THE ISTHMIAN LIBRARY: A Series of Volumes 
 dealing popularly with the whole range of Field Sports 
 and Athletics. 
 
 Edited by B. FLETCHER ROBINSON, and Illustrated by 
 numerous Sketches and Instantaneous Photographs. 
 Post 8vo, cloth, 5-r. each. 
 
 Vol. I. Rugby Football. By B. FLETCHER 
 ROBINSON, with chapters by FRANK MITCHELL, 
 R. H. CATTELL, C. J. N. FLEMING, GREGOR 
 MACGREGOR, and H. B. TRISTRAM, and dedicated 
 by permission to Mr. ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 Vol. II. The Complete Cyclist. By A. C. PEM- 
 BERTON, Mrs. HARCOURT WILLIAMSON, and C. J. 
 SISLEY. 
 
 Vol. IV. Rowing. By R. C. LEHMANN, with 
 chapters by GUY NICKALLS and C. M. PITMAN. 
 
 Vol. V. Boxing. By R. ALLANSON WINN. 
 
 Other volumes are in preparation, and will be duly announced. 
 
ROWING 
 
The Isthmian Library 
 
 Edited by B. Fletcher Robinson 
 
 No. 4 
 
 ROWI N G 
 
 BY 
 
 R. C. LEHMANN 
 
 WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY 
 
 GUY NICKALLS, G. L. DAVIS, C. M. PITMAN 
 W. E. CRUM, AND E. G. BLACKMORE 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 LONDON 
 A. D. INNES & COMPANY 
 
 LIMITED 
 1898 
 
AS A SLIGHT TOKEN OF FRIENDSHIP 
 
 I DEDICATE THIS BOOK 
 
 TO 
 
 MR. HERBERT THOMAS STEWARD, 
 
 CHAIRMAN OF THE AMATEUR ROWING ASSOCIATION ', 
 
 CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT, HENLEY REGATTA ; 
 AND PRESIDENT OF THE LEANDER CLUB. 
 
 S5751659 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 MY thanks are due to the proprietors of the 
 Daily News and of the English Illustrated Magazine 
 for permission to include in this book the substance 
 of articles originally contributed to their columns. 
 I have not added to the Appendix any lists of 
 winning crews, as these are to be found very fully 
 and accurately set out in the Rowing Almanack, 
 published every year at the office of the Field. 
 
 For the rest, I have endeavoured to make the 
 rowing instructions which will be found in this 
 book as concise as was compatible with perfect 
 clearness, assuming at all times that I was ad- 
 dressing myself first of all to the novice. No 
 doubt other oarsmen will differ here and there from 
 my conclusions. Absolute unanimity on every 
 detail of rowing is not to be expected. 
 
 All I can do is to assure my readers that nothing 
 has been set down here the truth and accuracy of 
 which I have not proved at least, to my own 
 satisfaction. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The illustrations are reproduced from photographs 
 by Messrs. Steam, of Cambridge ; Messrs. Gillman, 
 of Oxford ; Messrs. Marsh, of Henley -on- Thames ; 
 Messrs. Hills and Saunders, of Eton; Messrs. 
 Pach BrotJiers, of Cambridge (Mass.) ; and Mr. 
 J. G. Williams, of East Molesey. 
 
 R. .C. L. 
 
 October^ 1897. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. INTRODUCTORY ... ... ... ... i 
 
 II. FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS ... ... 14 
 
 III. FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS ... ... 38 
 
 IV. COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS ... 55 
 
 V. COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS (continued} 72 
 
 VI. COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS (continued] 89 
 VII. OF AILMENTS OF TRAINING AND DIET OF 
 
 STALENESS OF DISCIPLINE OF COACHING ... 109 
 VIII. OF THE RACE-DAY OF THE RACE OF THE 
 NECESSITY OF HAVING A BUTT OF LEISURE 
 
 TIME OF AQUATIC AXIOMS ... ... 128 
 
 IX. FOUR-OARS AND PAIR-OARS SWIVEL ROWLOCKS 144 
 
 X. SCULLING. By GUY NICKALLS ... ... 157 
 
 XI. STEERING. By G. L. DAVIS ... ... 176 
 
 XII. COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. By C. M. PITMAN 194 
 
 XIII. COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE ... ... 211 
 
 XIV. ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. By W. E. CRUM ... 234 
 XV. AUSTRALIAN ROWING. By E. G. BLACKMORE 255 
 
 XVI. ROWING IN AMERICA... ... ... ... 270 
 
 XVII. A RECENT CONTROVERSY : ARE ATHLETES 
 HEALTHY ? MR. SANDOW'S VIEWS ON THE 
 
 TRAINING OF OARSMEN ... ... 288 
 
 APPENDIX HENLEY REGATTA RULES; RULES OF 
 THE A.R.A.; RULES OF THE C.U.B.C. AND 
 
 O.U.B.C. 307 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE BOAT-RACE, 1894 Frontispiece. 
 
 FIRST HENLEY REGATTA PROGRAMME ... To face 6 
 
 FIXED SEATS. NUMBER i ... ... ... 20 
 
 2 ... ... 22 
 
 , ,, 4 > 26 
 
 5 30 
 
 SLIDIN SEATS. NUMBER i ... ... 38 
 
 2 40 
 
 3 4i 
 
 4 42 
 
 5 44 
 
 6 45 
 
 7 47 
 
 8 48 
 
 9 50 
 
 10 ... ... ... 52 
 
 11 ... ... ,, 54 
 
 SNAP-SHOTS- CREW IN MOTION. NUMBERS i AND 2 56 
 
 ,, ,, 3 AND 4 58 
 
 5 AND 6 61 
 
 , i> 7 AND 8 ,, 64 
 
 MR. C. W. KENT ... ... ... ... 78 
 
 MR. H. G. GOLD ... ... ... ... 81 
 
 HENLEY REGATTA, 1897 ... ... ... 130 
 
 HENLEY REGATTA : A HEAT FOR THE DIAMONDS ,, 157 
 
 A BUMP IN THE EIGHTS ... ... ... 194 
 
 A START IN THE EIGHTS ... ... ... 202 
 
 THE GOLDIE BOAT-HOUSE ... ... ... 211 
 
 A HARVARD EIGHT ON THE RIVER HUDSON, AT 
 
 POUGHKEEPSIE ... ... ... ... 272 
 
 COACHING ON THE RIVER HUDSON ... ,, 284 
 
 ROWING TYPES. NUMBER i ... ... ... 
 
 2 2 c 
 
 3 ... ... 301 
 
 4 ... ... 303 
 
 M 5 ... ... 305 
 
ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 MY object in the following pages will be not 
 merely to give such hints to the novice 
 as may enable him, so far as book- 
 learning can effect the purpose, to master the 
 rudiments of oarsmanship, but also to commend 
 to him the sport of rowing from the point of 
 view of those enthusiasts who regard it as a 
 noble open-air exercise, fruitful in lessons of 
 strength, courage, discipline, and endurance, and 
 as an art which requires on the part of its 
 votaries a sense of rhythm, a perfect balance 
 and symmetry of bodily effort, and the grace- 
 ful control and repose which lend an appear- 
 ance of ease to the application of the highest 
 muscular energy. Much has to be suffered and 
 
 B 
 
2 ROWING. 
 
 many difficulties have to be overcome before the 
 raw tiro, whose fantastic contortions in a tub-pair 
 excite the derision of the spectators, can approach 
 to the power, effectiveness and grace of a Crum or a 
 Gold ; but, given a healthy frame and sound organs 
 inured to fatigue by the sports of English boyhood, 
 given also an alert intelligence, there is no reason 
 in the nature of things why oarsmanship should 
 not eventually become both an exercise and a 
 pleasure. And when I speak of oarsmanship, I 
 mean the combined form of it in pairs, in fours, 
 and in eight-oared racing boats. 
 
 Of sculling I do not presume to speak, but those 
 who are curious on this point may be referred to 
 the remarks of Mr. Guy Nickalls in a later chapter. 
 But of rowing I can speak, if not with authority, at 
 any rate with experience, for during twenty-three 
 years of my life I have not only rowed in a con- 
 stant succession of boat-races, amounting now to 
 about two hundred, but I have watched rowing 
 wherever it was to be seen, and have, year after 
 year, been privileged to utter words of instruction 
 to innumerable crews on the Cam, the Isis, and the 
 Thames. If, then, the novice will commit himself 
 for a time to my guidance, I will endeavour to 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 3 
 
 initiate him into the art and mystery of rowing. 
 If he decides afterwards to join the fraternity of its 
 votaries, I can promise him that his reward will 
 not be small. He may not win fame, and he will 
 certainly not increase his store of wealth, but when 
 his time of action is past and he joins the great 
 army of " have-beens," he will find, as he looks 
 back upon his career, that his hours of leisure have 
 been spent in an exercise which has enlarged his 
 frame and strengthened his limbs, that he has 
 drunk delight of battle with his peers in many a 
 hard-fought race, that he has learnt what it means 
 to be in perfect health and condition, with every 
 sinew strung, and all his manly energies braced for 
 contests of strength and endurance, and that he 
 has bound to himself by the strongest possible ties 
 a body of staunch and loyal friends whose worth 
 has been proved under all sorts of conditions, 
 through many days of united effort. 
 
 It has often been objected to rowing, either by 
 those who have never rowed, or by those who 
 having rowed have allowed themselves to sink 
 prematurely into sloth and decay, that the sport in 
 the case of most men can last only for a very few 
 years, and that having warred, not without glory, 
 
4 ROWING. 
 
 up to the age of about twenty-five, they must then 
 hang their oars upon the wall and pass the 
 remainder of their lives in an envious contem- 
 plation of the exploits of old but unwearied 
 cricketers. Judging merely by my own personal 
 experience, I am entitled to pronounce these 
 lamentations baseless and misleading, for I have 
 been able to row with pleasure even in racing 
 boats during the whole period of nineteen years 
 that has elapsed since I took my degree at 
 Cambridge. But I can refer to higher examples, 
 for I have seen the Grand Challenge Cup and the 
 Stewards' Cup at Henley Regatta either rowed for 
 with credit, or won by men whose age cannot have 
 been far, if at all, short of forty years, and of men 
 who won big races when they were thirty years 
 old the examples are innumerable. But putting 
 actual racing aside, there is in skilled rowing a 
 peculiar pleasure (even though the craft rowed in 
 be merely a fixed seat gig) which, as it seems to 
 me, puts it on a higher plane than most other 
 exercises. The watermanship which enables a 
 party of veterans to steer their boat deftly in and 
 out of a lock, to swing her easily along the reaches, 
 while unskilled youths are toiling and panting 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 5 
 
 astern, is, after all, no mean accomplishment. 
 And in recent years rowing has taken a leaf out of 
 the book of cricket. Scattered up and down the 
 banks of the Thames are many pleasant houses in 
 which, during the summer, men who can row are 
 favoured guests, either with a view to their forming 
 crews to take part in local regattas, or merely for 
 the purpose of pleasure-rowing in scenes remote 
 from the dust and turmoil of the city. Let no one, 
 therefore, be repelled from oarsmanship because he 
 thinks that the sport will last him through only a 
 few years of his life. If he marries and settles 
 down and becomes a busy man, he will enjoy his 
 holiday on the Thames fully as much as his 
 cricketing brothers enjoy theirs on some country 
 cricket field. 
 
 Of the early history of boats and boat-racing 
 it is not necessary to say very much. It is enough 
 to know that the written Cambridge records date 
 back to 1827, though it is certain that racing 
 must have begun some years previously ; that 
 Oxford can point to 1822 as one of the earliest 
 years of their College races ; that the two Universi- 
 ties raced against one another for the first time in 
 1829; and that Henley Regatta was established 
 
6 ROWING. 
 
 in 1839, when the Grand Challenge Cup was won 
 by First Trinity, Cambridge. Opposite is a fac- 
 simile copy of the programme of this memorable 
 regatta. 
 
 Those who desire to go still further back, have 
 the authority of Virgil for stating that the Trojans 
 under ^Eneas could organize and carry through 
 what Professor Conington, in his version of the 
 "^Eneid," calls "a rivalry of naval speed." The 
 account of this famous regatta is given with a spirit 
 and a richness of detail that put to shame even the 
 most modern historians of aquatic prowess. After 
 reading how Gyas, the captain and coach of the 
 Chim&ra 
 
 " Huge bulk, a city scarce so large, 
 With Dardan rowers in triple bank, 
 The tiers ascending rank o'er rank " 
 
 how Gyas, as I say, justly indignant at the 
 ineptitude and cowardice of his coxswain, hurled 
 him from the vessel, and himself assumed the 
 helm at a critical point of the race, it is a mere 
 paltering with the emotions to be told, for 
 instance, that "Mr. Pechell, who owes much 
 to the teaching of Goosey Driver, steered a 
 very good course," or that he "began to make 
 
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INTRODUCTORY. 7 
 
 the shoot for Barnes Bridge a trifle too soon." 
 How, too, can the statement that "both crews 
 started simultaneously, Cambridge, if anything, 
 striking the water first," compare with the passage 
 which tells us (I quote again from Professor 
 Conington) how 
 
 "at the trumpet's piercing sound, 
 All from their barriers onward bound, 
 Upsoars to heaven the oarsman's shout, 
 The upturned billows froth and spout ; 
 In level lines they plough the deep 
 All ocean yawns as on they sweep." 
 
 It may be noted in passing that no one else seems 
 to have felt in the least inclined to yawn, for 
 
 "With plaudits loud and clamorous zeal 
 
 Echoes the woodland round ; 
 The pent shores roll the thunder peal 
 The stricken rocks rebound ; " 
 
 which seems, if the criticism may be permitted, 
 a curious proceeding even for a stricken rock 
 during the progress of a boat-race. Finally, a touch 
 of religious romance is added when we learn that 
 the final result was due, not to the unaided efforts 
 of the straining crew, but to the intervention of 
 Portunus, the Harbour God, who, moved by the 
 prayer of Cloanthus, captain of the Scylla, pushed 
 that barque along and carried her triumphantly 
 
8 ROWING. 
 
 first into the haven invidious conduct which 
 does not appear to have caused the least complaint 
 amongst the defeated crews, or to have prevented 
 Cloanthus from being proclaimed the victor of the 
 day. Only on one occasion (in 1859) has Father 
 Thames similarly exerted himself to the advantage 
 of one of the University crews, for during the boat- 
 race of that year he swamped the Cambridge ship 
 beneath his mighty waves, and sped Oxford safely 
 to Mortlake. Lord Justice A. L. Smith, amongst 
 others, still lives, though he was unable to swim, 
 to tell the exciting tale. 
 
 Before I take leave of this Virgilian race, I may 
 perhaps, even at this late date, be permitted as a 
 brother coach to commiserate the impulsive but 
 unfortunate Gyas on the difficulties he must have 
 encountered in coaching the crew of a trireme. 
 Not less do I pity his oarsmen, of whom the two 
 lower ranks must have suffered seriously as to their 
 backs from the feet of those placed above them, 
 while the length and weight of the oars used by 
 the top rank must have made good form and 
 accurate time almost impossible. A Cambridge 
 poet, Mr. R. H. Forster, has sung the woes of the 
 Athenian triremists and their instructor 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 9 
 
 "Just imagine a crew of a hundred or two 
 
 Shoved three deep in a kind of a barge, 
 Like a cargo of kegs, with no room for their legs, 
 
 And oars inconveniently large. 
 Quoth he, * irdvres irprfo-w,' and they try to do so. 
 
 At the sight the poor coach's brains addle ; 
 So muttering ' ofyioi,' he shouts out ' eToI/tot,' 
 
 And whatever the Greek is for ' paddle.' 
 Now do look alive, number ninety and five, 
 
 You're ' sugaring,' work seems to bore you ; 
 You are late, you are late, number twenty and eight, 
 
 Keep your eyes on the man that's before you." 
 
 So much for the trireme. But neither the Greeks 
 nor any other race thought of adapting their boats 
 merely to purposes of racing until the English, 
 with their inveterate passion for open-air exercise, 
 took the matter in hand. African war-canoes 
 have been known to race, but their primary object 
 is still the destruction of rival canoes together 
 with their dusky freight. In Venice the gondoliers 
 are matched annually against one another, but 
 both the gondola and the sandolo remain what 
 they always have been mere vessels for the 
 conveyance of passengers and goods. The man 
 who would make war in a racing ship would 
 justly be relegated to Hanwell, and to carry 
 passengers, or even one " passenger," in such a 
 boat is generally looked upon as a certain presage 
 
10 ROWING. 
 
 of defeat. Consider for a moment. The modern 
 racing ship (eight, four, pair, or single) is a frail, 
 elongated, graceful piece of cabinet work, held 
 together by thin stays, small bolts, and copper 
 nails, and separating you from the water in which 
 it floats by an eighth of an inch of Mexican cedar. 
 The whole weight of the sculling-boat, built by 
 Jack Clasper, in which Harding won the Searle 
 Memorial Cup, was only nineteen pounds, i.e. 
 about 112 pounds lighter than the man it carried. 
 Considering the amount of labour and trained 
 skill that go towards the construction of these 
 beautiful machines, the price cannot be said to 
 be heavy. Most builders will turn you out a 
 sculling-boat for from 12 to 15, a pair for about 
 20, a four for 33, and an eight for 55. But 
 the development of the racing type to its present 
 perfection has taken many years. Little did the 
 undergraduates who, in 1829, drove their pon- 
 derous man-of-war's galleys from Hambledon 
 Lock to Henley Bridge, while the stricken hills 
 of the Thames Valley rebounded to the shouts 
 of the spectators little did they imagine that 
 their successors, rowing on movable seats and 
 with rowlocks projecting far beyond the side 
 
INTRODUCTORY. n 
 
 would speed in delicate barques, of arrowy shape 
 and almost arrowy swiftness, from Putney to 
 Mortlake in barques so light and " crank " that, 
 built as they are without a keel, they would 
 overturn in a moment if the balance of the oars 
 were removed. The improvements were very 
 gradual. In 1846 the University race was rowed 
 for the first time in boats with outriggers. That 
 innovation had, however, been creeping in for 
 some years before that. Mr. Hugh Hammersley, 
 who rowed in the Oriel boat which started head 
 of the river at Oxford in 1843, has told me that 
 in that year the University College boat, stroked 
 by the famous Fletcher Menzies, was fitted with 
 outriggers at stroke and bow ; and the bump 
 by which University displaced Oriel was generally 
 ascribed to the new invention. 
 
 In 1857 the University race was rowed in boats 
 without a keel, and oars with a round loom were 
 used for the first time by both crews. At the Henley 
 Regatta of the preceding year the Royal Chester 
 Rowing Club had entered a crew rowing in this 
 novel style of keelless boat for the Grand Chal- 
 lenge and the Ladies' Cups. Her length was only 
 fifty-four feet, and her builder was Mat Taylor, 
 
12 ROWING. 
 
 a name celebrated in the annals of boat-building, 
 for it is to him, in the first instance, that our 
 present type of racing-boat owes its existence. 
 " The Chester men," Mr. W. B. Woodgate tells 
 us in his Badminton book on boating, "could 
 not sit their boat in the least ; they flopped their 
 blades along the water on the recovery in a 
 manner which few junior crews at minor regattas 
 would now be guilty of; but they rowed well 
 away from their opponents, who were only College 
 crews." They won, as a matter of fact, both the 
 events for which they entered. 
 
 One might have thought that with this invention 
 improvements would have ceased. But in course 
 of time the practical experience of rowing men 
 suggested to them that if they slid on their seats, 
 both the length and power of their stroke through 
 the water would be increased. At first they 
 greased their fixed seats, and slid on those. But 
 it was found that the strain caused by this method 
 exhausted a crew. In 1871 a crew of professionals 
 used a seat that slid on the thwarts, and beat a 
 crew that was generally held to be superior, and 
 from that moment slides, as we now know them, 
 came into general use. In 1873 the University 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 13 
 
 crews rowed on sliding seats for the first time. 
 Since then the length of the slide has been in- 
 creased from about nine inches to fifteen inches, 
 or even more, a change which has made the task 
 of the boat-builder in providing floating capacity 
 more difficult ; but in all essentials the type of 
 boat remains the same. It ought to be added 
 that the Americans, to a large extent, use boats 
 moulded out of papier mach^ but this variation 
 has never obtained favour in England, though 
 boats built in this manner by the well-known 
 Waters of Troy (U.S.A.) have been seen on 
 English rivers. The Columbia College crew won 
 the Visitors' Cup at Henley in 1878 in a paper 
 boat, and she was afterwards bought by First 
 Trinity, Cambridge, but she never won a race 
 again. 
 
14 ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 
 
 IF the tiro who aspires to be an oarsman has 
 ever seen a really good eight-oared crew in 
 motion on the water, he will probably have 
 been impressed not so much by the power and the 
 pace of it as by the remarkable ease with which the 
 whole complicated series of movements that go to 
 make up a stroke is performed. The eight blades 
 grip the water at the same moment with a perfect 
 precision, making a deep white swirl as they sweep 
 through ; the bodies swing back with a free and 
 springy motion ; the slides move steadily ; and 
 almost before one has realized that a stroke has 
 been begun, the hands have come squarely home 
 to the chest and have been shot out again to the 
 full extent of the arms, the blades leaving the 
 water without a splash. Then with a balanced 
 swing the bodies move forward again, the oar-* 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 15 
 
 blades all in a level line on either side, and, 
 presto ! another stroke has been started. Nothing 
 in these movements is violent or jerky ; there are 
 no contortions at least the tiro can see none, 
 though the coach may be shouting instructions 
 as to backs and shoulders and elbows and the 
 boat glides on her way without a pause or 
 check. 
 
 What sort of spectacle, on the other hand, is 
 afforded by a thoroughly bad eight? The men 
 composing it have chests and backs together with 
 the usual complement of limbs that make up a 
 human being ; they are provided with oars ; their 
 ship is built of cedar and fitted with slides and 
 outriggers in short, as they sit at ease in their 
 boat, they resemble in all outward details the crew 
 we have just been considering. But watch them 
 when they begin to row. Where now are the 
 balance, the rhythm, the level flash of blades on 
 the feather, the crisp beginning, the dashing and 
 almost contemptuous freedom of bodies and hands 
 in motion, the even and unsplashing progress of 
 the ship herself? All these have vanished, and 
 in their place we see a boat rolling like an Atlantic 
 liner, oars dribbling feebly along the water or 
 
16 ROWING. 
 
 soaring wildly above it, each striking for the 
 beginning at the sweet will of the man who wields 
 it, without regard to anybody else ; eight bodies, 
 cramped and contorted almost out of the semblance 
 of humanity, shuffling, tumbling, and screwing, 
 while on eight faces a look of agony bears witness 
 to such tortures as few except Englishmen can 
 continue to suffer without mutiny or complaint. 
 It is not a noble or an inspiring sight ; but it may 
 be seen at Oxford or at Cambridge, on tidal 
 waters, and even at Henley Regatta. 
 
 What, then, is the main cause of the difference 
 between these two crews ? It lies in good " style " 
 style which is present in the one crew and absent 
 from the other. And this style in the rowing sense 
 merely sums up the result, whether to individuals 
 or to a crew, of long and patient teaching founded 
 upon principles the correctness of which has been 
 established ever since rowing became not merely 
 an exercise, but a science in keelless racing ships. 
 And here one comment may be added. It is the 
 habit of every generation of rowing men to imagine 
 that they have invented rowing all over again, and 
 have at last, by their own intelligence and energy, 
 established its principles on a firm foundation. 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 17 
 
 Within my own experience, five at least of these 
 generations believed that for the first time the 
 virtues of leg-work had been revealed to them, 
 four thought they had made out a patent in the 
 matter of body-swing, and six were convinced that 
 they had discovered length of stroke and firmness 
 of beginning. In the eyes of these young gentle- 
 men, the veterans whom they occasionally con- 
 descended to invite to their practice were harmless 
 and well-meaning enthusiasts, who might have 
 made a figure in their day, but who were, of 
 course, utterly unable to appreciate the niceties 
 of rowing as developed by their brilliant and 
 skilful successors.* Amiable presumption of 
 youth and innocence! The fact is, of course, 
 that the main principles of good rowing are the 
 same now as they have always been, on long 
 slides or on short slides, or even on fixed seats. 
 And, personally, I have always found that the 
 hints I gathered from such men as Dr. Warre, 
 Mr. W. B. Woodgate, Mr. J. C. Tinne, or Sir John 
 Edwards-Moss, whose active rowing days were 
 
 * I shall never forget the tone of kindly patronage in which the 
 stroke of my college crew once observed to his coach, a man about 
 fifteen years older than himself: "Ah, I suppose, now, they all used 
 to row in top-hats in your day ! " 
 
 C 
 
i8 ROWING. 
 
 over before sliding seats came into use, were 
 invaluable to me in the coaching of crews. 
 
 How is a novice to be taught so that he may 
 some day take his seat with credit in a good 
 crew ? I answer that there is no royal road ; he 
 must pass through a long period of practice, often 
 so dull that all his patience will be required to 
 carry him through it. His progress will be so 
 slow, that he will sometimes feel he is making no 
 headway at all; but it will be sure none the less, 
 and some day, if he has in him the makings of 
 an oar, he will realize, to his delight, that his joints 
 move freely, that his muscles are supple, that his 
 limbs obey his brain immediately that, in short, 
 the various movements he has been striving so 
 hard to acquire have become easy and natural 
 to him, and that he can go through them without 
 the painful exercise of deliberate thought at every 
 moment of their recurrence. 
 
 Every oarsman must begin on fixed seats. 
 This statement is to an English public school or 
 University oar a mere platitude ; but in America, 
 and even in some of our English clubs outside 
 the Universities, its force and necessity have been 
 lost sight of. Here and there may be found a 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 19 
 
 born oar, whose limbs and body do not require 
 an arduous discipline ; but in the case of ordinary 
 average men like the immense majority of us, it 
 is impossible, I believe, to acquire correct body 
 movement without a stage, more or less prolonged, 
 of practice in fixed-seat rowing. For it is on fixed 
 seats alone that a man can learn that free and 
 solid swing which is essential to good oarsmanship 
 on slides. 
 
 I will, therefore, ask my novice reader to imagine 
 that he is seated on one of the thwarts of a fixed - 
 seat tub-pair, while I deceive myself into the belief 
 that I am coaching him from its stern. My first 
 duty will be to see that all his implements are 
 sound and true and correct, since it is probable 
 that faults are often due as much to the use of 
 weak or defective materials as to any other cause. 
 I must satisfy myself that his oar is stiff and of 
 a proper length; that when pressed against the 
 thole in a natural position it can grip the water 
 firmly and come through it squarely ; * that the 
 stretcher is properly set, and that the straps pass 
 
 * The breadth of beam of an ordinary in-rigged fixed-seat gig 
 for the use of novices may be stated at 3 ft. 10 in. A line drawn 
 horizontally across the boat, at right angles from the rowing thole, 
 would be from ii in. to 12 in. distant from the aft, or sitting edge 
 
20 ROWING. 
 
 tightly over the root of the toes. I must also see 
 that he is properly dressed, and not constricted 
 about the waist by impeding buttons. A belt is 
 never permissible. Now for instruction. 
 
 (1) Sit erect on the aft edge of your seat, exactly 
 opposite the point at which your heels touch the 
 stretcher. The feet must be placed firm and flat 
 upon the stretcher, the heels touching one another, 
 and forming an angle of about forty-five degrees. 
 The knees must be bent to about one-third of 
 their scope, and set a shoulder's breadth apart. 
 Shoulders must be well set back, the chest open, 
 and the stomach well set out. 
 
 (2) Now swing your body slowly forward as 
 far as you are able from the hips, without bending 
 the back, being careful to let your head swing with 
 your body. Repeat this movement several times 
 without holding the oar. 
 
 (Note. The ideal swing is that which takes the 
 whole unbending body full forward till it is down 
 between the knees. This, to a novice, is impossible, 
 and the coach must therefore be content to see the 
 
 of the Ihwart. Oars should measure 12 ft. over all, with an in- 
 board length of 3 ft. 5 in. to 3 ft. 5J in. Breadth of blades 5^ in. 
 to 5 1, not more. 
 
p 5 
 
 1 i 
 
 o 
 
 a ^ 
 
 H ? 
 
 O 
 
 o 2 
 Z 5 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 21 
 
 first efforts at swing very short. It is better that 
 this should be so than that a man should pre- 
 maturely attain length by bending his back, 
 doubling in his stomach, and over-reaching with 
 his shoulders, faults that, once acquired, it is ex- 
 tremely difficult to eradicate.) 
 
 The swing must be slow and balanced, for " the 
 time occupied in coming forward should be the 
 body's rest, when the easy, measured swing, erect 
 head, braced shoulders, and open chest, enable 
 heart and lungs to work freely and easily, in pre- 
 paration for a defined beginning of the next stroke."* 
 
 (3) Take hold of your oar, the fingers passing 
 round it, thumbs underneath, and the hands one 
 hand's-breadth apart. The grip on the oar should 
 be a finger-grip, not the vice-like hold that cramps 
 all the muscles of the arm. It is important, too, to 
 remember that, while the arms are presumably of 
 the same length, the outside hand (i.e. the hand at 
 the end of the oar) has, during stroke and swing 
 forward, to pass through a larger arc than the 
 inside hand. The inside wrist should, therefore, 
 be slightly arched even at the beginning of the 
 stroke, thus shortening the inside arm, but without 
 * From an Article by Mr. S. Le Blanc Smith, 
 
22 ROWING. 
 
 impairing its use during the stroke. This arch, too, 
 will give the inside hand a greater leverage and 
 ease for performing the work of feathering, which 
 devolves mainly upon it. 
 
 (4) Draw your oar-handle slowly in till the roots 
 of the thumbs touch the chest, the elbows passing 
 close to the sides, and the body maintaining the 
 erect position described above in instruction (i), 
 but slightly inclined beyond the perpendicular. I 
 assume that the blade of the oar is covered in the 
 water in the position it would have at the finish of 
 a stroke. 
 
 (5) Drop your hands ; in fact, not merely the 
 hands, but the forearms and hands together. This 
 movement will take the oar clean and square out 
 of the water. 
 
 (6) Turn your wrists, more particularly the inside 
 wrist, with a quick sharp turn. This movement 
 will feather the oar. 
 
 (7) Without attempting to move your body, 
 shoot your hands sharply out to the full extent of 
 your arms, taking care to keep the blade of the 
 oar well clear of the water. Repeat these last 
 three movements several times, at first separately, 
 then in combination. 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 23 
 
 (Note. These three movements are sometimes 
 spoken of incorrectly as the finish of the stroke. 
 Properly speaking, however, the finish, as dis- 
 tinguished from the beginning, is that part of the 
 stroke which is rowed through the water from the 
 moment the arms begin to bend until the hands 
 come in to the chest. The movements I have 
 described are in reality part of the recovery, i.e. 
 they are the movements necessary to enable the 
 oarsman's body to recover itself after the strain of 
 one stroke, and to prepare for the next. Smartly 
 performed, as they ought to be, they have all the 
 appearance of one quick motion. As to the drop- 
 ping of the hands, the novice must practise this so 
 as to get his oar square and clean out of the water. 
 It is, however, necessary to guard against exagge- 
 rating it into the pump-handle or coffee-grinding 
 style, which merely wastes energy and time. Later 
 on, when an oarsman is rowing in a light racing 
 ship, a very slight pressure will enable him to 
 release his oar, the movement and elasticity of the 
 boat helping him.) 
 
 (8) You have now taken the blade out of the 
 water, feathered it, and have shot your hands away, 
 the blade still on the feather, to a point beyond the 
 
24 ROWING. 
 
 knees. In so doing you will have released your 
 body, which you must now swing forward slowly 
 and at a perfectly even pace, in a solid column 
 from the hips, as described in instruction 2. 
 
 (9) Obviously, if you keep your arms stiff in the 
 shoulder-sockets, you will eventually, as your body 
 swings down, force your hands against the stretcher, 
 or into the bottom of the boat, with the blade of 
 the oar soaring to the level of your head. To 
 avoid this windmill performance let your hands, 
 especially the inside hand, rest lightly on the oar- 
 handle, and as the body swings down let the hands 
 gradually rise, i.e. let the angle that the arms make 
 with the body increase. You will thus, by the time 
 you have finished your swing, have brought the 
 blade close to the water, in readiness to grip the 
 beginning without the loss of a fraction of a second. 
 
 (10) During the foregoing manoeuvre keep your 
 arms absolutely straight from shoulder to wrist. 
 Many oarsmen, knowing that they have to get hold 
 of the beginning, cramp their arm-muscles and 
 bend their elbows as they swing forward, the strain 
 giving them a fictitious feeling of strength. But 
 this is a pure delusion, and can only result in waste, 
 both of energy and of time.. 
 
I 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 
 X 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 25 
 
 (11) As you swing, use the inside arm and hand 
 to shove against the oar. You will thus keep 
 the button of the oar pressed up against the row- 
 lock, a position it ought never even for a moment 
 to lose ; you will help to steady your swing, and 
 you will go far towards keeping both shoulders 
 square. Most novices and many veterans over- 
 reach badly with the outside shoulder. 
 
 (12) While you are carrying out the last four in- 
 structions, your feet, save for a slight pressure 
 against the straps during the very first part of the 
 recovery (see instruction 23), must remain firmly 
 planted, heel and toe, against your stretcher. 
 During your swing you should have a distinct 
 sense of balancing with the ball of your foot 
 against the stretcher. This resistance of the feet 
 on the stretcher helps to prevent you from tumbling 
 forward in a helpless, huddled mass as you reach 
 the limit of your forward swing. 
 
 (13) As to taking the oar off the feather. Good 
 oars vary considerably on this point. Some carry 
 the blade back feathered the whole way, and only 
 turn it square just in time to get the beginning of 
 the stroke. Others turn it off the feather about 
 half-way through, just before the hands come over 
 
26 ROWING. 
 
 the stretcher. For a novice, I certainly recommend 
 the latter method. Turn your wrists up and 
 square your blade very soon after the hands have 
 cleared the knees. It will thus be easier for you 
 to keep your button pressed against the rowlock ; 
 your hands can balance the oar better, and you 
 will not run the risk, to which the former method 
 renders you liable, of skying or cocking your blade 
 just when it ought to be nearest the water, so as 
 to catch the beginning. A good and experienced 
 waterman, however, ought certainly to be able to 
 keep his oar on the feather against a high wind 
 until the last available moment. The movement 
 of returning the blade to the square position ought 
 to be firm and clean. 
 
 (14) As the body swings, your hands ought to 
 be at the same time stretching and reaching out as 
 if constantly striving to touch something which is 
 as constantly evading them. 
 
 (15) When you are full forward, the blade of 
 your oar should not be quite at a right angle to 
 the water, but the top of it ought to be very 
 slightly inclined over, i.e. towards the stern of the 
 boat. A blade thus held will grip the water 
 cleaner, firmer, and with far less back-splash than 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 27 
 
 a blade held absolutely at right angles. Besides, 
 you will obviate the danger of "slicing" into 
 the water and rowing too deep. At the same 
 time, I am bound to admit that I know only a 
 few oars who adopt this plan. One of them, 
 however, is the present President of the Oxford 
 University Boat Club, Mr. C. K. Philips, as good 
 a waterman as ever sat in a boat. I am quite 
 firmly convinced that the plan is a sound one, and 
 I believe if it were more generally followed, we 
 should see far less of that uncomfortable and 
 unsightly habit of back-splashing, which is too 
 often seen even in good crews. 
 
 (16) I have now brought you forward to the full 
 extent of your swing and reach. Your back is (or 
 ought to be) straight, your shoulders are firm and 
 braced, your chest and stomach still open, though 
 your body is down somewhere between your open 
 knees. Your hands have been gradually rising, 
 and your oar-blade is, therefore, close to the water. 
 Now raise your hands a little more, not so as to 
 splash the blade helplessly to the bottom of the 
 river, but with a quick movement as though they 
 were passing round a cylinder. When they get to 
 the top of the cylinder the blade will be covered 
 
28 ROWING. 
 
 in the water. At the same moment, and without 
 the loss of a fraction of a second, swing the body 
 and shoulders back as though they were released 
 from a spring, the arms remaining perfectly straight, 
 and the feet helping by a sharp and vigorous pres- 
 sure (from the ball of the foot, and the toes 
 especially) against the stretcher. The result of 
 these rapid combined movements will be that the 
 blade, as it immerses itself in the water, will strike 
 it with an irresistible force (a sort of crunch, as 
 when you grind your heel into gravel), created by 
 the whole weight-power of the body applied 
 through the straight lines of the arms, and aided 
 by all the strength of which the legs are capable. 
 This, technically speaking, is the beginning of the 
 stroke. The outside hand should have a good 
 grip of the oar. 
 
 (17) Swing back, as I said, with arms straight. 
 The novice must, especially if he has muscular 
 arms, root in his head the idea that the arms are 
 during a great part of the stroke connecting rods, 
 and that it is futile to endeavour to use them 
 independently of the body-weight, which is the 
 real driving power. 
 
 (18) Just before the body attains the limit of its 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 29 
 
 back-swing, which should be at a point a little 
 beyond the perpendicular, begin to bend your arms 
 for the finish of the stroke, and bring the hands 
 square home until the roots of the thumbs touch 
 the chest about three inches below the separation 
 of the ribs. Here you must be careful not to raise 
 or depress the hands. They should sweep in to 
 the chest in an even plane, the outside hand draw- 
 ing the handle firmly home without lugging or 
 jerking. As the hands come in, the body finishes 
 its swing, the elbows pass close to the sides, point- 
 ing downwards, and the shoulders are rowed back 
 and kept down. The chest must be open, but not 
 unduly inflated at the expense of the stomach, the 
 head erect, and the whole body carrying itself 
 easily, gracefully, and without unnecessary stiffness. 
 
 (19) Do not meet your oar, i.e. keep your body 
 back until the hands have come in. If you pull 
 yourself forward to meet your oar, you will cer- 
 tainly shorten the stroke, tire yourself prematurely, 
 and will probably fail to get the oar clean out of 
 the water or to clear your knees on the recovery. 
 
 (20) Do not try to force down your legs and 
 flatten the knees as if you were rowing on a sliding 
 seat. The mere movement of the body on the 
 
30 ROWING. 
 
 back swing and the kick off the stretcher will 
 cause a certain alteration in the bend of the 
 knees, but this tendency should not be consciously 
 increased. Remember that fixed-seat rowing is 
 not now an end in itself. It is a stage towards 
 skilled rowing on sliding seats, and its chief 
 object is to give the novice practice in certain 
 essential elements of the stroke, and particularly 
 in body-swing, which could not be so easily taught, 
 if at all, if he were to begin at once on sliding 
 seats. Swing is still, as it always has been, all 
 important in good rowing, and if a novice attempts 
 to slide (for that is what it comes to) on fixed seats 
 he will begin to shuffle and lose swing entirely. 
 
