"Wonder Woman" Lynda Carter is Rowing Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close
Lynda Carter Finding Her Rhythm
The former Wonder Woman gets her kicks rowing cycling — and singing on open water
Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter on the Potomac river John Loomis wears her celebrity lightly, laughing with fellow rowers about the curlers still in her hair when she arrives for a 6 a.m. photo shoot at the historic Potomac Boat Club in northwest Her role as a mighty Amazon in the original (1975-79) required Carter to do a good deal of running and physical stunts for the camera. Now, as daybreak lights the cathedral arches of Key Bridge just downstream, the fit 65-year-old carries a one-woman racing shell across the wood-plank dock and grapples it into position on the water. Carter is about to undertake a workout she's been trying to perfect since she fell in love with sculling (two oars) eight years ago. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. "A girlfriend of mine suggested I would like it," Carter recalls, "but I was skeptical at first. Then one day I happened to cycle past a couple of boat clubs and thought, 'You know, I'm going to see if I can learn to scull.' So I started taking lessons — and loved it from the start. Sculling is easy to learn, but tough to master. Anyone can get in a boat and paddle around, but to get anywhere requires extreme balance." Here, Carter expands on the notion of finding balance — on the water, on stage, in life overall: Why rowing? It's a sport convenient to anyone who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, because you've got the river right there. You can scull anyplace that's got a smooth enough waterway. It's a wonderful sport: You get amazing exercise, and it's always quiet and beautiful. Were you trepidatious about learning it? Why would I be? It does take a certain skill level, because the boat is very tippy. You've got these unwieldy, 15-foot-span oars, and you're throwing them around in an itty-bitty, long, skinny boat. The worst thing that can happen is you tip over and have to climb back in. Has that ever happened to you? Many times. When you catch an oar in the water, it's like catching a ski tip in the snow; over you go. Is daily ritual part of the sport's appeal? Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > How upsetting! People say how awful that must have been, but when I found out what the story was, I didn't really feel that way because I'd been able to give her family some closure. Had I not discovered her, they never would have known what had happened. Barring any traumatic discoveries, how do you feel at the end of a good row? When the river is completely flat and there's no wind, you can really get into a rhythm. I've had brief moments — no more than five minutes — where I got that sense of "one with the water," or whatever. It happens only when your strokes are so smooth that rowing feels like meditation. But in general I'm not trying to prove anything. I'm just enjoying being out on the river, thinking about the history of the region or looking at the beautiful water and spotting blue herons. And I'm really enjoying the challenge of learning a new sport. Allan Fallow is a features editor for AARP Integrated Media. More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS