(The usual position in the middle of the pull is shown in Plate XXIX.
fig. 2.)
The end of the pull must not take place till the elbows have approached
the tops of the hips, the hands are brought towards the chest, and the
body is thrown well back. There would be a loss of power, however, if
the hands were brought too near the chest; and the body should not be
thrown further back than it may easily and quickly recover its first
position for the next stroke.--(Plate XXX.) As the water is being
delivered from the sculls, the elbows sink, the wrists are bent up, and
the backs of the hands are turned towards the fore-arms, in order to
feather the sculls.--(Plate XXX. fig. 1.)
In the return of the sculls, the hands must remain turned up until the
sculls are put into the water.--(Plate XXX. f. 2.) In the middle of the
return, if the sculls are not short, or if the head and body be turned,
one of the hands also goes higher than the other.
As to the degree of the immersion of the sculls.--In the middle of
the pull, the blades must be covered by the water. The learner in
general dips them very deep; but that ought to be avoided, especially
in calm weather. In the whole of the return, the tips should, in calm
weather, be two or three inches above the water; and, in rough weather,
they should be higher, in order to clear it, as represented in the
preceding Plates. The head ought throughout to be very moveable--first
to one side, then to the other, but generally turned towards the shore
when against the tide. The same movements have only to be repeated,
throughout the course.