via New York. Working for the Ministry of Agriculture, he and his wife Susan would meet in Kapuskasing, shortly after the young bilingual man had finished a stint in “La Compté de Prescott”.

In 1994, with three children in tow, the Tarltons would arrive in Sudbury, but it would take a couple of years before Neil would secure a membership with the Sudbury Rowing Club. From there, he would quickly become entrenched with the board.

“It didn’t take long before somebody wanted to quit being treasurer,” he said with a smile. “I remained treasurer until last year, 23 years in all. I’ve always enjoyed finances and computers, using Quicken and spreadsheets and such.”

And while he rapidly took to the calmness of a serene early morning row on Lake Ramsay, he also recognized that this was not quite the same as the old country.

“In England, all of the clubs have been going since Queen Victoria - or even before that,” Tarlton exclaimed. “And the proximity from one club to another is much shorter. I used to go on my bike from Reading to Henley, maybe 15 kilometres.”

Yet the newness of the experience for young Canadian students is a joy to behold, one that can’t help but to have a certain allure to someone who is as fond of rowing as Tarlton is. “If they were going out on the water, you would just help to get them out,” he said. “They’re so wet behind the ears, even just putting riggers on a boat.”

“But then you go out on regatta day and there’s so much enthusiasm.”

Walking Tarlton along the pathway of his rowing memories is akin to a leisurely skim across the water, oars in hand, for the avid world traveller. “Rowing is a sport where you don’t injure yourself,” he stated. “Ergonomically, you feel very good. In the spring, when you first go out, you might feel that tightness in your core muscles.”

These overriding sentiments are mixed with recollections of an international regatta where Tarlton was made to realize that the terms Russia and Soviet Union should never be used interchangeably. Years later, on a visit to Norway, he was reminded of that fact by a friendly Lithuanian.

There are images of rowing along the Thames, dealing with both the currents and tidal effects, mixed in, at times, with visions of mishaps out on the water.

There is nostalgia a-plenty for Neil Tarlton, with rowing front and centre.

For that and that alone, Barb Courtin (long-time SRC president) and so many others involved with the Sudbury Rowing Club will remain eternally grateful.