BELFAST—Nicolle Littrell, founder of DoryWoman Rowing, unveiled a new service to her business, a wood-fired six-person sauna at 15 Front Street Belfast, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, January 29.

Littrell, a licensed Maine Guide who rows a traditional-style 19-foot, 5-inch wooden Swampscott dory, takes clients out on rowing  lessons, nature/wildlife tours, workouts, and specialty rows in Belfast Bay. Her new sauna service took nine months to develop.

"Last year, through a collaboration I did with the Belfast Ice Festival, I offered an ice row and a sauna session with Selkie Suana, of Mount Desert Island, along with a cold water dip," she said. "It was a huge success; every session was booked. So, people kept asking me, 'Why is there not a sauna here all of the time?'"

That got her thinking, "Indeed. Why not?" 

She'd already applied twice for a small business grant to a national organization called WomensNet to add another boat to her DoryWoman Rowing business to no avail, but trying for the third time, she applied to build a community sauna and won the $10,000 grant last February.

"To my great surprise, I was awarded the grant and then began the sauna  journey," she said. "It was right back to the beginning. It was like learning to row again. Even though I loved and used saunas before, I'd never done a business around one."

On the recommendation of a friend, she found her perfect sauna from the Amish-owned company, Backyard Buildings in Union.

"I just knew," she said when she saw it for the first time.

They constructed the 8x14 sauna with aromatic Maine white cedar on the inside and Maine white pine on the outside.

The other crucial part of this plan was to place the sauna near the ocean, which had worked out so successfully for the Belfast Ice Festival. So, using her contacts, she worked out an agreement with United Farmers Market of Maine in Belfast to lease waterfront space at 15 Front Street.

"It all lined up," she said.

The sauna, which seats up to six people, is open to all, ages eight and up, from Wednesday to Sunday, December to May.

Most of the sauna's sessions are open to the community for $35 per person, lasting one hour and 15 minutes. Private sessions are also available for a group for $150-$175, lasting one hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half.

Sessions are available in mornings, afternoons, and evenings, along with special full-moon sessions she coordinates with one of her rows. Clients can also add on a sauna session after a row.

The sauna was built with a small changing room in the front with space to store clothing and coats. Larger groups may access bathroom facilities on the premises.

Sometimes, Littrell joins a community session if there's room, managing the firewood for the stove. If people are comfortable feeding the woodstove themselves, she is happy to let them be on their own.

"What I'm hearing is that people are so grateful that this is now here, on the Belfast waterfront," she said. "We have a growing sauna culture in Maine, and people appreciate that it is right on the waterfront, which is unique. Saltwater is steps away, and those who like to cold plunge or swim don't have far to go; it's an important part of the experience."

The health and wellness benefits of taking a sauna are widely known: It improves cardiovascular function, lowers blood pressure, and boosts immunity.

"We've had a lot of snow recently, and people like to play out in the cold snow, then come in and get warm; that's part of wellness too, there's fun and joy," she said. "To have that as a resource feels right for a lot of people in Belfast."

She will also be offering her Ice Row + Sauna + Dip package as well as community sauna sessions for the upcoming Belfast Ice Festival Feb. 27, 28, and March 1.

To learn more about her services visit: www.dorywomanrowing.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com