COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS (_continued_).
Now that the novice has been safely launched in his racing-ship, we may
hark back for a space and consider some important points connected with
the organization and management of an eight-oared crew. And first as to
its selection and arrangement.
As a general rule, it may be laid down that two middle-weights (men
ranging from 11 st. 5 lbs. to 11 st. 10 lbs. or even to 12 st.) will be
best at stroke and No. 7; three heavy-weights (12 st. 4 lbs. and
upwards) will suit for No. 6, No. 5, and No. 4; then with two more
middle-weights at No. 3 and No. 2, and a light-weight (10 st. to 11 st.
3 lbs. or so) at bow, your crew will be complete. This sounds easy
enough, but in practice the matter is complicated by a hundred
difficulties, such as (_a_) a superfluity or (_b_) a total absence of
good heavy-weights; (_c_) the absence of any good middle-weights
possessing the peculiar qualities necessary for stroke and No. 7; and
(_d_) the inability of good oars to row on one side or the other of the
boat, for you may find that of six valuable oars whom you may want to
include in a crew, every one will tell you that he can only row on the
stroke side or the bow side, as the case may be. In theory, of course,
every man ought to be able to row equally well on both sides. In
practice it will be found that most men, apart from any conscious
preference on their own part, do better work on one side than on the
other, while some are absolutely useless if shifted from the side they
prefer. This last class is, however, not nearly so numerous as it used
to be; and if, for instance, you consult the list of victorious Oxford
crews from 1890 up to the present year, and compare it further with
lists of Leander crews and Oxford College crews, you will see that a
very large number of men have rowed and won races on both sides of the
boat. I may mention specially Mr. Guy Nickalls, Mr. C. W. Kent, Mr. W.
A. L. Fletcher, Mr. R. P. P. Rowe, Mr. W. F. C. Holland, Mr. H. B.
Cotton, Mr. M. C. Pilkington, Mr. C. D. Burnell, Mr. T. H. E. Stretch,
Mr. C. K. Philips, Mr. C. M. Pitman, and Mr. H. G. Gold. On the other
hand, I cannot remember--to take only two instances of excellent
heavies--that Mr. E. G. Tew or Mr. W. Burton Stewart ever rowed except
on the bow side.
All such difficulties the captain and coach of a crew must overcome as
best they can. In any case they will find it advisable to put their
lighter men in the stern and the bows, dumping down their heavies in the
waist of the boat, where they will have more room, and where it will be
easier to correct the clumsiness which is often associated with great
weight.
STROKE.
For stroke I like a man of not more than twelve stone. A few good
strokes, _e.g._ the late Mr. J. H. D. Goldie, have topped this weight by
a few pounds. But a real heavy-weight is almost invariably slow and
lacking in initiative when placed at stroke, although, in the middle of
the boat, with another man acting as fugleman for him, he may be able to
row perfectly well at any rate of stroke that may be set to him. A
long-backed, supple-jointed man is of course best, for the
short-backed, long-legged man invariably has trouble in clearing his
knees, and consequently develops faults of style which it is hard to
eradicate or even to reduce when he has no model in front of him. These
faults will therefore exercise a very deleterious influence on the rest
of the crew. As to temperament, I should select a good fighter, a man,
that is, who would rather die than abandon the struggle, and whose fiery
determined nature does not exclude perfect coolness and mastery over
himself when a crisis calls for resource. Let me cite some examples.
I may begin my list with Mr. H. P. Marriott and Mr. C. D. Shafto, the
Oxford and Cambridge strokes of 1877, the dead-heat year. It is rare
indeed to find two such splendid performers matched against one another.
Mr. L. R. West, the Oxford stroke of 1880, 1881, and 1883, was as good a
stroke as ever came to the University from Eton. He only weighed eleven
stone, but his style was simply perfect. The finest demonstration of his
racing judgment was given when he took his crew off at the start in
1883, and left Cambridge, on whom odds of three to one had been laid,
struggling hopelessly in the rear. More familiarly known to me was the
rowing of Mr. F. I. Pitman. In the University Boat Race of 1886 both
crews started at a very fast rate, and rowed little under thirty-eight
to the minute all the way to Hammersmith Bridge, which was passed by
Cambridge with a trifling lead. Immediately afterwards a strong
head-wind and a rough sea were encountered; the rate of stroke in both
boats dropped to about thirty-two, and Oxford began to forge steadily
ahead, until at Barnes Bridge they led by nearly two lengths. Here the
water was again smooth, and Mr. F. I. Pitman, the Cambridge stroke,
nerved himself for a supreme effort. With a wonderful spurt he picked it
up, and in the first half-minute after Barnes, actually rowed twenty-one
strokes, and in the full minute forty. The result of the race in favour
of Cambridge is a matter of history; but, even had Cambridge lost, the
merits of that wonderful spurt would have remained as striking.