 (21) Do not let your body settle down or fall 
 away from your oar at the finish. Sit erect on 
 your bones, and do not sink back on to your tail. 
 The bones are the pivot on which you should 
 swing. 
 
 (22) The blade of the oar, having been fully 
 covered at the very beginning of the stroke, must 
 remain fully covered up to the moment that the 
 hands are dropped. If the oarsman, when he bends 
 his arms during the stroke, begins to depress his 
 hands, he will row light, i.e. the blade will be 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 31 
 
 partially uncovered, and will naturally lose power. 
 On the other hand, if he raises his hands unduly, 
 he will cover more than the blade, and will find 
 great difficulty in extracting it from the water 
 properly. The outside hand should control the 
 balance of the oar, and keep it at its proper level. 
 
 (23) As to the use of the stretcher-straps. 
 Many coaches imagine that when they have said, 
 " Do not pull yourself forward by your toes against 
 the straps," they have exhausted all that is to be 
 said on the matter. I venture, with all deference, 
 to differ from them. I agree that in the earlier 
 stages of instruction it is very useful to make men 
 occasionally row in tub-pairs without any straps, 
 so as to force them to develop and strengthen the 
 muscles of stomach and legs, which ought to do 
 the main work of the recovery. But later on, 
 when a man is rowing in an eight, and is striving, 
 according to the instructions of his coach, to swing 
 his body well and freely back, he can no more 
 recover properly without a slight toe-pressure 
 against the straps the heels, however, remaining 
 firm than he could make bricks without straw. 
 The straps, in fact, are a most valuable aid to the 
 recovery. Take them away from a crew and you 
 
32 ROWING. 
 
 will see one of two things : either the men will 
 never swing nearly even to the upright position, 
 and will recover with toil and trouble, or, if they 
 swing back properly, they will all fall over back- 
 wards with their feet in the air. This slight strap- 
 pressure just helps them over the difficult part of 
 the recovery ; as the body swings forward the 
 feet immediately resume their balance against 
 the stretcher. Indeed, if these movements are 
 properly performed, you get a very pretty play 
 of the toes and the ball of the foot against the 
 stretcher, you counteract the tendency of the body 
 to tumble forward, and you materially help the 
 beginning from that part of the foot in which the 
 spring resides. Totally to forbid men to use their 
 straps seems to me a piece of pedantry. On this 
 point I may fortify myself with the opinion of 
 Mr. W. B. Woodgate, as given in his " Badminton 
 Book on Boating." I am glad, too, to find that 
 Mr. S. Le Blanc Smith, of the London Rowing 
 Club, a most finished and beautiful oarsman, whose 
 record of victories at Henley is a sufficient testi- 
 mony to his knowledge and skill, agrees with me. 
 In an article published during a recent rowing 
 controversy, he remarks, "I think Mr. will 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 33 
 
 find that all men, consciously or unconsciously, 
 use the foot-strap more or less, to aid them in 
 the first inch or two of recovery. If he doubts 
 this, let him remove the strap and watch results, 
 be the oarsman who he may." I need only add 
 that this pressure should never be greater than 
 will just suffice to help the body-recovery. If 
 exaggerated, its result on slides will be to spoil 
 swing by pulling the slide forward in advance of 
 the body. 
 
 I have now, I think, taken you through all the 
 complicated movements of the stroke, and there 
 for the present I must leave you to carry out as 
 best you can instructions which I have endeavoured 
 to make as clear on paper as the difficulties of the 
 subject permit. But I may be allowed to add a 
 warning. Book-reading may be a help ; but 
 rowing, like any other exercise, can only be 
 properly learnt by constant and patient practice 
 in boats under the eyes of competent instructors. 
 Do not be discouraged because your improvement 
 is slow, and because you are continually being 
 rated for the same faults. With a slight amount 
 of intelligence and a large amount of persever- 
 ance and good temper, these faults will gradually 
 
 D 
 
34 ROWING. 
 
 disappear, and as your limbs and muscles accustom 
 themselves to the work, you will be moulded into 
 the form of a skilled oarsman. Even the dread 
 being who may be coaching you winner of the 
 Grand Challenge Cup or stroke-oar of his Uni- 
 versity though he be had his crude and shapeless 
 beginnings. He has passed through the mill, and 
 now is great and glorious. But if you imagine 
 that even he is faultless, just watch him as he 
 rows, and listen to the remarks that a fearless and 
 uncompromising coach permits himself to address 
 to him. And to show you that others have 
 suffered and misunderstood and have been mis- 
 understood like yourself, I will wind up this 
 chapter with "The Wail of the Tubbed," the 
 lyrical complaint of some Cambridge rowing 
 Freshmen. 
 
 " Sir, We feel we are intruding, but we deprecate your blame, 
 We may plead our youth and innocence as giving us a claim ; 
 We should blindly grope unaided in our efforts to do right, 
 So we look to you with confidence to make our darkness light. 
 
 "We are Freshmen rowing Freshmen; we have joined our 
 
 college club, 
 
 And are getting quite accustomed to our daily dose of tub ; 
 We have all of us bought uniforms, white, brown, or blue, or 
 
 red, 
 We talk rowing shop the livelong day, and dream of it in bed. 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 35 
 
 "We sit upon our lexicons as * Happy as a King ' 
 (We refer you to the picture), and we practise how to swing ; 
 We go every day to chapel, we are never, never late, 
 And we exercise our backs when there, and always keep them 
 straight. 
 
 " We shoot our hands away on land as quick as any ball : 
 Balls always shoot, they tell us, when rebounding from a wall. 
 We decline the noun 'a bucket,' and should deem it well, a 
 
 bore, 
 If we * met,' when mainly occupied in oarsmanship, our oar. 
 
 " But still there are a few things that our verdant little band, 
 Though we use our best endeavours, cannot fully understand. 
 So forgive us if we ask you, sir we're dull, perhaps, but keen 
 To explain these solemn mysteries and tell us what they mean. 
 
 "For instance, we have heard a coach say, * Five, you're very 
 
 rank ; 
 Mind those eyes of yours, they're straying, always straying, on 
 
 the bank.' 
 
 We are not prone to wonder, but we looked with some surprise 
 At the owner of those strangely circumambulating eyes. 
 
 " There's. a stroke who 'slices awfully,' and learns without remorse 
 That his crew are all to pieces at the finish of the course ; 
 There's A., who * chucks his head about,' and B., who * twists 
 
 and screws,' 
 Like an animated gimlet in a pair of shorts and shoes. 
 
 "And C. is ' all beginning,' so remark his candid friends ; 
 It must wear him out in time, we think, this stroke that never 
 
 ends. 
 
 And though D. has no beginning, yet his finish is Ai j 
 How can that possess a finish which has never been begun ? 
 
 " And E. apparently would be an oar beyond compare, 
 If the air were only water and the water only air. 
 
36 ROWING. 
 
 And F., whose style is lofty, doubtless has his reasons why 
 He should wish to scrape the judgment seat, when rowing, from 
 the sky. 
 
 "Then G. is far too neat for work, and H. is far too rough ; 
 There's J., who lugs, they say, too much, and K. not half 
 
 enough ; 
 There's L., who's never fairly done, and M., who's done too 
 
 brown, 
 And N., who can't stand training, and poor O., who can't sit 
 
 down. 
 
 "And P. is much too limp to last \ there's Q. too stiffly starched ; 
 And R., poor fool, whose inside wrist is never 'nicely arched.' 
 And, oh, sir, if you pity us, pray tell us, if you please, 
 What is meant by 'keep your button up,' and 'flatten down 
 your knees.' 
 
 " If an oar may be described as ' he,' there's no death half so grim 
 As the death like which we hang on with our outside hands to 
 
 'him;' 
 
 But in spite of all our efforts, we have never grasped, have you ? 
 How not to use ' those arms ' of ours, and yet to pull it through. 
 
 " S. ' never pulled his shoestrings.' If a man must pull at all, 
 Why uselessly pull shoestrings ? Such a task would surely pall. 
 But T.'s offence is worse than that, he'll never get his Blue, 
 He thinks rowing is a pastime well, we own we thought so too. 
 
 " Then V.'s ' a shocking sugarer,' how bitter to be that ! 
 X. flourishes his oar about as if it were a bat ; 
 And Y. should be provided, we imagine, with a spade, 
 Since he always ' digs,' instead of ' merely covering his blade.' 
 
 " Lastly, Z.'s a ' real old corker,' who will never learn to work, 
 For he puts his oar in gently and extracts it with a jerk. 
 Oh ! never has there been, we trow, since wickedness began, 
 Such a mass of imperfections as the perfect rowing man. 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON FIXED SEATS. 37 
 
 P.S, BY Two CYNICS. 
 
 " So they coach us and reproach us (like a flock of silly jays 
 Taught by parrots how to feather) through these dull October 
 
 days. 
 
 We shall never understand them, so we shouldn't care a dam * 
 If they all were sunk in silence at the bottom of the Cam." 
 
 * Dam an Oriental coin of small value. 
 
38 ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 
 
 LET me assume (I am still addressing my 
 imaginary novice) that you have passed 
 through the first few stages of your 
 novitiate. If you are an Oxford or a Cambridge 
 freshman you will have been carefully drilled in 
 a tub-pair, promoted later to a freshmen's four 
 or eight, and during the next term may have 
 been included in the Torpid or Lent-Boat of your 
 College. At any rate, I am assuming that you 
 have by now rowed in a race or a series of races 
 for eight-oared crews on fixed seats. But I prefer 
 to leave the general subject of combined rowing, 
 whether in eights or fours, to a later chapter, while 
 I attempt to explain the mysteries and difficulties 
 of the sliding seat. 
 
 The slide may be described as a contrivance for 
 increasing the length of the stroke (i.e. of the period 
 during which, the oar-blade remaining covered in 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 39 
 
 the water, power is applied to the propulsion of the 
 boat), and for giving greater effect to the driving 
 force of the oarsman's legs. Long before the actual 
 sliding seat had been invented professional oars- 
 men and scullers had discovered that if they slid 
 on their fixed thwarts they increased the pace of 
 their boats, and even amongst amateurs this prac- 
 tice was not unknown. Mr. R. H. Labat has told 
 me that so far back as 1870 he and his colleagues 
 fitted their rowing trousers with leather, greased 
 their thwarts, and so slid on them. In 1872 slides 
 were used at Henley Regatta, and in 1873 the 
 Oxford and Cambridge crews for the first time 
 rowed their race on slides, Cambridge winning in 
 19 mins. 35 sees., which remained as record time 
 until 1892. This performance, though it was 
 undoubtedly helped by good conditions of tide 
 and wind, served to establish slides firmly in 
 popular favour, and from that time onwards fixed 
 seats were practically retained only for the coach- 
 ing of novices and, in eights, for the Torpids 
 and Lent Races at Oxford and Cambridge. Now, 
 proceeding on the principle that rowing is meant 
 to be an exercise of grace, symmetry, and skill, 
 as well as of strength and endurance, I think I 
 
40 ROWING. 
 
 may lay it down as an essential rule that it is 
 necessary on slides to observe those instructions 
 which made fixed-seat rowing in the old days 
 a pleasure to the eye. In the very early days of 
 slides, while men were still groping for correct 
 principles, this important axiom was too often 
 neglected. It was imagined that swing was no 
 longer necessary, and accordingly the rivers 
 were filled with contorted oarsmen shuffling and 
 tumbling and screwing on their slides. Veteran 
 oars and coaches, to whom " form " was as the 
 apple of their eye, were horror-struck, and gave 
 vent to loud lamentations, utterly condemning this 
 horrible innovation, which, as they thought, had 
 reduced oarsmanship to the level of a rough and 
 tumble fight. " If both Universities," wrote the 
 Rev. A. T. W. Shadwell in his " Notes on Boat- 
 building," published in the " Record of the 
 University Boat Race" in 1881, "would con- 
 descend to ask Dr. Warre to construct for them, 
 and if their crews would also either learn to use the 
 sliding apparatus effectively, or to discard it as 
 pernicious and as an enemy to real oarsmanship 
 when not thoroughly mastered, then we should be 
 treated again to the welcome spectacle of boats 
 
J 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 41 
 
 travelling instead of dragging, riding over the water 
 instead of the water washing over the canvas, com- 
 bined with that still more-to-be-desired spectacle 
 of faultless form and faultless time eight men 
 ground into one perfect machine. Nothing short 
 of that result will satisfy those who know what 
 eight-oared rowing ought to be, and lament its 
 decadence." Yet Cambridge had produced the 
 1876 crew, Oxford the 1878 crew, both of them 
 models of style, unison and strength, and Leander 
 both in 1875 and in 1880 had won the Grand 
 Challenge Cup with admirable crews composed 
 exclusively of University men. It would seem, 
 therefore, as if Mr. Shadwell's strictures were unde- 
 served, at least by the better class of University 
 oars. The fact is that by that time, and for some 
 years before that time, the true principles of sliding 
 had been acquired, and the more serious defects 
 of form had once more become the cherished 
 possession of inferior college crews. But then, 
 even in the glorious old fixed-seat days, College 
 crews were not always remarkable for the beauty 
 and correctness of their form. I am not going to 
 deny that the difficulty of teaching good style has 
 been increased by the addition of the sliding seat ; 
 
42 ROWING. 
 
 but there have been innumerable examples during 
 the last quarter of a century to prove that this 
 difficulty can be faced and entirely overcome. Four 
 crews I have already mentioned. I may add to 
 them, not as exhausting the list of good crews, but 
 as being splendid examples of combined style and 
 power, the London Rowing Club crew of 1881, 
 which won the final of the Grand from the outside 
 station against Leander and Twickenham ; the 
 Oxford crews of 1892, 1896 and 1897 ; the crews of 
 Trinity Hall, the Oxford Etonians, and the Thames 
 Rowing Club in 1886 and 1887 ; the Cambridge 
 crew and the Thames Rowing Club crew of 1888 ; 
 the London Rowing Club crew of 1890 ; the Leander 
 crews of 1891, 1893, 1894 and 1896; and the New 
 College and Leander crews of the present year. It 
 is fortunate that this should be so, for, the proof of 
 the pudding being in the eating, it is hardly likely 
 that crews will abandon a device which, while it 
 has actually increased pace over the Henley course 
 by close on half a minute, has rendered skill and 
 watermanship of higher value, and has given an 
 additional effect to physical strength. 
 
 During my undergraduate days at Cambridge, 
 and for some years afterwards (say, up to about 
 

 > * 
 
 a f ~ 
 
 -3 -o 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 43 
 
 1884), the slide-tracks in racing boats were sixteen 
 inches long.* This, allowing seven inches as the 
 breadth of the seat itself, would give the slide a 
 " play," or movement, of nine inches. The front- 
 stop, which forms the limit of th? forward move- 
 ment of the slide, was fixed so as to bring the 
 front edge of the slide to a point five inches from 
 the " work," i.e. from a line drawn straight across 
 the boat from the back, or rowing, thole. At the 
 finish of the stroke, therefore, when the slide had 
 been driven full back, its front edge was fourteen 
 inches away from the work. To put it in techni- 
 cal language, we slid up to five inches from our 
 work and finished fourteen inches away from it. 
 Since that time slides have become longer, and 
 there are but few racing boats in which the slide- 
 tracks are less than twenty-two or even twenty- 
 three inches long, giving the slide a play of fifteen 
 or sixteen inches. The front edge of the slide 
 now moves forward (when I say " forward " I speak 
 in relation to the movement of the body and not 
 in relation to the ends of the boat) to a point which 
 is level with the work. In other words, we now 
 slide up to our work and finish fifteen or sixteen 
 
 * The Metropolitan rowing clubs had, I believe, lengthened their 
 sliding some time before this. 
 
44 ROWING. 
 
 inches from it. On these long slides, when the 
 body has attained the full reach, the flanks are 
 closed in upon the thighs, the knees are bent until 
 the thighs come fairly close to the calves, and, ex 
 necessario, the ankle-joints are very much bent. It 
 is plain that great flexibility of hip-joints, knees, 
 and ankles must be attained in order that the slide 
 may be used fully up to the last fraction of an 
 inch in coming forward. This flexibility very few 
 novices, and not all old stagers, possess. The 
 muscles and joints at first absolutely refuse to 
 accommodate themselves to this new strain, and 
 you will see a man as he slides forward, taking his 
 heels well off the stretcher in order to ease the 
 strain upon his ankles, and moving his shoulders 
 back long before his oar has gripped the water in 
 order to relieve his hip-joints. This results in his 
 missing the whole of his beginning, striking the 
 water at right-angles to his rigger instead of well 
 behind it, and having absolutely no firmness of 
 drive when it becomes necessary for him to use 
 his legs. In order, therefore, that matters may be 
 made easier for novices, and that they may be 
 brought on gradually, I strongly advise coaches 
 to start them on slides much shorter than those 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 45 
 
 now in vogue. A slide with a play of eight inches, 
 coming to a point six inches from the work, is 
 ample. A few days will make a wonderful differ- 
 ence, and later on, when the first stiffness has 
 worn off and the movements have become easier, 
 the slide can be gradually increased. At Oxford 
 and Cambridge the proper seasons for such pre- 
 liminary practice would be the Lent Term, when 
 Torpids and Lent Races are over, and the begin- 
 ning of the October term, when many College 
 clubs at any rate at Cambridge organize Sliding- 
 seat Trial Eights in clinker-built boats. 
 
 Two further points remain to be noticed. On 
 fixed seats the ankles hardly bend up as the body 
 swings forward, and it is possible, therefore, to use 
 a stretcher fixed almost erect in the boat, the seat 
 being placed eleven or twelve inches from the 
 work. But with slides, as I have explained, the 
 seat moves to a point which in racing boats is now 
 level with the work, and few ankles are capable of 
 submitting to the strain which would be involved 
 if the stretchers were set up as erect (" proud " is 
 the technical term) as they are with fixed seats. 
 It is necessary, therefore, to set the stretchers more 
 off on an incline (technically, to " rake " them). It 
 
46 ROWING. 
 
 will be found, I think, that, assuming a stretcher to 
 be one foot in height, a set-off of nine inches will be 
 amply sufficient for most novices, even on full slides.* 
 I have myself never found any difficulty in main- 
 taining my feet firm on a stretcher of this rake or 
 even of less, and I have known some very supple- 
 jointed men, e.g. Mr. H. Willis, of the Leander 
 Crews of 1 896 and 1 897, who preferred to row with 
 a stretcher set up a good deal prouder. But the 
 average oar is not very supple-jointed, though his 
 facility in this respect can be greatly improved by 
 practice. To make things easier and after all our 
 object should be to smooth away all the oars- 
 man's external difficulties I consider it advisable to 
 fix heel-traps to the stretcher. This simple device, 
 by the pressure which it exercises against the back 
 of the heels, counteracts their tendency to come 
 away from the stretcher ; but even with heel-traps, 
 I have seen stiff-jointed oarsmen make the most 
 superbly successful efforts to bring their heels away. 
 The second point is this : With sliding seats 
 you require an oar of longer leverage (i.e. inboard 
 
 * The angle made by the back of the stretcher and the kelson 
 may vary from 43 to 53. Personally, I prefer 50. The prouder 
 (up to a certain point) you set the stretcher the firmer will your 
 leg-power be at the finish of the stroke. 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 47 
 
 measurement from rowing-face of button to end of 
 handle) than with fixed seats. For a fixed seat 
 an oar with a leverage of 3 ft. 5^ ins. should suffice. 
 With long slides the leverage of an oar should not 
 be less than 3 ft. 8 ins., nor more than 3 ft. 8J ins. 
 For this I assume that the distance of the centre 
 of the seat from the sill of the row-lock is 2 ft. 7 ins. 
 With regard to leverage, there is a practical unani- 
 mity of opinion amongst modern oarsmen. With 
 regard to the outboard measurement of oars and 
 the proper width of blade, they differ somewhat, 
 but I can reserve this matter for the next chapter, 
 merely premising that in any case it is not advis- 
 able to start your novices in gigs with oar-blades 
 broader than 5f ins. 
 
 Let me imagine, then, that my pupil is seated in 
 the gig, his stretcher having been fixed at a point 
 that will enable him, when his slide is full back, 
 and he is sitting on it easily without pressing, 
 to have his knees slightly bent. 
 
 And now to the business of instruction. 
 
 i. Remember and endeavour to apply all the 
 lessons you have learnt on fixed seats. Slides add 
 another element to the stroke. They do not alter 
 the elements you have previously been taught. 
 
48 ROWING. 
 
 2. BEGINNING. Get hold of this just as you 
 would on a fixed seat, with a sharp spring of the 
 whole body, which thus begins its swing-back 
 without the loss of a fraction of time. 
 
 (a) The natural tendency of a tiro will be to 
 
 drive his slide away before his shoulders 
 have begun to move. This must at all costs 
 be avoided. In order to secure the effectual 
 combination of body-swing and leg-work, it 
 is essential that the swing should start first. 
 
 (b) It is equally reprehensible to swing the 
 
 body full back before starting the slide ; 
 
 you thus cut the stroke into two distinct 
 
 parts, one composed of mere body-swing, 
 
 the other of mere leg-work. Therefore : 
 
 (2) When the body-swing backwards has started, 
 
 but only the smallest fractional part of a second 
 
 afterwards so quickly, indeed, as to appear to 
 
 the eye of a spectator almost a simultaneous 
 
 movement let the slide begin to travel back, 
 
 the swing meanwhile continuing. 
 
 (a) Remember what was said in fixed-seat 
 instructions as to the use of the toes 
 and the ball of the foot at the beginning 
 of the stroke. On slides this is even 
 more important. 
 
1 f 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 49 
 
 (3) Body and slide are now moving back in 
 unison, the feet pressing with firm and steady 
 pressure against the stretcher, and the arms per- 
 fectly straight. As the slide moves, the leg-power 
 applied must on no account diminish. If any- 
 thing it ought to increase, for the body is begin- 
 ning to lose its impetus, and the main part of the 
 resistance is transferred to the legs, the blade all 
 the time moving at an even pace through the water. 
 
 (4) The body must swing a little further back 
 than on a fixed seat. 
 
 (5) Body-swing and slide-back should end at 
 the same moment. 
 
 (6) As they end, the knees should be pressed 
 firmly down so as to enable you to secure the 
 last ounce of leg-power from the stretcher. Simul- 
 taneously with this depression of the legs, the 
 hands (and particularly the outside hand, which 
 has been doing the main share of the work of 
 the stroke all through) must bring the oar-handle 
 firmly home to the chest, sweeping it in and thus 
 obtaining what is called a firm hard finish. As the 
 knees come finally down, the elbows pass the sides, 
 and the shoulders move back and downwards. 
 
 (a) Mr. W. B. Woodgate, in the Badminton 
 
 E 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 49 
 
 (3) Body and slide are now moving back in 
 unison, the feet pressing with firm and steady 
 pressure against the stretcher, and the arms per- 
 fectly straight. As the slide moves, the leg-power 
 applied must on no account diminish. If any- 
 thing it ought to increase, for the body is begin- 
 ning to lose its impetus, and the main part of the 
 resistance is transferred to the legs, the blade all 
 the time moving at an even pace through the water. 
 
 (4) The body must swing a little further back 
 than on a fixed seat. 
 
 (5) Body-swing and slide-back should end at 
 the same moment. 
 
 (6) As they end, the knees should be pressed 
 firmly down so as to enable you to secure the 
 last ounce of leg-power from the stretcher. Simul- 
 taneously with this depression of the legs, the 
 hands (and particularly the outside hand, which 
 has been doing the main share of the work of 
 the stroke all through) must bring the oar-handle 
 firmly home to the chest, sweeping it in and thus 
 obtaining what is called a firm hard finish. As the 
 knees come finally down, the elbows pass the sides, 
 and the shoulders move back and downwards. 
 
 (a) Mr. W. B. Woodgate, in the Badminton 
 
 E 
 
ROWING. 
 
 book on "Boating," says: "Many good 
 oarsmen slide until the knees are quite 
 straight. In the writer's opinion this is 
 waste of power : the knees should never 
 quite straighten; the recovery is, for 
 anatomical reasons, much stronger if the 
 joint is slightly bent when the reversal 
 of the machinery commences. The 
 extra half-inch of kick gained by quite 
 straightening the knees hardly compen- 
 sates for the extra strain of recovery ; 
 also leg-work to the last fraction of a 
 second of swing is better preserved by 
 this retention of a slight bend, and an 
 open chest and clean finish are thereby 
 better attained." 
 
 If Mr. Woodgate means that the legs 
 are not to be pressed down as the stroke 
 finishes, but are to remain loosely bent, I 
 differ from him, though, considering his 
 high authority, with hesitation and regret. 
 As a matter of fact, the front edge of the 
 thwart catches the calves of the legs at 
 the finish, when the legs are pressed 
 down, and prevents the knees from 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 51 
 
 being absohitely straightened. But I am 
 certain that unless an oarsman assures 
 his legs in the firm position that I have 
 explained, he will lose most valuable 
 power at the end of the stroke, and will 
 materially increase his difficulty in taking 
 his oar clean out of the water and 
 generally in getting a smart recovery. 
 This final leg-pressure not only supports 
 the body in a somewhat trying position, 
 but enables the hands to come home to 
 the chest without faltering. As on fixed 
 seats, it is essential that the body should 
 not be pulled forward to meet the oar. 
 And it is equally essential that it should 
 not sink down or fall away from the 
 hands, thus rendering an elastic recovery 
 impossible. 
 
 (b) The blade, as on fixed seats, must be kept 
 fully covered to the finish, and there 
 must be power on it to the last fraction 
 of an inch. If a man takes his oar out 
 of the water before he has fairly ended 
 his stroke, and rows his finish in the air, 
 or if he partially uncovers his blade and 
 
52 ROWING. 
 
 rows "light," he commits in either case 
 a serious fault. In the former case his 
 whole body-weight, which ought to be 
 propelling the boat, not only ceases to 
 have any good effect, but becomes so 
 much dead lumber, and actually impedes 
 her progress. In the latter he can only 
 exert half, or, it may be, one quarter of 
 his proper power during an appreciable 
 part of the stroke. 
 
 (7) The drop of the hands, the turn of the 
 wrists, the shoot-out of the hands, and the 
 straightening of the arms must be performed 
 precisely as on a fixed seat, but the legs, mean- 
 while, are to remain braced, so that knees may 
 not hamper hands. As soon as ever the hands 
 have been shot out, and immediately after the start 
 of the forward swing, the slide comes into play, 
 and the knees consequently begin to bend out- 
 wards and upwards. It is very important not to 
 pause or " hang " on the recovery. 
 
 (8) The recovery movements ought to release 
 the body smartly, but care must be taken not to 
 hustle the body forward with a rush before the 
 arms are straightened. The body begins to swing 
 
FIRST LESSONS ON SLIDING SEATS. 53 
 
 from the hips as soon as the hands release it, but 
 
 the swing is to be a slow one. 
 
 (a) Do not begin to slide forward before you 
 swing. Let your swing just have the 
 precedence, and let it then carry your 
 slide with it. 
 
 (9) The pace of the swing forward must be 
 slow and unvarying, and the slide, therefore, must 
 also move slowly. The time occupied by the 
 swing should be the body's rest 
 
 (10) Remember the fixed-seat instructions as to 
 balance against the stretcher with the feet during 
 the swing forward, and especially during the latter 
 part of it. The fault of tumbling forward over the 
 stretcher is far too common, and can only be 
 avoided or corrected by maintaining the pressure 
 on the stretcher. In fact, never let your body get 
 out of control. You ought to feel and to look as 
 if at any moment during the swing forward you 
 could stop dead at the word of command. Swing 
 and slide should practically end together, the 
 body " snaking out," as I have heard it expressed, 
 in the final part of the swing, but without " peck- 
 ing" over the front-stop. There must be no over- 
 reach with the shoulders. 
 
54 ROWING. 
 
 (11) When the body is full forward the knees 
 should be opened to about the breadth of the 
 arm-pits, the flanks closed in against the thighs. 
 The knees should bend steadily and gradually 
 into this position, and at the moment of beginning 
 they must maintain themselves there and not fall 
 loosely apart. Such a movement entails a great 
 loss of power at the beginning of the next stroke. 
 Nor, on the other hand, ought the knees to be 
 clipped together as the stroke begins. 
 
 (12) Remember, finally, that grace, erectness, 
 straightness of back and arms, and a clean pre- 
 cision, balance and elasticity of all movements 
 are as important now as they were on fixed seats. 
 A man who on slides rounds his back, humps 
 up his shoulders, and hollows his chest may do 
 good work, but it will be in spite of and not 
 because of these serious disfigurements. Only 
 by carefully observing fixed rules and by pro- 
 longed practice will you be able to attain to the 
 harmonious ease and elegance by which a com- 
 paratively weak man can so economize his strength 
 as to outrow and outlast some brawny giant who 
 wastes his power in useless contortions. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 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 him- 
 self, 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 
 
56 ROWING. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 neces- 
 sarily be maintained, on the feather and through- 
 out the swing, at the uniform level prescribed for 
 them by the harmonious movement of eight pairs 
 of hands. The bodies must begin, continue, and 
 
SNAPSHOTS OF A CREW IN MOTION. 
 
 NO. I. JUST BEFORE FULL REACH. 
 
 NO. 2. FULL REACH. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 57 
 
 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 inde- 
 pendent 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 
 
58 ROWING. 
 
 supposition that you were trying to qualify your- 
 self to row eventually in a light racing-ship. Sum- 
 ming 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 main- 
 tain 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 mean- 
 while 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 
 
SNAPSHOTS OF A CREW IN MOTION. 
 
 NO. 3. JUST AFTER BEGINNING OF STROKE. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 59 
 
 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. 
 
 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. 
 
60 ROWING. 
 
 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 to- 
 wards 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 measure- 
 ments given at the end of this chapter should be 
 consulted. 
 
 In this crew I will suppose that five of the 
 members have already had experience in light- 
 ship 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 
 
SNAPSHOTS OF A CREW IN MOTION. 
 
 NO. 5. ARMS ABOUT TO BEND FOR FINISH OF STROKE. 
 
 NO. 6. ARMS BENT FOR FINISH OF STROKE. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 61 
 
 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 com- 
 mand 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 indivi- 
 dually 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, 
 (i) "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." 
 
62 ROWING. 
 
 (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 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 63 
 
 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 out- 
 side 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. 
 
 (i) "The finish and recovery are not a bit to- 
 gether. 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 
 
64 ROWING. 
 
 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 for- 
 ward. Keep the swing slow and long. You are 
 all much too short on the swing, and consequently 
 get no length in the water." 
 
SNAPSHOTS OF A CREW IN MOTION. 
 
 NO. 7. A BAD LURCH OX TO STROKE-SIDE. 
 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 65 
 
 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 . . i 1 1 
 
 (3) Depth ... i i 
 
 F 
 
66 ROWING. 
 
 ft. ins. 
 
 (4) Height of thwarts above skin of boat . .07! 
 
 (5) seats . o 9|* 
 
 (6) rowlock sills above seat . . . o 6f 
 
 (7) heels above skin of boat . . . o \\ 
 
 (8) Position of front edge of slide in relation to 
 
 rowing-pin when well forward . . . level 
 
 (9) Length of movement of slide . . . .14 
 (10) Distance from rowing-pin, measured horizon- 
 tally and at right angles to boat, to centre of 
 
 seat 27 
 
 (n) Distance from wood of one thole-pin to wood 
 
 of the other 04$ 
 
 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\ ins. from centre, No. 5's 3^ 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. 
 
 * 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. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 67 
 
 Since 1891 boat-builders have somewhat in- 
 creased 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. in< 
 
 (1) Length over all 120 
 
 (2) Length in-board, i.e. measured from rowing face 
 
 of bottom to end of handle . . . .38 
 \Note. In some cases an extra half-inch was 
 
 added, which would make the length over all 12 oJ 
 
68 ROWING. 
 
 ft. ins. 
 
 (3) Length of button from top to bottom, measured 
 
 in a straight line o 3i 
 
 (4) Length of blade measured over the arc of the 
 
 scoop 27 
 
 (5) Breadth of blade 06 
 
 \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 1 1 ft. 1 1 J- 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 126 
 
 In-board 37^ 
 
 Length of blade 25 
 
 Breadth of blade near shank o 6| 
 
 at end 05 
 
 (These blades were " coffin "-shaped on a pattern invented 
 by Dr. Warre.)] 
 
 Measurement of Oars of Oxford Crew, 1890. 
 
 ft. ins. 
 
 Overall 12 3^ 
 
 In-board 3 8| 
 
 Length of blade 27 
 
 Greatest breadth o 6i 
 
 (These were barrel blades.) 
 
 In 1896 the Oxford crew rowed with oars 
 measuring 12 ft. 2 ins. over all, with a leverage 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 69 
 
 of 3 ft. 8 \ 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 5j 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 them- 
 selves or their reputation justice. This pattern 
 of oar was used by New College at Henley, the 
 blades, however, being further cut down to 5 J 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 
 
70 ROWING. 
 
 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. 
 in. over all, and blades s| ins. in breadth, defeated 
 New College, rowing with 12 ft. 6 ins. oars, and 
 blades of sjins., the leverage in both cases being 
 3 ft. 8 J- ins. The advocates of the long oar main- 
 tain 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 imple- 
 ment 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. i in. oars than with oars 3 ins. or 4 ins. 
 longer.* 
 
 * Mr. S. Le B. Smith informs me that, to the best of his recol- 
 lection, 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 ins. My impression is that they 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 71 
 
 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 measure- 
 ment 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. 
 
 used riggers shorter by 2 ins, than those now in use. Their blades 
 were not quite 6 ins. broad. 
 
72 ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 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 1 1 st. 5 Ibs. 
 to list lolbs. or even to I2st.) will be best at 
 stroke and No. 7 ; three heavy-weights (12 st. 4 Ibs. 
 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 (lost, to list. 3 Ibs. 
 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 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 73 
 
 heavy-weights ; (c) the absence of any good 
 middle-weights possessing the peculiar qualities 
 necessary for stroke and No. 7 ; and (d) the in- 
 ability 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 prac- 
 tice 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 com- 
 pare 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. 
 
74 ROWING. 
 
 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 in- 
 variably 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- 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 75 
 
 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 de- 
 leterious 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 
 
76 ROWING. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 77 
 
 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, more- 
 over, the gift inestimably valuable in a stroke 
 of taking his men along at their best pace while 
 
78 ROWING. 
 
 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, 
 
MR. C. W. KEXT. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 79 
 
 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 follow- 
 ing 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 
 
8o ROWING. 
 
 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 conse- 
 quence 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 un- 
 accountably 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 
 
MR. H. G. GOLD. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 81 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
 G 
 
82 ROWING. 
 
 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 per- 
 fectly 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 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 83 
 
 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 u 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 
 
84 ROWING. 
 
 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 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 85 
 
 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, sur- 
 passed, 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 
 
86 ROWING. 
 
 gave him No. 5's seat in the Leander crew of 1893, 
 and his rowing in that crew and in others sub- 
 sequently proved the correctness of our judgment. 
 The late Mr. T. H. E. Stretch, too, was a remark- 
 able 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, 
 1 88 1, and 1882. Amongst good No. 4*3, 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. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 87 
 
 Henley, in the Oxford crew of 1866, rowed at 
 12 st. 13 Ibs. ; 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 dis- 
 comforts as may exist in a boat seem to con- 
 centrate 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 
 
88 ROWING. 
 
 of Leander fame. The last two rarely rowed as 
 much as ten stone, but their work was remark- 
 able. 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. 
 
89 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS (continued}. 
 
 FROM the hints given in the preceding chapter 
 it will have been gathered that good oars- 
 men are of all sizes and weights. But it 
 must not be forgotten that no small part of the 
 motive-power of a crew comes from heavy men. 
 By weight I do not, of course, mean that which 
 results from mere adipose deposit ; but weight, 
 as it is usually found amongst young men, that 
 depends on the size of the frame and the limbs, 
 and on their due covering of muscle and sinew. I 
 cannot, therefore, too strongly advise a captain or 
 a coach to spare no labour and no patience in 
 endeavouring to teach big men how to row. There 
 will be disappointments. Every one who has ex- 
 perience of rowing must remember at least one 
 massive and magnificent giant who failed to learn, 
 in spite of infinite pains on his own part and on 
 
90 ROWING. 
 
 the part of those who had to teach him. Out of a 
 boat he may have looked the very model of what 
 a heavy-weight oarsman should be erect, strong, 
 well-proportioned, supple, and active. But put 
 him in a boat, and at once he suffered a river 
 change. His muscles turned into pulp, his chest 
 became hollow, his arms and legs were mere 
 nerveless attachments, and his whole body 
 assumed the shapelessness of a sack of potatoes. 
 In the end, after many days, the hopeless effort 
 had to be sadly abandoned, and the would-be 
 oarsman returned to the rough untutored struggles 
 of the football field, or the intoxicating delights 
 of lawn-tennis and golf. But, on the other hand, 
 there are innumerable instances to prove that a 
 big man who has never touched an oar before 
 he came to Oxford or Cambridge, or joined one 
 of the Metropolitan clubs, may, by care and per- 
 severance, be turned into the pride and mainstay 
 of his crew. Therefore, I say, persist with big 
 and heavy men, in spite of occasional discourage- 
 ments; for there is more advantage to a crew 
 in one rough thirteen-stoner who really works and 
 swings than in two light-weights polished ad 
 ungtiem. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 91 
 
 In the shapes of oarsmen, again, every kind 
 of variety may be found, not merely in minor 
 details, but in the whole physical characteristics 
 of their bodies. Bob Coombes, the professional 
 champion of 1846, 1847, and 1851, has recorded 
 his opinion that the best physical type of oarsman 
 is the man who is, amongst other things, deep- 
 chested and straight and full in the flanks ; who, 
 in other words, has no waist to speak of. To this 
 type Mr. S. D. Muttlebury and Mr. Guy Nickalls 
 conform, and there can be no doubt that it is the 
 best. But I have known oarsmen who varied 
 from it in every detail, and yet did magnificent 
 work in a crew. I have already mentioned Mr. 
 C. W. Kent, and I may add another example 
 in Mr. H. Willis, of the Leander Club, a very 
 finished and valuable oar, who has given his proofs 
 not only in an Eight, but also as No. 3 of the 
 winning Stewards' Four at Henley Regatta this 
 year. Mr. Willis is tall and loose-jointed. He 
 is not furnished with any great quantity of muscle, 
 and his modesty will not resent my adding that, 
 though he has a well-framed chest, he also pos- 
 sesses a very distinct waist. I might multiply 
 such instances ; but they may all be summed up 
 
92 ROWING. 
 
 in the statement that a really good oarsman is 
 never of a bad shape for rowing. The ultimate 
 test is to be found not in the examination of his 
 muscle or the measurement of his frame, but in 
 the careful and patient observation of his work 
 while he is actually engaged in rowing. A mere 
 weed, of course, cannot row to advantage ; but 
 I have seen more than one instance of so-called 
 weeds who eventually developed under the in- 
 fluence of the exercise into solid and capable oars. 
 And, as a rule, there is more promise in the 
 comparative weakling than in the gymnast whose 
 tight binding of muscles impedes the freedom and 
 alertness of his limbs. 
 
 We may now consider how the practice of an 
 ordinary eight-oared crew should be conducted. 
 There is a certain amount of difference of opinion 
 as to how long a crew should remain in their tub 
 that is, in their clinker-built boat before taking 
 to the racing-ship. Most college captains, I think, 
 keep their men in the heavy boat too long. Four 
 or five days are, I think, an amply sufficient period. 
 Experienced oars are none the better for rowing 
 in a heavy boat, and novices who have much to 
 learn in watermanship, and want a long period for 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 93 
 
 the learning, can be taught the requisite lessons 
 only in a light ship. The difficulties of sitting 
 such a ship are, as a rule, much exaggerated ; 
 and the young oar who watches the scratch crews 
 rowing against a University crew, or sees a 
 Leander Eight setting out for the first time, is 
 apt to be surprised when he notes how eight men, 
 who have never rowed together before, can move 
 along with uniformity and steadiness. There are, 
 no doubt, difficulties of balance and quickness 
 in light ship rowing ; but the sooner these are 
 faced the better for all concerned. I am assuming, 
 of course, that the novice has been already drilled 
 in the manner described in previous chapters. 
 
 As to the total length of the period of practice 
 from the start to the day of the race, that must, 
 and does, vary according to circumstances. A 
 University crew practising for a long race will 
 be at work generally from about the middle of 
 January until towards the end of March, some ten 
 weeks in all. Cambridge college crews have six 
 weeks, Oxford college crews only about four, for 
 the college races. A London, Thames, or Kingston 
 crew can command at least seven weeks for the 
 practice of its Henley crew. On the other hand, 
 
94 ROWING. 
 
 no winning Leander crew that I have known has 
 ever practised for more than three weeks as a 
 combination ; though individual members of it, 
 who had not been at work since the previous year, 
 may have been taking rowing exercise on their 
 own account for some little time before the eight 
 got to work. As a typical example, I may take 
 the remarkable Leander crew of 1896. Five 
 members of this crew Mr. Guy Nickalls, Mr. J. 
 A. Ford, Mr. C. W. N. Graham, Mr. T. H. E. 
 Stretch, and Mr. H. Willis had had no rowing 
 exercise for a year ; one, Mr. W. F. C. Holland, 
 had not worked, except for a casual regatta in 
 Portugal, since the final of the Grand Challenge 
 Cup in 1893; the other two, Mr. H. Gold and 
 Mr. R. Carr, had been in regular practice at 
 Oxford or at Putney since the previous October. 
 Two weeks before practice in the Eight began, 
 Messrs. Holland, Ford, Stretch, and Graham 
 began work in a Four, with Mr. Graham, the 
 eventual bow of the Eight, at stroke. Mr. Willis 
 had half this period of preliminary practice in 
 a pair. Mr. Nickalls had for some weeks been 
 working at Putney in a Four and a pair. Just 
 three clear weeks before the first day of Henley 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 95 
 
 Regatta the Eight was launched ; but it was not 
 until three days after this that Mr. Nickalls was 
 able to come into the boat, and the crew for the 
 first time rowed in its final order, the advent of 
 Mr. Nickalls resulting in four changes in its 
 arrangement. And yet this crew defeated Yale 
 University, who had been practising for months, 
 and other crews, composed of good material, that 
 had been together for six or seven weeks. I have 
 in my mind, too, another crew, a combination 
 of three Oxonians, two Cantabs, two Etonians, 
 and one Radleian, who, on one week's practice, 
 managed to beat over a one-mile course the 
 Eights of the London and Thames clubs, in spite 
 of their ten or eleven weeks of practice. 
 
 I do not wish to have it inferred from the fore- 
 going facts that in my opinion those crews are likely 
 to turn out best which practise together for a very 
 short time. Still, the qualities of skill, keenness of 
 enthusiasm, strength, condition, and racing ability, 
 are factors in success even more important than 
 length of practice. It ought, of course, to be true 
 that if you could get two crews equally matched as 
 regards these qualities that which had had the 
 longer period of practice should win because of its 
 
96 ROWING. 
 
 greater uniformity. Moreover, in most cases extra 
 length of practice ^ip to a certain point ought to 
 imply superiority of condition. Beyond that point 
 a crew, though it maintains its outward uniformity 
 and style, will fall off in pace, because overwork 
 will have dulled the edge of its energies, and robbed 
 it of the brisk animation that marks the rowing of 
 men trained to the very needle-point of perfect 
 condition. And on the whole, taking condition 
 and the risks of staleness into account, I should 
 prefer to take my chances for an ordinary race with 
 a crew that had practised from four to five weeks, 
 rather than with one that had been at it for ten or 
 eleven. I leave out of account the Oxford and 
 Cambridge boat-race, both because of the length 
 of the course over which it is rowed, and on account 
 of the frequent changes to which the authorities 
 generally find themselves compelled to resort. 
 And even for this race, if a president could at the 
 outset be absolutely certain as to the general com- 
 position of the crew, he would find, I think, that a 
 period of seven weeks at the outside would be 
 fully sufficient for him and his men. The whole 
 matter amounts to this, that a captain or a coach 
 must consider carefully all the circumstances of his 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 97 
 
 case the skill, the condition, the experience and 
 the strength of his men, and the distance over 
 which they have to race, and must decide on the 
 period of practice accordingly. I cannot on paper 
 lay down any fixed general rule for his guidance, 
 but can only bring before him a few detached con- 
 siderations which may be useful to him as food for 
 reflection. For my own part, I may add that I 
 have never found the least difficulty, even after a 
 year's rest from rowing, in getting into very good 
 racing condition on three or four weeks of work. 
 
 HOW TO ARRANGE THE DAILY WORK OF 
 AN EIGHT. 
 
 Let the real hard work be done in the earlier 
 stages of practice. You thus accustom your men 
 to one another, and you grind them into a uni- 
 formity which makes all their subsequent work 
 easier. This plan has been very successfully 
 followed by Oxford crews. Before they get to 
 Putney they will have rowed over the long course 
 of four miles some ten times. As a result, 
 the men are hard and row well together ; and 
 during their stay at Putney it is found possible 
 
 H 
 
98 ROWING 
 
 to ease them in their work, so as to bring them 
 fresh and vigorous to the post on the day of the 
 race. Supposing you have five weeks for practice, 
 you ought, I think, during the first fortnight to 
 row your crew over the racing course at least four 
 times. During the next ten days one full course 
 will be sufficient. The work of the last ten days 
 must vary according to the condition of the men, 
 but two half courses and one full course at a racing 
 stroke will probably be found sufficient. Save for 
 the rare case of an exceptionally long row, a 
 practice of about an hour and a half every day is 
 enough. At Henley all crews practise twice a 
 day, but I do not think they spend more than two 
 hours, if so much, on the water every day. 
 
 RATE OF STROKE. 
 
 The practice rate for paddling ought not in the 
 early stages to be less than twenty- eight to the 
 minute, which you may raise two points when 
 rowing hard. Later on, when your men are doing 
 their rowing work at thirty-six or more, and when 
 they are, or ought to be, well together, you may 
 drop the rate of paddling to twenty-six or twenty- 
 five, in order to give them periods of rest, and to 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 99 
 
 instil into them that steadiness of swing which 
 they are apt to neglect when engaged in the effort 
 of working up the stroke to racing pace. For a 
 course of a mile to a mile and a half, a crew should 
 be able to start at forty, continue at thirty-eight, 
 and, if necessary, finish at forty in the race. Even 
 for the Putney to Mortlake course a crew ought to 
 be able to command forty at a pinch. As a rule, 
 however, over a four-mile course a crew will go 
 quite fast enough if it starts for not more than a 
 minute at thirty-seven to thirty-eight, and con- 
 tinues, in the absence of a head-wind at an average 
 of thirty-five.* At Henley most crews will start off 
 at forty-one to forty-two for the first minute, and 
 continue at thirty-nine. Anything higher than 
 this is dangerous, though on a course of two-thirds 
 of a mile I have known a Four to row forty-six 
 in the first minute with advantage. 
 
 * Against a head- wind the rate of stroke must be slower. A 
 coach's instructions would be, "Swing down and reach out well, 
 and swing hard back against the wind." A following wind makes 
 a crew very unsteady, unless they remember that, since the pace of 
 the boat is increased by the wind, they must catch the beginning 
 sharper, to prevent the boat running away from them, and take their 
 oars out even quicker and cleaner than before, in order to prevent 
 the boat catching them up, as it were. Above all, they must keep 
 the swing slow when they have a following wind. 
 
loo ROWING. 
 
 These instructions are intended to apply to light 
 racing ships. For the clinker-built fixed-seat boats 
 that are used at Oxford and Cambridge for the 
 Torpids and Lent races, a racing rate of thirty- 
 seven ought to be high enough, seeing that the 
 crews are mainly composed of young oars. The 
 second division crews of the Cambridge " May " 
 races row with slides, but in heavy, clinker-built 
 boats. The advantages of this arrangement are 
 not obvious. Still, these crews ought to be able to 
 race at thirty-six to thirty-seven. As a rule, how- 
 ever, when I have seen them practising a minute's 
 spurt, nearly all of them seem to have imagined 
 that thirty-two strokes were amply sufficient for 
 racing purposes. 
 
 PADDLING. 
 
 Paddling should be to rowing what an easy 
 trot is to racing speed on the cinder-path. A 
 crew when paddling is not intended to exert 
 itself unduly, but to move at a comfortable pace 
 which excludes any sense of fatigue, and enables 
 the men to give their best attention to perfecting 
 themselves in style, and to harmonizing their 
 individual movements with those of the rest. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 101 
 
 In paddling men do not slash at the beginning 
 so hard, nor do they grind the rest of the stroke 
 through with the same power as when rowing. 
 Less violent energy is put into the work, and 
 the stroke consequently does not come through 
 so fast. The rate of paddling must therefore be 
 slower than that of rowing, since each stroke 
 takes a longer time for its completion. As a 
 rule, too, the blade is in paddling not quite 
 so deeply covered, and cannot make the same 
 rushing swirl under water. During the earlier 
 stages of practice paddling is merely easier 
 rowing ; it is not so sharply distinguished from 
 hard rowing as it becomes later on. At the 
 outset it is necessary to make your crew both 
 paddle and row with a full swing, in order to 
 get length ineradicably fixed in their style. But 
 later on a coach may tell his men, when he 
 asks them to paddle, not only to use the easier 
 movements prescribed above, but also to rest 
 themselves additionally by using a somewhat 
 shortened swing. Then, when they are to row, 
 he must call on them to swing forward and reach 
 out longer ; to swing back harder and longer, 
 with a more vigorous beginning ; and to put 
 
102 ROWING. 
 
 more force into their leg-drive. A very useful plan, 
 especially for the purpose of getting a crew finally 
 together, is to make them do long stretches of 
 paddling varied here and there by about a dozen 
 or twenty strokes of rowing, care being taken, 
 however, not to allow the paddling to get dead and 
 dull, and a special point being made of getting the 
 rowing not only hard, but very long. 
 
 Paddling is a difficult art to learn, and only 
 the very best crews paddle really well with 
 balance, rhythm, and ease. Many a time I have 
 seen a good crew and an inferior one paddling 
 along the course together, and almost invariably 
 the good crew, which had mastered the trick of 
 paddling at a slow stroke and with perfect ease, 
 was distanced. Yet a moment afterwards, when 
 they ranged up alongside, and started together 
 for a two minutes' burst of rowing, the good crew 
 would leave its opponents as though they were 
 standing still. 
 
 HOW TO WORK THE STROKE UP TO RACING 
 PACE. 
 
 There comes a time in the history of every crew 
 when, having been plodding along comfortably at 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 103 
 
 thirty-four, they suddenly realize that the race 
 is barely a week off, that if they are to have any 
 chance of success they must raise the stroke, and 
 that they don't know how on earth it is to be 
 done, seeing that they have usually felt pretty 
 well cleaned out after rowing even a half course 
 at their present rate. However, they generally do 
 manage tant bien que mal to get it done, and find 
 in the end that thirty-eight is not really much more 
 difficult for men in good training than thirty-four. 
 The best plan, I think, is to devote the greater 
 part of an afternoon's practice to short rows of 
 half a minute and a minute at, say, thirty-seven, 
 and to wind up with three minutes of this. On 
 that day there will probably be at first a 
 terrible amount of rushing and splashing. On 
 the following day you will find that things have 
 settled down, and you will be able to row for 
 five minutes at the faster rate. On the third day 
 practise short pieces again at thirty-eight, thirty- 
 nine, forty ; and on the fourth day row your full 
 course at as fast a rate as you can command. 
 A coach should impress upon his crew that a 
 fast stroke is to be secured not by rushing forward 
 with the bodies, but by rattling away the hands 
 
104 ROWING. 
 
 quicker and by increasing the force employed in 
 forcing the oar through the water. The pace of 
 the bodies on the forward swing, though, of course, 
 it does increase, should feel as if it were slower. 
 Relatively to the rate of stroke used, it is, in fact, 
 slower at a fast than at a slow stroke. The best 
 stroke-oars have been men who fully realized this, 
 and who, either in breaking from a paddle into 
 a row, or in spurting during a hard piece of row- 
 ing, gave their crew a delightful sense of steadiness 
 and balance, which enabled them to put their 
 utmost energies into every stroke. 
 
 PRACTICE IN STARTING. 
 
 During the week preceding the race a coach 
 should devote a great part of his attention to the 
 task of getting his crew quick off the mark. If a 
 crew starts in a brisk and lively manner, and gets 
 pace on its boat immediately, it is far more likely 
 to continue well, so long as its strength and condi- 
 tion last, than a crew that ponderously drags its 
 boat off, with the notion that it can put pace on 
 later. At the end of half a minute the lively crew 
 would be well ahead no small moral advantage 
 where two crews are evenly matched. The best 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 105 
 
 position for the first stroke is a little more than 
 half forward with the body and three parts forward 
 with the slide. The mind, as well as the muscles, 
 must be intent on the effort. At the word " Go " 
 at once cover the blade deeply, spring the body on 
 to the work, use the arms vigorously on this occa- 
 sion only, and, above all, drive, drive, drive with 
 the legs, wrenching the stroke fully home with 
 outside hand.* Then make a special point of 
 rattling hands out like lightning, and get hold of 
 the second stroke when the hands are over the 
 stretcher. Again a lightning rattle, followed by a 
 longer swing. The fourth stroke should be a full 
 one. During the first two strokes the crew should 
 watch stroke's blade, and take their time from that. 
 
 THE NECESSITY OF BEING EXHAUSTED. 
 
 I hold it to be absolutely necessary that during 
 practice men should learn thoroughly to row 
 themselves out. If they do not, they need never 
 
 * The simplest and easiest plan is to have the back of the blades 
 flat on the water while you are waiting for the word. In rowing 
 with a strong tide it may sometimes be advisable to have the top of 
 the blades turned over towards the stern and to square blades at 
 the "Are you ready?" But this requires a lot of practice, and 
 even then generally causes unsteadiness. 
 
io6 ROWING. 
 
 expect to become properly fit for the hard strain 
 involved in a race. If men will only consent to 
 put their best and hardest work into a practice 
 course, so that they may feel at the end of it 
 that they have neither wind nor strength left, 
 I will guarantee that all the subsequent work 
 will become infinitely easier for them, and the race 
 itself will be a pleasure instead of a pain. I hate 
 to see a crew finish a practice row, no matter 
 how short it may be, in perfectly fresh trim. 
 That is a sign that they must have shirked their 
 work. Yet I have often read in newspaper 
 reports of the practice of crews some statement 
 like the following : " The boat travelled well all 
 through, and the time accomplished was fast ; 
 but when it was over most of the men were much 
 distressed" as if this were a reproach instead 
 of a compliment. Such " distress " is one of the 
 necessary stages through which crews must pass 
 on their way to good physical condition and 
 perfect racing power. If a crew never tires itself 
 in practice, it will never row fast in a race. 
 
COMBINED OARSMANSHIP IN EIGHTS. 107 
 
 How TO JUDGE A MAN'S WORK IN A BOAT. 
 
 This can only be done properly by watching 
 both the movements of the body and the action 
 of the blade in the water. It may be assumed 
 that if the blade strikes the water fairly at the 
 full reach, is covered at once, produces a deep 
 boiling swirl under the water, and remains covered 
 to the end of the stroke, the oarsman who wields 
 it must be working, in spite of many possible 
 faults of form. Again, if the body moves well, and 
 with a vigorous briskness through the stroke, it may 
 be found that the swirl of the blade through the 
 water does not show properly, because the blade 
 is put in too deep. This, of course, is a fault, 
 for the oarsman is giving himself too much work, 
 and the effect on the propulsion of the boat is 
 smaller; but, at any rate, there is honesty of 
 intention. On the other hand, a man may make 
 a great show of form with his body, and a great 
 splash in the water, by merely covering half his 
 blade through the stroke, or by missing his begin- 
 ning and rowing light at the finish ; or he may 
 seem to be swinging his body on to his work, 
 and yet by some subtly contrived disconnection 
 
io8 ROWING. 
 
 between body and arms and legs, produce no 
 effect on the water. For all this a coach must 
 be on the look out. If he has once done hard 
 rowing himself, and watched it in others, he will 
 never mistake the sham article (the " sugarer ") for 
 the genuine, though possibly clumsy, worker. 
 
 THE VALUE OF TUB-PAIR PRACTICE. 
 
 Practice in the tub-pair is one of the greatest 
 possible aids towards the consolidation of an eight- 
 oared crew. A coach or captain should never 
 omit during the early stages of work to take out 
 his men two by two in a tub. Sitting at ease in 
 the stern, he can lecture them to his heart's 
 content, and can devote himself with far better 
 effect than when his crew are in the Eight to 
 eradicating individual faults and drilling the men 
 into one uniform style. During the latter part 
 of training, however, the tub-pair is, with rare 
 exceptions, an unnecessary burden. The crew 
 then require all their energies for the work of the 
 Eight, in which they ought to be learning the last 
 important lessons of watermanship and uniformity 
 every day. To drag them into tub-pairs at such 
 a time can only weary them. 
 
( io 9 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OF AILMENTS OF TRAINING AND DIET OF 
 STALENESS OF DISCIPLINE OF COACHING. 
 
 AILMENTS. 
 
 I MAY preface what I have to say about ail- 
 ments by stating, as emphatically as it can be 
 stated, that every man who proposes to take 
 part in a race ought, before he begins practice, to 
 be thoroughly overhauled by a medical man. I do 
 not believe that any man whose heart and lungs 
 and general constitution are sound can be injured 
 by rowing. On the contrary, I have seen scores 
 and scores of instances in which sound but im- 
 perfectly developed youngsters were formed and 
 solidified and made into robust men by the 
 exercise. But if a doctor reports of an apparently 
 powerful man that his heart is weak and his 
 circulation defective, or that the state of his lungs 
 is unsatisfactory, no power on earth would induce 
 
no ROWING. 
 
 me to include him in my crew. Race-rowing is 
 one of the severest strains to which a man can 
 submit himself, and only a perfectly sound man 
 can go through it without taking harm. 
 
 Coaches are sometimes ridiculed for the exces- 
 sive care they take of their men ; and there are 
 not wanting those who draw the inference that 
 rowing men are peculiarly liable to illness, and 
 suffer, when attacked by it, more than others. 
 Nothing can be further from the truth. If we are 
 anxious, it is because we know that for the special 
 strain involved in racing a man must be in specially 
 good condition, and we desire, above all things, to 
 avoid anything that may keep him back in his 
 training and his work. Moreover, even a slight 
 illness may entail temporary retirement from the 
 crew, and thus necessitate changes in its order 
 which will prevent the men from getting together. 
 
 In rowing hard a man should keep a good colour. 
 If you see him turning green and yellow, you may 
 be sure that something is wrong with him, and you 
 must pack him off to the doctor at once. It may 
 turn out that his digestion is in fault, and that a 
 careful attention to diet is all that is necessary 
 to cure him. I have seen only two men actually 
 
AILMENTS. in 
 
 faint during a race. One of them was a dis- 
 tinguished Oxford Blue, who collapsed during a 
 heat of the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley ; the 
 other was a college oar rowing in the Cambridge 
 Fours. With regard to him, we discovered after- 
 wards that he had overtaxed his strength by 
 working in the Cambridge engineering workshop 
 for about six hours every day. Both these cases 
 took place a good many years ago, and in neither 
 has any permanent injury resulted. I have, of 
 course, seen hundreds of men absolutely rowed out 
 at the end of a race ; but, with hardly an exception, 
 they were perfectly fit a few minutes afterwards 
 and, possibly, in the course of a few hours they 
 might be seen rowing in another severe race with 
 unimpaired strength and vitality. 
 
 With regard to ailments generally, I cannot 
 do better than quote Mr. Woodgate in the Bad- 
 minton book : " A crew should be under strict 
 orders to report all ailments, if only a blister, 
 instantly to the coach. It is better to leave no 
 discretion in this matter to the oarsman, even 
 at the risk of -troubling the mentor with trifles. 
 If a man is once allowed to decide for himself 
 whether he will report some petty and incipient 
 
ii2 ROWING. 
 
 ailment, he is likely to hush it up, lest it should 
 militate against his coach's selection of him. The 
 effect of this is that mischief which might otherwise 
 have been checked in the bud, is allowed to 
 assume dangerous proportions for want of a stitch 
 in time. An oarsman should be impressed that 
 nothing is more likely to militate against his 
 dream of being selected than disobedience to this 
 or any other standing order. The smallest pimple 
 should be shown forthwith to the coach " verily 
 the coach is not only gioe, but TroXvrXac "the 
 slightest hoarseness or tendency to snuffle re- 
 ported, any tenderness of joint or sinew instantly 
 made known." 
 
 To these golden words I would merely add 
 that in all more serious cases, such as boils, colds, 
 coughs, severe diarrhoea, or strains, it is best for 
 the coach not to attempt any amateur doctoring, 
 but to send his oarsman at once to a qualified 
 doctor. In nearly every large rowing club, and 
 at the Universities, there are to be found doctors 
 who have either rowed themselves, or have 
 had long experience of treating the ailments 
 of rowing men; and it is far better to take 
 their advice, which, as a rule, does not incline to 
 
AILMENTS. 113 
 
 molly-coddling, than to run the risk of losing a 
 valuable oar out of the crew through one's own 
 quackery. 
 
 Blisters. 
 
 Blisters are a common accompaniment of the 
 early days of practice. They are ordinarily in- 
 nocuous enough if well treated ; but a neglected 
 blister may result in a raw hand, and lead to 
 blood-poisoning. The best plan is to prick a 
 blister at its side with a clean needle before going 
 to bed, and on the following day or two to row 
 with a glove and a pad of cotton-wool over the 
 blister. The skin very soon hardens into a 
 callosity. 
 
 Boils. 
 
 These are a sure sign that the blood is in a 
 bad condition, due probably to over-eating. They 
 afflict novices much more often than old oars, who 
 have learnt by experience to diet themselves. A 
 mild dose of Eno's Fruit Salt before breakfast 
 may be recommended. The quantity of beef and 
 mutton eaten must be largely reduced. Fish and 
 the dark meat of poultry should be the staple 
 articles of diet, and not too much of those. Nor 
 
 I 
 
114 ROWING. 
 
 must the mistake be made of making up for the 
 decrease of meat by over-loading the stomach with 
 immense masses of vegetables, though in modera- 
 tion vegetables are excellent. Having thus done 
 his best for the patient's inside, the coach must 
 send him to a doctor to have the boil treated 
 externally. 
 
 Diarrhoea. 
 
 Cut off fruits of all kinds ; reduce meat ; give 
 an extra glass of port, and if the complaint con- 
 tinues, send the afflicted to a doctor. 
 
 Strains. 
 
 Ordinary muscular strains generally yield to a 
 good rubbing with an embrocation. For wrist- 
 strains a leather band may be recommended. 
 Abdominal strains must be seen to by a doctor. 
 
 Colds. 
 
 The best remedy for a severe cold is to give 
 your man at least one day's complete rest, and 
 make him keep his room. Indeed, with most 
 ailments a day's rest will work wonders; and it 
 is far better for a coach to make up his reluctant 
 
TRAINING AND DIET. 115 
 
 mind to grant it, than to run the risk of losing 
 a valuable man altogether by keeping him chained 
 to his oar when he is unfit to work. However, no 
 man who takes proper care of himself, and always 
 makes a point of wrapping up when his crew 
 easies, ought to catch a cold. 
 
 TRAINING AND DIET. 
 
 The rules of training and diet should be the 
 rules of common sense, applied to cases in which 
 the body has to prepare itself, by severe work and 
 perfectly simple, healthy living, for an exceptional 
 effort or series of efforts. Rules there must be, 
 if only on account of the advantage that comes 
 of being able to make exceptions to them. But 
 the chief points must be regularity and simplicity 
 a regularity, that is, which shall not entail an 
 unvarying and wearisome monotony, and simpli- 
 city which shall not exclude occasional little 
 luxuries that act as a stimulus to a man's jaded 
 energies. 
 
 I shall give here two tables showing the hours 
 and the dietary of an Oxford crew training during 
 a little more than five weeks for the race against 
 
ii6 ROWING. 
 
 Cambridge, and of a Leander crew training for 
 nearly three weeks for the Grand Challenge race 
 at Henley Regatta. 
 
 I. Oxford Crew. 
 
 7 A.M. Out of bed, and without bathing or washing dress 
 immediately in flannels. A cup of milk and a 
 biscuit. 
 7.15 Out of the house. A brisk walk with one sharp 
 
 run of 1 50 yards. 
 
 7.50 Back to the house. Bath, etc. 
 8.30 Breakfast. Fish, plainly cooked, without sauce. 
 Soles, whiting, and smelts are best. Salmon 
 is not allowed. Cutlets or beefsteaks, or grilled 
 chicken. Eggs, boiled, or poached, or fried, 
 sometimes scrambled. Mustard and cress, or 
 water-cress. Toast. Limited amount of butter. 
 Marmalade is allowed only during the last 
 fortnight of training. Not more than a cup 
 and a half of tea. 
 
 ii At Putney, when the state of the tide permits it, 
 exercise in the boat. It should be noted that 
 the tide sometimes makes it necessary for the 
 crew to do its rowing in the morning, sometimes 
 in the afternoon. Occasionally work can be 
 done both in the morning and afternoon, 
 i P.M. Lunch. Cold meat. Tomatoes plainly made into 
 a salad with oil and vinegar. Toast. Small 
 quantity of butter. Oatmeal biscuits. One 
 glass of draught beer, or claret and water. 
 3 or 4 (according to tide). Work in the boat. 
 6.30 Dinner. Fish, as at breakfast. An entree of 
 pigeons, or sweetbread, or spinach and poached 
 
TRAINING AND DIET. 117 
 
 eggs. Roast joint (not pork or veal), or else 
 chicken, with potatoes, mashed or boiled, and 
 boiled vegetables. Stewed fruit with rice pud- 
 dings. Sometimes jelly. Two glasses of draught 
 beer, or claret and water. For dessert, figs, 
 prunes, oranges, dry biscuits, and one glass of 
 port wine. 
 
 9.50 P.M. A glass of lemon and water, or a cup of water- 
 gruel. 
 10 Bed. 
 
 (Note. Once or twice during training there is a "cham- 
 pagne night," when champagne is substituted for beer or 
 claret and water ; but this only occurs when the crew have 
 been doing very hard work, or when they show evident signs 
 of being over-fatigued, and require a fillip.) 
 
 II. Leander Training at Henley. 
 
 7 to 8.30 A.M. Same as in previous table. 
 8.30 A.M. Breakfast. Same as in previous table, save for 
 the frequent absence of meat. Marmalade 
 allowed. Strawberries or peaches without 
 sugar ; no cream. 
 
 10.30 or 11, or 12 P.M. Out on the water. 
 1.30 P.M. Lunch. Same as in previous table. 
 4 45 Cup of tea with a slice of bread and butter, or a 
 
 biscuit. 
 
 5.30 or 6 P.M. Out on the water. 
 7.30 or 8 Dinner. Same as in previous table. 
 9.50 P.M. Same as in previous table. 
 10.15 Bed. 
 
 (Note. With most Leander crews, which are composed of 
 experienced oarsmen, it has been found possible to abolish 
 restrictions on the amount of liquor, and to allow the men to 
 take what they want to satisfy their thirst, which at Henley 
 
ii8 ROWING. 
 
 time is naturally more severe than it is in the early spring at 
 Putney. With a college crew of younger and less experienced 
 oars such liberty of action is not to be recommended ; but a 
 trainer ought, during hot weather, to tell his men that if they 
 really want an extra half-glass or so, they are not to hesitate 
 to ask for it. Men in training will, however, generally find 
 that if they exercise a little self-control during the first few 
 days of training, when the restriction on their drink seems 
 specially painful, their desire for drink will gradually diminish, 
 until at last they are quite content with their limited allow- 
 ance. If, on the contrary, they perpetually indulge them- 
 selves, they will always be wanting more. On this point I 
 may cite the authority of the following remarks extracted 
 from a recent article in the British Medical Journal : 
 
 " Among the various discomforts entailed upon us by the 
 hot weather is thirst, which leads to many accidents. First 
 and most especially is the danger arising from the ingestion 
 of ices and cold drinks, which so many people fly to directly 
 they feel hot. Difficult as it may be to explain in precise 
 physiological terms the evil consequences which so often 
 follow the sudden application of cold to the mucous mem- 
 brane of the stomach when the body is over-heated, there 
 is no doubt about the fact, and people would do well to 
 remember the risk they run when they follow their instinct, 
 and endeavour to assuage their thirst by huge draughts of 
 cold fluids. There can be but little doubt that the profuse 
 perspiration which is the cause of so many dangers is greatly 
 aggravated by drinking, and especially by drinking alcoholic 
 fluids. No one can watch a tennis match without noticing 
 how the men perspire, while the girls hardly turn a hair. 
 Some, perhaps, will say that the girls play the feebler game ; 
 but, game or no game, they exert themselves. The same 
 also may be seen at any dance. The secret is that the men 
 follow their instinct and slake their thirst, while the girls 
 
THE OUIDA SYSTEM. 119 
 
 simply bear it. It should be remembered that thirst is the 
 result of want of fluid in the blood, not want of fluid in the 
 stomach, and that a pint or more may be drunk before a 
 single ounce is absorbed. Any attempt, then, to assuage 
 thirst by rapid drinking must of necessity lead to far more 
 being taken than is wanted, the moral of which is that if we 
 must drink, at least let us drink slowly." 
 
 Besides asking his men to drink slowly, a coach will do 
 well to see that they take no drink at all before they have 
 eaten a certain amount of food. Between meals, except as 
 set out in the tables given above, no drink of any kind should 
 be allowed. 
 
 Over-eating, too, is a very common danger, especially in 
 the case of youngsters, and a coach must warn his crew 
 severely against it.) 
 
 A captain ought to be specially strict in insist- 
 ing on getting his men out of their beds at a fixed 
 time, and in seeing that they do not stay up too 
 late at night. Absolute punctuality all round 
 ought to be rigidly enforced. If, however, anybody 
 should resent the severities entailed by this dietary, 
 and pine for freedom, he may be recommended to 
 try what I may call the Ouida system. It is fully set 
 out in "Under Two Flags," from which, in a spirit of 
 humble admiration, I venture to give an extract : 
 
 "' Beauty don't believe in training. No more 
 do I. Never would train for anything/ said the 
 Seraph, now pulling the long blonde moustaches 
 
120 ROWING. 
 
 that were not altogether in character with his 
 seraphic cognomen. 'If a man can ride, let him. 
 If he's born to the pig-skin he'll be in at the 
 distance safe enough, whether he smoke or don't 
 smoke, drink or don't drink. As for training on 
 raw chops, giving up wine, living like the very 
 deuce, and all as if you were in a monastery, and 
 changing yourself into a mere bag of bones it's 
 utter bosh. You might as well be in purgatory ; 
 besides, it's no more credit to win then than if you 
 were a professional.' 
 
 " ' But you must have trained at Christ Church, 
 Rock, for the Eight ? ' asked another Guardsman, 
 Sir Vere Bellingham 'Severe/ as he was chris- 
 tened, chiefly because he was the easiest-going 
 giant in existence. 
 
 " ' Did I ! Men came to me ; wanted me to join 
 the Eight. Coxswain came, awful strict little 
 fellow, docked his men of all their fun took 
 plenty himself, though ! Coxswain said I must 
 begin to train, do as all his crew did. I threw up 
 my sleeve and showed him my arm ; ' and the 
 Seraph stretched out an arm magnificent enough 
 for a statue of Milo. ' I said, There, sir, I'll help 
 you thrash Cambridge, if you like, but train I 
 
THE OUIDA SYSTEM. 121 
 
 wont for you or for all the University. I've been 
 captain of the Eton Eight ; but I didn't keep my 
 crew on tea and toast. I fattened 'em regularly 
 three times a week on venison and champagne at 
 Christopher's. Very happy to feed yours, too, if 
 you like game comes down to me every Friday 
 from the Duke's moors ; they look uncommonly 
 as if they wanted it ! You should have seen his 
 face ! Fatten the Eight ! He didn't let me do 
 that, of course ; but he was very glad of my oar in 
 his rowlocks, and I helped him beat Cambridge 
 without training an hour myself, except so far as 
 rowing hard went.' 
 
 " And the Marquis of Rockingham, made thirsty 
 by the recollection, dipped his fair moustaches 
 into a foaming seltzer. 
 
 "'Quite right, Seraph!' said Cecil. 'When a 
 man comes up to the weights, looking like a 
 homonunculus after he's been getting every atom 
 of flesh off him like a jockey, he ought to be 
 struck out for the stakes, to my mind.' " 
 
 The obvious inference from this is that if we 
 want to avoid looking like "homonunculi" we 
 must acquire dukes as fathers, and get fattened on 
 venison and champagne. 
 
122 ROWING. 
 
 SMOKING. 
 There are no smokes in training. 
 
 STALENESS. 
 
 In the practice of almost every crew there comes 
 a period, generally about half way through train- 
 ing, when they begin to show the effects of hard 
 work by a certain lassitude and loss of vigour. 
 This, in fact, is not genuine staleness, but is the 
 half-way house to perfect condition. An expe- 
 rienced coach can always detect the signs of it 
 amongst his men. Their tempers will be short, 
 they will begin to mope about the room, and their 
 general manner will betray languor and listless- 
 ness, instead of that brisk cheerfulness that one 
 has a right to expect. Their appetite will decrease, 
 and at meals they will dally with their food 
 instead of consuming it with a hearty zest. If a 
 coach is blind to these signs, and pursues, in spite 
 of them, the scheme of work and diet which he 
 may have laid down at the first, he will probably 
 bring to the post a crew as stale and lifeless as 
 London shrimps. If, however, he grants certain 
 indulgences to those who are most affected ; if he 
 lets them lie in bed of a morning, adds a basin 
 
DISCIPLINE. 123 
 
 of soup to their lunch or dinner, gives them extra 
 liquor, or champagne in place of their ordinary 
 liquor, and eases the work of the crew all round, 
 he will probably find that within three days they 
 will be perfectly brisk and fit again. I remember 
 the case of an Oxford crew which showed the 
 worst symptoms of staleness on a Friday. Saturday 
 to Monday they spent in Brighton, and returned 
 so reinvigorated, that on the following Wednesday 
 they were able in the race to row Cambridge down 
 at Chiswick and win by a length. For extreme 
 cases of what I call genuine staleness, I do not 
 think there is any remedy except complete rest 
 for a period more or less prolonged. I have seen 
 instances of this at Henley amongst University 
 oarsmen, who had had practically no rest since the 
 previous October. 
 
 DISCIPLINE. 
 
 Not the least important point in the manage- 
 ment of a crew lies in the preservation of strict 
 discipline, While they are in the boat and en- 
 gaged in rowing, no man, except the captain or 
 the cox, should speak a word, unless he is appealed 
 to by the coach. A wise captain, too, when he 
 
124 ROWING. 
 
 has a coach in whom he trusts, will content himself 
 with saying very little indeed. To be constantly 
 cursing his crew, or to be shouting directions to 
 them from the boat, not only irritates the other 
 men, but increases all the difficulties of a coach. 
 To "answer back" a coach is a capital offence, 
 which ought to lead to immediate removal from 
 the crew. I can only remember one instance of 
 it in all my experience, and that was promptly 
 followed by a humble apology. Silence, prompt 
 obedience, absolute subordination of the individual 
 self to the collective good of the crew, a quick and 
 hearty willingness in endeavouring to carry out 
 orders or instructions, a cheerful temper when 
 things are going awry, and a constant keenness 
 whether in rowing or paddling these are model 
 qualities which will go far to make a man a 
 valuable oar. Nothing has so bad an effect upon 
 a crew as the display of moroseness or sullenness 
 on the part of one of its members. If that member 
 should chance to be the captain, the baneful effects 
 are increased tenfold. There are times of inat- 
 tention and slackness when a coach does well to 
 be angry, and to bring his men sharply back to a 
 knowledge of their duty. 
 
THE COACH. 125 
 
 THE COACH. 
 
 I cannot deal with this subject at any length, 
 for good coaching is a matter of temperament, 
 sympathy, tact, and intelligence qualities that 
 cannot be taught. The man who has these neces- 
 sary qualities, and adds to them a wide experience 
 of rowing, can never go very far wrong in coaching 
 a crew. If a man can once establish between 
 himself and his crew that subtle bond which comes 
 of their conviction that their welfare and success 
 are his chiefest desire, and that everything he says 
 is absolutely right, the rest will be comparatively 
 easy. A few simple hints may, however, be given. 
 
 (1) Never nag at your crew, or at an individual. 
 Point out his fault ; explain to him as clearly as 
 you can how he ought to correct it, and then leave 
 him alone for a bit. Never weary your men with 
 an incessant stream of talk. Periods of complete 
 silence on your part are very valuable, to you and 
 to the crew. 
 
 (2) If you see signs of improvement in a man 
 whom you have been correcting, never fail to tell 
 him so. A little encouragement of this kind has 
 more effect than heavy loads of objurgation. 
 
126 ROWING. 
 
 (3) Rebuke any carelessness very sharply, but 
 always keep strong measures, such as taking a crew 
 back to the start, for really serious emergencies. 
 
 (4) Show no partiality, and make as little differ- 
 ence as you can between man and man. It is 
 useful to begin by coaching old hands with some 
 severity. New hands are encouraged by feeling 
 that even a Blue or a Grand Challenge winner is 
 liable to error, and that a coach is not afraid to 
 tackle these eminent men. 
 
 (5) Make a gallant effort never to lose your 
 temper with an individual, though loss of temper 
 with a crew as a whole need not always be avoided. 
 When things go wrong in a crew, impress upon 
 each and every man that he is individually respon- 
 sible for the defects. Every man is probably doing 
 something wrong, and in any case a determined 
 and united attempt to row better can do no harm. 
 
 (6) Never tell your men that they are rowing 
 " well," or " better," when these statements are 
 contrary to the truth. The men in the boat can 
 generally feel what is happening as well as you 
 can see it from the bank or the launch, and they 
 are apt to lose confidence in a man who talks 
 smooth things when everything is rough. 
 
THE COACH. 127 
 
 (7) Never confuse a man by telling him more 
 than one thing at a time while he is rowing. 
 When the crew has easied you can lecture him 
 and them more at length. 
 
 (8) Remember Dr. Warre's rule, that general ex- 
 hortations, such as " Time," " Beginning," " Smite," 
 "Keep it long," and the like, are to be given at 
 the right moment, not used as mere parrot cries. 
 
 (9) Vary the tone of your voice as much as 
 possible. 
 
 (10) Vary, if possible, the expressions you use in 
 pointing out and correcting faults. 
 
 (n) Always insist on your crew putting on 
 their wraps when they easy after rowing hard. 
 
 (12) Never allow men during summer training 
 to stand, sit, or lie about in the full blaze of the sun. 
 
 (13) Teach by example as well as by precept. 
 The coach should be able to take his seat in a gig 
 pair, and to show his men practically the style he 
 wishes them to row in, and how their faults may 
 be corrected. 
 
 (14) Always remember, while paying attention 
 to the form of individuals, that your main object 
 is to secure uniformity in the crew. Never fail, 
 therefore, to correct faults of time instantly. 
 
128 ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OF THE RACE-DAY OF THE RACE OF THE 
 NECESSITY OF HAVING A BUTT OF LEISURE 
 TIME OF AQUATIC AXIOMS. 
 
 THE DAY OF THE RACE. 
 
 ON this tremendous day, towards which 
 all their efforts for weeks past have 
 been directed, the coach will find that 
 all his crew are suffering from that peculiar ner- 
 vousness to which rowing men have given the 
 name of " the needle." It is a complaint against 
 which no length of experience can harden a man, 
 and the veteran of a hundred races will feel it 
 as acutely as the boy who is engaged in his first 
 struggle. A sort of forced cheerfulness pervades 
 the air. Men make irrelevant remarks about their 
 oars, their stretchers, or the notorious incapacity 
 of their rivals, while they are reading the news- 
 papers or discussing the politics of the day. Even 
 a coach is seized with the universal affection, 
 
THE RACE-DAY. 129 
 
 however gallantly he may strive against it, and 
 endeavour to entertain the crew with all his best 
 stories of triumphant victories, of defeats averted 
 by brilliant spurts, or of the last sayings of some 
 well-known aquatic humourist. Old oars drop in, 
 and for a few moments divert the conversation, 
 only to flow back with it into the one absorbing 
 topic that occupies all men's minds. The feeling 
 goes on increasing until at last, oh joy ! the time 
 comes for getting into the boat. With his faith- 
 ful oar in his hand, and his feet fixed to the 
 stretcher, a man regains his confidence, and when 
 the word is given he will find that the only 
 effect that the needle has had upon him has 
 been to brace his energies to their highest pitch. 
 The duty of a coach on such an occasion is 
 clear. He must try to keep his men cheerful, 
 and prevent them from brooding over the race 
 that is to come. Visits from old oars should be 
 encouraged, for it is often a relief and an amuse- 
 ment to a youngster to find that some solid oar of 
 the past is even more agitated than he is himself. 
 One thing must not be omitted, and that is the 
 preliminary spin, which should take place about 
 two hours before the race, and should consist of 
 
 K 
 
130 ROWING. 
 
 two sharp starts of ten strokes each and one hard 
 row of a minute. This has an invaluable effect in 
 clearing the wind. I have always felt, when I have 
 rowed more than one race in a day, and I think 
 my experience will be confirmed by most other 
 oarsmen, that I have been able to row better, 
 harder, and with less distress, in the second race 
 than in the first. An hour and a half before the 
 race a man will be all the better for a biscuit and 
 a hot cup of strong meat soup, with perhaps a 
 dash of brandy to flavour it, but this must depend 
 upon the hour at which the race is rowed, for if 
 you have lunched at one and have to race at half- 
 past three you will want nothing between times to 
 stay your stomach. The early morning sprint 
 should be taken as usual. 
 
 THE RACE. 
 
 " I shall say, ' Are you ready ? ' once ; if I 
 receive no answer, I shall say, ' Go ! " It is the 
 voice of the umpire addressing us from the steam- 
 launch in which he will follow the race. He 
 must be a man dead to all feeling, incapable of 
 sympathy, for he actually turns to one of his 
 fellow-passengers and makes a jesting remark, 
 
II 
 
 SI 
 
 13 
 
THE RACE. 131 
 
 while our hearts are palpitating and our minds are 
 strung up to face the stern actualities of the race. 
 The other crew look very big and strong, and 
 fit and determined. We shall have to row our 
 hardest, and we all know it. " Get the top of your 
 shorts properly tucked in," says our captain, 
 " so as not to catch your thumbs ; and mind, all 
 of you, eyes in the boat, and when cox shouts for 
 ten strokes let her have it. Come forward all." 
 
 "Touch her gently, bow" (it is the cox who 
 speaks, and his voice sounds thin and far away 
 and dream-like). " One more. That'll do. Easy, 
 bow. Now we're straight." 
 
 " Are you ready ? " from the umpire. Great 
 
 heaven ! will he never say " Go ! " he shouts. 
 
 There is a swish, a leap, a strain, a rattle of oars, 
 a sense of something moving very swiftly along- 
 side, a turmoil of water, a confused roar from the 
 bank : we are off ! 
 
 We started splendidly. For half a minute I 
 am a mere machine ; thoughts, feelings, energies 
 all are concentrated into one desire to work my 
 hardest and to keep in time. Then my mind 
 clears, and I become conscious once more of 
 myself and my surroundings. Have we gained ? 
 
132 ROWING. 
 
 I must steal a look. By Jupiter, they're leaving 
 us ! " Eyes in the boat, four," screams the cox ; 
 " you're late ! " Be hanged to cox ! he's got eyes 
 like a lynx. Yes ; there's no doubt of it I can 
 see, without looking out of the boat, out of the 
 corner of my eye. They're gaining still. Now 
 their stroke is level with me; now he has dis- 
 appeared, and for a few strokes I am conscious 
 of a little demon cox bobbing and screeching 
 alongside of me. Then he, too, draws away, and 
 their rudder is all I can see. At last that also 
 vanishes, and a sense of desolation descends on 
 us. Nearly two minutes must have gone ; I 
 know that by the landmarks we have passed. 
 Surely we ought to spurt. What can stroke be 
 up to ? Is he going to let us be beaten without 
 an effort. Ugh! what a shower-bath that was. 
 It's six splashing, as usual. Well, if we're beaten, 
 we must just grin and bear it. We shall have 
 to congratulate the other ruffians. Hateful ! 
 Somebody must get beaten. But we're not 
 beaten yet, hang it all ! Three minutes. What's 
 this ? Cox is shouting. " Now, ten hard strokes 
 together ; swing out, and use your legs ! " He 
 counts them out for us at the top of his voice. 
 
THE RACE. 133 
 
 Grand! We're simply flying. That's something 
 like it. And I'm not a bit done yet. We're 
 none of us done. The boat's going like smoke. 
 "Nine!" yells the cox. "Ten! Now, don't 
 slack off, but keep her going. You're gaining, 
 you're gaining! On to it, all of you." He is 
 purple in the face, and foaming at the mouth. 
 Glorious ! Their rudder comes back to me ; I 
 see their cox. We are catching them. Now for 
 it ! A few strokes more and the boats are running 
 dead level, and so they continue for half a minute. 
 Stroke has now, however, taken the measure of 
 his foes. We are steadying down and swinging 
 longer, and I am conscious that the other crew 
 are rowing a faster stroke. It is now our turn 
 to leave them. Foot by foot we creep past them ; 
 their bows come level with me, and then slowly 
 recede. I can see the back of their bowman. 
 His zephyr has come out from his shorts ; the 
 back of his neck is very pale. There can't be 
 more than two minutes left now, and I'm still fit, 
 and my wind is all right. We are winning ; I'm 
 sure of it. No ; they're spurting again, and, by 
 Jove ! they're gaining ! Spurt, stroke, spurt ! We 
 mustn't get beaten on the post. But stroke, that 
 
134 ROWING. 
 
 wary old warrior, knows what he is about. Un- 
 mistakable signs prove to him that this effort is 
 the last desperate rally of his enemies. He sees 
 their boat lurch ; their time is becoming erratic ; 
 two of them are rolling about in evident distress. 
 His own crew he has well in hand ; we are rowing 
 as one man, and he feels that he has only to give 
 a sign, and our restrained eagerness will blaze 
 forth and carry us gloriously past the post. Let 
 us wait, he seems to say, a very few seconds more, 
 until the opposing spurt fades out to its inevitable 
 end ; so he rows on imperturbably. But isn't he 
 running it too fine? Not he. He gives a quick 
 word to cox, rattles his hands away, and swings 
 as if he meant to strike his face against the kelson 
 of the boat. " Pick her up all ! " screams the cox. 
 " Now then ! " comes in a muffled gasp from the 
 captain. We feel that our moment has come, and, 
 with a unanimous impulse, we take up the spurt 
 and spin the ship along. In a flash we leap 
 ahead ; we leave the other crew as if it was stand- 
 ing still. We are a length ahead ; now we are 
 clear ; half a length of open water divides us 
 from them. To all intents and purposes the race 
 is over. The crowd grows thicker; the shouts 
 
THE RACE. 135 
 
 from the bank become a deafening din. Enthu- 
 siasts scream futile encouragements to pursuer 
 and pursued, and in another moment the flag 
 is down, the cox cries, "Easy all!" and with 
 triumph in our hearts we realize that we have 
 won. The captain turns round to us he is row- 
 ing No. 7 his face glowing with pleasure. " Well 
 rowed indeed, you men ! " he pants. " You all 
 
 did thundering well ! And as for you, stroke " 
 
 but words fail him, and all he can do is to clap 
 his delighted stroke on the back. Then, having 
 duly exchanged the customary " Well rowed ! " 
 and its accompanying rattle of oars in rowlocks 
 with our gallant enemy, we paddle home to the 
 raft, where our exultant coach and our perspiring 
 partisans receive us with hand - shakings and 
 embraces and fervently epitomized stories of the 
 struggle. " I knew you had got 'em all the way ! " 
 says the coach. " Did you hear me shout when 
 you got to the half-way point ? " " Hear you 
 shout ? " we reply in a chorus of joyful ' assent. 
 " Of course we did. That's why we spurted." Of 
 course, we had heard nothing ; but at this moment 
 we almost think we did hear him plainly, and 
 in any case we are not going to be so churlish 
 
136 ROWING. 
 
 as to detract from anybody's joy over our 
 victory. 
 
 And so the struggle is ended, and we have 
 won. Pleasant though it is to know that training 
 is over, there is not one of us who does not feel 
 a sense of sorrow as he realizes that these days 
 of toil and hardship and self-restraint, of glorious 
 health and vigorous effort are past. All the little 
 worries under which we chafed, the discipline that 
 at times was irksome, the thirst, the fatigue, the 
 exhaustion, the recurrent disappointments all 
 these become part of a delightful memory. Never 
 again, it may be, shall these eight men strike the 
 sounding furrows together. The victory that has 
 crowned us with honour has at the same time broken 
 up our companionship of labour and endurance ; 
 but its splendid memory, and the friendships it 
 knit together these remain with us, and are a 
 part of our lives henceforth wherever we may be. 
 
 NECESSITY OF HAVING A BUTT. 
 
 Let me turn now to lighter matters, for there are 
 lighter matters connected with rowing. And first 
 let me insist on the necessity of having a butt in 
 a crew. It appears strange at first sight that the 
 
THE RACE. 137 
 
 system of training that is to say, of diet, of early 
 hours, of healthy exercise, and of perfect regularity 
 in all things, which has so admirable an effect upon 
 the condition of the body, should sometimes impair 
 the powers of the mind, and absolutely shatter the 
 temper. I have seen eight healthy, happy, even- 
 tempered young men go into training together for 
 three weeks. They were all the best of friends. 
 Tom had known Dick at school, and both had 
 been inseparable from Harry ever since they had 
 gone up to the University. With these three the 
 other five were closely linked by a common pur- 
 suit and by common interests. Each one of them 
 was a man of whom his friends could say, he was 
 the easiest man to get on with you could possibly 
 meet. Yet mark what happened. At the end of 
 three weeks every man in that crew was the proud 
 possessor of seven detested foes. They ate their 
 food in morose silence ; they took no delight in 
 the labour of the oar, and each one confided to his 
 outside friends his lamentable opinions about the 
 seven other members of the crew. Even now, 
 though years have passed away, no one who rowed 
 in that crew can look back without horror on those 
 three terrible weeks. Why was this so ? The 
 
138 ROWING. 
 
 simple answer is this, that the crew in question did 
 not number among its members a butt. I doubt 
 if the importance of a butt in modern boat-racing 
 has been properly recognized. Speaking from an 
 experience of many years, I should affirm unhesi- 
 tatingly, if I did not remember what I have written 
 in previous chapters, that in an ordinary crew, 
 composed, as ordinary crews are, of men and not 
 of angels, the position of butt is a far more impor- 
 tant and responsible one than that of stroke or 
 No. 7. If you can find a good, stout, willing butt 
 a butt who lends himself to nicknames, and has a 
 temper as even as a billiard-table and as long as 
 a tailor's bill secure him at once and make him 
 the nucleus of your crew. There may be diffi- 
 culties, of course, if he should happen to be a 
 heavy weight without a notion of oarsmanship, but 
 these defects can easily be mitigated by good 
 coaching, and in any case they cannot be allowed 
 to count against the supreme merit of keeping the 
 rest of the crew in good temper. Salient character- 
 istics are apt to be a rock of offence to a training 
 crew. To be a silent thinker does not give rise to 
 happiness in the seven who watch you think. It is 
 an even deadlier thing to be an eloquent gabbler 
 
LEISURE TIME. 139 
 
 or a dreary drawler. There is nothing an ordinary 
 rowing man detests so much as windy eloquence, 
 unless it be perhaps the miserable indolence which 
 is known as slackness. The butt must therefore 
 be neither silent, nor slack, nor a drawler. Nature 
 will probably have saved him from being a thinker 
 or an orator. He must be simply good-natured 
 without affectation, and ready to allow tempers 
 made stormy by rowing and training to break upon 
 his broad back without flinching. Your true butt 
 is always spoken of as " old " So-and-so, and, as a 
 rule, he is a man of much sharper wits, with a far 
 keener insight into character, than most of those 
 who buffet or tease him. Among eminent butts 
 
 may be named Mr. , but on second thoughts 
 
 I refrain. 
 
 LEISURE TIME. 
 
 It seems a mere platitude to say that a man who 
 can occupy his spare moments in writing or reading 
 is likely to be happier and more even-tempered 
 than one who is never seen with a book or a pen in 
 his hand. Yet it is a platitude of which not many 
 oarsmen realize the force ; and, indeed, it is not an 
 uncommon sight to see most of the members of a 
 
MO ROWING. 
 
 crew sitting about listlessly in armchairs or talking 
 the stale futilities of rowing shop when they might 
 with more solid advantage be engaged, let us say, 
 in following Mr. Stanley Weyman's or Dr. Conan 
 Doyle's latest hero through the mazes of his exciting 
 adventures. At Oxford or Cambridge, of course, a 
 man has his lectures to attend, his fixed tale of 
 work to get through. But at Putney or at Henley 
 this is not so. There a man is thrown back on his 
 own resources, a companionship which he does not 
 always seem to find particularly cheerful or 
 attractive. A billiard table, of course, is a valuable 
 adjunct to training quarters, but this is scarcely 
 ever found at Henley, and not always at Putney. 
 Besides, most of us, after a short time, cease to 
 take any pleasure whatever in a game in which we 
 are not qualified to shine. The joy of reading the 
 sporting reporter's account of your doings, and of 
 proving conclusively that he knows nothing about 
 rowing, lasts but a short time every morning. I 
 may, therefore, offer the oarsman a piece of advice 
 which is, sound, in spite of its copybook flavour, 
 and that is, that he shall cultivate a habit of 
 reading, and, if possible, of reading good literature. 
 Many moralists might recommend this habit on the 
 
. LEISURE TIME. 141 
 
 common ground that good literature tends to 
 improve the tone of a man's mind ; and even a 
 coach who is not a moralist will find it useful in 
 distracting the thoughts of his men. Besides, it is 
 quite pleasant in after life to recognize a well-worn 
 quotation in a newspaper article, and to remember, 
 probably with complete inaccuracy, where it 
 originated. A little attention to writing and 
 spelling might also prove valuable. Oarsmen who 
 had devoted themselves, say for ten minutes a day, 
 to these simple tasks, would have been saved from 
 perpetrating the following correspondence, which I 
 quote verbatim et literatim from letters in my 
 possession : 
 
 " DEAR 
 
 "It has been reported to me that you 
 broke training last night you were seen smoking 
 not only a few wiffs but a whole pipe I have 
 therefore decided to turn you out of the boat. 
 " Yours, etc." 
 
 Answer to the above 
 
 " DEAR 
 
 " I am in reciet of your letter it is true 
 that I smoked two whifs (not " wiffs " as you say) 
 
142 ROWING. 
 
 out of another man's pipe but that's all however 
 I don't want to row in your beastly boat. 
 "Yours, etc." 
 
 AQUATIC AXIOMS. 
 
 I may add here some axioms which have been 
 printed before,* but which I may venture to repeat 
 in a treatise on rowing. The years that have 
 passed since they were first set down have not 
 weakened my conviction that they are accurate. 
 I still believe myself justified in stating 
 
 (1) That if two crews row a course within ten 
 minutes of one another, the wind is always more 
 violent and the stream more powerful against the 
 crew in which you yourself happen to be rowing. 
 
 (2) That it is always right to take off at least 
 five seconds from the time shown on your stop- 
 watch in timing your own crew, and to add them, 
 by way of compensation, to the time shown on the 
 same watch when timing a rival crew. 
 
 (3) That your own crew is absolutely the only 
 one which ever rows the full course right out or 
 starts at the proper place. 
 
 (4) That if your crew is impeded while rowing 
 
 * In "In Cambridge Courts." 
 
AQUATIC AXIOMS. 143 
 
 a course you must allow ten seconds ; but if any 
 other crew is impeded you must allow only two 
 seconds. 
 
 (5) That if you row a slow course, No. 5's 
 stretcher gave way, or his slide came off. 
 
 (6) That you could always knock a quarter of a 
 minute off when you row a faster stroke, but 
 that- 
 
 (7) You never do, as a matter of fact, row a 
 faster stroke. 
 
 (8) That your crew always rowed a slower stroke 
 than the rest. 
 
 (9) That you are sure to do a faster time 
 to-morrow. 
 
 (10) That your private opinion is, that if every- 
 body in the crew did as much work as you do 
 yourself your crew would be many lengths faster, 
 and 
 
 (11) (and last) That you always lose by the 
 steering of your coxswain three lengths, which all 
 other crews gain by the steering of theirs. 
 
144 ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FOUR-OARS AND PAIR-OARS SWIVEL ROWLOCKS. 
 
 A GOOD coxswainless four-oared crew repre- 
 sents skill and watermanship, as distin- 
 guished from mere brute strength, in their 
 highest development. I may lay it down as an 
 axiom that any man who can row well in a cox- 
 swainless Four will row equally well in an eight- 
 oared crew. The converse of this is, however, by 
 no means true. A man may do good work in an 
 Eight, and yet be incapable of doing himself justice 
 in a Four, or, indeed,'of helping the pace of the boat 
 in any way. Rowing of a more refined order is 
 requisite for a Four. Greater power of balance is 
 needed, and a more perfect sense of that rhythm 
 which goes far to secure uniformity in rowing. You 
 may have in your Eight a clumsy heavy-weight, 
 who at No. 5 can use his strength to wonderful 
 advantage, in spite of various aberrations from 
 
FOUR-OARS AND PAIR-OARS. 145 
 
 correct form. But if you put this man at No. 3 
 in a Four, the results are sure to be disastrous. 
 An easier style of movement is required for a 
 Four. A strenuous application of all the body- 
 weight at the beginning of the stroke is still, no 
 doubt, necessary. The beginning must, of course, 
 be gripped, and that firmly ; but the best four- 
 oared rowing I have seen always gave me the 
 impression that a sort of "oiling" method of 
 progression, in which steady leg-pressure plays a 
 prominent part, was best suited to a Four which 
 is not encumbered with the weight of a coxswain. 
 Over and over again have Eights been defeated 
 at Henley for the Grand Challenge Cup, and yet 
 Fours, selected from their members, have been 
 able to beat all comers in the Stewards'. From 
 1868 to 1878 the London Rowing Club won the 
 Grand five times. In the same period of eleven 
 years their Four was only once defeated for the 
 Stewards', proving, if any proof were needed, that 
 an inferior Eight (I use the term merely rela- 
 tively) may contain a first-class victorious Four. 
 On the other hand, from 1891 to 1897, a period 
 during which Leander won the Grand five times, 
 they were able to win the Stewards' only once, 
 
 L 
 
146 ROWING. 
 
 and that was this year, when their Eight was 
 defeated. Instances of this kind might be 
 multiplied. 
 
 But besides skill in oarsmanship, another element, 
 which adds greatly both to the difficulties and 
 pleasures of a Four, has to be considered. This 
 is the necessity that one of the oarsmen should 
 not only row, but also guide the course of the 
 boat by steering with his foot. It is evident that 
 watermanship of a very high order is needed for 
 this feat. The steerer must know the course and 
 all its points perfectly. The ordinary oar often 
 finds it difficult to keep time when his eyes are 
 glued on the back of the men in front of him, 
 but the steerer in a Four has to keep time and 
 regularity, even though he may be forced to look 
 round in order to ascertain the true direction of 
 his boat. An oarsman in an Eight has both his 
 feet firmly fixed ; a steerer of a Four must keep 
 one foot constantly ready for movement. And 
 all this he has to do without making the boat 
 roll, or upsetting the harmony of his crew. These 
 difficulties, no doubt, are great ; but when once 
 they have been overcome, and the crew has shaken 
 absolutely together, there can be few pleasures in 
 
FOUR-OARS AND PAIR-OARS. 147 
 
 the world of exercise comparable to that of rowing 
 in a Four. 
 
 During a long period the London Rowing Club 
 had almost a monopoly of good Fours. Their crews 
 showed a degree of watermanship which in those 
 days University oarsmen despaired of attaining 
 to. Gulston, Stout, A. de L. Long, Trower, and 
 S. Le B. Smith were not only names to conjure 
 with, but showed in their rowing that perfection 
 of apparently simple ease which lies at the root 
 of success in four-oared rowing. Who that ever 
 witnessed it can forget the sight, once well-known 
 at Henley, of Mr. F. S. Gulston as he rowed and 
 steered his Four to victory ? As a recent Cam- 
 bridge versifier said of him 
 
 " They can't recall, but ah, I can, 
 
 How hard and strong you looked, sir ; 
 Twelve stone, and every ounce a man, 
 
 Unbeatable, uncooked, sir. 
 Our French friends, had they seen your rude 
 
 Vast strength had cried, ' Ah quel beau 
 Rameur, celui qui arque le coude ' 
 
 That is, protrudes his elbow. 
 
 " Your ship could run like Charley's Aunt, 
 
 And you, demure as Penley, 
 Knew all the wiles that might enchant 
 The river nymphs at Henley. 4 
 
148 ROWING. 
 
 No piles had yet marked out the way 
 
 Forbidding men to try on 
 The tricks that found round every bay 
 
 The short cuts to the ' Lion,' 
 
 " Each inch of bay you knew by heart, 
 
 You knew the slackest water ; 
 All foes who faced you at the start, 
 
 You beat, and beat with slaughter. 
 To ' form ' a stranger, yet your style 
 
 The kind that much endures was. 
 I never saw forgive the smile 
 
 A rounder back than yours was. 
 
 " But round or straight, when all dismayed 
 
 Your rivals lagged in trouble, 
 Still with a firm, unfaltering blade 
 
 You drove the swirling bubble. 
 With you to speed the hours along 
 
 No day was ere spent dully, 
 Our stalwart, cheerful, matchless, strong, 
 
 Our undefeated Gully." 
 
 As a matter of record it may be stated that 
 Mr. Gulston won five Grand Challenge Cup medals 
 and ten Stewards' Cup medals, Mr. A. de L. 
 Long five Grand Challenge Cup medals and eight 
 Stewards' Cup medals, and Mr. S. Le B. Smith 
 four Grand Challenge Cup medals, and seven 
 Stewards' Cup medals. No oarsman of the present 
 day can boast of anything like such a record in 
 these two events. 
 
FOUR-OARS AND PAIR-OARS. 149 
 
 The art of four-oared rowing, then, was brought 
 to perfection by the crews of the London Rowing 
 Club many years ago; but there is no danger 
 that it will be forgotten by oarsmen of the present 
 day. Indeed, the rowing of the Leander Four 
 that won the Stewards' Cup this year was about 
 as good as four-oared rowing can be. They were 
 absolutely together, they rowed with most perfect 
 ease, and in the race they beat record time by 
 seven seconds, and might have beaten it by still 
 more, had they not easied a length or two from 
 the finish. Their weights were as follows : , 
 
 Bow. C. W. N. Graham 10 st. 2 Ibs. 
 
 2. J. A. Ford 12 st. lib. 
 
 3. H.Willis Iist.i2lbs. 
 
 Guy Nickalls (stroke, and steers) 12 st. 7 Ibs. 
 
 From the above remarks it will be gathered that 
 the great points to be insisted upon in four-oared 
 rowing are uniformity, and again uniformity, and 
 always uniformity. A coach should insist, if 
 possible even more strenuously than he insists in 
 an Eight, on bodies and slides moving with a 
 faultless precision and perfectly together. Let 
 him devote his energies to getting the finish and 
 recovery locked up all through the crew, and let 
 
ISO ROWING. 
 
 him see to it that the movements of their bodies 
 shall be slow and balanced on the forward swing, 
 and strong and not jerky on the back swing. 
 More it would be difficult to add. 
 
 When a Four is practising for a four-oared race 
 alone that is to say, when its members are not 
 rowing in an eight-oared crew as well, their course 
 of work should be similar to that laid down for an 
 Eight. But when, as often happens at Henley, a 
 Four is made up out of the members of an eight- 
 oared crew, it will always be found better to allow 
 its members to do the bulk of their work in the 
 Eight, and to confine themselves in the Four 
 principally to long and easy paddling, varied by 
 short, sharp bursts of rowing. It may be necessary 
 for such a Four to go over the full course once at 
 top speed, but that ought to be enough. Their 
 work in the Eight should get them into condition ; 
 all that they really need in the Four is to be able 
 to row perfectly together. The Brasenose Four 
 that won the Stewards' in 1890 had never rowed 
 over the full course before the day of the race. 
 Their longest piece of rowing, as distinguished from 
 paddling, had been a burst of three minutes. Their 
 men acquired fitness by working in the Eight, and 
 
FOUR-OARS AND PAIR-OARS. 151 
 
 proved their condition by the two desperate races 
 they rowed. 
 
 As to steering, it used to be said that anybody 
 might steer in a Four except stroke, but Mr. Guy 
 Nickalls has proved that a stroke can steer as well 
 as row. He has won four Stewards' Cup medals, 
 has stroked and steered in every race, and his boat 
 has always been kept on a faultless course. 
 
 In the case of the ordinary oar, however, the old 
 saying, I think, holds good. Bow naturally is the 
 best place to steer from, not only because in turning 
 his head he can obtain a clear view of the course, 
 but also because he has a considerable advantage 
 in leverage, and ought to be able to control the 
 direction of his boat merely by relaxing or in- 
 creasing the power applied to his oar. The best 
 part of the stroke for looking round is, I consider, 
 towards the finish. A turn of the head, accom- 
 panied by an outward movement of the outside 
 elbow to suit the slightly altered position of the 
 body, while keeping pressure on the oar, is all that 
 is necessary. Yet I have seen Mr. Guy Nickalls 
 look round in the middle of his forward swing 
 without apparently disturbing the equilibrium of 
 the boat. In any case, the best thing a steerer can 
 
152 ROWING. 
 
 do is to learn his course by heart, so that he may 
 be able to steer for the most part without looking 
 round at all, judging the direction she is taking by 
 her stern and by well-known objects on the bank 
 as he passes them. Personally I prefer, and I 
 think most men prefer, to steer with the outside 
 foot. The captain of a Four should always look 
 carefully to his steering-gear to see that the wires 
 and strings are taut, and that they move properly 
 and without jamming over the wheels. I have 
 seen more than one race lost by accidents to the 
 steering-gear that might have been avoided by a 
 little preliminary attention. 
 
 PAIR OARS. 
 
 This, too, is a very pleasant form of rowing, both 
 with a view to racing and merely for casual amuse- 
 ment. The main elements for success are similar 
 to those laid down in the case of Fours. In pair- 
 oared rowing, however, there is one important point 
 which distinguishes it from all other forms of 
 rowing. It is absolutely essential that the two men 
 composing a Pair should not row "jealous," i.e. 
 neither of them must attempt to row the other 
 round in order to prove his own superior strength 
 
SWIVEL ROWLOCKS. 153 
 
 and ability. Such a course of action not only 
 makes progress circuitous and slow, but also ends 
 by entirely destroying the tempers of both oars- 
 men. In a Pair, even more than in a Four, the 
 bow oar has a considerable advantage in leverage, 
 whence it comes that a lighter and less powerful 
 man can often row bow in a Pair with a strong 
 and heavy stroke. The most surprising instance of 
 this occurred in the Oxford University Pairs of 
 1891, which were won by the late Mr. H. B. Cotton, 
 rowing bow at 9 st. 12 Ibs., to the stroke of Mr. 
 Vivian Nickalls, who weighed close on 13 st. 
 An instance to the contrary was afforded by the 
 winners of the Goblets at Henley in 1878. These 
 were Mr. T. C. Edwards-Moss, bow, 12 st. 3 Ibs., 
 and Mr. W. A. Ellison, stroke, 10 st. 13 Ibs. The 
 Goblets at Henley have been won six times by Mr. 
 Guy Nickalls, and five times by his brother Vivian. 
 
 SWIVEL ROWLOCKS. 
 
 There has been, during the past year, a move- 
 ment in favour of using swivel rowlocks, not only in 
 sculling-boats, but also in Pairs, Fours, and Eights, 
 though the majority of English oarsmen, even 
 when inclined to use them in Pairs and Fours, set 
 
154 ROWING. 
 
 their faces against them for Eights. The advocates 
 of swivels contend that by their use the hands are 
 eased on the recovery, and the jar that takes place 
 when the oar turns on a fixed rowlock is absolutely 
 abolished. These advantages seem to me to be 
 exaggerated, for, though I have carefully watched 
 for it, I have never seen an Eight or a Four retarded 
 in her place for even a fraction of a second by the 
 supposed jar due to the turning of the oar on the 
 feather in fixed rowlocks. On the other hand, I 
 am convinced that for an ordinary eight-oared 
 crew the fixed rowlock is best, and for the following 
 reasons : 
 
 The combined rattle of the oars as they turn 
 constitutes a most valuable rallying-point. The 
 ears are brought into action as well as the eyes. 
 This advantage is lost with swivels. In modern 
 sculling-boats a man must use swivels, for the 
 reach of the sculler extends to a point which he 
 could not reach with fixed rowlocks, as his sculls 
 would lock before he got there. As he moves 
 forward he is constantly opening up, his arms ex- 
 tending on either side of his body ; but in rowing, 
 one arm swings across the body, and unless you 
 are going to screw the body round towards the 
 
SWIVEL ROWLOCKS. 155 
 
 rigger, and thus sacrifice all strength of beginning, 
 you cannot fairly reach beyond a certain point, 
 which is just as easily and comfortably attained 
 with fixed rowlocks as with swivels. Moreover 
 and here is the great advantage you have in the 
 thole-pin of a fixed rowlock an absolutely im- 
 movable surface, and the point of application of 
 your power is always the same throughout the 
 stroke. With a swivel this is not so, for the back 
 of the swivel, against which your oar rests, is con- 
 stantly moving. To put it in other words, it is far 
 easier with a fixed rowlock to get a square, firm, 
 clean grip of the beginning, and for the same reason 
 it is easier to bring your oar square and clean out 
 at the end of the stroke. A really good waterman 
 can, of course, adapt himself to swivels, as he can 
 to almost anything else in a boat, but his task will 
 not be rendered any easier by them. For average 
 oars, and even for most good oars, the difficulties 
 of rowing properly will be largely increased, with- 
 out any compensating advantage, so far as I am 
 able to judge. In the case of novices, I am con- 
 vinced that it would be quite disastrous to attempt 
 to make them row with swivel rowlocks. 
 
i $6 ROWING. 
 
 Measurements of Racing Four built by J. H. Clasper. 
 (In this boat Leander won the Stewards' Cup, 1897.) 
 
 ft. ins. 
 
 Length over all ... ... ... ... 42 3 
 
 Greatest breadth of beam, exactly amidship ... I 8f 
 
 From centre of seat to sill of rowlock ... 2 8^ 
 
 Length of play of slides ... ... ... I 3$ 
 
 Height of sliding-seat above skin of boat ... 8 
 
 Height of heel-traps above skin of boat ... if 
 (This would make the heels about one inch 
 
 above skin of boat.) 
 
 Height of sill of rowlock above seat ... 6| 
 
 Depth forward ... ... ... ... 6g 
 
 Depth aft ... ... ... ... 5 
 
 Measurements of Oars used. 
 
 Length over all ... ... ... ... 12 o 
 
 Length in-board ... ... ... ... 3 8 
 
 Length of blade ... ... ... ... 2 8 
 
 Breadth of blade ... ... ... ... 5f 
 
 This boat is some three feet shorter than the average of 
 Fours nowadays. 
 
 The oars used by the New College Four measured over 
 all 12 ft. 6 ins. ; in-board, 3 ft. 8 ins. ; breadth of blades, 
 51 ins. 
 
 Measurement of a Pair Oar built by Sims, of Putney. 
 
 (In this Pair Mr. H. G. Gold, and Mr. R. Carr won the 
 University Pairs at Oxford, their weights being n st. 
 10 Ibs. and 12 st. 8 Ibs. respectively.) 
 
 ft. ins. 
 
 Length over all ... ... ... ... 37 i 
 
 Greatest breadth ... ... ... ... i 3! 
 
 Length of slide play ... ... ... i 4 
 
 Distance from sill of rowlock to centre of seat 2 8 
 
 Height of seat above skin of boat ... ... 8| 
 
 Heiht of heels above skin of boat ... ... i 
 
( >57 ) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 SCULLING. 
 
 By Guy Nickalls. 
 
 IN writing an article on sculling, a sculler must 
 of necessity be egotistical. He can only speak 
 of what he himself feels to be the correct way 
 of doing things, and cannot judge of how a different 
 man feels under the same circumstances. I there- 
 fore put in a preliminary plea for forgiveness if 
 in the course of these remarks the letter " I " 
 should occur with excessive frequency. Sculling 
 is so entirely an art by itself, that a man might 
 just as well ask a painter how he produces an 
 impression on a canvas as ask a sculler why he 
 can scull, or how it comes that so many good 
 oarsmen cannot scull. Ask an ordinary portrait- 
 painter why he cannot sketch a landscape, and 
 ask an ordinary oarsman to explain why he cannot 
 scull, and to the uninitiated the answer of both 
 
158 ROWING. 
 
 will have the same sort of vagueness. Sculling 
 differs so vastly from rowing that no man who 
 has not tried his hand at both can appreciate how 
 really wide apart they stand ; and the fact that 
 sculling depends to such a great extent on one's 
 innate sense of touch and balance, makes it ex- 
 tremely hard for a man who has tried his hand 
 with some success at both sculling and rowing 
 to explain to the novice, or even to the veteran 
 oarsman, wherein the difference lies. There is as 
 much difference between sculling and rowing as 
 there is between a single cyclist racing without 
 pacemakers, steering and balancing himself and 
 making his own pace, and a man in the middle 
 of a quintette merely pedalling away like a 
 machine at another man's pace, and not having 
 the balance or anything else solely under his con- 
 trol. The difference in "feel" is so great that 
 one might liken it to the difference between riding 
 a light, springy, and eager thoroughbred which 
 answers quickly to every touch, and pounding un- 
 comfortably along on a heavy, coarse-bred horse, 
 responding slowly to an extra stimulus, and 
 deficient in life and action. 
 
 To scull successfully one must possess pluck, 
 
SCULLING. 159 
 
 stamina, and a cool head, and must, above all, be 
 a waterman. A man may row well and success- 
 fully, and yet possess none of these qualities. 
 Nothing depresses a man more when he is sculling 
 than his sense of utter isolation. If a spurt is 
 required, he alone has to initiate it and carry it 
 through ; there is no cheering prospect of another 
 strong back aiding one, no strenuous efforts of 
 others to which one can rally, no cox to urge 
 one to further effort. You feel this even more in 
 practice than in actual racing, especially when 
 going against the clock. You are your own stroke, 
 captain, crew, and cox, and success or failure 
 depends entirely and absolutely upon yourself. 
 No one else (worse luck) is to blame if things go 
 wrong. 
 
 The pace of a sculling-boat is strictly propor- 
 tionate to the quality of its occupant. A good 
 man will go fast and win his race; a bad man 
 cannot. A good man in an Eight cannot make 
 his crew win ; and a bad man in an Eight may mar 
 a crew, but he can also very often win a race 
 against a crew containing better men than himself. 
 
 People have often asked me why a first-class 
 oar should not of necessity be a good sculler. 
 
