COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS.
The novice, having passed successfully through his period of
apprenticeship, is by this time ready, let us suppose, to be included in
an eight-oared, sliding-seat crew, either for his college or for the
rowing club to which he may happen to belong. He will marvel at first at
the fragile and delicate fabric of the craft in which he is asked to
take his place. One-eighth of an inch of cedar divides him from the
waters that are to be the scene of his prowess. In stepping into the
boat he must exercise the greatest care. The waterman and the coxswain
are firmly holding the riggers, while the oarsman, placing a hand on
each gunwale to support himself, steps cautiously with one foot on to
the kelson, or backbone of the ship. Then he seats himself upon his
slide, fits his feet into the stretcher-straps, and inserts his oar in
the rowlock, finally getting the button into its proper place by
raising the handle, and so working at it until the button comes in under
the string that passes from thole to thole, and keeps the oar from
flying out of the rowlock. His seven companions having performed the
same feats, the boat is now shoved out from the bank, and the work of
the day begins.
[Illustration: SNAPSHOTS OF A CREW IN MOTION.
NO. 1.--JUST BEFORE FULL REACH.]
[Illustration: NO. 2.--FULL REACH.
("_Reach out and row!_")]
The oarsman who thus takes his first voyage in a racing-ship, built, as
all racing-ships are, without a keel, must remember that her stability,
when she contains her crew, is obtained merely by the balance of the
oars. Remove the oars, and the boat would immediately roll over to one
side or the other, and immerse her crew in the water. With eight bodies
and oars in a constant state of movement, the problem of keeping the
boat upon an even keel is not an easy one. It can only be solved
satisfactorily in one way: There must be absolute harmony in every
movement. The hands must come in and out at the same moment and at the
same level, and the oar-blades must necessarily be maintained, on the
feather and throughout the swing, at the uniform level prescribed for
them by the harmonious movement of eight pairs of hands. The bodies must
begin, continue, and end the swing together; the blades must strike
the water at precisely the same moment; all the bodies must swing back
as if released from one spring; the slides must move together; the arms
bend as by one simultaneous impulse; and the eight oar-blades, having
swept through the water in a uniform plane, must leave it as though they
were part of a single machine, and not moved by eight independent wills.
When this unison of movements has been attained by long and persevering
practice, marred by frequent periods of disappointment, by knuckles
barked as the boat rolls and the hands scrape along the gunwale, and by
douches of cold water as the oars splash, then, and not till then, may
it be said that a crew has got together.
The above details concern the harmony and unison of the crew. It is
obvious, however, that the eight men who compose it may be harmonized
into almost any kind of style, and it is important, therefore, to settle
what is the best style--the style, that is, which will secure the
greatest possible pace at the smallest cost of effort. In the first
place, then, you must remember and endeavour to apply all the
instructions I have laid down in the two previous chapters. These were
framed upon the supposition that you were trying to qualify yourself to
row eventually in a light racing-ship. Summing these up generally, and
without insisting again upon details, I may say that you are required to
have a long, steady, and far-reaching body-swing; you must grip the
beginning of the stroke well behind the rigger at the full reach forward
without the loss of a fraction of a second, with a vigorous spring back
of the whole body, so as to apply the body-weight immediately to the
blade of the oar. As your body swings back, your feet are to press
against the stretcher and drive the slide back, in order that, by the
combination of body-swing and leg-drive, you may retain the power which
you have applied at the beginning evenly throughout the whole of the
stroke. It is essential that the body should not fall away at the
finish, but maintain an easy, graceful position, so that, with a final
pressure of the legs, the swing of the elbows past the sides, and a
rowing back of the shoulders which opens the chest, the hands may be
swept fair and square home, the oar-blade being meanwhile covered, but
not more than covered, from the moment it enters the water until it is
taken clean out. The hands must then leave the chest as a
billiard-ball rebounds from the cushion, in order that you may have a
smart and elastic recovery. This swift motion of the hands straightens
the arms, and releases the body for its forward swing. The body-swing
forward, as I cannot too often repeat, must be slow, especially during
its latter part; in fact, during that swing, a perfect balance must be
maintained, the feet being well planted against the stretcher. When a
man rows in this style with seven other men, in absolute time and
harmony with them, he will find a rhythmical pleasure and a delightful
ease in movements which at the outset were cramped and difficult. Then,
as he swings his body, grips the water and drives his swirling oar-blade
through, he will feel that every ounce of strength he puts forth has its
direct and appreciable influence upon the pace of the boat. Not for him
then will it be to envy the bird in its flight, as, with all his muscles
braced, his lungs clear, and his heart beating soundly, he helps to make
his craft move like a thing of life over the water.