[Illustration: MR. C. W. KENT.]
Mr. C. W. Kent, of Oxford and Leander fame, is another remarkable
instance of a born stroke. He rarely rowed as much as eleven stone, and
his general appearance outside a boat hardly gave promise of his
marvellous vigour and endurance in a race. He is a loose-limbed,
long-armed man, with no superfluous flesh, and with very little muscle.
In any purely gymnastic competition he would stand no chance whatever.
Yet it is not too much to say that as stroke of an Eight or a Four no
man has ever been of greater value, none has a more brilliant record of
victories secured by his own courage and resource after desperate
struggles. He was not a very easy man to follow in the early stages of
practice, but when once he had got his crew together behind him, he had
the most absolute control over them, and could always get the last
possible ounce of work out of them, and yet leave himself with
sufficient vigour to wind them up to a final extra spurt if the
necessity arose. His crew behind him became a single living entity, on
which he could play as a musician plays on an instrument over which he
has perfect command. He seemed to have a sort of intuitive knowledge,
not merely of the capacity of his own crew, but also of the capacity of
his opponents, at any given moment in a race. And he had, moreover, the
gift--inestimably valuable in a stroke--of taking his men along at their
best pace while economizing his own strength, thus always leaving
himself with a margin to put in extra work and pace when a close finish
required them. For there is no crew, however hard the men may have
worked, and however greatly they may be exhausted, that cannot screw
itself up to follow if only their stroke will give them a lead. Mr.
Kent's record of brilliant achievements begins in 1889, when, as stroke
of the Brasenose crew, with Mr. W. F. C. Holland at No. 7, he maintained
his boat at the head of the river against the repeated attacks of a
considerably stronger and faster New College crew. In 1890 he was stroke
of a Brasenose four at Henley. In one of the preliminary heats of the
Stewards' Cup, this crew defeated a strong Leander Four by two feet. In
the final heat they had to meet the Thames Rowing Club. At Fawley Court,
the halfway point, Thames had secured a lead of two lengths, and were
apparently rowing well within themselves. From here, however, Mr. Kent
began an extraordinary series of spurts. With a relentless persistence,
his crew rowing as one man behind him, he drove his boat inch by inch up
to the Thames boat, drew level with them about 300 yards from the
finish, and then, reinvigorated by the sight of his rivals, sailed
past them and won the race by something more than a length. In 1891, as
stroke of the Leander Eight he still further distinguished himself.
Rowing from the unsheltered station against a strong "Bushes" wind, he
just managed by a final effort to avert defeat at the hands of the
Thames Rowing Club, and made a dead heat of it. On the following day,
there being no wind, Leander beat Thames by two lengths, and in the
final heat beat the London Rowing Club by a length. Again, in the final
heat of the Grand Challenge Cup in 1894, he won another terrible race
from the worse station by half a length against the Thames Rowing Club.
No one who saw that extraordinary race can forget the wonderful
succession of efforts put forth both by Mr. Kent and by the Thames
stroke, Mr. J. C. Gardner, a very fine and powerful oar, who had stroked
Cambridge to victory in '88 and '89. Time after time did Mr. Gardner
force his boat almost level with Leander, and time after time Mr. Kent
just stalled him off and reasserted his crew's lead, until at the last
he went in with horse, foot, and artillery, and won the furious contest.