160 ROWING. 
 
 This, although a hard matter to explain, is partly 
 accounted for by what I have said above, in that 
 sculling is so greatly a matter of delicate touch 
 and handling. Even good oars are as often as 
 not clumsy and wanting in a quick light touch. 
 Very few really big men have ever been fine 
 scullers. This is partly accounted for by the fact 
 that so few boats are built large enough to carry 
 big weights, and consequently they are under- 
 boated when practising. Many big weights, e.g. 
 S. D. Muttlebury and F. E. Churchill, have been 
 good and fast scullers at Eton, but two or three 
 years afterwards are slow, and get slower and 
 slower the longer they continue. This, I think, 
 is a good deal owing to the muscle which a big 
 man generally accumulates, especially on the 
 shoulders and arms, and he therefore lacks the 
 essential qualities of elasticity, lissomeness, and 
 quickness with the hands. 
 
 Big, strong men also generally grip with great 
 ferocity the handles of their sculls, and these 
 being small, the forearm becomes cramped, and 
 gives out. Many good oarsmen have never tried 
 to scull, and those who have generally give it up 
 after a first failure, which is more often than not 
 
SCULLING. 161 
 
 due to want of attention to detail. What passes 
 for good watermanship in an Eight is mere clumsi- 
 ness in a sculling-boat, and, as a matter of fact, 
 there are far fewer really good watermen than 
 the casual observer imagines. 
 
 I asked three of our best modern heavy-weight 
 oarsmen to tell me the reason why they could 
 not scull. The Thames R.C. man said the only 
 reason why he had never won the Diamonds was 
 because he had never gone in for them. This 
 was straightforward, but unconvincing to any one 
 who had watched this gentleman gambolling in 
 a sculling-boat. The Cambridge heavy-weight 
 affirmed solemnly that he could scull, and was 
 at one time very fast He subsequently admitted 
 that he could never get a boat big enough, and, 
 secondly, his arms always gave. The Oxford 
 heavy-weight replied much to the same purpose, 
 without the preliminary affirmation. 
 
 Many men can scull well and slowly, but few 
 can really go fast, and this, I think, is due to the 
 fact that they do not practise enough with faster 
 men than themselves, and so do not learn by 
 experience what action of theirs will best propel 
 a boat at its fastest pace. Nothing is more 
 
 M 
 
1 62 ROWING. 
 
 deceptive than pace ; when a man thinks he is going 
 fastest he is generally going slowest. He gets 
 the idea that he is going fast because his boat is 
 jumping under him, and creating a large amount 
 of side-wash ; but an observer from the bank will 
 notice that although the sculls are applying great 
 power, that power is not being applied properly, 
 and his boat will be seen to be up by the head 
 and dragging at the stern, and bouncing up and 
 down instead of travelling. 
 
 The first and foremost thing, then, to be attended 
 to for pace is balance, i.e. an even keel, and to 
 obtain this your feet should be very firm in your 
 clogs. As those supplied by the trade are of a very 
 rough and rudimentary character, they will nearly 
 always require padding in different places. You 
 should be able to feel your back-stop just so much 
 that when leaning back well past the perpendicular 
 you can push hard against it with a straight leg. 
 You are then quite firm, and can control your body 
 in the event of your boat rolling. Although when 
 a man has become a waterman he will find the 
 back-stop unnecessary, it is safest for the novice 
 to have it, so as to be able to press against it ; 
 otherwise, having nothing to press against at the 
 
SCULLING. 163 
 
 finish of his stroke, he may acquire the bad 
 habit of relying entirely on his toes to pull him 
 forward. In such a position he is unstable, and 
 if his boat rolls he has no control over his body. 
 
 Having got your balance, the next thing to be 
 thought of is the stroke. Reach forward until the 
 knees touch either armpit ; put the sculls in quite 
 square, and take the water firmly (be most careful 
 not to rush or jerk the beginning) ; at the same time 
 drive with the legs, sending the slide, body and all, 
 back ; the loins must be absolutely firm, so that the 
 seat does not get driven away from underneath the 
 body. If you allow the loins to be loose and weak 
 you will acquire that caterpillar action which was 
 to be seen in several aspirants to Diamond Sculls 
 honours last year, and which ruined whatever poor 
 chance they ever possessed. This diabolical habit 
 of driving the slide away, although common to 
 many professionals, cannot be too severely con- 
 demned, as it relieves the sculler from doing any 
 work at all except with the arms, which, if thus 
 used, without swing and leg-work to help them, 
 cannot, unless a man is enormously muscular in 
 them, hold out for any great length of time. 
 The firm drive will start the swing of the body, 
 
164 ROWING. 
 
 which may be continued a fraction of time after 
 the slide has finished. You will find that when 
 you have driven your slide back your body will 
 have swung well past the perpendicular (and in 
 sculling you may swing further back than you are 
 allowed to in rowing). When in that position a 
 sculler is allowed to do that which an oarsman 
 must not, viz. he may help to start his recovery 
 by moving his body slightly up to meet his sculls 
 as they finish the stroke. Thus by keeping his 
 weight on the blades in the water as long as 
 possible, instead of in his boat, he strengthens the 
 finish and prevents his boat burying itself by the 
 bows. The stroke from the beginning should go 
 on increasing in strength to the finish, which 
 should be firm and strong, but, like the beginning, 
 not jerked or snapped. Strength applied to the 
 finish keeps a boat travelling in between the 
 strokes. 
 
 The finish is by far the hardest part of the 
 stroke, and is most difficult to get clean and 
 smart. The position is naturally a far weaker 
 one than that of the oarsman, as the hands are 
 eight inches or so further back, and at the same 
 time six inches or so clear of the ribs. In this 
 
SCULLING. 165 
 
 position nine out of ten scullers fail to get a really 
 quick recovery with the sculls clean out and clear 
 of the water, the hands away like lightning and 
 clear of the knees, and the body at the same time 
 swinging forward. As soon as the hands have 
 cleared the knees they should begin to turn the 
 blade off the feather, so that by the time you are 
 full forward the blades are square and ready to 
 take the water. Professionals recommend staying 
 on the feather until just before the water is taken, 
 but this is apt to make the novice grip his handles 
 tightly, and press on them almost unconsciously 
 when he should be very light. He will thus make 
 his blade fly up and miss the beginning. In order 
 to ensure both hands working perfectly level and 
 taking and leaving the water exactly together, 
 a man should watch his stern, and by the turn 
 given either way he can easily detect which hand 
 is not doing its right amount of work. Which 
 hand you scull over or which under makes little 
 or no difference. Personally, I scull with the 
 right hand under. In holding a scull the thumb 
 should "cap" the handle; this prevents you from 
 pulling your button away from the thowl even the 
 slightest bit, and makes your grip firmer and 
 
1 66 ROWING. 
 
 steadier. If in steering you must look right 
 round, do so shortly before you are full forward, 
 as soon as the hands have cleared the knees, but 
 generally steer by the stern, if you can, without 
 looking round, and almost unconsciously by what 
 you notice out of the corner of either eye as 
 you pass. 
 
 Modern professionals, with very few excep- 
 tions, scull in disgracefully bad form. W. Haines, 
 Wag Harding, and W. East, at his best, are 
 perhaps the only exceptions I know to this rule. 
 English professionals, owing to the manual labour 
 with which most of them start life, become 
 abnormally strong in the arms, and trust almost 
 entirely to those muscles. Their want of swing, 
 their rounded backs, and "hoicked" finish they 
 carry with them into a rowing-boat. Nothing 
 shows up their bad form in rowing so much as 
 sandwiching a few pros, in a goodish amateur 
 crew "by their style ye shall know them." 
 They have acquired a style which does not answer, 
 and which they cannot get rid of, and they con- 
 sider an Eight can be propelled in the same 
 manner as a sculling-boat. Nothing is more 
 erroneous. They cannot assimilate their style to 
 
SCULLING. 167 
 
 the correct one. Two pros, sometimes make a fair 
 pair, because they may happen to "hoick" along 
 in the same style. Professional Fours are a little 
 worse than Pairs, and their Eights disgraceful. I 
 am of opinion (and I fancy most men who know 
 anything about rowing will agree with me) that 
 England's eight best amateurs in a rowing-boat 
 would simply lose England's eight best pros, over 
 any course from a mile upwards. This inability 
 to assimilate one's style to that of another man, 
 or body of men, may be the reason why some 
 excellent amateur scullers proved inferior oars, or 
 it may be that they can go at their own pace 
 and not at another man's. I myself have often 
 felt on getting out of a sculling-boat into an 
 Eight great difficulty and much weariness at being 
 compelled to go on at another man's pace, and 
 only to easy at another's order. If you are 
 practising for sculling as well as rowing there is 
 nothing like being captain of an Eight or stroke 
 of a Pair or Four. 
 
 The novice, if he has toiled so far as this, is no 
 doubt by now saying to himself that I am only 
 repeating what he knows already, and that what 
 he especially requires are hints as to rigging his 
 
168 ROWING. 
 
 boat, size and shape of sculls, and various measure- 
 ments, the pace of stroke he ought to go, etc., 
 Of course, the smaller the blade the quicker the 
 stroke, and vice versA. It should be remembered 
 that even ^ of an inch extra in the breadth of a 
 blade makes a lot of difference. Blades, I think, 
 should vary according to the liveliness of water 
 rowed on, and according to the strength of the 
 individual. For myself, I am rather in favour 
 of smaller blades than are generally used. My 
 experience leads me to believe that racing sculls 
 should be from 9 ft. 8 J ins. to 9 ft. 9J ins. in length 
 all over ; in-board measurement from 2 ft. 8J ins. 
 to 2 ft. 9 ins., but, of course, this entirely depends 
 on how much you like your sculls to overlap. 
 When they are at right angles to the boat, my 
 sculls overlap so much that there is a hand's- 
 breadth of space in between my crossed hands. 
 The length of blade should be about 2 ft. ; breadth 
 of blade, from 5f ins. to 6J ins. Even on the tide- 
 way sculls should be as light as a good scull-maker 
 can turn them out, so long as they retain their 
 stiffness. Do not, however, sacrifice stiffness to 
 lightness. It is rather interesting to compare these 
 measurements with those of a pair of sculls hanging 
 
SCULLING. 169 
 
 over my head as I write ; these were used in a 
 championship race eighty years ago, and have a 
 heavy square loom to counteract their length and 
 consequent weight out-board. The measurements 
 are 8 ft. 8 ins. in length over all, I ft. 9 ins. in- 
 board ; length of blade, 2 ft. 5 ins. ; breadth of blade, 
 3j ins. I give below roughly what should be the 
 measurements of a boat according to the weight of 
 the sculler. For a man of 
 
 9 stone. 12 stone. 13 stone. 
 
 Length 
 
 ... 30 ft. . 
 
 31 ft. ... 
 
 31 ft. 3 ins. 
 
 Width 
 
 ... 9 ins. 
 
 \Q\ ins. 
 
 nj ins. 
 
 Depth 
 
 ... 5! ins. 
 
 SJ ins. ... 
 
 51 ins. 
 
 forward 
 
 ... 3| ins. 
 
 3Jins. ... 
 
 3$ ins. 
 
 aft ... 
 
 ... z\ ins. 
 
 2\ ins. ... 
 
 2| ins. 
 
 Weight ... 
 
 ... 24lbs. 
 
 281bs. ... 
 
 34 Ibs. 
 
 As to slide, I hold that a man should slide to a 
 point level with his rowing-pin never past it, lest 
 the boat should be pinched instead of being driven 
 at the beginning of the stroke. The clogs should 
 be fixed at an angle of 55 to the keel (i.e. an 
 angle measured along the back of the clogs). If 
 the angle is much smaller, the feet and legs lose 
 power when the sculler is full back, and the drive 
 at the finish is weakened. If the angle is greater, 
 the difficulty of bending the ankle-joints sufficiently 
 
1 70 ROWING. 
 
 as the slide moves forward becomes very serious. 
 The distance of fifteen inches from the heel of 
 the clogs to the edge of slide when full forward 
 may be slightly reduced, but only slightly. For 
 instance, if reduced, as is sometimes done, to ten 
 inches, the body comes too close to the heels in the 
 forward position to enable the sculler to get a 
 strong, direct, and immediate drive, and the boat is 
 pinched. 
 
 A very old sculling-boat of mine and perhaps 
 the best that Clasper ever built was built for Mr. 
 F. I. Pitman in 1886. She owed her pace to the 
 fact that she was very long aft, and consequently 
 never got up by the head ; her cut-water was always 
 in the water, even when her occupant was full for- 
 ward ; and the most marvellous thing was that, low 
 as she was, she did not bury her nose, considering 
 that she had to endure a weight of 170 Ibs. or 
 so, shifting its position fore and aft to the extent 
 of sixteen inches. She is a marvel of the boat- 
 builder's art, and was built of exceptionally close- 
 framed cedar, which takes a long time to get 
 water-soaked, and indeed should never do so if 
 properly looked after. Her dimensions were : 
 Length, 31 ft. 2 ins.; length from edge of sliding 
 
SCULLING. 171 
 
 seat when forward to stern-post, 14 ft. 6\ ins. ; 
 width, iij ins.; depth forward, 3jins. ; depth aft, 
 2 J ins. ; depth amidships, 5^ ins. ; from heels to 
 back edge of slide when back, 3 ft. $J ins. ; lever- 
 age, i.e. measurement from thowl to thowl across, 
 4 ft. 9 ins. ; from heels to edge of seat when 
 forward, 15 \ inches. She won the Diamond Sculls 
 in 1886, 1888, 1889, 1890; the amateur cham- 
 pionship in 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890; besides 
 the Metropolitan Sculls and several minor races. 
 
 It is a great mistake to try and get a boat too 
 light. The eagerness a man will display in cutting 
 down everything to lessen the weight of his craft, 
 until he is sitting on the water on a weak bit of 
 nothing, is really astounding. Three or four extra 
 pounds often make all the difference, whether a 
 boat is stiff and keeps on travelling, or whether 
 she jumps, cocks her head, and waggles about 
 generally. 
 
 As to the pace of stroke, from twenty-two to 
 twenty-six strokes a minute is a fair practice 
 paddle, twenty-four to twenty-eight for sculling 
 hard, and in racing, even for a minute, never attempt 
 anything over thirty-eight. I once sculled seventy- 
 eight strokes in two minutes, and felt more dead 
 
172 ROWING. 
 
 than alive at the end of it. It is harder work to 
 scull thirty-eight strokes in a minute than it is to 
 row forty-four in the same time. If you do start 
 at thirty-eight, drop down as soon as possible to 
 thirty-four, thirty-two, or even thirty, according 
 to circumstances of wind and weather, etc. My 
 best advice to the novice is to go just fast enough 
 to clean out his opponent before the same thing 
 happens to himself, or, even better still, to get his 
 opponent beaten, and leave himself fresh. But 
 always remember if you are at all evenly matched, 
 that however bad you feel yourself, your opponent 
 is probably in just as bad a plight. Talking of 
 pace reminds me of how soon even the best scullers 
 tire. In sculling a course against time at Henley, 
 a good man may get to Fawley, the halfway point, 
 in about the same time as a Pair, and yet will be 
 half a minute slower from that point to the finish ; 
 and for the last quarter-mile the veriest tiro can 
 out-scull a champion, provided the latter has gone 
 at his best pace throughout. In scull-racing the 
 advantage of the lead is greater than in rowing, 
 as a sculler can help his own steering by watch- 
 ing the direction of the other's craft. Yet you 
 should never sacrifice your wind to obtain the 
 
SCULLING. 173 
 
 advantage, for recollect that in sculling you can 
 never take a blow or an easy for even a stroke. If 
 you are behind, never turn round to look at your 
 opponent, as by doing so you lose balance and 
 pace, and many a good man has lost a race by so 
 doing. Keep just so close up to your man as to 
 prevent him giving you the disadvantage of his 
 back wash. 
 
 Training for sculling requires more time and 
 practice than training for rowing. If it takes an 
 Eight 6 weeks to get together and fit to race, it 
 takes a Four 9 weeks, a Pair 12 weeks, and a Sculler 
 15 weeks. If a man is training for both rowing 
 and sculling at the same time, and racing in both 
 on the same day, it takes lengths and lengths off 
 his pace, for rowing upsets all that precision so 
 necessary in sculling. If a man sculls and rows 
 at Henley, and does both on the same day, and 
 practises for the same daily for a month before- 
 hand, I should think it would make him from 
 six to eight lengths slower on the Henley course. 
 Otherwise, train as you would for rowing, the only 
 difference being that a little more time should be 
 spent in the actual sculling than is spent in the 
 actual rowing. 
 
174 ROWING. 
 
 Having attended Henley Regatta since 1883, 
 and having raced there for twelve years in suc- 
 cession, I have met with various scullers. Mr. J. 
 C. Gardner, taking him all round, was the finest I 
 have ever seen of amateurs. He was quite the 
 best stripped man I have ever seen, his muscles 
 standing out like bars of steel all over his body ; 
 he was a very neat, finished sculler, the only 
 fault I could find with him being a tendency to a 
 weak finish. W. S. Unwin, a light weight, was 
 extremely neat, but his style was rather spoilt by 
 a roundish back. F. I. Pitman, his great rival, 
 was perhaps a better stayer, and had a more elegant 
 style. Vivian Nickalls, for a long man, was a fine 
 sculler, handicapped by an awkward finish and 
 handicapped also by the fact that he never entirely 
 gave his time up to sculling only his chief 
 characteristic being a fine, healthy, long body 
 swing. M. Bidault, a Frenchman, who rowed in 
 the Metropolitan Regatta some years ago, was 
 7 ft. 4^ ins. high; he weighed 17 stone; his boat 
 weighed 50 Ibs., was 35 feet long, had a 5 ft. 
 leverage ; his sculls were lift. 10 ins. long. Com- 
 pare with him Wag Harding, with a boat 19^ Ibs. 
 in weight, weighing 9 stone himself, and you will 
 
SCULLING. 175 
 
 see in what different forms and shapes men can 
 scull. And M. Bidault was a fast man for a quarter 
 of a mile. The fastest sculler for half a mile I 
 have ever seen was Herr Doering, who sculled for 
 the Diamonds in 1887. The slowest man I have 
 
 ever seen was Well, I won't mention names, 
 
 as he might go in for the Diamond Sculls again. 
 Rupert Guinness, although not what I should call 
 a born sculler, obtained his great proficiency in 
 sculling by dint of a very long and careful pre- 
 paration, by months and months of continual 
 practice, and by not hampering his sculling by 
 entering and practising for rowing events at the 
 same time in fact, by making a speciality of 
 sculling. 
 
i?6 ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 STEERING. 
 (SOME HINTS TO NOVICE COXSWAINS.) 
 
 By G. L. Davis, 
 
 Cox of the Cambridge Eight, 1875-79 ; Cox of Leander, 
 1880-85. 
 
 M 
 
 ANY people think that any one, provided 
 he be of the proper weight, is fitted to 
 fill the post of coxswain. 
 Nobody, however, knows better than the actual 
 rowing man what an amount of useless labour and 
 irritation a crew can be saved by possessing a 
 good man in the stern, not to mention the assist- 
 ance he can afford both directly and indirectly in 
 getting a crew together. Certainly a mere tiro, 
 having acquired the elementary knowledge that 
 if he pulls the right rudder-line he will turn his 
 boat to starboard, i.e. to the right, and that if he 
 pulls his left line he will turn her to port, i.e. to the 
 
STEERING. 177 
 
 left, may be able to guide a boat sufficiently well 
 for ordinary purposes ; but even in the period 
 of training a crew, and still more so in the 
 race, there is undoubtedly plenty of scope for a 
 clever coxswain to distinguish himself. There is 
 no royal road to good steering. Pains and per- 
 severance are necessary, as in every other branch 
 of athletics. The attainment of perfection in 
 steering is not all that is requisite ; there are 
 many other qualities added to this skill which 
 combine to make a coxswain worthy to be 
 reckoned in the front rank a position which all 
 coxswains should aim for. 
 
 In the days of Tom Egan the steerer had to act 
 as coach to his crew, but nowadays he is no longer 
 called upon to do so. He is, in the first place, 
 chosen on account of his light weight ; but eligible 
 though he may be in this respect, he is too often 
 quite incapable in other ways of performing his 
 duties. Should this be the case, a crew would be 
 well advised in carrying a few more pounds, or 
 even a stone or two extra, if by so doing they 
 manage to gain an able and experienced coxswain. 
 There are certain qualities which are absolutely 
 essential in the right sort. He should have light 
 
 N 
 
i;8 ROWING. 
 
 hands, judgment, a cool head, and plenty of nerve 
 to enable him to keep his presence of mind in 
 the face of a sudden predicament or unforeseen 
 danger. There are numberless occasions both in 
 practice and during races when risks are run. A 
 boat laden with pleasure-seekers may suddenly 
 pop out from the bank into the course. The 
 coolness of the coxswain may avert very much 
 more serious consequences than the loss of a 
 stroke or two, such as a broken rigger or an 
 injury to an oarsman, by a touch of the rudder 
 and a ready appeal to his crew to mind their oars. 
 During a University Boat Race, in which I 
 was steering the Cambridge Boat, a waterman's 
 wherry, with two or three occupants, was suddenly 
 pulled out from the Surrey shore at a short 
 distance above Hammersmith Bridge. The course 
 at this point lies somewhat near to the bank, and 
 the Oxford Boat was nearly level with mine. The 
 wherry was directly in my way, and, as far as I 
 could make out, those who were in it seemed to 
 be in doubt as to whether they should row still 
 further out or make for the shore. If I went to 
 the right, a foul was imminent with the Oxford 
 Boat ; if to the left, I should have got into slack 
 
STEERING. 179 
 
 water and lost ground by the dttour. There was 
 no time for those in the wherry to waste in 
 making up their minds, so I promptly made 
 straight for them with the object of driving them 
 out of my course. The desired effect followed. 
 They got sufficient way on in the direction of the 
 shore to enable me to steer straight on and clear 
 them. My action involved the ticklish question 
 of judgment of distance and of pace, namely, 
 should I reach the spot before the wherry was 
 clear ; and this anecdote illustrates my point 
 that quickness in making up the mind, and, when 
 it is made up, in acting, is essential to a coxswain. 
 The duties of a coxswain consist of many and 
 varied details. To make a smart crew, attention 
 should be paid to discipline both in and out of 
 the boat, and he can and ought to further this 
 object to the utmost of his power, thereby saving 
 the coach or captain a great deal of trouble. If 
 the coxswain of a light eight-oared racing ship 
 has been ordered to get her into the water, he 
 ought to be there to superintend the order being 
 carried out. He should bid his crew "stand by" 
 their riggers, and see that each man is in readiness 
 to lift and carry her to the water's edge. There 
 
i8o ROWING. 
 
 is generally a waterman at hand, but whether there 
 is or not, the coxswain should be ready, if neces- 
 sary, to remove any stool upon which the ship 
 may have been resting, so as to prevent any 
 stumbling on the part of his men. His place is 
 near the rudder (unless she is launched stern fore- 
 most, when, of course, it would be impossible), to 
 prevent any injury happening to it, until the boat 
 is safely in the water. He will then get the oars- 
 men into her in an orderly manner. There is 
 necessity for this, for otherwise the boat's back 
 may be strained. This might occur by allowing 
 stroke and bow to get in first, owing to a boat of 
 such length and lightness of build being supported 
 in the centre and at the same time weighted at 
 each end. The best order for the men to take 
 their places is, 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, bow, and then stroke. 
 The coxswain should call out their numbers one 
 by one, holding the boat firmly whilst they take 
 their seats, and on no account allow more than 
 one man to get in at the same time. In disem- 
 barking, it is part of his duty to see that the crew 
 leave the ship in the reverse order. The coxswain 
 seats himself in the aftermost thwart perfectly 
 upright, with his legs crossed tailor-fashion, and 
 
STEERING. 181 
 
 takes up the rudder-lines one in each hand ; and, 
 before he gives any command, should see that his 
 steering gear is in proper order. It is a common 
 and useful custom for the purpose of preventing 
 the hand from slipping, to have attached to each 
 line a piece of wood of about three to four inches 
 in length, and one and a half in circumference, 
 called a tug. These the coxswain clasps tightly, 
 one in each hand. Some coxswains hold their 
 rudder-lines in front of the body, others behind ; 
 but in my opinion the best place to hold them 
 is by the side, with the hands resting one on 
 each gunwale. The coxswain, by thus supporting 
 himself, can better preserve a firm and steady 
 seat. He should never slip about on his seat, but 
 always keep his body as nearly as possible erect, 
 and balanced from his hips. He must on no 
 account roll with the boat, and should endeavour 
 to prevent himself being moved to and fro by the 
 action of the rowers. Often a narrow strip of 
 wood is nailed to the seat the better to enable 
 him to sit firm. The lines must be kept taut, and 
 tied together in front of him, lest by any accident 
 he should lose one or both overboard. After 
 having shoved off and paddled into position, he 
 
182 ROWING. 
 
 should see that the bows of his boat point straight 
 for the course he wishes to steer. He will then 
 start his crew by calling upon them to "get 
 ready," when they will divest themselves of any 
 superfluous clothing and make any other necessary 
 preparations. He will then say " Forward ! " or 
 " Forward all ! " for them to come forward in readi- 
 ness for the first stroke. He should now take care 
 that his boat is level, and should tell the oarsmen 
 on the side to which she may list to raise their 
 hands, or call upon the crew to get her level. 
 After that he asks, " Are you ready ? " as a final 
 warning, and lastly cries, " Row ! " or " Paddle ! " 
 as may be required. Some other forms are em- 
 ployed, but this is as good as any, and better 
 than most, and the same words should always 
 be used when once adopted. In the event of a 
 crew making a bad start, they should be at 
 once stopped and restarted. If the coxswain be 
 desirous for his crew to stop rowing or paddling, 
 " Easy all ! " is the term to use, and this order 
 should be given almost immediately after the 
 commencement of a stroke, to prevent the rowers 
 coming forward for the next one. In case it may 
 be necessary to bring his boat up sharp, he will 
 
STEERING. 183 
 
 say, " Hold her up all ! " * and if (at any time) 
 there is any danger of the oars touching anything, 
 he should cry, "Mind your oars, bow side," or 
 "stroke side," as the case may be. The boat is 
 ordinarily turned on the port (left) side by calling 
 upon bow and No. 3 to paddle, and stroke and 
 No. 6 to back water, or back, for brevity ; and on 
 the starboard (right) side by calling upon Nos. 2 
 and 4 to paddle, and Nos. 5 and 7 to back. In 
 each case the coxswain naturally assists with the 
 rudder. When turning a racing ship, for fear of 
 weakening her, the paddling and rowing should 
 not take place simultaneously. 
 
 Whatever the coxswain addresses to his crew 
 should be spoken clearly and distinctly, so that 
 all may hear without difficulty. The preceding 
 instructions comprise most of the everyday terms 
 that a coxswain should know. 
 
 Now let me turn to his functions of a semi- 
 coaching character, of keeping his crew in time. 
 
 * This is the term used at Cambridge, where " Hold her " is 
 also used with the same meaning. At Oxford, "Hold her up" 
 means "Paddle on gently;" and "Hold her all," or "Stop her 
 all," would be the order if a sudden stoppage were required. To 
 carry out such an order the rowers turn the blades flat on the water, 
 and raise their hands quickly, thus burying blades in the water. 
 
184 ROWING. 
 
 Whether the crew are rowing or paddling, he must 
 carefully watch the time of the oars, both as they 
 catch the water and leave it. If the oarsman 
 catches the water too soon, he should be told not 
 to hurry; if too late, he should be told, "You're 
 late." If he leaves it too soon, or, as it is called, 
 clips his stroke at the finish, he should be told to 
 finish it out, etc. (but if an oarsman finishes it after 
 the stroke, I cannot advise the coxswain to take 
 notice of it). All these semi-coaching remarks, if 
 I may so call them, should be prefaced with the 
 number of the crew to whom they are addressed, 
 for the purpose of calling his attention, and must 
 be used with judgment and tact, for nothing can 
 be more aggravating, not to say maddening, to an 
 oarsman at any time, more especially when fagged 
 in a race, to hear incessantly the possibly high- 
 pitched and monotonous tones of a coxswain. 
 There is only one fault that will excuse him 
 shouting himself hoarse, if he be so disposed, and 
 it is the fault, or rather vice, of one of the crew 
 looking out of the boat ; and he should at once 
 cry, " Eyes in the boat ! " and continue to do so 
 until he is obeyed. There are certain acts of 
 watermanship which an efficient coxswain will not 
 
STEERING. 185 
 
 neglect to carry out, namely, when turning to 
 come down-stream, to swing his boat round by 
 pulling her head outwards into the current ; and, 
 on the other hand, when turning to proceed up- 
 stream, to thrust her nose into the slack water in- 
 shore, and allow her stern to come round in the 
 same manner ; and always to bring his boat in to 
 the raft or landing-stage with her head pointing 
 up-stream. 
 
 There is no need for me to set out the rules of 
 the road for a coxswain to follow, as they can be 
 read at any time in the Rowing Almanack, which 
 comes out annually, and is published at the Field 
 office. 
 
 To steer a straight course, a coxswain should 
 fix upon a high and conspicuous object some 
 distance ahead, and endeavour to keep the nose 
 of his boat dead on it ; and when learning his 
 course, he should remember to choose objects of 
 a permanent nature, or in the race he will be in 
 difficulties. Now, the keeping of a straight course 
 is not so simple as it appears ; in fact, it is a most 
 difficult thing to do properly, and there is no case 
 in which the advantage of a coxswain with light 
 hands is better displayed. It will be noticed that 
 
186 ROWING. 
 
 such a one leaves scarcely a ripple in his wake, 
 whilst another will leave a considerable wash. 
 The reason of it is this : that whilst the former 
 uses practically no rudder, the latter, by first 
 pulling one line and then the other, causes the 
 stern of his boat to swing from side to side, until, 
 as the sailors say, she becomes wild that is to say, 
 so unsteady that the further she travels the more 
 rudder she will require to prevent her bows from 
 yawing and to keep her course. He should never 
 steer for a curve in the bank or for other pro- 
 jections as, for instance, the buttress of a bridge 
 in such a manner as to be compelled to sheer 
 out to clear them. He should approach a sharp 
 corner as wide as possible, in order to reduce the 
 acuteness of the angle at which he will have to 
 take it, and should have the boat's head round by 
 the time that the axis or pivot, if I may use the 
 term, on which the boat swings, and which in the 
 eight-oared boats I steered was usually trimmed to 
 be somewhere between the seats of Nos. 4 and 5, 
 is off the most prominent point. 
 
 The difficulty of taking this sort of corner is 
 increased when the course lies up-stream, accord- 
 ing to the strength of the current ; for not only 
 
STEERING. 187 
 
 does the current acting on the bows tend to 
 prevent the boat coming round, but also to drive 
 her head towards the opposite bank. When the 
 Cam at Cambridge is in flood, "Grassy" and 
 Ditton are corners of this character, but usually 
 that river runs sluggishly. But even then these 
 corners present many difficulties. " Grassy " is on 
 the right bank of the river, and therefore on the 
 coxswain's left ; Ditton is on his right. The 
 former is the harder to manipulate properly, by 
 reason of the river becoming a narrow neck shortly 
 before the corner is reached. 
 
 In taking " Grassy," the coxswain should keep 
 close to the tow-path bank until he commences to 
 make the turn. It is impossible to explain on 
 paper the exact spot when he should do so. The 
 common fault is to begin too soon. Practice and 
 experience only can teach him when to time his 
 action correctly; but having acquired this know- 
 ledge, he will get his boat round with but a 
 moderate amount of rudder, especially if he call 
 upon bow and No. 3 for a little extra assistance. 
 
 Some years ago, during the Lent Term Bump- 
 ing Races at Cambridge, the coxswain of one of 
 the boats, with the intention of cutting off the 
 
1 88 ROWING. 
 
 preceding one as it was being steered round in the 
 correct way, took this very corner close to the 
 inside bend at its very commencement, and in so 
 doing acted contrary to the principle of giving a 
 sharp corner a wide berth at the first part. The 
 consequence was that, having failed to calculate 
 the pace at which the other was travelling, and 
 having missed his bump, he found it impossible to 
 bring his boat round, ran high and dry on to the 
 opposite bank, and was, of course, himself bumped. 
 Ditton should be approached as wide as the 
 coxswain can manage, by hugging the opposite 
 bank until he begins to bring the boat's head 
 round, which, as in the case of Grassy, should not 
 be done until as late as possible. Here, too, 
 Nos. 2 and 4 may be called upon to help her 
 round. The rudder should be put on between the 
 strokes as a rule, gradually, and not with a jerk, 
 which has a tendency to cause the boat to roll. 
 It should be used as lightly as possible, and never 
 under ordinary circumstances put hard on. The 
 effect of a cross wind is to drive the stern of a 
 boat to leeward, and to bring her bows up into the 
 wind. This should be counteracted by the cox- 
 swain steering to windward of his usual course, 
 
STEERING. 189 
 
 and by lee rudder to meet her : how much can 
 only be learnt by experience, and must be regu- 
 lated by the strength of the wind. The fin, which 
 is a thin plate of metal fixed slightly abaft the 
 coxswain's seat on her keelson, is of great assist- 
 ance in keeping the boat straight under such 
 circumstances. 
 
 The coxswain should pick up information re- 
 lating to his course by observation, inquiries, and 
 in every way he can, and, previous to a race, he 
 should take careful stock of the direction and force 
 of the wind, and shape his course accordingly. It 
 is a good plan to be taken over the course either 
 in a row-boat or launch, by some one acquainted 
 with it, for the purposes of instruction. He can 
 gain a general idea of the Putney to Mortlake 
 course by watching the barges which float up and 
 down the river with the tide, and are kept in 
 mid-stream by long sweeps. But every coxswain 
 should learn to scull ; he can then not only get 
 his weight down by exercise, if required, but 
 familiarize himself with the set of the stream, 
 flats, and other peculiarities of a course by actual 
 experience. Training for the purpose of reducing 
 the weight of the coxswain is a questionable 
 
190 ROWING. 
 
 expedient ; but if practised with moderation, and 
 if natural means are employed, the object, if worth 
 it which I very much doubt may be attained, 
 and little harm done ; but weakness, the result of 
 excessive wasting, is not unfrequently accom- 
 panied with an impaired judgment and loss of 
 nerve, the absence of which may lead to serious 
 consequences. Moreover, a coxswain not only 
 requires a certain amount of physical strength to 
 manage a boat of the length of an eight-oar, but, 
 to do himself justice, should come to the post 
 feeling full of energy and determination. In level 
 races the coxswain of the leading boat should 
 never take his opponents' water, unless reasonably 
 certain that he cannot be overtaken, for a sudden 
 sheer out involving loss of pace and ground at a 
 critical time has before now lost a race ; and when 
 alongside, and in close proximity, he should avoid 
 watching the other boat, otherwise he will in all 
 probability steer into it, such is the apparent force 
 of attraction exercised over a coxswain by the 
 opposing crew. One coxswain should not " bore " 
 the other. Boring is the act of one coxswain 
 steering closer and closer to another until he 
 gradually succeeds in pushing him out of his own 
 
STEERING. 191 
 
 water. This cannot take place when both cox- 
 swains engaged are equally skilful, and equally 
 well acquainted with the course, for neither will 
 give way. At the best it is not sportsmanlike, 
 and there is no desire on the part of the majority 
 of rowing men to win a race by the trickery of the 
 coxswains. At the annual University Boat Race 
 Dinner, when the old Blues and other friends 
 assemble to do honour to the two crews, it is the 
 tirne-honoured custom to drink the health of the 
 coxswains. On one of these occasions, a well- 
 known Oxford coxswain, who, in the fog that 
 prevailed at the start of the race, had been pressed 
 out of his course by the opposing crew, in return- 
 ing thanks made a witty allusion to the subject 
 in these words : " I have been," he said, " very 
 much interested in this race, but I have also been 
 very much bored." It was a speech meant for the 
 occasion, and was received with the applause it 
 deserved ; but it was not meant seriously, nor was 
 it taken so by his equally well-known Cambridge 
 rival. 
 
 I may at this point give a word of advice to 
 a coxswain in a Bumping Race. He should, 
 throughout the race, keep his true course, and not 
 
192 ROWING. 
 
 follow any vagaries of the boat in front of him, 
 except with the immediate object of making his 
 bump ; he must never shoot for his bump when 
 going round a corner, and ought always to make 
 sure of his position before making a shot, so as 
 not to waste the energy of his men by missing 
 time after time, and zigzagging across the river. 
 When he has been bumped, or has made a bump, 
 he should at once clear out of the way to make 
 room for the boats following. In all races he 
 should encourage his crew at intervals with such 
 expressions as, " Now, you fellows ! Well rowed ! 
 On to it ! " etc. But an incessant flow of language 
 not only sounds ridiculous, but must be a nuisance 
 to the crew themselves. In a ding-dong race, 
 however, when neither crew can get away from the 
 other, he will naturally urge them more strenu- 
 ously to further exertions. He should watch the 
 time as carefully as in practice, and call upon his 
 crew to "Reach out," or "Keep it long," if he 
 notices that they are getting short and scratchy ; 
 and he may quietly keep the stroke posted up in 
 the doings of the opponents, telling him how they 
 are rowing, how far ahead they are, and so on. 
 In training quarters, especially if the crew are 
 
STEERING. 193 
 
 despondent, the more depressed they are, the more 
 he should endeavour to cheer them up and inspire 
 confidence in them. 
 
 Finally, let me advise coxswains when steering 
 to wear warm and waterproof clothing in cold and 
 wet weather, and thus possibly save themselves 
 much suffering from rheumatism and other com- 
 plaints in after-life. 
 
194 ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. 
 By C. M. Pitman, 
 
 New College ; President O.U.B.C. 1895. 
 
 IF we try to examine the causes of success or 
 failure, of a run of good crews or bad crews 
 from one University or the other, it is impos- 
 sible to overestimate the importance of good organ- 
 ization, good management, and friendly rivalry in 
 the college boat clubs. In the long run, the success 
 or failure of the University Crew depends in no 
 small measure upon the amount of trouble taken 
 and the amount of keenness shown by the various 
 colleges in practising for their different races 
 during the year. It is only by very careful coach- 
 ing and assiduous practice in his college Torpid 
 and Eight, that a man who has not rowed before 
 going up to the University can ever hope to 
 attain to a place in the University Crew ; and 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. 195 
 
 it is only by trying to apply his learning to 
 advantage in college races during the year that 
 one who has just gained his blue can hope to 
 be of greater value to the University in the 
 following spring. 
 
 Only a small number of the men who take up 
 rowing at the University attain to a seat in the 
 Trial Eights, and fewer still, of course, get their 
 blue. It is by rowing for their college, then, in Eight 
 or Torpid, that the majority of University men 
 gain their experience, and so it is but natural 
 that even more interest is usually manifested in 
 the practice of the Eights than in that of the 
 University Crew itself. 
 
