I was rowing recently and watching the bubbles behind my shell.
Most days, if it is not too windy and wavy to row, I row a Martin on the bay. I can head north or south (or west across the bay). On this day I rowed south.
What I saw at one point was three rows of bubbles streaming out behind the Martin. In some water conditions I do not see bubbles behind the boat at all. Sometimes I do. I am not sure what makes the difference - perhaps dust on the surface of the lake affecting surface tension, or something in the water. I am pretty sure it is not my speed, as that rarely varies from a calm, slow pace.
When I noticed the bubbles, there were two tracks or rows to either side. Bubbles from the puddles left by my blades. Although there was space between each sequential puddle on each side, in the distance they appeared to form rows or strings of bubbles converging in the distance.
In the middle were the rows of bubbles from the hull of the Martin. There was a periodic slight gap in the bubbles coming from each side of the boat, indicating the lower speed of the boat at the catch, a blip in my speed that was also apparent from the immediate wake formed at the stern of the Martin. Otherwise, the bubbles forming along the hull were in a constant stream. What struck me this time was that the two rows of bubbles from the hull were converging, forming one row of bubbles in the middle. Between the two sets of puddle bubbles. In the distance, I saw three rows of bubbles appearing to converge, not four.
During the same row, there were times when bubbles did not form. And other times when they seemed to form smaller in size and in fewer numbers. And then those fewer bubbles lasted a shorter time. After I turned around and began the row home, I could see in some places that I was rowing near but not right on the same path I had rowed south. I could see surviving bubbles from the row down the bay.
Years ago, I filmed a number of head races. There was a morning in Boston when I filmed from the Western Avenue Bridge. You could see a trace or contrail or lingering line of travel on the water’s surface where each shell had rowed. The trail of each shell remained visible until the boats were far away, so you could compare their paths from bridge to bridge. You could see where the next shells were traveling in comparison and watch their approaches to the Weeks Bridge turn and how those approaches varied.
When I see my Martin’s bubbles while I am rowing on the bay, i can also see a similar slight disturbance in the water from the hull of the Martin. Right in the center. Right where the bubbles converge when they do converge. Right between the bubbles when they do not converge.
We celebrated a birthday and anniversary recently. Once with champagne. Once with prosecco. Both bubbly. And sometimes when I would pour a glass, the bubbles would rise up like suds to and even over the top of the glass. Perhaps I should have chilled the glass. Or tipped it more and let the prosecco run down the side. Or poured slower. Sometimes the drink did not bubble out of control, but simply filled the bottom half of the glass and was handed over, ready to drink.