I cannot forbear citing another instance which shows merit as great,
though of a different order, in this remarkable stroke. In 1891 he
stroked the Oxford Eight, a crew of very heavy metal, but not well
arranged, and containing one welter-weight, who, in consequence of a
severe attack of influenza during the earlier stages of training, could
not be depended upon to last at top pressure over the whole of a course
of four miles and a quarter. In fact, Oxford, considering their
material, were unaccountably slow, and Cambridge, admirably stroked by
Mr. G. E. Elin, were as unaccountably fast. The race, it will be
remembered, was a very close one, and was won by Oxford by only half a
length. During its progress there were many temptations to Mr. Kent, a
man whose favourite rate of stroke was as a rule not less than forty, to
increase the pace. He saw the Cambridge crew hanging doggedly on to him,
and there were not wanting voices from his own crew to urge him to pick
it up. But Mr. Kent knew the capacity of his crew, and knew that, though
a fast spurt might give him a temporary advantage, it would leave him in
all probability with a completely exhausted heavy-weight on his hands to
struggle hopelessly against Cambridge's next effort. So he resolutely
kept the stroke slow until he got to Chiswick, where he made his only
effort, a slight one, it is true, but just sufficient to give him a
margin on which he could win the race.
[Illustration: MR. H. G. GOLD.]
I have dwelt at some length on Mr. Kent's performances, because I think
that he showed in the highest degree all the qualities that make a man a
good stroke in spite of the absence of mere brute strength. Mr. C. M.
Pitman, who as a freshman stroked Oxford in 1892, was a worthy successor
to Mr. Kent. The three Oxford crews stroked by him won with comparative
ease, a result of which the credit in a very large share must go to Mr.
Pitman, who proved his judgment and coolness, not only in the races, but
during practice against scratch Eights. Mr. H. G. Gold's remarkable
victories are too recent to require any comment beyond the statement
that they stamp him as one of the company of really great strokes.
Of non-University strokes, the best I have seen have been Mr. J. Hastie,
of the Thames R.C.; Mr. F. L. Playford, of the London R.C.; Mr. J. A.
Drake-Smith, of the Thames R.C.; and Mr. G. B. James, of the London R.C.
The three last of these possessed, in addition to considerable natural
strength and endurance, a rhythmical ease and finished elegance which
made their rowing a pleasure to the eye, and rendered it easy for a crew
to shake together behind them. Mr. Hastie had enormous power and perfect
judgment, and no man ever knew better exactly how and when to crack up
an opposing crew.
NO. 7.
This position is every whit as important as that of stroke. Indeed, I
have known many crews that were made by a good No. 7, in spite of an
inferior or an inexperienced stroke. Of the converse I cannot at this
moment remember any instances. No. 7 is the keystone of the crew. If he
fits perfectly into his place, the whole fabric remains firm; if he fits
badly, it will crumble to pieces at the first shock.
It is the duty of No. 7 to weld the two sides of the crew into harmony,
to transmit to the rest of the crew the initiative of the stroke-oar, to
be ever on the watch to make stroke's task an easy one by following him
implicitly and immediately. But, more than this, a good No. 7 can
control and manage an inexperienced stroke, can check him when he
attempts to hurry unduly, can inspirit him and renew his energies when
he shows signs of flagging. The style and elegance of a crew depend even
more upon No. 7 than they do upon stroke. Therefore select for this
position a man whose movements are graceful, rhythmical and easy, who
can show style in his own rowing, and thus instil it into the rest of
the crew. It is important for No. 7 that he too should be able to
economize his power in a race. I do not mean that he is to be a
"sugarer" (a word we use to indicate a man who may show style, but who
never works honestly), but he must row with judgment. I have seen many
very big men row well at No. 7, but I should always prefer a man of the
stamp of the late Mr. H. E. Rhodes, the late Mr. T. C. Edwards-Moss, Mr.
R. P. P. Rowe, and Mr. W. E. Crum. These were all born No. 7's, though
the reputation of the first was chiefly gained at stroke. Still, I
consider that his best rowing was shown in 1876, when he rowed No. 7 of
the Cambridge crew behind Mr. C. D. Shafto. Those who can recall the
marvellous flexibility and adaptable ease of Mr. T. C. Edwards-Moss, and
who have seen similar qualities exhibited by Mr. Rowe and Mr. Crum,
will realize what I mean when I insist upon the importance of grace,
rhythm, and elegance, in a word, of style in a No. 7. You can rarely, of
course, count upon such a paragon for your No. 7, but at any rate get a
man who approaches more nearly than the rest to this ideal.
NO. 6.