 Most of the colleges at Oxford have now what 
 is known as an "amalgamated club," which 
 supplies the finances of all the various branches 
 of athletics. That is to say, every undergraduate 
 member of the college pays a fixed subscription 
 to the amalgamated club fund, and the money 
 thus collected is allotted proportionately to the 
 different college clubs. The money thus allotted, 
 with the addition in some cases of small sums 
 received as entrance fees for college races, forms 
 the income of the college boat club ; and out 
 
196 ROWING. 
 
 of this income is paid a capitation fee to the 
 University Boat Club, which varies according to 
 the number of undergraduates on the college 
 books, the rest of the money being devoted to 
 providing boats, oars, etc. the ordinary expenses, 
 in fact, for carrying on the college boat club. 
 
 A freshman, when he first comes up to Oxford, 
 has, as a rule, made up his mind to which par- 
 ticular branch of athletics he intends to devote 
 himself. If he intends to play football, and does 
 not happen to have come up with a great reputa- 
 tion from his public school, he finds it somewhat 
 hard at first, however good he may be, to make 
 himself known ; but if he makes up his mind to 
 row, he finds everything cut and dried for him. 
 
 At the beginning of the October Term, a notice 
 is put up for the benefit of freshmen and others, 
 that those desirous of being coached must be at 
 the barge on and after a certain day, at 2.30. 
 The coaching is undertaken by any of the college 
 Eight of the preceding term who are in residence, 
 and any others whom the captain of the boat 
 club may consider qualified. The men are taken 
 out at first in tub-pairs or heavy fours ; and 
 grotesque, to say the least of it, are the movements 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. 197 
 
 of the average freshmen during the first few 
 days of his rowing career. The majority of men 
 who get into a boat for the first time in their lives 
 seem to imagine that it is necessary to twist their 
 bodies into the most uncomfortable and unnatural 
 it positions, and is hard at first to persuade them 
 that the movements of a really good oar are easy, 
 natural, and even graceful. It is not long, how- 
 ever, as a rule, before a considerable improvement 
 becomes manifest, and, at the end of the first 
 fortnight or so of the term, most of the novices 
 have begun to get a grasp of the first principles 
 of the art. 
 
 About the end of the second week of the term 
 the freshmen are picked up into Fours. These 
 crews, which row in heavy tub-boats, practise for 
 about three weeks for a race, which is rowed 
 during the fifth or sixth week of the term. After 
 a day or two of rest, the best men from these 
 Fours are taken out in eights. No one who has 
 not rowed in an eight with a crew composed 
 almost entirely of beginners can imagine the dis- 
 comfort, I might almost say the agony, of these 
 first two or three rows. One of the chief causes 
 of this is that the boats used on such occasions 
 
198 ROWING. 
 
 are usually, from motives of economy, very old 
 ones, the riggers being often twisted and bent by 
 the crabs of former generations, and the boats 
 themselves heavy and inclined to be waterlogged. 
 
 During the last day or two of the term, the 
 captain, with a view to making up his Torpids 
 for the next term, generally tries to arrange one 
 or two crews selected from the best of the fresh- 
 men and such of the old hands as are available ; 
 and justly proud is a freshman if, having got 
 into a boat for the first time at the beginning of 
 the term, he finds himself among the select few 
 for the first Torpid at the end of it. 
 
 At the beginning of the Lent Term the energies 
 of the college boat clubs are entirely devoted 
 to the selection and preparation of the crews 
 for the Torpids. The smaller colleges have one 
 crew and the larger ones two, and in some cases 
 three, crews each. No one who has rowed in his 
 college Eight in the races of the previous summer 
 is permitted to row in the Torpid, so the crews 
 are generally composed partly of men who rowed 
 in the Torpid of the preceding year, but who 
 were not quite good enough to get into the Eight, 
 and partly of freshmen ; the boats used must 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. 199 
 
 be clinker built of five streaks, with a minimum 
 beam measurement of 2 ft. 2 in. measured inside, 
 and with fixed seats. 
 
 Although I do not propose here to say any- 
 thing about the general subject of training, I 
 cannot refrain from making one remark. It is 
 in practising for the Torpids that freshmen 
 generally get their first experience of strict train- 
 ing, and for this reason there is no crew more 
 difficult to train than a Torpid. Most of the 
 men after their first experience of regular work 
 have fine healthy appetites, and, as a rule, eat 
 about twice as much as is good for them, with 
 the result that, even if they escape violent indiges- 
 tion, they are painfully short-winded, and find the 
 greatest difficulty in rowing a fast stroke. The 
 Torpids train for about three weeks before the 
 races, which take place at the end of the fourth 
 and the fifth weeks in term. They last for six 
 nights, and are bumping races, the boats starting 
 1 60 ft. apart. A hundred and sixty feet is a very 
 considerable distance to make up in about three 
 quarters of a mile, and at the head of a division 
 a crew must be about fifteen seconds faster over 
 the course to make certain of a bump. 
 
2co ROWING. 
 
 Of performances in the Torpids that of Erase- 
 nose stands by itself. They finished at the head 
 of the river in 1885, and remained there for eleven 
 years, until they were displaced by New College 
 in 1896. 
 
 The only other race in the Lent Term is the 
 Clinker Fours. This race is rowed in sliding-seat 
 clinker-built boats, and the crews consist of men 
 who have not rowed in the Trial Eights or in 
 the first division of the Eights in the previous 
 Summer Term. For some occult reason there 
 is never a large entry for the Clinker Fours, 
 although the race affords an excellent opportunity 
 of seeing how the best of the Torpid men row 
 on slides, and should thus be a great help to 
 the captain of a college boat club in making up 
 his Eight for the next term. With so small an 
 entry for the Clinker Fours, most of the college 
 captains devote their time after the Torpids, for 
 the rest of the term, to coaching their men in 
 sliding-seat tubs, the time at the beginning of the 
 Summer Term being so short that it is absolutely 
 necessary to get the men who have been rowing 
 on fixed seats in the Torpids thoroughly ac- 
 customed to slides by the end of the Lent Term, 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. 201 
 
 and also to have the composition of the next 
 term's Eight as nearly as possible settled. 
 
 At the beginning of the Summer Term, time, 
 as I have said, is rather short, and consequently 
 it is the custom at most colleges to make the Eight 
 come into residence about a week before the end 
 of the vacation. The esprit de corps and energy 
 which are shown during the practice are, perhaps, 
 the most noticeable features of college rowing 
 at Oxford a circumstance to which may be 
 attributed the fact that the crews turned out by 
 the colleges at the top of the river are often 
 wonderfully good, considering the material out 
 of which they are formed. The Eights are 
 rowed at the end of the fourth week and at the 
 beginning of the fifth week in term, six nights 
 in all. They start 130 ft. apart that is to say, 
 30 ft. less than the Torpids. About the same 
 number of boats row in a division in the former 
 as in the latter, the bottom boat starting at the 
 same place in each case ; consequently the head 
 boat in the Eights has a slightly longer course 
 to row than the head Torpid. 
 
 The start of a boat race is always rather nervous 
 work for the crews, but the start of a bumping 
 
202 ROWING. 
 
 race is worse in this respect than any. A spectator 
 who cares to walk down the bank and look at 
 the crews waiting at their posts for the start can- 
 not fail to notice that even the most experienced 
 men look extremely uncomfortable. 
 
 The start is managed thus : at the starting-point 
 of each boat a short wooden post is driven firmly 
 into the ground. These posts are exactly 130 ft. 
 apart, and to each is attached a thin rope 60 ft. 
 long with a bung at the end, while by each post 
 a punt is moored. About twenty minutes or a 
 quarter of an hour before the appointed time, 
 the crews start from their barges and paddle 
 gently down to their respective starting-places, 
 where they take up their positions alongside of 
 the punts. Five minutes before the starting-time 
 the first gun is fired as a sort of warning. These 
 guns are fired punctually to the second, and by 
 the first gun the men who are going to start 
 the different crews set their stop-watches. The 
 duty of these " starters " is to keep the crews 
 informed of the exact time, by calling out, " One 
 minute gone," "Two minutes gone," etc. The 
 second gun goes one minute before the start, and 
 as soon as it is fired, the waterman slowly pushes 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. 203 
 
 the boat out from the side of the punt by means 
 of a long pole pressed against stroke's rigger, the 
 coxswain holding the bung at arm's-length in his 
 left hand, with the cord taut so as to counteract 
 the pressure of the pole, and " bow " and " two " 
 paddling very gently so as to keep the boat at 
 the very furthest extension of the rope. " Thirty 
 seconds more," calls the starter ; " fifteen," " ten," 
 " five," " four," " three," " two," " look out " 
 Bang ! and, except for those who are doomed to 
 be bumped, the worst is over till the next night. 
 Directly a bump is made both the boat which 
 has made the bump and the boat which is bumped 
 draw to one side, and on the next night the boat 
 which has made the bump starts in front of its 
 victim of the preceding evening. The Eights are 
 the last event of the season in which the colleges 
 compete against one another on the river, and 
 the interest and excitement of the college in the 
 doings of its crew generally find their final outlet, 
 in the case of a college which has made five or 
 six bumps or finished head of the river, in a bump 
 supper an entertainment of a nature peculiar to 
 Oxford and Cambridge, which is, perhaps, better 
 left to the imagination than described in detail. 
 
204 ROWING. 
 
 It is a curious fact that, although the ideal 
 aimed at by each college is the same, different 
 colleges seem to adhere, to a very considerable 
 extent, year after year to the same merits and 
 the same faults. One college gets the reputation 
 of not being able to row a fast-enough stroke ; 
 another, of being ready to race a week before the 
 races and of getting worse as the races proceed, 
 and, try as hard as they like, they do not seem 
 to be able to shake off the effect of the reputation 
 of their predecessors. So, again, one college gets 
 the reputation of rowing better in the races than 
 could possibly be expected from their form in 
 practice, or of always improving during the races. 
 The most notable case of late years, perhaps, was 
 the traditional pluck of Brasenose. For eleven 
 years in the Torpids and for three years in the 
 Eights their certain downfall was predicted, but 
 year after year, sometimes by the skin of their 
 teeth and sometimes with ease, they managed to 
 get home. The best performances in the Eights, 
 as a matter of mere paper record, are those of 
 Trinity and Magdalen, who have each rowed head 
 of the river for four years in succession, the former 
 in 1 86 1, 1862, 1863, and 1864, and the latter in 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. 205 
 
 1892, 1893, 1894, and 1895. Magdalen can also 
 boast of not having finished lower than third 
 in the Eights for some fifteen years. Brasenose 
 have finished head of the river fourteen times 
 since the races were started in 1836; University 
 nine times, and Magdalen seven times. The best 
 performance in any one year is that of New 
 College in the season 1895-96, when they com- 
 pletely swept the board, being head of the river 
 in Eights and Torpids, and winning the University 
 Fours, Pairs, and Sculls. The only other college 
 race besides those I have described is the Fours. 
 This race is rowed in coxswainless racing-ships 
 during the fourth week of the October Term. It 
 is a "time" race, the crews, which row two in 
 a heat, starting eighty yards apart, the finishing- 
 posts being, of course, divided by the same 
 distance. A time race is a very unsatisfactory 
 affair compared with an ordinary "breast" race, 
 but it is rendered necessary by the narrow winding 
 river, for there is not room between Iffley and 
 Oxford for two boats to row abreast. Oxford 
 College crews, undoubtedly excellent though they 
 often are, have been singularly unsuccessful at 
 Henley. The Grand Challenge Cup has only 
 
206 ROWING. 
 
 been won by a college crew from Oxford twice 
 within the memory of the present generation 
 (i.e. by Exeter, in 1882, and by New College 
 in the present year). Wadham, it is true, 
 won it in almost prehistoric times (1849), and 
 the tradition is handed down that they took 
 the light blue in their colours from those of the 
 crew which they defeated a tradition which 
 I need hardly say the members of the sister 
 University always meet with a most emphatic 
 denial. 
 
 It may, perhaps, seem that so far I have 
 described college rowing as if its organization 
 were so perfect that there is little or no difficulty 
 in managing a college boat club successfully. 
 This is by no means the case. Uneasy lies the 
 head that wears a crown, even though it be 
 merely that of the captaincy of a college boat 
 club. 
 
 In the first place, it is not always as easy as 
 might be imagined to get men to row. Men 
 who cannot be induced to row when they come 
 up to the University may be divided into two 
 classes those who refuse because they do not 
 wish to take up any branch of athletics, and those. 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. 207 
 
 who will not row because they wish to do something 
 else. The former class (i.e. those of them who, after 
 a moderate amount of persuasion, will not come 
 down to the river) are not, as a rule, worth bother- 
 ing about. They are generally weak, soft creatures, 
 whose highest ambition is to walk overdressed 
 about the " High," and, if possible, to be con- 
 sidered " horsey " without riding the class, in fact, 
 generally known as " bloods." Or else they belong 
 to that worthy class of beings who come up to 
 the University to read and only to read, and 
 imagine that it is therefore impossible for them 
 to row. The "blood" is, or should be, beneath 
 the contempt of the rowing authorities, and the 
 "bookworm" is generally impervious to argument, 
 in spite of the fact that he would be able to read 
 much harder if he took regular exercise. 
 
 With regard, however, to those men who refuse 
 to row because they want to go in for something 
 else, a little diplomacy and a little personal 
 trouble on the part of the college captain, such 
 as coaching men at odd hours, once or twice a 
 week, when it suits their convenience, will often 
 work wonders. Instances of this may be seen 
 in the fact that many colleges have of late years 
 
208 ROWING. 
 
 been materially assisted by a sturdy football player 
 in the Torpid or Eight, and in the fact that 
 Rugby football blues have rowed in the University 
 Eight during the last three years. Another great 
 difficulty which the captains of the smaller college 
 boat clubs have to face is that of procuring good 
 boats with very limited finances. The usual 
 practice is to save up money for several years 
 to buy a new eight, and to continue to row in 
 her long after she has become practically useless, 
 and, indeed, positively incompatible with good 
 rowing. This is a difficulty which can to a great 
 extent be got over by getting second-hand boats. 
 These can be bought for about half price when 
 they have only been used one or two seasons 
 by the University, or by one of the larger (and 
 therefore richer) college boat clubs, which can 
 afford to get a new boat as often as they want 
 one. By this means a college boat club, how- 
 ever poor, can always have a boat which, if not 
 quite new, is at least comparatively modern, 
 instead of being a water-logged hulk some eight 
 or ten years old, such as one often sees wriggling 
 along at the tail end of the Eights. 
 
 Yet another obstacle is there which it is not 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT OXFORD. 209 
 
 easy to overcome. It is often almost impossible to 
 find a trustworthy coach. There is nearly always 
 some one in residence who is considered capable 
 of looking after the college Eight, but the igno- 
 rance of college coaches is often only too manifest 
 from the arrant nonsense they may be heard 
 shouting on the bank. There is only one remedy 
 I can suggest. Let the college captain secure 
 some member of the University Crew, or any one 
 else who knows what he is talking about, to take 
 the crew for a couple of days, and make the College 
 coach accompany him. He will thus learn something 
 of the rowing of the crew, and you will hear him 
 the next day pointing out the real faults to which 
 his attention has thus been called. 
 
 In conclusion, I must add that, keen though 
 the rivalry between the various colleges always 
 is, it is a rivalry which, by the encouragement it 
 gives to rowing, confers good and good only 
 upon the interests of the O.U.B.C., and never 
 degenerates into a jealousy which might be pre- 
 judicial to the success of the University as a 
 whole. The college captains elect as president 
 of the O.U.B.C. the man whom they consider to 
 be best fitted for the post, to whatever college he 
 
 p 
 
210 ROWING. 
 
 may belong, for they know that the president will 
 select his crew absolutely impartially, will never 
 think of unjustly preferring men who belong to 
 his own college, but will always do his best to 
 serve the interests of the University.* 
 
 * For further details of college rowing at Oxford and Cambridge, 
 the reader is referred to the extracts from the rules and regulations 
 of the two University Boat Clubs printed in the appendix to this 
 book. 
 
( 211 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 THE casual visitor would scarcely imagine 
 that Cambridge resembled either Macedon 
 or Monmouth in the possession of a river. 
 He sees in The Backs what looks rather like a huge 
 moat, designed to keep marauders from the sacred 
 college courts, and filled with discoloured water, 
 destitute seemingly of all stream. This he knows 
 cannot be the racing river. The innumerable 
 bridges forbid the notion, although Ouida has, in 
 one of her novels, sprinkled it with a mixture 
 of racing Eights and water-lilies. He wanders on 
 from college to college, and nowhere does he come 
 across the slightest sign of the river of which he 
 has heard so much. Indeed, a man may stroll 
 on Midsummer Common within about a hundred 
 yards of the boat-houses without suspecting the 
 existence of the Cam. I can well remember 
 
212 ROWING. 
 
 convoying to the river an enthusiastic freshman 
 who had just joined his college boat club. At 
 every step I was asked whether we were yet 
 approaching the noble stream. I answered 
 evasively, and with an air of mystery which befits 
 a third-year man in the presence of freshmen. At 
 length we turned on to the common, which is 
 bounded by the Cam ; on the further bank stand 
 the boat-houses. There were crowds of men busy 
 in the yards, there were coaches riding on the 
 nearer bank, but of the river itself there was no 
 indication. We were still about two hundred 
 yards away when a Lady Margaret Eight passed, 
 the heads of the crew in their scarlet caps being 
 just visible above the river-bank as they swung 
 backwards and forwards in their boat. I felt my 
 freshman's grip tightening on my arm. Suddenly 
 he stood stock still and rubbed his eyes. " Good 
 heavens ! " he said in an awestruck voice, " what 
 on earth are those little red animals I see running 
 up and down there ? Funniest thing I ever saw." 
 I reassured him, and in a few moments more we 
 arrived at the Cam, crossed it in a "grind," and 
 solved the puzzle. Distance, therefore, can scarcely 
 be said to lend enchantment to the view, since at 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 213 
 
 anything over one hundred yards it withdraws the 
 Cam altogether from our sight. It is not easy, 
 indeed, to see where the attractions of the Cam 
 come in. It has been called with perfect justice 
 a ditch, a canal, and a sewer, but not even the 
 wildest enthusiasm would have supposed it to be 
 a running stream, or ventured at first sight to call 
 it a river. Yet this slow and muddy thread of 
 water has been for more than seventy years the 
 scene of excitements and triumphs and glories 
 without end. Upon its shallow stream future 
 judges and bishops and Parliament-men not to 
 speak of the great host of minor celebrities and 
 the vaster army of future obscurities have sought 
 exercise and relaxation ; to its unsightly banks 
 their memory still fondly turns wherever their lot 
 may chance to be cast, and still some thousand 
 of the flower of our youth find health and strength 
 in driving the labouring Eights and Fours along 
 its narrow reaches and round its winding corners. 
 It may well excite the wonder of the uninitiated 
 that, with so many natural disadvantages to 
 contend against, the oarsmen of Cambridge should 
 have been able during all these years to main- 
 tain so high a standard of oarsmanship. Time 
 
214 ROWING. 
 
 after time since the year when First Trinity 
 secured the first race for the Grand Challenge 
 have her college crews carried off the chief prizes 
 at Henley against all competitors, until, in 1887, 
 Trinity Hall swept the board by actually winning 
 five out of the eight Henley races, other Cambridge 
 men accounting for the remaining three. The 
 record of Cambridge rowing is thus a very proud 
 one ; but those who know the Cambridge oarsman 
 and his river will find no difficulty in accounting 
 for it. The very disadvantages of the Cam all tend 
 to imbue the man who rows upon it with a stern 
 sense of duty, with the feeling that it is business 
 and not pleasure, hard work and not a picnic, 
 that summon him every day of the term to the 
 boat-houses and urge him on his way to Baitsbite. 
 We are forced to do without the natural charms 
 that make the Isis beautiful. We console our- 
 selves by a strict devotion to the labour of the oar. 
 The man who first rowed upon the Cam was 
 in all probability a lineal descendant of the 
 daring spirit who first tasted an oyster. His 
 name and fame have not been preserved, but 
 I am entitled to assume that he flourished some 
 time before 1826. In that year the records of 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 215 
 
 Cambridge boat clubs begin. There is in the 
 possession of the First Trinity Boat Club an old 
 book, at one end of which are to be found the 
 " Laws of the Monarch Boat Club," with a list 
 of members from 1826 to 1828, whilst at the other 
 end are inscribed lists of members of the Trinity 
 Boat Club, minutes of its meetings, and brief 
 descriptions of the races in which it was engaged 
 from the year 1829 to 1834. The Monarch Boat 
 Club was by its laws limited to members of 
 Trinity, and, I take it, that in 1828 the club had 
 become sufficiently important to change its name 
 definitely to that of Trinity Boat Club. At any 
 rate, it must always have been considered the 
 Trinity Club ; for in the earliest chart of the 
 Cambridge boat races that, namely, of 1827 in 
 the captains' room of the First Trinity Boat-house, 
 " Trinity " stands head of the river, and no mention 
 is made of a Monarch Club. These ancient laws 
 form a somewhat Draconian code. They are 
 twenty-five in number, and eight of them deal with 
 fines or penalties to be inflicted upon a member 
 who may " absent himself from his appointed crew 
 and not provide a substitute for his oar," or who 
 may " not arrive at the boat-house within a quarter 
 
216 ROWING. 
 
 of an hour of the appointed time." There were 
 fines ("by no means to be remitted, except in the 
 case of any member having an cegrotat, exeat, or 
 absit, or having been prevented from attending 
 by some laws of the college or University") for 
 not appearing in the proper uniform, for "giving 
 orders or speaking on a racing day, or on any 
 other day, after silence has been called" (exception 
 being made in favour of the captain and steerer), 
 and for neglecting to give notice of an intended 
 absence. To the twelfth law a clause was sub- 
 sequently added enacting "that the treasurer be 
 chastised twice a week for not keeping his books 
 in proper order." 
 
 From the minutes of the Trinity Boat Club I 
 extract the following letter, dated Stangate, 
 December, 1828, which shows that even at that 
 early date the first and third persons carried on 
 a civil war in the boat-builder's vocabulary : 
 
 "Rawlinson & Lyon's compliments to Mr. 
 Greene wish to know if there is to be any altera- 
 tion in the length of the set of oars they have 
 to send down have been expecting to hear from 
 the Club, therefore have not given orders for the 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 217 
 
 oars to be finished should feel obliged by a line 
 from you with the necessary instructions and be 
 kind enough to inform us of the success which 
 we trust you have met with in the New Boat, 
 "we remain Sir 
 
 "Your ob 1 Servts 
 
 "RAWLINSON & LYON." 
 
 In 1833 it is curious to read, "towards the 
 end of this Easter term six of the racing crew 
 were ill of influenza, etc., when the boat was 
 bumped by the Queens', which we bumped next 
 race, but were bumped again by them, and next 
 race owing to a bad start the Christ's boat bumped 
 us immediately being nearly abreast of us at the 
 bumping-post." Was this the grippe, I wonder? 
 In the Lent Term, 1834, it is stated, "The second 
 race we touched the Christ's after the pistol was 
 fired the first stroke we pulled, and lost our place to 
 the Second Trinity for making a foul bump." By 
 the way, in the oldest minute-book belonging to the 
 University Boating Club, extending from 1828 to 
 1837, I find tne Second Trinity boat occasionally 
 entered on the list as "Reading Trinity." It 
 continued to enjoy this bookish reputation up to 
 
218 ROWING. 
 
 1876, when a debt which continued to increase 
 while its list of members as constantly diminished, 
 brought about its dissolution. Its members and 
 its challenge-cups were then taken over by First 
 Trinity. 
 
 In an old book belonging to First Trinity 
 is preserved a map of the racing river, which 
 explains much that would be otherwise inex- 
 plicable in the various entries. In those days 
 the races began in the short reach of water in 
 which they now finish. A little below where 
 Charon now plies his ferry were the Chesterton 
 Locks, and in the reach above this starting-posts 
 seem to have been fixed for the various boats. 
 When the starting - pistol was fired the crews 
 started rowing, but apparently no bump was 
 allowed before the bumping-post, fixed some 
 little way above the first bend where the big 
 horse-grind now works. Any bump before this 
 was foul, and the boat so fouling appears to have 
 been disqualified. This post once passed, the 
 racing proper began and continued past Barnwell 
 up to the Jesus Locks. It must be remembered 
 that the Jesus Locks were not where they are 
 now, but were built just where the Caius boat- 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 219 
 
 house now stands, there being a lock cut in the 
 present bed of the river, and the main stream 
 running quite a hundred yards south of its present 
 course, and forming an island, on which stood 
 Fort St. George. This was altered in 1837, when 
 the Cam was diverted to its present course, and 
 the old course from above Jesus Green Sluice to 
 Fort St. George was filled up. 
 
 A few more extracts relating to the first 
 beginnings of college boat-races may be of 
 interest. In 1827 there were six boats on the 
 river a ten-oar and an eight-oar from Trinity, an 
 eight-oar from St. John's, and six-oars from Jesus, 
 Caius, and Trinity, Westminster. In 1829 this 
 number had dwindled to four at the beginning 
 of the races on February 28 ; but in the seventh 
 race, which took place on March 21, seven crews 
 competed, St. John's finishing head of the river, 
 a place they maintained in the following May. 
 Usually from seven to nine races appear to have 
 been rowed during one month of the term, certain 
 days in each week having been previously fixed. 
 Crews were often known by the name of their 
 ship rather than by that of their college. I find, 
 for instance, a Privateer, which was made up, I 
 
220 ROWING. 
 
 think, of men from private schools, a Corsair 
 from St. John's, a Dolphin from Third Trinity 
 (which was then, and is still, the Club of the Eton 
 and Westminster men), Black Prince from First 
 Trinity, and Queen Bess from the Second or 
 " Reading " Trinity. The following regulations, 
 passed by the University Boat Club on April 18, 
 1831, will help to make the old system of boat- 
 racing quite clear : 
 
 " i. That the distance between each post being 
 twenty yards will allow eleven boats to start 
 on the Chesterton side, the length of the ropes 
 by which they are attached to the posts being ten 
 yards. 
 
 " 2. That the remainder of the boats do start 
 on the Barnwell side at similar distances, but with 
 ropes fifteen yards in length. 
 
 " 3. That there also be a rope three yards long 
 fixed to the head of the lock, which will be the 
 station of the last boat, provided the number 
 exceed twelve." 
 
 These arrangements allowed thirteen boats to 
 start at once, and special provision was made for 
 any number beyond that. Obedience to the 
 properly constituted authorities seems from an 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 221 
 
 early period to have characterized the rowing 
 man. I find that in 1831 a race was arranged 
 between the captains of racing crews and the rest 
 of the University, to take place on Tuesday, 
 November 29. On Monday, the 28th, however, 
 there arrived " a request from the Vice-Chancellor, 
 backed by the tutors of the several colleges, 
 that we should refrain from racing on account of 
 the cholera then prevailing in Sunderland. We 
 accordingly gave up the match forthwith, and with 
 it another which was to have been rowed the 
 same day between the quondam Etonians and 
 the private school men." The secretary, however, 
 adds this caustic comment, "It is presumed that 
 Dr. Haviland, at whose instigation the Vice- 
 Chancellor put a stop to the race, confounded 
 the terms (and pronunciations ?) ' rowing ' and 
 ' rowing,' and while he was anxious to stop any 
 debauchery in the latter class of men, by a slight 
 mistake was the means of preventing the healthy 
 exercise of the former." 
 
 The umpire for the college races seems never to 
 have been properly appreciated. Indeed, in 1834, 
 the U.B.C. solemnly resolved "that the umpire 
 was no use, . . . and accordingly that Bowtell 
 
222 ROWING. 
 
 should be cashiered. In consequence of this reso- 
 lution, it was proposed and carried that the same 
 person who had the management of the posts, 
 lines, and starting the boats should also place the 
 flags on the bumping-post, and receive for his 
 pay 4s. a week, with an addition of 2s. 6d. at the 
 end of the quarter in case the starting be well 
 managed, but that each time the pistol misses 
 fire is. should be deducted from his weekly pay." 
 
 In 1835, in consequence of the removal of 
 the Chesterton Lock, the U.B.C. transferred the 
 starting-posts to the reach between Baitsbite and 
 First Post Corner, and there they have remained 
 ever since. 
 
 Side by side with the college boat clubs, formed 
 by the combination of their members for strictly 
 imperial matters, regulating and controlling the 
 inter-collegiate races, but never interfering with 
 the internal arrangements and the individual 
 liberty of the college clubs, the University Boat 
 Club grew up. With two short but historical 
 extracts from its early proceedings, I will conclude 
 this cursory investigation into the records of the 
 musty past. On February 20, 1829, at a meeting 
 of the U.B.C. Committee, held in Mr. Gisborne's 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 223 
 
 rooms, it was resolved inter alia " That Mr. Snow, 
 St. John's, be requested to write immediately to 
 Mr. Staniforth, Christ Church, Oxford, proposing 
 to make up a University match ; " and on March 
 12, on the receipt of a letter from Mr. Staniforth, 
 Christ Church, Oxford, a meeting of the U.B.C. 
 was called at Mr. Harman's rooms, Caius College, 
 when the following resolution was passed : " That 
 Mr. Stephen Davies (the Oxford boat-builder) 
 be requested to post the following challenge in 
 some conspicuous part of his barge : ' That the 
 University of Cambridge hereby challenge the 
 University of Oxford to row a match at or near 
 London, each in an eight-oared boat, during the 
 ensuing Easter vacation.' " 
 
 Thus was brought about the first race between 
 the two Universities. Mr. Snow was appointed 
 captain, and it was further decided that the 
 University Boat Club should defray all expenses, 
 and that the match be not made up for money. 
 It is unnecessary for me to relate once again how 
 the race was eventually rowed from Hambledon 
 Lock to Henley Bridge, and how the Light Blues 
 (who, by the way, were then the Pinks) suffered 
 defeat by many lengths. The story has been 
 
224 ROWING. 
 
 too well and too often told before. Each crew 
 contained a future bishop the late Bishop of 
 St. Andrew's rowing No. 4 in the Oxford boat, 
 whilst the late Bishop Selwyn, afterwards Bishop 
 of New Zealand, and subsequently of Lichfield, 
 occupied the important position of No. 7 for 
 Cambridge. Of the remainder more than half 
 were afterwards ordained. 
 
 So much, then, for the origins of College and 
 University racing. Thenceforward the friendly 
 rivalry flourished with only slight intermissions ; 
 gradually the race became an event. The great 
 public became interested in it, cabmen and 'bus- 
 drivers decorated their whips in honour of the 
 crews, sightseers flocked to the river-banks to 
 catch a glimpse of them as they flashed past, and 
 their prowess was celebrated by the press. It is 
 not, however, too much to say that without the 
 keen spirit of emulation which is fostered by the 
 college races both at Oxford and Cambridge, 
 the University boat-race would cease to exist. 
 Truly a light blue cap is to the oarsman a glorious 
 prize, but there are many hundreds of ardent 
 enthusiasts who have to content themselves with 
 a place in the college boats in the Lent or the 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 225 
 
 May Term. Want of form, or of weight, or of 
 the necessary strength and stamina may hinder 
 them from attaining to a place in the University 
 Eight, but they should console themselves by 
 reflecting that without their patient and earnest 
 labours for the welfare of their several colleges it 
 would be impossible to maintain a high standard 
 of oarsmanship, or to form a representative 
 University Eight Let me, therefore, be for a page 
 or two the apologist, nay, rather the panegyrist, of 
 the college oarsman, with whom many of my 
 happiest hours have been spent. 
 
 Before entering upon the serious business of 
 life as a freshman at Cambridge, the youth who is 
 subsequently to become an oar will in all proba- 
 bility have fired his imagination by reading of 
 the historical prowess of past generations of 
 University oars in races at Henley or at Putney. 
 Goldie who turned the tide of defeat, the Closes, 
 Rhodes, Gurdon, Hockin, Pitman the pluckiest 
 of strokes, and Muttlebury the mighty heavy- 
 weight, are the heroes whom he worships, 
 and to whose imitation he proposes to devote 
 himself. A vision of a light blue coat and cap 
 flits before his mind ; he sees himself in fancy 
 
 Q 
 
226 ROWING. 
 
 wresting a fiercely contested victory from the 
 clutches of Oxford, and cheered and fted by a 
 countless throng of his admirers. With these 
 ideas he becomes as a freshman a member of his 
 college boat club, and adds his name to the 
 " tubbing list." He purchases his rowing uniform, 
 clothes himself in it in his rooms, and one fine 
 afternoon in October finds himself one of a crowd 
 of nervous novices in the yard of his college boat- 
 house. One of the captains pounces on him, 
 selects a co-victim for him, and orders him into 
 a gig-pair, or, to speak more correctly, "a tub." 
 With the first stroke the beautiful azure vision 
 vanishes, leaving only a sense of misery behind. 
 He imagined he could row as he walked, by the 
 light of nature. He finds that all kinds of 
 mysterious technicalities are required of him. He 
 has to "get hold of the beginning" to "finish it 
 out," to take his oar " out of the water clean " (an 
 impossibility one would think on the dirty drain- 
 fed Cam), to " plant his feet against the stretcher," 
 to row his shoulders back, to keep his elbows close 
 to his sides, to shoot away his hands, to swing 
 from his hips, under no circumstances to bend his 
 back or to leave go with his outside hand, and, 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 227 
 
 above all, to keep his swing forward as steady as 
 a rock an instruction to which he conforms by 
 not swinging at all. These are but a few points 
 out of the many which are dinned into his ears by 
 his energetic coach. A quarter of an hour con- 
 cludes his lesson, and he leaves the river a much 
 sadder, but not necessarily a wiser man. How- 
 ever, since he is young he is not daunted by all 
 these unforeseen difficulties. He perseveres, and 
 towards the end of his first term reaps a doubtful 
 reward by being put into an Eight with seven 
 other novices, to splash and roll and knock his 
 knuckles about for an hour or so to his heart's 
 content. Next term (the Lent Term) may find 
 him a member of one of his college Lent boats. 
 Then he begins to feel that pluck and ambition 
 are not in vain, and soon afterwards for the first 
 time he tastes the joys of training, which he will 
 be surprised to find does not consist entirely of 
 raw steaks and underdone chops. Common sense, 
 in fact, has during the past fifteen years or so 
 broken in upon the foolish regulations of the 
 ancient system. Men who train are still com- 
 pelled to keep early hours, to eat simple food at 
 fixed times, to abjure tobacco, and to limit the 
 
228 ROWING. 
 
 quantity of liquid they absorb. But there is an 
 immense variety in the dishes put before them ; 
 they are warned against gorging (at breakfast, 
 indeed, men frequently touch no meat), and though 
 they assemble together in the Backs before break- 
 fast, and are ordered to clear their pipes by a 
 short sharp burst of one hundred and fifty yards, 
 they are not allowed to overtire themselves by 
 the long runs which were at one time in fashion. 
 Far away back in the dawn of University rowing 
 training seems to have been far laxer, though 
 discipline may have been more strict, than it is 
 now. Mr. J. M. Logan (the well-known Cambridge 
 boat-builder) wrote to me on this subject : " I 
 have heard my father say that the crews used to 
 train on egg-flip which an old lady who then kept 
 the Plough Inn by Ditton was very famous for 
 making, and that crew which managed to drink 
 most egg-flip was held to be most likely to make 
 many bumps. I believe the ingredients were 
 gin, beer, and beaten eggs, with nutmegs and spices 
 added. I have heard my father say that the 
 discipline of the crews was of an extraordinary 
 character. For instance, the captain of the Lady 
 Margaret Boat Club used to have a bugle, and 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 229 
 
 after he had sounded it the crew would have to 
 appear on the yard in high hats and dress suits 
 with a black tie. The penalty for appearing in a 
 .tie of any other colour was one shilling. The 
 trousers worn on these occasions were of white jean, 
 and had to be washed every day under a penalty of 
 one shilling. The wearing of perfectly clean things 
 every day was an essential part of the preparation." 
 All this, however, is a digression from the 
 freshman whom we have seen safely through his 
 tubbing troubles, and have selected for a Lent 
 Boat. I return to him to follow him in a career of 
 glory which will lead him from Lent Boat to May 
 Boat, from that to his college Four, and so perhaps 
 through the University Trial Eights to the final 
 goal of all rowing ambition the Cambridge Eight. 
 He will have suffered many things for the sake of 
 his beloved pursuit ; he will have rowed many weary 
 miles, have learnt the misery of aching limbs and 
 blistered hands, perhaps he may have endured 
 the last indignity of being bumped ; he will have 
 laboured under broiling suns, or with snow- 
 storms and bitter winds beating against him ; he 
 will have voluntarily cut himself off from many 
 pleasant indulgences. But, on the other hand, 
 
230 ROWING. 
 
 his triumphs will have been sweet ; he will have 
 trained himself to submit to discipline, to accept 
 discomfort cheerfully, to keep a brave face in 
 adverse circumstance ; he will have developed to 
 the full his strength and his powers of endurance, 
 and will have learnt the necessity of unselfishness 
 and patriotism. These are, after all, no mean 
 results in a generation which is often accused of 
 effeminate and debasing luxury. 
 
 A few words as to our scheme of boat-races at 
 Cambridge. Of the Lent races I have spoken. 
 They are rowed at the end of February in heavy 
 ships, i.e. fixed-seat ships built with five streaks 
 from a keel. Thirty-one boats take part in them. 
 Every college must be represented by at least one 
 boat, though beyond that there is no restriction 
 as to the number of boats from any particular 
 college club. No man who has taken part in the 
 previous May races is permitted to row. In fact, 
 they are a preparatory school for the development 
 of eight-oared rowing. Next term is given up to 
 the May races, which are rowed in light ships, 
 i.e. keel-less ships with sliding seats. No club can 
 have more than three or less than one crew in 
 these races. In this term the pair-oared races 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 231 
 
 are also rowed, generally before the Eights. The 
 Fours, both in light ships and, for the less ambitious 
 colleges whose Eights may be in the second 
 division, in clinker-built boats, take place at the 
 end of October, and are followed by the Colquhoun, 
 or University Sculls, and next by the University 
 Trial Eights, two picked crews selected by the 
 President of the University Boat Club from the 
 likely men of every college club. The trial race 
 always takes place near Ely, over the three miles 
 of what is called the Adelaide course. Besides 
 all these races, each college has its own races, 
 confined to members of the college. But of course 
 the glory of college racing culminates in the May 
 term. Who shall calculate all the forethought, 
 energy, self-denial, and patriotic labour, all the 
 carefully organized skill and patient training which 
 are devoted to the May races ; for so they are still 
 called, though they never take place now before 
 June? Every man who rows in his college crew 
 feels that to him personally the traditions and the 
 honour of his college are committed. The meadow 
 at Ditton is alive with a brilliant throng of visitors, 
 the banks swarm with panting enthusiasts armed 
 with every kind of noisy instrument, and all intent 
 
232 ROWING. 
 
 to spur the energies of their several Eights. One 
 by one the crews, clothed in their blazers, with 
 their straw hats on their heads, paddle down to 
 the start, pausing at Ditton to exchange greetings 
 with the visitors. In the Post Reach they turn, 
 disembark for a few moments, and wander 
 nervously up and down the bank. At last the 
 first gun is fired, the oarsmen strip for the race. 
 Their clothes are collected and borne along in 
 front by perspiring boatmen, so as to be ready 
 for them at the end of the race. The men step 
 gingerly into their frail craft and await the next 
 gun. Bang ! Another minute. The boat is 
 pushed out, the coxwain holding his chain ; the 
 crew come forward, every nerve strained for the 
 start ; the cry of the careful timekeepers is heard 
 along the reach, the gun fires, and a universal 
 roar proclaims the start of the sixteen crews. For 
 four " nights " the conflict rages, bringing triumph 
 and victory to some, and pain and defeat to others ; 
 and at the end comes the glorious bump-supper, 
 with its toasts, its songs, and its harmless, noisy 
 rejoicings, on which the dons look with an indul- 
 gent eye, and in which they even sometimes take 
 part for the honour of the college. 
 