[Illustration: SNAPSHOTS OF A CREW IN MOTION.
NO. 3.--JUST AFTER BEGINNING OF STROKE.]
[Illustration: NO. 4.--SLIDES BEGINNING TO MOVE.]
That is the ideal. Let us come down to the actual. I will imagine myself
to be coaching an average crew in a racing-ship.
I must first of all assure myself that the boat is properly rigged, and
that the men have a fair chance of rowing with comfort. The thole-pins
should stand absolutely straight from the sill of the rowlock. If the
rowing-pin is bent outwards towards the water in the slightest degree,
the oar will have a tendency to "slice," and a feather under water will
be the result. The actual wood of the rowing-pin, however, should be
slightly filed away at the bottom, so as to incline a very, very little
towards the stern of the boat. Care must be taken also to have a
sufficient width between the thole-pins to prevent the oar from locking
on the full reach. The rowlock-strings must be taut. They must have a
sufficient pressure on the oar to prevent the button being forced out of
the rowlock. For these and other details, the table of measurements
given at the end of this chapter should be consulted.
[Illustration: SNAPSHOTS OF A CREW IN MOTION.
NO. 5.--ARMS ABOUT TO BEND FOR FINISH OF STROKE.]
[Illustration: NO. 6.--ARMS BENT FOR FINISH OF STROKE.
("_Sit Up No. 3!_")]
In this crew I will suppose that five of the members have already had
experience in lightship rowing. The three others--bow, No. 3, and No.
4--are quite new to the game. I point out to these three, to begin with,
the importance of balancing the boat by having their arms rigidly
straight as they swing forward, so as to be able, by the slightest
amount of give and take from the shoulders, to counteract any tendency
to roll, by sitting firmly on their seats, and not shifting about to
right or to left, and by keeping their feet well on the stretchers. That
done, the words of command will come from the cox. "Get ready all!" (At
this command, the oarsmen divest themselves of all unnecessary
clothing.) "Forward all!" (The oarsmen swing and slide forward to within
about two-thirds of the full-reach position, the backs of the blades
lying flat upon the water.) "Are you ready?" (This is merely a call to
attention.) "Paddle!" (At this the blades are turned over square, and
immediately grip the water, and the boat starts.) During the progress of
this imaginary crew, I propose to invest them individually and
collectively with certain faults, and to offer suggestions for their
improvement, just as if I were coaching them from the bank or from a
steam-launch.
(1) "Stroke, you're tumbling forward over your stretcher. Keep the last
part of your swing very slow by balancing against the stretcher with
your feet as you swing forward. That's better. You got a beginning twice
as hard that time."
(2) "Seven, you're feathering under water. Keep pressure on to the very
finish of the stroke, and drop your hands a little more, so as to get
the oar out square and clean. Use the legs well at the finish."
(3) "Six, you're very slow with your hands. Consequently, your body
rushes forward to make up for lost time. Shoot the hands away quickly,
with a sharp turn of the inside wrist. Then let the body follow slowly."
(4) "Five, you slide too soon and fall away from your oar at the finish.
Get your shoulders and the whole of your body-weight well on to the
beginning, so as to start swinging back before you drive your slide
away. At the finish keep your shoulders down and sit up well upon your
bones."
(5) "Four and three, your blades are coming out of the water long before
any of the others. This is because you are afraid of reaching properly
forward. You therefore get your oars in scarcely if at all behind the
rigger, and consequently there is not enough resistance to your oar in
the water to enable you to hold out the stroke fully to the finish.
Swing, and reach well forward, and let your oars strike the beginning at
the point to which your reach has brought it. You may splash at first,
but with a little confidence you will soon get over that. Three, you're
late. As you come forward you press heavily on the handle of your oar,
the blade soars up, and is coming down through the air when the rest
have struck the water. Keep your hands, especially the inside one, light
on the handle of the oar, and let them come up as the body swings
forward."
(6) "Two, your arms are bending too soon. Try to swing back with
perfectly straight arms. Don't imagine that you can row your stroke
merely by the power of your arms. Also try and keep your shoulders down
at the finish and on the recovery."
(7) "Bow, swing back straight. Your body is falling out of the boat at
the finish. Use the outside leg and hand more firmly through the stroke,
and row the hands a little higher in to the chest; also arch the inside
of the wrist a little more to help you in turning the oar on the
feather."
