The silver anniversary of an area organization affords a golden opportunity for experiencing the distinctive sensation of knifing through the water.

The nonprofit Rowing Association of Naples, currently celebrating its 25th year, welcomes new members in traversing a scenic stretch of the beautiful Gordon River. So scenic, in fact, that third-year President Steve Jaron cautioned that the rhythmic dynamics of rowing — using two 9-foot-long paddles, sitting backward and sliding back and forth in uniform motion — need to be seriously addressed for safety and attaining proficiency.

“It looks beautiful, but it isn’t easy,” said Jaron, who plied the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia while attending Drexel University and has been an avid rower for nearly four decades including earning a bronze medal in the U.S. Rowing Association National Championships in 1991. “It’s kind of an odd motion.”

Rowing successfully and reaching speeds of up to 10 miles per hour “can be addictive” and poses tremendous health benefits, he said, as it uses “86% of your muscles and is great for cardio.”

The association currently sports nearly 40 members — many of whom rowed in college and at national, world and Olympic competitive levels — who glide along approximately 4 kilometers of the river from their access point.

“It gets wider going south; it gets narrower with some twists to the north,” Jaron said.

Their boatyard and dock launch on a canal within Charles C. Anthony Park, which stocks about 20 single and double boats (known as shells), evokes the culture of some other historically steeped hotspots for the recreation including in Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle and, more recently, Sarasota.

“We’re a microcosm of those scenes,” said Jaron, who also served on the association’s board of directors for 15 years.

“We share lots of stories,” said five-year member Jeff Allen, who learned rowing on the James River in Virginia. “I’ve run marathons and have done triathlons. Rowing is better! It’s also therapeutic.”

Levon Touryan brought his love of the recreation sport here from Lake Tahoe, California. He has taken part in rowing marathons. On synchronizing all of rowing’s movements, “it’s a Zen feeling,” he said.

Rowing Association of Naples can accommodate guests, along with individual memberships. Private U.S. Rowing Association-certified lessons are offered; free rowing orientation sessions are held periodically. It can also store participants’ boats.

Single boats for beginners are 20 to 24 feet long and are about 4 feet longer for advanced enthusiasts. Add about 5 feet for doubles’ rowers for both categories. The shells and paddles are made of a lightweight carbon fiber material.

The association’s members “pretty universally enjoyed” the 2023 movie The Boys in the Boat about the University of Washington rowing team competing in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Munich, Jaron said.

Natural wonders often seen on cruises include manatees, dolphins, tarpon and mullet, with osprey, eagles and great herons in the skies above or perched in shoreline trees.

Newcomers should be comfortable and able swimmers, and not prone to panic, as shells can turn over, especially in the first few sessions. Slightly wider training boats are available for first outings. Wind and tide conditions need to be calm, as well.

“We’ve had several locations. We love this one,” Jaron said. “You can do it your entire life.”