COLLEGE ROWING AT CAMBRIDGE. 233 
 
 Happy are those who still dwell in Cambridge 
 courts and follow the delightful labour of the oar ! 
 For the rest of us there can only be memories 
 of the time when we toiled round the never-ending 
 Grassy corner, spurted in the Plough, heard dimly 
 the deafening cheers of the crowd at Ditton, and 
 finally made our bump amid the confused roar 
 of hundreds of voices, the booming of fog-horns 
 the screech of rattles, and the ringing of bells. 
 What joy in after-life can equal the intoxication 
 of the moment when we stepped out upon the 
 bank to receive the congratulations of our friends, 
 whilst the unfurled flag proclaimed our victory to 
 the world ? 
 
 To such scenes the mind travels back through 
 the vista of years with fond regret. For most 
 of us our racing days are over, but we can still 
 glory in the triumphs of our college or our 
 University, and swear by the noblest of open-air 
 sports. 
 
234 ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 
 By W. E. Crum, 
 
 Captain of the Boats, 1893; President O.U.B.C. 1896, 1897. 
 
 IN most books that have been published on 
 rowing matters, a chapter has been devoted 
 to rowing at Eton. But these accounts have 
 been mainly of a historical nature, and have not, 
 I think, dealt sufficiently with the career of an 
 Eton boy, from the time when he passes through 
 the ordeal of the swimming examination up to 
 the proud moment when he wears the light blue 
 at Henley, representing his school in the Ladies' 
 Plate. 
 
 Before any boy is allowed to go on the river at 
 all, he is obliged to satisfy the authorities of his 
 ability to reach the banks of the river safely if 
 he should upset while boating. This swimming 
 examination is held about once a week after 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 235 
 
 bathing has commenced in the summer half at 
 the two bathing-places, Cuckoo Weir and Athens, 
 which are reserved for the use of the boys alone. 
 
 On the Acropolis, a mound raised some ten 
 feet above the water for diving purposes, sit the 
 two or three masters whose duty it is to conduct 
 the "passing." On one side a punt is moored, 
 from which the boys enter the water head first 
 as best they can. They have to swim a distance 
 of about twenty yards, round a pole, and return, 
 showing that they can swim in good style, and 
 can keep themselves afloat by " treading water." 
 
 When a boy has successfully passed this 
 examination, he is at liberty to go on the river. 
 As it is probably well on in the summer half 
 before he has passed, and it is more than likely 
 that he has never before handled an oar, we will 
 suppose that he does not enter for the Lower Boy 
 races that year, but has to learn by himself, with 
 no coaches to help him, the rudiments of rowing 
 and sculling on fixed seats. Always on the river, 
 whenever he has an hour to spare from his school 
 duties, the Lower Boy soon acquires that know- 
 ledge of "watermanship" for which Etonian 
 oarsmen are famous. 
 
236 ROWING. 
 
 By the end of the summer half, he can sit his 
 sculling-boat in comparative safety, and has learnt, 
 perhaps, at the cost of several fines, the rules of 
 the river, which are considered sacred by all Eton 
 boys. 
 
 The ensuing winter terms are devoted to foot- 
 ball and fives, rowing not being allowed ; and we 
 may pass on to the next summer, when our Lower 
 Boy will probably enter for both Lower Boy sculling 
 and pulling (i.e. pairs). These two races are rowed 
 in boats almost peculiar to Eton. That used for 
 the Lower Boy pulling is called a " perfection," of 
 which the design is due to the Rev. S. A. 
 Donaldson ; it is an open, clinker-built, outrigged 
 boat, which recalls the lines of the old Thames 
 wherry. That used for the Lower Boy sculling 
 is known as a " whiff," an open clinker boat with 
 outriggers. On an average about a dozen com- 
 petitors enter for these events, five or six boats 
 being started together, the first and second in 
 each heat rowing in the final. The course, which 
 is about two miles long, begins opposite the 
 Brocas, extending for a mile upstream, where the 
 competitors turn round a ryepeck, and then down- 
 stream to the finish, just above Windsor Bridge. 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 237 
 
 If fairly successful in his school examinations, 
 the boy whose career we are considering will, after 
 his second summer, have reached the fifth form, a 
 position which entitles him to be tried for the 
 boats. He probably does not succeed in obtain- 
 ing the coveted colour at the first attempt; and 
 it is, say, in his third summer, that he first comes 
 under the eye of a coach. 
 
 For the last month of the summer half, as many 
 as ten or a dozen eights are taken out by members 
 of the Upper Boats every evening, and four crews 
 are selected from these, put into training, and 
 carefully coached, and after about a fortnight's 
 practice race against each other from Sandbank 
 down to the bridge, a distance of about three- 
 quarters of a mile ; the race is called " Novice 
 Eights," and each crew is stroked by a member 
 of the Lower Boats. Every boy who rows in this 
 race may be sure that he will get into the boats 
 on the following 1st of March; and having 
 reached this important point in an Eton wetbob's 
 career, I must endeavour to explain the meaning 
 of the term "The Boats," which I have already 
 frequently used. 
 
 The Boats are composed of one ten-oared, and 
 
238 ROWING. 
 
 nine eight-oared crews, presumably made up of 
 the eighty-two best oarsmen in the school ; the 
 boats are subdivided into two classes, Upper and 
 Lower Boats. 
 
 The Upper Boats comprise the ten-oared 
 Monarch, and the two eights, Victory and Prince 
 of Wales ; the Lower Boats are more numerous, 
 consisting of seven eights, which have character- 
 istic names, such as Britannia, Dreadnought, 
 Hibernia, and Defiance. Each of the Upper Boats 
 has a distinctive colour just like any other school 
 team, whereas all members of the Lower Boats 
 wear the same cap. 
 
 At the head of the Eton wetbob world there 
 reigns supreme the Captain of the Boats, who is 
 always regarded in the eyes of a small Eton boy 
 as next in importance only to the Prince of 
 Wales and the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is 
 captain of the Monarch, and after him, in order of 
 merit, come the captains of the other boats, who 
 act as his lieutenants ; these captains are prac- 
 tically appointed by the first captain of the 
 previous year, and were probably all members of 
 the Upper Boats in that year. 
 
 At the beginning of each summer term the 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 239 
 
 Captain of the Boats calls a meeting of his other 
 boat captains ; he has by him a list of all those 
 who were already members of the boats the year 
 before, and he knows pretty correctly the form of 
 every one of them ; thus, with his lieutenants' help 
 he can assign to each oarsman the boat in which 
 he considers him worthy to row. 
 
 The first boat to be made up is the Monarch. 
 Though nominally the first of the boats, the 
 Monarch is actually composed of those who, from 
 their place in the school, or from their prowess at 
 other games, deserve some recognition ; in fact, I 
 may best designate the members of the " ten," as 
 good worthy people, who have tried to row well 
 and have not succeeded. 
 
 The next boat is the Victory \ and here we find 
 the pick of the previous year's Lower Boats. Though 
 junior, and in order of precedence below all the 
 captains of the various boats, these eight have 
 just as much chance of rowing in the eight at 
 Henley as any of the captains ; for the younger 
 oar, whose faults can easily be cured, is often 
 preferred to his stronger senior, whose faults are 
 fixed and difficult to eradicate. 
 
 Similar to the Victory, though of rather a lower 
 
240 ROWING. 
 
 standard, is the Prince of Wales, or " Third Upper;" 
 and this is composed of the remnants of the 
 previous year's Lower Boats who are not quite good 
 enough for the Victory. The great distinction in 
 the present day between Upper and Lower Boats 
 is that all those in the former may row in any 
 boat on sliding seats, while to those in the latter 
 only fixed seats are allowed. 
 
 Having completed his Upper Boats, the captain 
 has now to fill the seats in the seven Lower 
 Boats. A few of the refuse, one may almost 
 call them, of the year before are still left ; 
 refuse, because it is rarely the case that a boy who 
 is more than one year in Lower Boats develops 
 into a really good oar. To these are generally 
 assigned the best places in the Lower Boats, and 
 after them come, in order of merit, as far as pos- 
 sible, all those who rowed in the previous summer 
 in the " Novice Eight " race. 
 
 Thus, just as the Victory is always better than 
 the Monarch^ so the Dreadnought, the second 
 Lower Boat, is often better than the Britannia, 
 which may be composed of old " crocks." 
 
 On the 1st of March and the 4th of June in each 
 year the boats row in procession, in their order, 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 241 
 
 each boat stroked by its captain, up to Surley 
 Hall, where, on the 4th of June, a supper is held. 
 But I will leave a description of the 4th of June 
 till later, and will return to where I left our 
 successful Etonian, who has just received his 
 Lower-Boat colours. 
 
 During his first summer half in the boats he is 
 practically never out of training. As soon as he 
 has rowed one race he must begin practice for the 
 next. The first race of the season is " Lower Eights." 
 Four crews are chosen from among members of 
 the Lower Boats, are coached for three weeks by 
 members of the Upper Boats, and then race for a 
 mile and a half. After this follow " Lower Fours," 
 in which, again, four crews take part, chosen from 
 the best of those who have raced in Lower Eights. 
 These two races are rowed in order that those in 
 authority may see how their juniors can race, and 
 also that the said juniors may profit by efficient 
 coaching. No prizes are awarded ; they simply 
 row for the honour of winning. After these 
 come Junior Sculling and Junior Pulling, two 
 races again confined to the Lower Boats. They 
 are rowed in light, keelless, outrigged boats, with 
 fixed seats, no coxswain being carried by the pairs. 
 
 R 
 
242 ROWING. 
 
 And here, again, much watermanship is learned, 
 for the Eton course is a difficult one to steer, and 
 only those who steer well can have any chance of 
 a win. As many as fifty entries are sometimes 
 received for Junior Sculling, for though an Eton 
 boy may have no chance of winning a race, he will 
 start, just for the sport of racing and improving his 
 rowing, a proceeding which might well be imitated 
 at Oxford or Cambridge. Each boy who starts in 
 one of these races has to wear a jersey trimmed 
 with a distinctive colour, and carry a flag in his 
 bows ; and it is extraordinary what ugly combina- 
 tions some of them choose and think beautiful. 
 
 These four races have taken our young friend well 
 on into the summer half ; but after Henley is over, 
 he will probably have to represent his House in the 
 House Four race. Perhaps at his tutor's there 
 may be one or two who have rowed at Henley in 
 the Eight, and with these, and possibly another 
 boy in Lower Boats, he has to train for another 
 three weeks to row in what has been called, in a 
 song familiar to Etonians of late years, " the race 
 of the year." It is an inspiriting sight for any one 
 who wishes to get an idea of an Eton race to see 
 the crowds of men and boys, masters and pupils, 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 243 
 
 wetbobs and drybobs, running along the bank with 
 the race, some so far ahead .that they can see 
 nothing, some with the boats, some tired out and 
 lagging behind, but all shouting for a particular 
 crew or individual as if their lives depended on it. 
 
 In the last few years another race has been 
 established for the Lower Boats ; but it has not met 
 with the approval of many Old Etonians. It is a 
 bumping race, similar to those at Oxford and 
 Cambridge, rowed by the different Lower Boats 
 Britannia^ Dreadnought^ etc. It is claimed that 
 by practising for this race many of those who 
 would not otherwise get much teaching are 
 coached by competent people, and thus the 
 standard of rowing is raised ; but the opponents of 
 the measure object, and as I think rightly, on the 
 grounds that the average oar in the Lower Boats 
 has quite enough rowing and racing as it is, and 
 that even if more racing were needed, a bumping 
 race is the very worst that can be rowed. It is 
 necessary at the Universities, on account of the 
 narrowness of the rivers, to hold these races, for two 
 boats cannot race abreast ; but they must tend to 
 make crews rush and hurry for two or three 
 minutes, and then try to get home as best they can. 
 
244 ROWING. 
 
 So much for the Lower Boat races. And there 
 is only one more point to add concerning the 
 Lower Boats : at the end of each summer half a 
 list is published called "Lower Boat Choices," 
 comprising about twenty of the Lower Boat oars- 
 men ; to these also is given a special colour ; and 
 it is in the order of these choices that places in the 
 Upper Boats are assigned in the following spring. 
 
 Having, therefore, in the next year, risen to the 
 dignity of the Upper Boats, our Etonian has 
 before him almost as many races as when he was 
 in Lower Boats. His first is "Trial Eights." 
 This takes place at the end of the Lent term, 
 between two eight-oared crews, rowing on sliding 
 seats, and chosen by the Captain of the Boats. 
 It is from these two crews, picked from the Upper 
 Boats and the boat captains, that the Henley Eight 
 has to be chosen ; and it is, therefore, the object of 
 the first and second captains of the boats to 
 equalize them as far as possible, so that they may 
 have a close race, and that the rowing and stamina 
 of individuals at high pressure may be watched. 
 In the summer half come the School Pulling and 
 Sculling, similar to junior races, but rowed on 
 sliding seats, and confined to the Upper Boats. 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 245 
 
 The winner of a school race, besides 'getting his 
 prize, is entitled to wear a " School Shield " 
 a small gold shield, on which are engraved the 
 Eton arms, and the name and year of the race won. 
 To secure a " School Shield " is one of the greatest 
 ambitions of every ambitious Etonian. 
 
 These two races being over, practice for the 
 Eight which is to row at Henley begins. Every 
 day the Captain of the Boats, aided by one or two 
 masters, who have probably represented their 
 Universities at Putney in their day, has out 
 two crews, composed of the best of those who 
 are in Upper Boats. These crews are gradually 
 weeded out till, perhaps, only an eight and a 
 four are left ; and then, at last, the Eight is 
 finally chosen. 
 
 It is difficult to say who should be pitied most 
 while this process of choosing the crew is going on 
 the captain or those who are striving for their 
 seats ; the captain always worried and anxious 
 that he should get the best crew to represent his 
 school, the crew always in agony lest they should 
 be turned out, and should never be able to wear 
 the light blue. Of course, the captain has the 
 advice of those much more experienced than 
 
246 ROWING. 
 
 himself; but if there is a close point to settle, it is 
 on him alone that the responsibility of the choice 
 falls. 
 
 Once safely settled in the boat, there follows a 
 period of five or six weeks of mixed pleasure and 
 pain, for every crew, however good, must pass 
 through periods of demoralization when for a few 
 days they cease to improve, and periods of joy 
 when they realize that, after all, they have some 
 chance of turning out well. 
 
 For the last three weeks of this Henley practice 
 the Eight is in strict training; but training for 
 Eton boys is no great hardship. The days of 
 " hard steak and a harder hen " are over. The 
 Eton boy is always fit, and the chief point he has 
 to observe is regularity. 
 
 His meals are much the same as usual break- 
 fast at eight, lunch at two, a light tea at five, supper 
 together at eight in the evening, and bed at ten. 
 There is no need to pull him out of bed in the 
 morning, as at the Universities, for he has to go to 
 school every morning at seven o'clock ; he does 
 not usually smoke or, at any rate, is not supposed 
 to by the rules of the school, and it is rarely that 
 this rule is broken and he does not indulge in 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 247 
 
 large unwholesome dinners, after the manner of 
 many undergraduates. 
 
 Every evening at six o'clock he goes down to the 
 river, and is probably tubbed in a gig-pair before 
 rowing down the Datchet reach in the Eight. 
 About twice a week the crew rows a full racing 
 course, and is taken in for the last three minutes by 
 a scratch crew, which goes by the name of "duffers," 
 composed of five or six Old Etonians and masters, 
 and one or two Eton boys, who are kept in 
 training as spare men. The crew is coached from 
 a horse by one of the masters of late years Mr. 
 de Havilland, who is certainly as keen for his 
 crew to win as any boy in the school. 
 
 For the last five years the crew has taken a 
 house at Henley for the days of the regatta, and 
 gone to Henley by train the afternoon before the 
 races. Though much wiser, this departure from 
 Eton is not as impressive as in older days, when 
 the crew used to drive to Henley for each day's 
 racing; when, filled with pride and shyness, the 
 young oarsman used to issue from his tutor's, 
 wearing for the first time his light-blue coat and 
 white cap, and walk to Mr. Donaldson's or Dr. 
 Warre's house, where waited the brake which was 
 
248 ROWING. 
 
 to convey the crew, with the cheers of the crowd, 
 along the hot, dusty road to Henley. In 1891, 
 the last year that this drive was taken, the crew, 
 before the final of the Ladies' Plate, had to drive 
 no less than seventy-five miles in three days. 
 They were only beaten by a few feet, and there 
 is little doubt that but for this most tiring drive 
 they would have won. Once at Henley, all is 
 pleasure. No crew is more popular, none more 
 cheered, as it paddles down the course to the 
 starting-point and as it arrives first at the winning- 
 post. The scene of enthusiasm, not only among 
 Etonians, but among the whole rowing world, 
 when an Eton crew wins the Ladies' Plate after a 
 lapse of several years, is past description. 
 
 After Henley come House Fours ; and then 
 the list of Upper Boat choices is made up by 
 the Captain of the Boats. The captain, by this 
 means, appoints his successor for the following 
 year, for he arranges these choices in order of 
 merit, just as Lower Boat choices are arranged, 
 and the highest choice remaining at Eton till the 
 next year becomes captain. Thus the power of 
 the captain is absolute ; he can appoint whomever 
 he likes to be his successor, and it is seldom that 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 249 
 
 the choice falls on the wrong boy. Besides being 
 the sole authority in these matters, the captain 
 has to arrange all the money matters of the 
 E.C.B.C. ; over five hundred pounds pass through 
 his hands in a year, and this gives an extra 
 responsibility to his post. Of course all his 
 accounts are carefully audited by one of the 
 masters, and the experience gained, not only in 
 looking after money, but also in arranging dates 
 of races, in choosing and in captaining his crew, 
 and in judging disputed points, is well worth all 
 the trouble and worry entailed. 
 
 Our Eton Lower Boy has now reached the 
 position of Captain of the Boats, and here I will 
 leave him to go on either to Oxford or Cambridge 
 and represent his University at Putney. A few 
 words, however, may still be added. 
 
 There is a great difference between teaching a 
 boy of sixteen and a man of twenty to row, and 
 this difference lies in the fact that it is much 
 easier, and perhaps even more important, to teach 
 your boy to row in good form. By good form, 
 I mean the power to use all his strength directly 
 in making the boat move so that no energy is 
 wasted in making the body pass through the 
 
250 ROWING. 
 
 extraordinary contortions and antics often seen in 
 an inferior college crew. 
 
 It is easier to teach the boy of sixteen to row in 
 good form, because his muscles are not yet formed, 
 and his body still lithe and supple ; it is more 
 important to teach him, because he is not so strong 
 as his elders, and consequently has not as much 
 strength to waste. 
 
 A description of best how to use your strength 
 would be out of place here, for it will be found 
 set forth in another part of this volume. Let 
 me, therefore, pass on to a subject which lately 
 has caused considerable discussion the subject 
 of the length of the course for the Junior and 
 School races. All these races are held over a 
 course of about three miles in length, and take 
 some twenty minutes to row. They start oppo- 
 site the Brocas, and continue up-stream round 
 " Rushes," and then down-stream to Windsor 
 Bridge. The contention of many is that the 
 length of these races is too great, and that the 
 trial put on boys of perhaps fifteen years of age 
 is too severe. From this view of the matter I 
 differ, for to any one who has rowed over both the 
 Henley and Putney course it will be evident that 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 251 
 
 the forty strokes per minute for a mile and a half 
 would be more trying to a young boy than the 
 thirty-four per minute for four miles. 
 
 A short note on the proceedings of the wetbobs 
 on the 4th of June, the great day of celebration at 
 Eton, may have some interest. 
 
 As I have said, a procession of all the boats 
 takes place on this day. About five o'clock they 
 start in order from the Brocas, and row to Surley 
 Hall, where, in tents on the grass, a supper 
 is prepared. After supping, they return to the 
 rafts in time for a display of fireworks, the crews 
 standing up in their boats and tossing their oars, 
 whereby a very pretty effect is obtained. The 
 dresses worn by the crews are quaint and old- 
 fashioned on this great day. All are dressed in 
 white ducks, a shirt of the colours of their boat, a 
 dark-blue Eton jacket trimmed with gold or silver 
 braid, and a straw hat covered with various em- 
 blems of their boat. The coxswains of the Upper 
 Boats wear naval captain's clothes, while the Lower 
 Boat coxswains represent midshipmen. 
 
 So much for Eton rowing ; and, in finishing, I 
 must pay a slight tribute to three old Etonians, to 
 whom the success of Eton rowing is mainly due. 
 
252 ROWING. 
 
 They are Dr. Warre, the Rev. S. A. Donaldson, 
 and Mr. de Havilland ; and I feel sure that out 
 of these three, who have all done yeomen service 
 for their school, I may single out Dr. Warre, and 
 yet give no offence to his two successors. Before 
 Dr. Warre came to Eton as a master, in the 
 early sixties, the masters had taken little interest 
 in the proceedings on the river ; consequently 
 the traditions of rowing, learnt mainly from 
 the riverside watermen, were not of a very high 
 standard. Eton had never rowed in any races, 
 except against Westminster, and it was due to 
 Dr. Warre's efforts that competition for the 
 Ladies' Plate was first allowed. From this date 
 till the middle of the eighties, Dr. Warre was 
 always ready to coach when asked, but never till 
 asked, for he believed, and still believes strongly, 
 in allowing the boys to manage their own games 
 as far as possible. 
 
 How well he kept his principles of rowing up to 
 date is shown in his pamphlets on rowing and 
 coaching, for probably no one but he could have 
 written so clear and concise a description as he 
 has given. 
 
 Besides being an eminent coach, he understands 
 
ROWING AT ETON COLLEGE. 253 
 
 thoroughly the theories of boat-building, his ideas 
 being well exemplified of late by the boats which 
 won for Eton in '93, '94, '96, and '97. 
 
 When the duties of head-master became too 
 engrossing to allow him to devote as much time 
 to the Eight as formerly, his place was taken, and 
 well filled, by Mr. Donaldson. Mr. Donaldson 
 was always a most keen and patient coach, and 
 followed closely on the head-master's lines ; and 
 his cheery voice at Henley clear above all the din 
 of the race once heard, could never be forgotten. 
 He was very successful with his crews, and helped 
 them to win the Ladies' Plate several times. 
 
 In 1893 Mr. de Havilland first coached the 
 Eight, and, since this date, has had an unbroken 
 series of wins. In the first year of his coaching, 
 fifteen-inch slides, instead of ten-inch, were used, 
 and this, aided by his excellent advice, helped 
 to produce one of the fastest Eights that Eton 
 has ever sent to represent the school. Mr. de 
 Havilland has that wonderful knack, possessed 
 by some good coaches, of training his crew to 
 the hour, and it is surprising with what speed 
 his crews always improve in the last week or so 
 of practice. 
 
254 ROWING. 
 
 I can only hope, in conclusion, that I have to 
 some extent succeeded in explaining to the un- 
 initiated the mysteries of the career of an Eton 
 wetbob during the five or six happiest years of his 
 life spent at the best of schools. 
 
255 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 AUSTRALIAN ROWING. 
 By E. G. Blackmore. 
 
 A COUNTRY which has produced such 
 scullers as Beach and Searle, not to 
 mention Trickett, Laycock, Kemp, Niel- 
 son, Stanbury, and many others of less calibre, 
 may well claim a place in a work treating of the 
 science and art of rowing. In the limits of a 
 chapter it is scarcely possible to give an exhaus- 
 tive account of Australian oarsmen and oarsman- 
 ship, and as the performances of the leading 
 Colonial scullers are sufficiently well known, from 
 their having competed on English waters, this 
 record will be almost entirely confined to amateur 
 rowing, as practised in Australia. 
 
 That large continent, with the island of Tas- 
 mania, consists of six colonies, in all of which the 
 art is cultivated, with more or less enthusiasm. 
 
256 ROWING. 
 
 The first record we can find of anything like 
 boat-racing occurs in 1818, when ships' gig races 
 were rowed in the Sydney Harbour, while the 
 first regatta was held in the same place in 1827. 
 In 1832 an Australian-born crew, in a locally built 
 whale-boat, beat several crews of whaling ships. 
 Passing over a series of years, in which nothing 
 of more than local and momentary interest 
 occurred, we find that in 1858, in the first race 
 rowed on the present Champion course, the 
 Parramatta River, Green beat an English sculler, 
 Candlish, in a match for ^"400. I am inclined 
 to regard this as the real foundation of New South 
 Wales professional sculling, which afterwards 
 culminated in the performances of Beach and 
 Searle. The mother colony is the only one of the 
 group which has produced a professional sculler 
 of any class. Amongst amateurs none has yet 
 appeared who could be placed in the first rank. 
 
 In all the Colonies there are rowing associations 
 which regulate and control amateur rowing. Of 
 these, New South Wales alone has attempted to 
 maintain the amateur status on English lines. 
 The other associations recognize men who would 
 not pass muster at any regatta in the United 
 
AUSTRALIAN ROWING. 257 
 
 Kingdom where the regulation definition obtains. 
 To the New South Wales Association about ten 
 clubs are affiliated. Under its auspices regattas 
 are held in the harbour of Sydney, and one on 
 the Parramatta River. The former water is utterly 
 unfit for first-class racing, as it is exceedingly 
 rough, exposed to sudden winds, and hampered 
 with steam traffic of all sorts. In September 
 regarded as the commencement of the rowing 
 season there is an eight-oar race, the winners of 
 which rank as champions for the ensuing year, and 
 fly the " Premiership Pennant." On January 26 is 
 held the Anniversary Regatta, which, founded in 
 1834, has been an annual event since 1837. 
 
 The Parramatta River course, on which champion 
 events are decided, and which Hanlan, Beach, and 
 Searle have made classic ground, is 3 miles 330 
 yards. It is practically straight, with a strong 
 tide, the set of which is very difficult to learn. 
 At times it is so affected by wind, as to render 
 rowing impossible. The most perfect water is 
 that of the Nepean River. Here a straight 3 \ miles 
 course can be found, perfectly calm, and with no 
 current. It was on this river that Beach beat 
 Hanlan in 1887. 
 
 S 
 
258 ROWING. 
 
 The Victorian Rowing Association holds three 
 Championship events in the year sculls, fours, 
 and eights rowed in best boats on the Lower 
 Yarra, and an annual regatta on the Albert Park 
 Lake, though in former years it has taken place 
 on the Upper and the Lower river. Important 
 meetings are also held at Ballarat, Geelong, War- 
 nambool, Bairnsdale, Colac, Nagambie, and Lake 
 Moodemere. The length for Intercolonial and 
 Championship races is 3 miles no yards, with the 
 tide, which may be set at three miles an hour. 
 
 The South Australian Association holds an 
 annual regatta on the river Torrens, and has 
 champion races for eights, fours, and sculls, on 
 the Port River. The city course is one mile, that for 
 the champion races, three miles. The Torrens is at 
 the best an inferior river for rowing, while the 
 Port Water is a broad tidal stream, exposed to 
 south-west winds, and at times exceedingly rough. 
 
 Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia, 
 like their sister Colonies, have associations, and 
 hold regattas. 
 
 The great event of the year is the Intercolonial 
 eight-oar race, rowed alternately in Sydney, Mel- 
 bourne, and Brisbane. Western Australia is now 
 
AUSTRALIAN ROWING. 259 
 
 (1897) entering the field, but her crew is composed 
 almost entirely of former Victorian oarsmen. In 
 the past the rowing of Victorian crews has been 
 generally far superior to that of the other Colonies, 
 and in 1894 the Victorian combination was the 
 nearest approach to English form that has yet 
 been attained. South Australia has not so far 
 been represented. Speaking generally, none of 
 the picked eights of the Colonies have ever shown 
 form or pace within measurable distance of the 
 best college crews at Oxford and Cambridge, or the 
 eights which may be seen at Henley. There is no 
 approach to that systematic rudimentary teaching, 
 coaching, and training, which proves so successful 
 on English waters, and without which no crew can 
 ever become that perfect human machine which 
 a finished eight should be. 
 
 Public School Rowing. 
 
 The principal rowing schools in New South Sydney. 
 Wales are the Church of England Grammar 
 School, North Shore, the Sydney Grammar School, 
 and St. Ignatius College. Under the "Athletic 
 Association of the Great Public Schools " an 
 annual regatta is held on the Parramatta River in 
 
260 ROWING. 
 
 May. The events are " Schools Championship," 
 Maiden Fours, Junior Eights, and a June Handicap 
 Sculling Race. The association has fixed the 
 distance at ij miles. The races are rowed in 
 string test gigs ; and 8 mins. 1 5 sees, is considered 
 good time for school crews, whose age, it must 
 be remembered, does not equal that of English 
 schoolboys. The boathouses of the two grammar 
 schools are at Berry's and Woolloomooloo Bays, 
 in the harbour ; and they are at a disadvantage 
 compared with St. Ignatius College, which, at Lane 
 Cove River, has a splendid course and smooth 
 water. The ten days of the Easter vacation are 
 spent by the two former schools in " Rowing Camp," 
 i.e. they migrate to the Parramatta River, where 
 there are better opportunities of systematic work 
 and coaching. Each club, notably St. Ignatius, 
 has a good set of boats, those of the North Shore 
 School being fitted with convertible fixed or 
 sliding seats, carried on frames. The form of the 
 two grammar schools is decidedly good, and con- 
 forms to the English standard much more nearly 
 than that of most of the clubs. 
 
 Victoria. There are five schools approaching, as nearly as 
 circumstances allow, the great public schools of 
 
AUSTRALIAN ROWING. 261 
 
 England, viz. in the capital, the Church of England 
 Grammar School, the Scotch College, Wesley Col- 
 lege, St. Patrick's College, and the Church of 
 England Grammar School at Geelong. 
 
 Two races are rowed annually, for first and 
 second crews, each school in turn having the choice 
 of course, which is either on the Upper or Lower 
 Yarra, the Albert Park Lagoon, or the Barwon at 
 Geelong. For first crews the distance is I J miles, 
 for second a mile, the boats being string test gigs, 
 fixed seats. Of all the schools none has a record 
 equal to that of Geelong, where rowing, in com- 
 parison with other sports, occupies the same posi- 
 tion as at Eton. To the Cambridge Eight it has 
 contributed four oars, including the well-known 
 heavyweight S. Fairbairn ; while in the memorable 
 race of '86, when Pitman made his victorious rush 
 on the post, the school had an " old boy " in each 
 boat Fairbairn rowing for the Light Blues, and 
 Robertson, whose father had been in Hoare's 
 famous '6 1 crew, for Oxford. In the Cambridge 
 Trial Eights seven " old Geelongs " have rowed ; 
 in the Oxford Trials only one ; while the school 
 has also been represented in the Grand Challenge 
 and other races at Henley. 
 
262 ROWING. 
 
 The Public Schools' Race for first crews was 
 established in 1868, and for second in 1878. Gee- 
 long first rowed for the former in 1875, since when 
 it has twelve wins to its credit, and the same num- 
 ber in the minor event. 
 
 The Boat Club was established in 1874, and at 
 the present date has a roll of fifty-six members, an 
 excellent boathouse, and nineteen boats. It holds 
 an annual school regatta in June. 
 
 Rowing at the other schools is very spasmodic, 
 mostly confined to a few weeks' training for the 
 above races. 
 
 South There are only two schools in South Australia 
 
 which merit the designation of public schools in 
 the English sense, viz. St. Peter's Collegiate School 
 and Prince Alfred College, both in the immediate 
 neighbourhood of the city. 
 
 Adelaide is bisected by the river Torrens, where, 
 by reason of a dam, a mile and a half of water is 
 available for rowing. But the course is so tortuous 
 that racing is limited to a mile. The accumulation 
 of silt is so great, and the growth of weeds and 
 rushes so rapid, that for some five months in the 
 year the river is kept empty for necessary opera- 
 tions ; and at the best of times the water is slow 
 
AUSTRALIAN ROWING. 263 
 
 and sluggish. At the annual regatta, under the 
 Rowing Association, the rivals have often com- 
 peted in a special race ; but they ran the chance of 
 being drawn to row private schools. In order to 
 make rowing as important a part of school athletics 
 as cricket and football, the present writer, who was 
 then chairman of the Rowing Association, instituted 
 in 1893 an annual race between these schools for a 
 challenge shield, to be rowed on the tidal river at 
 the Port, over a straight mile course. The boats 
 used are half-outrigged, clinker, keelless fours, fixed 
 seats, with a twenty-six-inch beam. The crews 
 practise on the home water, and finish their pre- 
 paration on the scene of the contest. So far, St. 
 Peter's College has won each event in the easiest 
 style. A race has also been established with the 
 Geelong school. Of three, each of which has been 
 of the closest, Geelong has won once, St. Peter's 
 twice. The boats used are full outrigged clinkers, 
 with sliding seats. 
 
 In spite of the inferior water, rowing at St. 
 Peter's is becoming almost as popular with the 
 boys as cricket and football. To this state of 
 things their success against Prince Alfred and 
 Geelong crews has materially contributed, as well 
 
264 ROWING. 
 
 as the institution of school regattas. The club 
 has a good boathouse, with the right class of boats 
 for teaching and coaching, viz. steady, roomy, half- 
 outrigged, clinker fours, with keels, convertible as 
 fixed or sliders. 
 
 University Rowing. 
 
 There are three Universities of Australia those 
 of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. Racing was 
 first instituted when Sydney and Melbourne met 
 on the water of the latter in string test gig fours 
 over a three and a half miles course. In the 
 following year they met on the Parramatta. Mel- 
 bourne won on both occasions. The race was then 
 discontinued, but in 1885 the Sydney University 
 Boat Club was founded, and in 1888 the three 
 Universities mutually agreed to establish the race 
 as an annual event in eights, to be rowed in turn 
 on the Parramatta, the Yarra, and the Port 
 Adelaide rivers, over a three mile course. Of nine 
 races rowed in two of which Adelaide, and in one 
 of which Sydney, did not compete Sydney has 
 won four times, Melbourne thrice, and Adelaide on 
 two occasions. The presentation by Old Blues of 
 Oxford and Cambridge of a magnificent cup, to be 
 
AUSTRALIAN ROWING. 265 
 
 held by the winners, has given a great stimulus 
 to the race, and invested it with an importance 
 which otherwise would not have attached to it. 
 It has served to establish the continuity of the 
 contest, and to connect the local Universities with 
 their more famous elder sisters of England. 
 
 The Sydney U.B.C. undoubtedly takes the lead 
 in prosecuting rowing. It promotes annual races 
 for Freshmen, and intercollegiate fours between 
 the three colleges of St. John's, St. Andrew's, and 
 St. Paul's. Since their inauguration, in 1892, St. 
 Paul's has won on every occasion except in 1894. 
 In 1895 and 1896 the U.B.C. won the Rowing 
 Association Eight-oar Championship. 
 
 There is an annual race in eights between 
 Ormond and Trinity Colleges of the Melbourne 
 University, besides a few other less important 
 events, but the rowing spirit is not in such evi- 
 dence as in Sydney and Adelaide. The latter is 
 simply a teaching and examining University, with 
 members so few that it is rather a matter 
 of finding eight men to put in a boat than of 
 picking or selecting a crew from a number of 
 aspirants. Its success and enterprise are the more 
 remarkable. 
 
266 ROWING. 
 
 Speaking generally of University form in Aus- 
 tralia, it is far inferior to that of a good college 
 eight. Nor is the reason far to seek. There is no 
 such recruiting ground as, for instance, Eton or 
 Radley, not to mention other rowing schools, nor 
 are there the opportunities for making oars such 
 as the college clubs at the two great Universities 
 present, with the successive stages of the Torpids 
 and Lent races, the May and Summer Eights, 
 Henley, and the Trial Eights. Coaching, as in 
 England, from the tow path or a fast steam-launch, 
 is practically impossible, and the number of those 
 who have a scientific knowledge of oarsmanship, 
 and, what is rarer still, the gift of imparting it to 
 a crew, individually and collectively, is small 
 indeed. Coaching in Australia is done from the 
 stern, or from another boat, or by an occasional 
 view from the bank, sometimes from a launch 
 seldom fast enough to keep up, or range abeam. 
 Pair-oar tubbing is of course utilized. Sydney 
 University rowing is, however, far superior to non- 
 University oarsmanship. The men sit up, use their 
 backs and legs well, understand the knee work at 
 the end of the slide, and do not rush their recovery. 
 They are somewhat deficient in fore and aft swing, 
 
AUSTRALIAN ROWING. 267 
 
 have a tendency to sky the feather, and rarely 
 catch their water at the first. Melbourne rowing 
 is wanting in body work, and conspicuous for 
 absence of length. The men apparently are taught 
 to discard on slides every approach to fixed-seat 
 form, instead of to retain as much as possible. 
 Thanks to a strong Oxford inspiration in Adelaide, 
 and a belief in fixed-seat form as the foundation 
 of good rowing on slides, an Adelaide school or 
 University crew is conspicuous for length, reach, 
 and swing. The pace of the eights is far behind 
 English standard, 
 
 Boatbuilding in Australia. 
 
