Bonnie Garmus was a competitive masters rower for years before an offhand comment during a business meeting prompted her to begin writing her first novel, "Lessons in Chemistry," which has been adapted into a hit Apple TV+ series. Everyone wants to talk with Bonnie about the book’s main character, Elizabeth Zott, so we turned the table to ask Bonnie about the role rowing plays in her life – and her best selling novel.

After providing some basic instruction, coaches often leave coxswains to figure things out on their own. Three-time medal-winning U.S. Olympic coxswain Mary Whipple recognized this gap in the coaching playbook and founded The 9th Seat, offering camps, resources, and community for coxswains. Hear what Mary has to say about lucky breaks and logistics, and why being a motivator isn’t at the top of her coxing list.

After guilt-tripping her son into learning to row, Jenn followed suit. At 38 she stepped into a boat for the first time and quickly became an accomplished masters rower. She also gained new appreciation for her grandpa – Joe Rantz – who was a member of the 1936 University of Washington V8 that won Olympic gold in Berlin. By unlikely happenstance, Joe’s scrapbooks became the spark for The Boys in the Boat.

Zoe Vais is the George Pocock Rowing Center’s Middle School Programs Specialist. She’s also a coach for GPRF’s Camp Lucy – a free learn-to-row camp for girls, inclusive of non-binary, trans, and gender non-conforming youth. From being a walk-on at the University of Washington, to leaving a mark on Seattle rowing, Zoe offers a thoughtful look at slowly falling in love with the sport and the important role coaches play in young rowers’ lives.

As a 5’1, 108lb college freshman, Rachel Le Mieux was literally picked up and placed in a coxswain seat. Today she’s the head coach of Martha’s Moms, a masters women’s team in Seattle, WA. She’s also a USRowing referee, FISA umpire, and Chair of the USRowing safety committee.

Kevin Goyena and Jason Oliver are Seattle-based masters rowers, entrepreneurs, and rowing evangelists. We find out about their progression from being adult LTR students, to getting hooked on racing, to finding community through developing holistic rowers. Jason tells us his motivation behind bringing a GoPro in the boat and a drone to regattas; and we ask Kevin about creating iCrew, a team management app to make magnet board sign-ins a thing of the past.

Plus, the Best Part of My Rowing Week call-ins from masters rower Sarah Copeland, Coach Claudia Loeber, Team USA para-rower Pearl Outlaw, writer and trainer Will Ruth, and 2-time gold medalist coxswain Mary Whipple.