So much for individuals. Now for the crew.
(1) "The finish and recovery are not a bit together. I can almost hear
eight distinct sounds as the oars turn in the rowlocks. Try and lock it
up absolutely together. There ought to be a sound like the turning of a
key in a well-oiled lock--sharp, single, and definite."
(_Note._--This is a very important point. On the unison with which the
wrists turn and the hands shoot away depends the unison of the next
stroke. When once, in coaching, you have locked your crew together on
this point, you will greatly decrease the difficulty of the rest of your
task.)
(2) "Don't let the boat roll down on the bow oars. Stroke side, catch
the beginning a little sharper. Bow side, when the roll of the boat
begins, do not give in to it by still further lowering your hands. Keep
your hands up." (The same instruction applies, _mutatis mutandis_, when
the boat rolls on the stroke oars. Apart from individual eccentricities,
a boat is often brought down on the one bank of oars by the fact that
the opposite side, or one or two of them, grip the water a little too
late.)
(3) "You are all of you slow with your hands. Rattle them out sharply,
and make your recovery much more lively. Steady now! don't rush forward.
Keep the swing slow and long. You are all much too short on the swing,
and consequently get no length in the water."
[Illustration: SNAPSHOTS OF A CREW IN MOTION.
NO. 7.--A BAD LURCH ON TO STROKE-SIDE.]
[Illustration: NO. 8.--A LURCH ON TO BOW-SIDE.]
[(4) "...] Watch the bodies in front of you as they move, and mould
yourself on their movement."
(5) "You have fallen to pieces again. Use your ears as well as your
eyes, and listen for the rattle of the oars in the rowlocks. Whenever
you fall to pieces, try to rally on that point. Also plant your feet
firmly on the stretchers, and use your legs more when the boat rolls."
These, I think, are a fair sample of the faults that may be found in
almost any crew, and to their eradication coach and oarsmen have
patiently to devote themselves.
MEASUREMENTS OF AN EIGHT-OARED RACING-BOAT.
For purposes of convenience, I have taken the following measurements
from a boat built by Rough for Leander, in 1891. In that year she
carried a very heavy crew, who won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley in
record time. She repeated her Grand Challenge victory in 1892 and 1893,
with crews very differently constituted from the first one:--
ft. ins.
(1) Length over all 60 3
(2) Beam amidships, under gunwale 1 11
(3) Depth " " " 1 1
(4) Height of thwarts above skin of boat 0 7-1/8
(5) " seats " " 0 9-1/8[7]
(6) " rowlock sills above seat 0 6-7/8
(7) " heels above skin of boat 0 1-1/4
(8) Position of front edge of slide in relation to
rowing-pin when well forward level
(9) Length of movement of slide 1 4
(10) Distance from rowing-pin, measured horizontally
and at right angles to boat, to centre of seat 2 7
(11) Distance from wood of one thole-pin to wood
of the other 0 4-7/8
This boat, like nearly all English Eights, was "side-seated," _i.e._ the
centre of the seat, instead of being over the kelson, was set away from
it, and from the outrigger. Bow's and stroke's seats were 2-1/2 ins.
from centre, No. 5's 3-1/2 ins. Nearly all Fours and Pairs in England
are now centre-seated, as are Eights in America. Of course, with
centre-seating, assuming that you want the same leverage, you require a
longer outrigger. Otherwise, the only difference between the two systems
would seem to be that with centre-seating you naturally align the bodies
better.
[7] A few very short-bodied men have to be "built-up," _i.e._ their
seats have to be raised even higher than this to enable them to clear
their knees and to swing. This, however, should not be done unless
absolutely necessary, as it tends to make the boat unsteady.
Since 1891 boat-builders have somewhat increased the length of the boats
they build, and it is not uncommon now to find boats with a measurement
of 63 feet and a few inches over all. The boat whose measurements I have
given had, if I remember rightly, a slightly wider beam at No. 3
stretcher than she had amidships. I have noticed, and my experience in
this respect confirms that of Mr. W. B. Woodgate, though it is entirely
opposed to the Rev. A. T. Shadwell's theories, that a boat with a full
beam somewhere between No. 4 and No. 3 is always a fast one. A boat
should never dip her head, but should always maintain it free.
MEASUREMENT OF OARS.
On this matter there is now a great divergence of opinion amongst rowing
men. From 1891 inclusive up to the present year, the Leander crews have,
with trifling divergences, rowed with oars built on the following
measurements:--
ft. ins.