This, again, is a very important place; for your No. 6 must back up
stroke, and must, by genuine hard work, take as much as possible of the
burden off stroke's shoulders. Choose for the position a man who
combines great weight and power and endurance with a large share of
experience, a man who can row every stroke hard, and by his swing can
help to keep it long. Mr. S. D. Muttlebury, in the Cambridge crews of
1886 and 1887, was such a No. 6. Such, too, was Mr. W. A. L. Fletcher,
in the Oxford and Leander crews of a later date, and such is the veteran
Mr. Guy Nickalls at the present time. It must be an inspiration to the
rest of the crew to have the broad back of this iron oarsman swinging up
and down with an untiring vehemence, and slogging at every stroke as if
he had no thought whatever of the strokes that had to come after. But
then Mr. Nickalls is equally at home at No. 5 in an Eight; and as
stroke-oar of a Four or pair--a position from which he invariably steers
the boat--he is to my mind unapproachable. He would not himself assert
that he was a model of elegance, but for power and endurance, and for
the knack of infusing these qualities into the rest of the crew, no man
has ever, in my experience, surpassed, and very few indeed have
equalled, him.
NO. 5 AND NO. 4.
These two are places which require weight and power. The details of
elegance and polish are not here so important, though it is, of course,
well to secure them if you can. A No. 5 who swings long and steadily is
of the utmost value, and the same may be said of No. 4. For instance, no
small part of the merit of the Oxford and Leander crews in which he
rowed was due to Mr. W. B, Stewart, their No. 5. A very tall,
well-built, and extremely powerful man, he rowed, I think, with the
longest swing I have ever seen. It was for this quality that we picked
him out of his college crew, when he was a comparative novice, and gave
him No. 5's seat in the Leander crew of 1893, and his rowing in that
crew and in others subsequently proved the correctness of our judgment.
The late Mr. T. H. E. Stretch, too, was a remarkable No. 5, a position
in which, however, he only rowed once, viz. in the Leander crew of 1896.
He was then certainly, for style and power combined, the best
heavy-weight oar at Henley Regatta. Mr. Broughton, of the Thames Rowing
Club, was another fine example of what a No. 5 ought to be--a really
slashing oar of wonderful power. I might use the same words to describe
Mr. R. S. Kindersley, of the Oxford crews of 1880, 1881, and 1882.
Amongst good No. 4's, I should specially select Mr. S. Swann, in the
Cambridge crew of 1884; Mr. C. B. P. Bell, of the Cambridge crews of
1888 and 1889; and Mr. F. E. Robeson, of the splendid Oxford crew of
1892.
NO. 3 AND NO. 2.
Of these positions little need be said. Weight here ceases to be of
great importance compared with briskness and liveliness of movement. Yet
instances are not wanting of genuine heavy-weights who rowed at No. 3 in
fast crews. Mr. E. F. Henley, in the Oxford crew of 1866, rowed at 12
st. 13 lbs.; Mr. P. W. Taylor, in the Oxford crew of 1885, and Mr. W. B.
Stewart, in the Oxford crew of 1894, were placed at No. 3 in spite of
their weighing well over 13 st.; and Mr. Vivian Nickalls, in the Leander
crew of 1891, was little short of this weight. But where these cases
have occurred, they were generally due to the fact that the authorities
had at their disposal a great number of really good heavy-weights, and,
rather than lose one of them, they placed him at No. 3.
BOW.
Bow should be light, alert, compact, springy and cat-like, and a good
waterman. Such discomforts as may exist in a boat seem to concentrate
themselves at bow's seat. He has less room than any other man in the
boat, and any unsteadiness affects him more. I can recall a long list of
good bows, but none better than Mr. W. A. Ellison of Oxford, Mr. R. G.
Gridley of Cambridge, Mr. C. W. Hughes of the Thames R.C., Mr. W. F. C.
Holland and the late Mr. H. B. Cotton of Oxford, and Mr. C. W. N.
Graham of Leander fame. The last two rarely rowed as much as ten stone,
but their work was remarkable. In their respective college crews, they
proved that they could row at stroke just as well as at the other end of
the boat.
Finally, a captain of a crew must remember, if with these great examples
before his eyes he feels inclined, as he runs over his list of available
oars, to despair of getting together a good crew, that wonderful results
have been achieved by college captains who had to draw their men from a
comparatively narrow field, and were often forced by the exigencies of
the case to fill places in their boats with men who were far removed
from ideal perfection.