(1) Length over all 12 0
(2) Length in-board, _i.e._ measured from rowing face
of bottom to end of handle 3 8
[_Note._--In some cases an extra half-inch was
added, which would make the length over all 12 0-1/2]
(3) Length of button from top to bottom, measured
in a straight line 0 3-1/4
(4) Length of blade measured over the arc of the
scoop 2 7
(5) Breadth of blade 0 6
[_Note._--These are what are called square blades, _i.e._ the widest
part came at the end. Barrel blades are those in which the widest part
comes about the middle. In 1893 an extra half-inch was added out-board.
In 1896 the length of the Leander oars over all was only 11 ft. 11-1/8
ins., the in-board measurement being 3 ft. 8 ins. With these oars the
Leander crew defeated Yale, and in the next heat, after a very severe
struggle, rowed down and defeated New College, who were rowing with oars
three inches longer out-board. Here are the measurements of the oars
with which the Eton crew won the Ladies' Plate in 1885--
ft. ins.
Over all 12 6
In-board 3 7-1/2
Length of blade 2 5
Breadth of blade near shank 0 6-3/8
" " at end 0 5
(These blades were "coffin"-shaped on a pattern invented by Dr. Warre.)]
_Measurement of Oars of Oxford Crew, 1890._
ft. ins.
Over all 12 3-1/8
In-board 3 8-1/2
Length of blade 2 7
Greatest breadth 0 6-1/2
(These were barrel blades.)
In 1896 the Oxford crew rowed with oars measuring 12 ft. 2 ins. over
all, with a leverage of 3 ft. 8-1/4 ins., and blade 6 ins. broad. With
these, it will be remembered, they rowed down and defeated Cambridge,
after a magnificent struggle, by two-fifths of a length, Cambridge using
oars measuring some 3 ins. longer out-board. It will thus be seen that
short oars have a very good record to support them--especially over the
Henley course. This year, however, a reaction took place at Oxford in
favour of longer oars with narrower blades. The Oxford Eight of this
year rowed with oars measuring 12 ft. 6 ins. over all, the extra length
being, of course, out-board, and their blades were cut down to a breadth
of 5-1/2 ins. They were, by common consent, a very fine crew, but were
unable to command a fast rate of stroke, and in the race against an
inferior crew they hardly did themselves or their reputation justice.
This pattern of oar was used by New College at Henley, the blades,
however, being further cut down to 5-1/4 ins. In the final heat of the
Grand Challenge Cup, they met Leander, who were rowing with 12-ft. oars.
Leander, rowing a considerably faster stroke, at once jumped ahead, and
led by a length in three minutes. New College, however, came up to
them, still rowing a slower stroke, then picked their stroke up, and,
after rowing level with Leander for about 250 yards, finally defeated
them by 2 ft. The result of this race cannot be said to have settled the
question as between long oars and short. In the Stewards' Fours, on the
other hand, Leander, rowing with oars measuring 12 ft. 1/2 in. over all,
and blades 5-3/4 ins. in breadth, defeated New College, rowing with 12
ft. 6 ins. oars, and blades of 5-1/2 ins., the leverage in both cases
being 3 ft. 8-1/2 ins. The advocates of the long oar maintain that they
secure a longer stride, and are thus able to economize strength by using
a slower rate of stroke. Those who favour the shorter ones believe that
the extra lightness of their implement enables them to row a faster
stroke without unduly tiring themselves. Personally, I found, after
trying the experiment several times, that Leander crews I have coached
invariably rowed better and commanded more speed in practice with 12 ft.
to 12 ft. 1 in. oars than with oars 3 ins. or 4 ins. longer.[8]
[8] Mr. S. Le B. Smith informs me that, to the best of his recollection,
the oars used by the London Rowing Club, up to 1878, measured--for
Eights, 12 ft. 2 ins. all over, and for Fours, 12 ft., the inboard
measurement being 3 ft. 6-1/2 ins. My impression is that they used
riggers shorter by 2 ins. than those now in use. Their blades were not
quite 6 ins. broad.
It must be remembered, finally, that men, as well as measurements, have
something to do with the pace of a crew, and that style and uniformity
count for a good deal. The advocates of long or short oars will always
be able to explain a defeat sustained by one of their crews by alleging
causes that are totally unconnected with the measurement of the oars. On
the other hand, such is their enthusiasm, they will attribute the
victory of their crew entirely to their favourite pattern of oar.