 It was the opinion of Hanlan that in the matter 
 of boats and sculls he had never been so well 
 served as by Donnelly and Sullivan of Sydney, a 
 judgment as regards sculls endorsed by Beach 
 and Searle. Chris. Nielsen, the sculler, has brought 
 out a boat which he claims to be faster than the 
 ordinary wager boat, with, against, or without tide, 
 in rough water or smooth. The dimensions for an 
 ii J stone man are length, 23 ft. ; beam, 16 ins. ; 
 depth, 7 ins. ; for'ard, 6 ins. ; aft, 5J- ins. ; full lines 
 throughout ; height of seat from heel plates, 7 ins. ; 
 
268 ROWING. 
 
 height of work from seat, 5f ins. ; needs no fin, 
 steers well, very light off hand ; weight without 
 fittings, 14 Ibs. Riggers are bicycle tubing fittings, 
 ordinary Davis gate ; Colonial cedar, pine, and 
 hickory timbers. The Australian-built boats are 
 probably, so far as lines, general design, and work- 
 manship, quite equal to the best English craft. 
 For pairs, fours, and eights the Melbourne builders, 
 Fuller, Edwards, and Greenland, are of the first 
 class. They use a skeleton frame for the slides, 
 built with angle pieces. This has all the rigidity 
 of Clasper's more solid style, is lighter and stronger, 
 and when the boat is being emptied allows the free 
 escape of water. A Colonial eight is certainly 
 lighter than those sent to Australia by Clasper or 
 Rough. Probably the English builders have over- 
 estimated the weight of Australian eight-oar crews, 
 which do not scale anything approaching a 'Varsity 
 eight. Seating down the middle is generally pre- 
 ferred, which the present writer thinks has every- 
 thing in its favour. The great drawback from 
 which local builders suffer is the want of seasoned 
 cedar. From this cause their boats do not last as 
 long as English ones. 
 
AUSTRALIAN ROWING. 269 
 
 Times. 
 
 I am not disposed to place much reliance on 
 time as a test of a crew or a sculler, as conditions 
 can never be so identical as to make comparison 
 a safe guide. Still a certain interest attaches to 
 records. It is contended that the Parramatta 
 is a fifth slower than the Thames. The best trial 
 with the tide that I know of is for a mile, 5 mins. 
 20 sees, with a four ; 4 mins. 47 sees, with an eight. 
 Over the whole course, 3 miles 330 yards, an eight 
 has put up 17 mins. 12 sees., one mile of which was 
 compassed in 4 mins. 52 sees. On the Yarra the 
 Victorian Eight of 1889 is said to have rowed two 
 measured miles in 10 mins. 2 sees. At Brisbane, 
 in 1895, the Sydney International Eight, with 
 a strong stream, compassed three miles in 15 mins., 
 but the distance is doubted. On the Nepean 
 course, 3 miles 440 yards, Sullivan beat Bubear in 
 19 mins. 15 sees., no current. 
 
2/0 ROWING. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ROWING IN AMERICA. 
 
 THE sport of rowing, as I gather from 
 Mr. Caspar Whitney's well-known book,* 
 was in its infancy in America when it 
 had already taken a prominent place amongst 
 our amateur athletic exercises in England. The 
 Detroit Boat Club, established in 1839, was 
 the first rowing organization in America. Next 
 came Yale University, which established a Boat 
 Club in 1843, and was followed by Harvard 
 University in 1846. The first boat-race between 
 Harvard and Yale took place in 1852 on Lake 
 Winipiseogee, New Hampshire, in eight-oared 
 boats with coxswains. Other meetings between 
 these two followed at intervals until 1859, when a 
 College Union Regatta was instituted. This took 
 
 * "A Sporting Pilgrimage" (published in 1895 by Messrs. Os- 
 good, Mcllvaine & Co.), one of the best all-round accounts of 
 English sport that it has ever been my good fortune to read. 
 
ROWING IN AMERICA. 271 
 
 place at Worcester (Mass.), on Lake Quinsiga- 
 mond, in six-oared boats without coxswains, the 
 bow oar invariably steering, and was continued, 
 with an interruption of three years during the Re- 
 bellion, until 1870, when the course was changed 
 to the Connecticut River. Up to this time two 
 Universities only had competed besides Yale and 
 Harvard; but in 1872 the number increased con- 
 siderably, and in 1875 no less than twelve different 
 Universities were represented in one race. These 
 were, in the order in which they finished, Cornell, 
 Columbia, Harvard, Dartmouth (Hanover, N.H.), 
 Wesleyan (Middletown, Conn.), Yale, Amherst 
 (Mass.), Brown (Providence, R.I.), Williams (Wil- 
 liamstown, Mass.), Bowdoin (Brunswick, Maine), 
 Hamilton (Clinton, N.Y.), . and Union (Schenec- 
 tady, N.Y.). The most eventful of these big 
 regattas was that of 1874 at Saratoga, when nine 
 boats entered. Harvard and Yale, having adjoin- 
 ing stations, unfortunately became engaged in a 
 dispute as to " water," and were left disputing by 
 several boats. Harvard got away from the en- 
 tanglement first, leaving Yale with her rudder and 
 one oar broken, and went in pursuit of the others ; 
 but in spite of the most heroic efforts, were beaten 
 
272 ROWING. 
 
 by Columbia and Wesleyan, who finished respec- 
 tively first and second. In 1876 Harvard and 
 Yale decided to withdraw from these crowded 
 meetings, and in this and the following year they 
 rowed a private match at Springfield in Eights 
 with coxswains, and in 1878 on the Thames at 
 New London, where they continued their annual 
 contest up to and including 1895.* In that year 
 there took place a break in the athletic relations 
 between these two Universities, and in 1896 Har- 
 vard took part in a "quadrangular" race with 
 Cornell, Columbia, and Pennsylvania Universities. 
 This was won by Cornell, Harvard being second, 
 and was rowed on a perfectly straight four-mile 
 course at Poughkeepsie on the River Hudson, 
 where Cornell, Columbia, and Pennsylvania had 
 decided some previous contests. In the present 
 year, however, the differences between Harvard 
 and Yale were happily adjusted, and a race was 
 rowed at Poughkeepsie between them and Cornell, 
 in which Cornell came in first, Yale defeating 
 Harvard for second place. Harvard, Yale, Colum- 
 bia, Pennsylvania, and Cornell possess at the 
 
 * For many of these details I am indebted to an article by Mr. 
 J. A. Watson-Taylor in the Granta, 
 
ROWING IN AMERICA. 273 
 
 present day the most important University rowing 
 organizations, and at all of them the sport is 
 practised with that intense keenness which charac- 
 terizes the young American in everything that 
 he undertakes. Especially is this the case with 
 Harvard and Yale. Their rivalry has continued 
 for many years, and a meeting between them in 
 rowing, or in any other sport, evokes among their 
 members an eagerness and an enthusiasm of which 
 an Englishman can have little conception. Most 
 of the Universities that took part in the contests 
 of the seventies seem to have dropped altogether 
 out of the rowing world. Last year saw a new 
 arrival in the shape of the University of Wisconsin. 
 These Westerners, in spite of their difficulties of 
 climate, were able to form a very good freshman 
 crew, which defeated the Yale freshmen in a two- 
 mile race. This year the Wisconsin University 
 Eight rowed a two-mile race against the Yale 
 University Eight, but were unable to make much 
 of a show against them. The United States 
 Naval Academy at Minneapolis can also put a 
 very fair crew on the water, though the course 
 of their studies allows them but little leisure for 
 practice. This year they were defeated by Cornell 
 
 T 
 
274 ROWING. 
 
 in a two-mile race. The chief rowing school of 
 America is undoubtedly St. Paul's, at Concord, 
 New Hampshire. It is divided into two boat-clubs, 
 the Halcyon and the Shattuck, and the teaching 
 and training of the boys are looked after by Mr. 
 Dole, a man of great knowledge and experience 
 in rowing matters. They practise on a large lake 
 situated close to the school buildings, and show 
 on the whole very fair form, though in this re- 
 spect they cannot equal an Eton crew. Rowing 
 recruits from this school are eagerly sought after 
 by Harvard and Yale, in whose contests old St. 
 Paul's boys have a very brilliant record. At 
 Groton School, in Massachusetts, the boys row 
 in Fours on the river Nashua, their coach being 
 Mr. Abbot, a graduate of Worcester College, Ox- 
 ford. Rowing, however, at Groton has not yet 
 assumed the importance it has at St. Paul's, base- 
 ball being considered of the first importance, and 
 the captain of baseball having the right to claim 
 rowing boys for his team. Not a few Groton 
 wet-bobs have, however, done well in Harvard 
 and Yale crews. Besides these two rowing-schools, 
 there is also the High School of Worcester (Mass.), 
 whose Eight this year the first, I believe, in its 
 
ROWING IN AMERICA. 275 
 
 rowing history rowed a severe but unsuccessful 
 race against the Harvard freshmen on Lake Quin- 
 sigamond, and later in the summer won the race 
 for Intermediate Eights at the National Regatta 
 held on the River Schuylkill at Philadelphia. 
 
 To an English reader, with his experience of 
 Henley Regatta, it will seem strange that the 
 Universities in America should take little or no 
 part in any rowing contests except their own 
 private matches, and should have no voice, and 
 apparently no wish to have any voice, in the 
 general management of the sport outside the Uni- 
 versities. But such is the case. The National 
 Association of Amateur Oarsmen of America has 
 more than sixty clubs affiliated to it, but neither 
 Harvard nor Yale nor Cornell is amongst the 
 number. The National Association holds a suc- 
 cessful regatta every year in August, but no 
 really representative Eight from Harvard or Yale 
 has ever, I believe, taken part in it. With that 
 exception, this Association corresponds to our 
 Amateur Rowing Association, and in its consti- 
 tution states its object to be "the advancement 
 and improvement of rowing amongst amateurs." 
 By Article III, of the Association an amateur is 
 
276 ROWING. 
 
 defined as "one who does not enter in an open 
 competition ; or for either a stake, public or ad- 
 mission money, or entrance fee ; or compete with 
 or against a professional for any prize ; who has 
 never taught, pursued, or assisted in the pursuit 
 of athletic exercises as a means of livelihood ; 
 whose membership of any rowing or other athletic 
 club was not brought about, or does not continue, 
 because of any mutual agreement or understand- 
 ing, expressed or implied, whereby his becoming 
 or continuing a member of such club would be of 
 any pecuniary benefit to him whatever, direct or 
 indirect ; * who has never been employed in any 
 occupation involving any use of the oar or paddle ; 
 who rows for pleasure or recreation only, and 
 during his leisure hours ; who does not abandon 
 or neglect his usual business or occupation for 
 the purpose of training, and who shall otherwise 
 conform to the rules and regulations of this Asso- 
 ciation (as adopted August 28, 1872, amended 
 January 20, 1876, and July 18, 1888)." 
 
 * This clause is intended especially to prevent any so-called 
 amateur oarsmen being surreptitiously compensated for rowing, as, 
 for instance, by being furnished lucrative employment in sinecure 
 positions. 
 
ROWING IN AMERICA. 277 
 
 " Any club which shall issue or accept a chal- 
 lenge for the purpose of holding a professional 
 race, shall be for ever debarred from entering an 
 individual or crew in the Regattas of the As- 
 sociation, and such club, if connected with the 
 Association, shall be expelled." 
 
 In point of strictness, it will be noticed this Rule 
 does not suffer by comparison with that of our own 
 Amateur Rowing Association.* Indeed, in some 
 respects it is both fuller and stricter. Practically 
 the only difference is that whereas we disqualify as 
 an amateur one who has been employed in manual 
 labour for money or wages, or who is or has been 
 by trade or employment for wages a mechanic, 
 artizan, or labourer, or engaged in any menial 
 duty, this exclusion finds no place in the American 
 Amateur definition. The Laws of Boat-racing 
 adopted by the Association are practically the 
 same as our own. 
 
 It may be interesting to contrast the organiza- 
 tion and management of rowing at an American 
 University with the systems that a long tradition 
 has consecrated at Oxford and Cambridge. In 
 our Universities, in the first place, each particular 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
278 ROWING. 
 
 sport is entirely independent of all others. Each has 
 its own club, its own funds, derived from the sub- 
 scriptions of its members, and each manages its own 
 affairs and arranges its own contests, except occa- 
 sionally in the matter of convenience of date, with- 
 out any reference whatever to the others. A don 
 is usually treasurer of these clubs, but he has no 
 special authority or control merely because he is a 
 don. His experience and greater knowledge are 
 placed at the disposal of undergraduates in matters 
 of finance ; that is all. Certain general University 
 rules as to time of residence, etc., have to be ob- 
 served, but beyond this the dons assume absolutely 
 no authority at all in the sports of the under- 
 graduates. The undergraduates themselves, through 
 undergraduate officers, elected by themselves, make 
 all their own arrangements as to dates, matches, 
 and everything else connected with their com- 
 petitions ; and a don would as soon think of flirting 
 with a barmaid as of interfering with these matters 
 in virtue of his donship. This point is really of 
 capital importance. The responsibility of every- 
 thing connected with the sports of the University 
 thus falls upon the proper shoulders those, namely, 
 of the undergraduates who take part in them. The 
 
ROWING IN AMERICA. 279 
 
 full glory of the victory is theirs, and a defeat they 
 must feel is due to them alone. They cannot shift 
 the blame to any don or committee of dons, and, 
 as they must acknowledge themselves responsible, 
 so the necessity of taking steps to restore the 
 fortunes of their club is the more strongly brought 
 home to them. The captain of a Boat Club is its 
 absolute autocrat as regards work and discipline 
 and the selection of his crew. The coach whom 
 he asks to instruct them may possibly be old 
 enough to be his father, but the coach, none the 
 less, defers with an almost filial respect to the 
 captain, through whom all executive orders are 
 issued. In practice, of course, the wise captain is 
 guided in most matters by his coach, but, should a 
 serious difference arise between them, it is the 
 coach who must give way to the authority of the 
 captain. This uncontrolled management of their 
 sports by the undergraduates is, it seems to me, 
 no unimportant part of a University education ; 
 and a man may learn from it even more valu- 
 able lessons in conduct, self-control, and the treat- 
 ment of his fellow-men, than from all the books, 
 papers, and examinations of his University curri- 
 culum. 
 
280 ROWING. 
 
 At an American University a very different 
 situation exists. I will take the case of Harvard, 
 not merely because it is more familiar to me, but 
 because it is typical in its general features, though 
 not, of course, in all its details, of the position 
 taken up by the authorities at most American 
 Universities with regard to the sports of the 
 undergraduates. From the earliest days of athletic 
 exercises the Faculty, or Governing Body, of 
 the University has kept a very tight control over 
 them. It has issued rules and ordinances, allow- 
 ing or forbidding certain competitions, deciding 
 not only the number, but the date and place 
 of matches in which it was allowable to take part, 
 and regulating and controlling the conduct of 
 those undergraduates who took part in athletics. 
 This system, no doubt, originated at a time 
 when the numbers at Harvard were compara- 
 tively small, and when the men entered College 
 at an age considerably younger than is usual in 
 England. But the numbers at Harvard have 
 increased by leaps and bounds, and the age of 
 undergraduates is now on an average the same as 
 at Oxford and Cambridge. 
 
 In recent years, indeed, a slight change has 
 
ROWING IN AMERICA. 281 
 
 been found advisable. The control of all athletics, 
 whether rowing, baseball, football, or track athletics, 
 is vested in what is called an Athletic Committee, 
 composed of three professors (Anglict, dons), three 
 graduates of the University, and three under- 
 graduates. These nine, who are not selected on 
 any representative system, promulgate laws, con- 
 duct negotiations, settle dates, and generally 
 perform those details of business which in England 
 are left entirely to the undergraduates. For 
 instance, the negotiations for a resumption of 
 athletic relations with Yale University were on the 
 Harvard side managed by and through the Athletic 
 Committee. Moreover, the Athletic Committee has 
 in its hands the appointment of coaches for the 
 crew, and for the football, baseball, and athletic 
 teams. The captain of a crew or a team is, to be 
 sure, elected by the undergraduates themselves, 
 the established system being that the crew should, 
 before disbanding itself, elect the captain for 
 the ensuing year. But no election of this kind is 
 valid until it has been confirmed by the Athletic 
 Committee. From the above account, in which I 
 have confined myself to facts, and have not 
 attempted to criticize, it will be seen how profound 
 
282 ROWING. 
 
 are the differences between athletic organizations 
 at English and American Universities. 
 
 But there are further differences which have 
 nothing to do with the system of control and 
 management. An English University is composed 
 of many colleges, each entirely independent, so 
 far as the management of its affairs are concerned. 
 An English University Boat Club is organized 
 on the same principle. It is made up of represen- 
 tatives of all the College Boat Clubs, and combines 
 these autonomous institutions for what may be 
 termed Imperial purposes. College rowing at 
 Oxford and Cambridge foments a keen and 
 healthy rivalry, and to no small extent helps 
 to keep up the standard of University rowing. 
 In America, on the contrary, the University is 
 one, and apparently indivisible. There are no 
 colleges, and, therefore, there is no aggregation of 
 College Boat Clubs such as we have at home. 
 The want of this element is, no doubt, a serious 
 disadvantage to an American University Boat 
 Club. The only element of rivalry comes from 
 the competition of the four different classes (i.e. 
 years, as we should call them freshmen ; second- 
 year men, or "sophomores;" third-year men, or 
 
ROWING IN AMERICA. 283 
 
 "juniors;" and fourth-year men, or "seniors") 
 against one another in an eight-oared race in 
 the spring. Beyond this there has been hitherto 
 no internal competition between members of the 
 University Boat Club. Compare this single race 
 with the long series of contests in which an 
 English University oarsman takes part. He may 
 begin in October with the Fours, row in the Uni- 
 versity Trial Eights in December, and in the 
 University crew in the following March. Then 
 come the College eight-oared races in May or 
 June, followed by Henley Regatta in July, to say 
 nothing of pair-oar races, and sculling races, and 
 College Club races, or of the various Thames 
 regattas, in which he may take part during 
 what remains of the summer. He thus gains 
 invaluable lessons, both in watermanship and in 
 racing experience, which are not open to his 
 American cousin. 
 
 For this absence of competitions in an American 
 University Boat Club, the severe American winter, 
 which closes the rivers from about the middle of 
 December until early in March, is only partly 
 responsible. During October and November the 
 rivers are open ; but up to the present very little 
 
284 ROWING. 
 
 advantage has been taken of these valuable months. 
 At Harvard there has hitherto been no race or 
 series of races for Fours or Pairs or Scullers, and 
 freshmen, during their first term, have been exer- 
 cised on a rowing machine, when they might, with 
 infinitely greater profit, have gained instruction on 
 the water. 
 
 Early in January, when the undergraduates have 
 returned from their short Christmas vacation, a 
 "squad" for the University crew has generally 
 been formed and sent to the "training-table," 
 and the men composing it have been put into 
 regular exercise, consisting of running varied 
 by occasional skating, and of rowing practice 
 every day in the tank. When the ice breaks 
 up in March an Eight appears upon the 
 water, and practises regularly from that time 
 until towards the end of June, when its race 
 against the rival University takes place. This long 
 period of combined practice has many obvious 
 drawbacks, which will at once strike an experi- 
 enced oarsman. I believe better results might be 
 obtained by allowing members of the University 
 "squad " to take part in the Class races, and then, 
 after a period of rest, selecting the University crew. 
 
ROWING JN AMERICA. 285 
 
 Notwithstanding, however, all these disadvan- 
 tages, rowing at American Universities has reached 
 a high standard a result due to the extra- 
 ordinary earnestness and enthusiasm of those who 
 take part in it. The American University oars- 
 man is in every respect as strong and as well- 
 developed in physique as the average Englishman. 
 All he lacks is the prolonged racing experience, 
 which makes the Englishman so formidable and 
 robust an opponent. There are men amongst the 
 old oars of Harvard, Yale, and Cornell, who have 
 made skilled rowing their special study, and whose 
 knowledge of all points of the game is fully as 
 great as that of our English oars. Yale, in par- 
 ticular, has, during the last ten years, been able 
 to turn out some wonderfully fine and powerful 
 crews ; but the tendency amongst the American 
 University oarsmen, during recent years, has been 
 to sacrifice body-swing to the mere piston action 
 of the legs on a very long slide. There is now, 
 however, a reaction, due to the visits paid by 
 Cornell and Yale to Henley in 1895 an< 3 1896, 
 and the long body-swing and general steadiness, 
 which are marked features of English rowing, are 
 now being very successfully cultivated in America. 
 
286 ROWING. 
 
 At the five chief rowing Universities Harvard, 
 Yale, Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Cornell it is 
 also customary to train a freshman crew every 
 year, not merely for the local class races, but for 
 competition against one another, the races taking 
 place a few days before those in which the Uni- 
 versity crews compete. This year Yale defeated 
 Harvard by something more than a length, Harvard 
 being about three-quarters of a length ahead of 
 Cornell. The race a two-mile one was very 
 severe, and the crews, considering their material, 
 showed, on the whole, better form than that dis- 
 played by the University crews. A week later 
 the Cornell freshmen defeated those from Penn- 
 sylvania and Columbia over the same course. It 
 is surprising to see what good results can be 
 obtained from these freshmen crews. The men 
 composing them have, for the most part, not 
 rowed before coming to the University ; they have 
 had no graduated system of instruction on fixed 
 seats. Up to March, all their rowing has been 
 done on hydraulic machines in the gymnasium. 
 They then launch a sliding-seat Eight and prac- 
 tise for the Class races at the beginning of May. 
 After that they are carefully taken in hand, and 
 
ROWING IN AMERICA. 287 
 
 trained for their race in June against the other 
 Universities. It is from this freshman crew, and 
 from the older hands, who may have been rowing 
 in the Class races, that the 'Varsity crew of the 
 following year will be recruited. 
 
 The number of students at American Univer- 
 sities is thus stated in Mr. Caspar Whitney's 
 book: Harvard, 3100; Yale, 2400; Pennsylvania, 
 2500; Columbia, 1600; Cornell, 1800; as against 
 about 2400 at Oxford, and 2800 at Cambridge. 
 
 I ought to add that the use of swivel rowlocks 
 is almost universal in America, and that all their 
 Eights are built with the seats directly in a line 
 in the centre of the boat. Boats of papier macht 
 have had a great vogue, their builder being Waters 
 of Troy ; but there is now a reaction in favour of 
 cedar boats, as being stiffer and more durable. 
 The Harvard and Yale boats this year were built 
 by Davy of Cambridge (Mass.), and were beautiful 
 specimens of the art. American boats, however, 
 cost at least twice as much as English boats. T. 
 Donoghue, of Newburgh, N.Y., makes most of the 
 oars that are used in first-class racing. They are 
 lighter by a full pound than our English oars, and 
 are every bit as stiff. It is a real pleasure to row 
 with them. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A RECENT CONTROVERSY : ARE ATHLETES 
 HEALTHY? MR. SANDOW'S VIEWS ON THE 
 TRAINING OF OARSMEN. 
 
 IT would not be right, I think, to send forth a 
 new book on rowing without referring to the 
 controversy that has recently been carried on 
 in the columns of the St. James's Gazette under the 
 general title of " Are Athletes Healthy ? " The 
 discussion, which concerned itself mainly with 
 oarsmen, is naturally of very deep interest, not 
 only to them, but to the fathers and mothers who 
 are anxious about the welfare of their energetic 
 sons, and who, if the charges alleged against 
 rowing can be proved, will, of course, do their best 
 to dissuade their offspring from indulging in this 
 pernicious exercise. I should have preferred to 
 discuss the matter in the earlier chapters of this 
 book, but the printing was already so far advanced 
 
ROWING TYPES. 
 NO. I. 
 
A RECENT CONTROVERSY. 289 
 
 as to render this course out of the question, and I 
 am therefore compelled to deal with it somewhat 
 out of its place in this final chapter. 
 
 It would be idle to deny that there was some 
 reason for beginning this discussion. Within the 
 past two years three magnificent young oarsmen, 
 Mr. H. B. Cotton, Mr. T. H. E. Stretch, and Mr. 
 E. R. Balfour, have died ; the first after an illness 
 of six months' duration, the other two after being 
 ill for less than a fortnight. They were all Oxford 
 men, had rowed in victorious races both at Putney 
 and at Henley, and two of them Mr. Cotton and 
 Mr. Balfour had been actually rowing and racing 
 till within a short time of the attack that proved 
 fatal to them. Mr. Stretch had not raced, except in 
 scratch Eights at Putney, since the Henley Regatta 
 of 1896, some ten months before he died. 
 
 It has been asserted that these three untimely 
 deaths were due directly to the severe strain under- 
 gone both in preparation for racing and in the 
 actual races in which these oarsmen took part, and 
 that had they been content with unathletic lives 
 they might have lived on for many years. Can 
 that be proved ? I admit that I do not wish to 
 think the allegation capable of proof, for these 
 
 U 
 
290 ROWING. 
 
 three were my familiar friends. I had coached 
 and trained them all ; with two of them I had 
 rowed in several races ; I had spent innumerable 
 happy days in their society, and the sorrow I feel 
 in having lost them would be terribly increased if 
 I were forced to believe that our favourite sport 
 had had any part in hastening their end. In these 
 cases I will confine myself to stating facts within 
 my own knowledge, and will leave those who read 
 my statement to say whether on a fair view of the 
 matter the exercise of rowing can be held blame- 
 worthy. 
 
 I may begin by saying that it is the invariable 
 rule at Oxford to send all men who may be re- 
 quired for the University Eight to undergo a 
 preliminary medical examination. This examina- 
 tion is no perfunctory one. It is conducted by 
 Mr. H. P. Symonds, a gentleman of very wide 
 experience, especially amongst undergraduates, 
 and I have known several instances in which, 
 owing to his report, an oarsman has had to with- 
 draw temporarily from the river, and has lost his 
 chance of wearing the coveted blue. There has 
 never been any question about yielding to Mr. 
 Symonds's judgment. His verdict, if adverse, has 
 
A RECENT CONTROVERSY. 291 
 
 always been accepted as final both by the oarsman 
 concerned and by the president of the Boat Club. 
 In all the three cases with which I am dealing, 
 Mr. Symonds passed his men as perfectly sound 
 in heart and lungs and in every other organ. 
 
 I take the case of Mr. Stretch first, in order to 
 eliminate it conclusively. The cause of his death 
 was appendicitis, followed by severe blood-poison- 
 ing. It is quite impossible to connect this painful 
 and malignant illness with rowing or with any 
 other exercise. The appendix vermiformis t which 
 is the seat of the disease, is an unaccountable relic 
 in the internal organization of human beings ; it is 
 liable to be affected mysteriously and suddenly in 
 the young and the old, and the only effective 
 remedy, I believe, is by means of an operation 
 which removes it altogether. Mr. Stretch had, as I 
 said, not trained and raced for ten months, and up 
 to the moment of his illness had been in the enjoy- 
 ment of robust and almost exceptional health. 
 
 Mr. Cotton, whose case I now proceed to con- 
 sider, was an Eton boy, and had rowed a great 
 deal during his school days, though he had not 
 been included in the Eton crew at Henley. He 
 was a man of small stature, beautifully built and 
 
292 ROWING. 
 
 proportioned, well-framed, muscular, strong, and 
 active. On coming to Oxford he continued his 
 rowing, and being a good waterman and a man of 
 remarkable endurance and courage, he was in his 
 second year placed at bow of the University crew. 
 Altogether he rowed in four victorious Oxford 
 crews, he won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley 
 twice as bow of a Leander crew, he won the 
 Stewards' Cup in a Magdalen College Four, rowed 
 Head of the River three times, besides taking part 
 in many other races more or less important. 
 During his whole rowing career I knew him to be 
 unwell only once, and that was in 1893, when he 
 suffered from a sore throat at Putney. In 1895 
 he rowed bow of the Oxford Eight for the fourth 
 time. The training of this crew was a very anxious 
 one. Influenza was very prevalent, and one after 
 another the Oxford men were affected by this 
 illness. There were only two exceptions, and one 
 of these was Mr. Cotton, who was never sick or 
 sorry for a single day during the whole period 
 of practice. Shortly after the race he came to stay 
 with me. He was then perfectly strong, perfectly 
 healthy, and in wonderfully good spirits, and 
 showed not the least sign of being stale or 
 
A RECENT CONTROVERSY. 293 
 
 exhausted. He told me himself, on my congratu- 
 lating him on having escaped the influenza, that 
 he had never felt better or stronger in his life than 
 he did at that time. On the Easter Monday he 
 bicycled from Bourne End to Oxford and back 
 (a distance of nearly seventy miles as he rode it), 
 and, as he had had to battle against a strong cold 
 wind on the return journey, he was very tired on 
 his arrival. On the following morning, however, 
 he appeared perfectly well. Towards the end of 
 that week he complained of feeling " very lacka- 
 daisical and having a bad headache," but he 
 attached no importance to these symptoms, and 
 soon after went back to Oxford with a view to 
 rowing in the Magdalen Eight. The tired feeling 
 and the headache, however, continued, and 
 eventually got so bad that he had to take to his 
 bed with a high temperature and all the other 
 symptoms of violent influenza. This illness, 
 neglected at the outset, almost immediately settled 
 on his lungs, both of which were congested with 
 pneumonia. Owing, as Mr. Symonds himself 
 told me, to his good general condition and his 
 great strength, he fought through this, but in 
 the mean time signs of consumption had declared 
 
294 ROWING. 
 
 themselves, and of this he died at Davos Platz 
 in the following October. 
 
 With regard to Mr. Balfour, the facts are these : 
 He was a man of Herculean build and strength. 
 He played in the Oxford Rugby Union Football 
 team for two years, 1894 and 1895. In 1896 and 
 in this year he rowed in the University Eight, and 
 last July he rowed at Henley in the Leander Eight, 
 and won the pair-oared race with Mr. Guy Nickalls. 
 I can answer for it that during all his races he was 
 absolutely fit and well. I saw him daily at Henley, 
 and, though I knew him to be strong and healthy, 
 I was surprised not merely by his improvement 
 in style, but by the great vigour he displayed in 
 rowing. On the morning after the Regatta I saw 
 him for the last time. He was then in splendid 
 health and spirits. On the I2th of August he shot 
 grouse ; on the following day, in very cold wet 
 weather, he went out fishing, and came home wet 
 through, complaining of a chill. On the following 
 day he took to his bed in a high fever, with both 
 lungs congested. The illness next attacked his 
 kidneys, and soon after his life was despaired of. 
 However, he rallied in an extraordinary way until 
 symptoms of blood-poisoning declared themselves, 
 
A RECENT CONTROVERSY. 295 
 
 when he rapidly sank, and died on August 2/th. 
 Now, this illness was due either to an ordinary chill 
 or to influenza, or, as I have since heard, primarily 
 to blood-poisoning, caused by leaky and poisonous 
 drains at a place where he had been staying before 
 his shooting excursion. A subsequent examination 
 of these drains revealed a very bad condition of 
 affairs immediately underneath the room that Mr. 
 Balfour had occupied. In any case it does not 
 appear and the strong testimony of the doctors 
 who attended him confirms me in this that Mr. 
 Balfour's death was due to his rowing. But an 
 objector may say, " It is true that neither in Mr. 
 Cotton's nor in Mr. Balfour's case can death be 
 directly attributed to rowing ; their exertions, how- 
 ever, so exhausted their strength, the soundness of 
 their organs, and their powers of resistance to 
 disease, that when they were attacked they became 
 easy victims." To this I oppose (i) the report 
 of Mr. H. P. Symonds, who examined both these 
 oarsmen before they rowed in their University 
 Eights ; (2) my own observation of their health, 
 condition, and spirits during practice, in their races, 
 and afterwards when the races were over ; and 
 (3) the reports of the doctors who attended them 
 
2c,6 ROWING. 
 
 during their last illnesses, and who declared (I 
 speak at second hand with regard to Mr. Balfour, 
 at first hand with regard to Mr. Cotton) that they 
 were both, when struck down, in a surprising state 
 of strength, due to the exercise in which they had 
 taken part, and that in both cases their powers of 
 resistance were far greater than are usually found. 
 Do I go too far in asserting that any doctor in large 
 practice could find in his own experience for each 
 of these two cases at least twenty cases in which 
 non-rowing and non-athletic men have been sud- 
 denly carried off by the same sort of illness ? I am 
 not concerned to prove that rowing confers an 
 immunity from fatal illness : my point is that in 
 the two cases I have considered, and in all cases 
 where it is pursued under proper conditions of 
 training and medical advice, rowing does not in any 
 way promote a condition favourable to disease. 
 
 I pass from these particular cases, the discussion 
 of which has been painful to me, to the general 
 question of health amongst the great mass of those 
 who have been, or are, active rowing men. It may 
 be remembered that some twenty-five years ago 
 Dr. J. H. Morgan, of Oxford, moved to his task by 
 a controversy similar to that which has recently 
 
A RECENT CONTROVERSY. 297 
 
 taken place, instituted a very careful inquiry into 
 the health of those who had taken part in the 
 University Boat-race from 1829 to 1869. Their 
 number amounted, if I remember rightly, to 294, 
 of whom 255 were alive at the date of the inquiry. 
 Of these 115 were benefited by rowing, 162 were 
 uninjured, and only in 17 cases was any injury 
 stated to have resulted. And it must be remem- 
 bered that this inquiry covered a period during 
 which far less care, as a general rule, was exercised 
 both as to the selection and the training of men 
 than is the case at the present day. I may add 
 my own experience. Since I began to row, in 1874, 
 I have rowed and raced with or against hundreds 
 of men in college races and at regattas, and I have 
 watched closely the rowing of very many others in 
 University and in Henley crews. I have kept in 
 touch with rowing men, both my contemporaries 
 and my successors, and amongst them all I could 
 not point to one (putting aside for the moment the 
 three special cases I have just discussed) who has 
 been injured by the exercise, or would state himself 
 to have been injured. On the contrary, I can point 
 to scores and scores of men who have been 
 strengthened in limb and health I say nothing 
 
298 ROWING. 
 
 here of any moral effect by their early races and 
 the training they had to undergo for them. I 
 could at this moment pick a crew composed of 
 men all more than thirty years old who are still, or 
 have been till quite recently, in active rowing, and, 
 though some of them are married men, I would 
 back them to render a good account of themselves 
 in Eight or Four or Pair against any selection of 
 men that could be made. Nay more, in any other 
 contests of strength or endurance I believe they 
 would more than hold their own against younger 
 athletes, and would overwhelm any similar number 
 of non-athletes of the same or any other age. As 
 contests I should select a hard day's shooting over 
 dogs, cross-country riding, tug-of-war, boxing, long- 
 distance rowing, or, in fact, any contest in which the 
 special element of racing in light ships has no part. 
 For such contests I could pick, not eight, but eighty 
 men well over thirty years old, and if the limit were 
 extended to twenty-four years of age I could secure 
 an army. Is there any one who doubts that my 
 rowing men would knock the non-athletes into a 
 cocked hat ? For it must be remembered that the 
 bulk of rowing men are not exclusively devoted to 
 oarsmanship. A very large proportion of those 
 
ROWING TYPES. 
 NO. 2. 
 
A RECENT CONTROVERSY. 299 
 
 that I have known have been good all-round 
 sportsmen. 
 
 As to the general effect of rowing on strength 
 
 and health I may perhaps be pardoned if I cite my 
 
 own case, not because there is anything specially 
 
 remarkable in it, but because it bears on some of 
 
 the questions that have been raised, and I can 
 
 speak about it with certainty. In early childhood 
 
 I had a serious illness which considerably retarded 
 
 my physical development. At school, however, I 
 
 took my part in all sports, played three years in 
 
 the Cricket XL and in the Football XV., and won 
 
 several prizes at the athletic sports. I went to 
 
 Cambridge in 1874, when I was three months short 
 
 of nineteen, and immediately took to rowing. I 
 
 was certainly not a particularly strong boy then, 
 
 though I had a fair share of activity. I rowed 
 
 persistently in Eights, Fours and Pairs, at first with 
 
 labour and distress, but gradually, as time went on, 
 
 with ease and pleasure, and I found that the 
 
 oftener I rowed the greater became my powers of 
 
 endurance. I ought to add that I never rowed in 
 
 the University Race, but I have borne my share in 
 
 thirty-six bumping races, as well as in numerous 
 
 other races ranging in distance from three-quarters 
 
300 ROWING. 
 
 of a mile to three miles. I believe that the six 
 consecutive races of a May Term call for endurance 
 at least as great as the single race from Putney to 
 Mortlake. My actual muscular strength, too, 
 increased very largely, and has ever since main- 
 tained itself unimpaired. I have found that this 
 exercise has, in fact, strengthened and consolidated 
 me all round ; and I can think of no other exercise 
 that could have had upon me the same salutary 
 effect that I am justified in attributing mainly to 
 rowing an effect which has enabled me to endure 
 great exertion, sometimes in extremes of heat or of 
 cold, without the smallest ill result, and has brought 
 me to middle age with sound organs, a strong 
 constitution, active limbs, and a good digestion. 
 There are hundreds of other men who could, I 
 doubt not, give a similar account of themselves. 
 
 Out of this main discussion on the health of 
 athletes there sprang a subsidiary one, which proved 
 of even greater interest to rowing men. It was 
 started by Mr. Sandow, the eminent weight-lifter 
 and modern representative of Hercules. Mr. 
 Sandow, stimulated by a disinterested love for his 
 fellow-men in general, and for those of Cambridge 
 University in particular, wrote an article in the 
 
ROWING TYPES. 
 NO. 3 . 
 
A RECENT CONTROVERSY. 301 
 
 St. James s Gazette in which he put forward his 
 own peculiar views on the proper system for the 
 training of athletes. He ended by declaring that 
 if he were allowed to train a Cambridge crew 
 according to his system (it being understood that 
 rowing instruction was at the same time to be 
 imparted to them by a properly qualified teacher), 
 he would guarantee to turn out a crew the like of 
 which had never before sat in a boat. We were to 
 infer, though this was at first sight not obvious, that 
 this crew would easily defeat an Oxford crew 
 trained on a system which Mr. Sandow evidently 
 considered to be absurd and obsolete. 
 
 According to Mr. Sandow's system, as he subse- 
 quently developed it, the members of this crew 
 were to have complete license in all things. They 
 were to eat what they liked, drink what they liked, 
 smoke as much as they liked, and, in fact, make 
 their own good pleasure the supreme law of their 
 existence. All that Mr. Sandow stipulated was 
 that for some two hours a day during a period of 
 several months these men were to put themselves 
 in Mr. Sandow's hands for the purpose of muscular 
 development all round according to the methods 
 usually employed by him. Any spare energy that 
 
302 ROWING. 
 
 might then remain to them might be devoted to the 
 work of rowing in the boat. 
 
 Now, in the first place, there are certain elemen- 
 tary difficulties which would go far to prevent the 
 adoption of this experiment. The crew is not 
 selected several months before the race ; and even 
 if it were, it would be practically impossible for 
 the men composing it to spare the time required 
 by Mr. Sandow. After all, even the most brilliant 
 of us have to get through a certain amount of 
 work for our degrees. There are lectures to be 
 attended, there is private reading, not to speak 
 of the time which has to be devoted to the ordi- 
 nary social amenities of life at a University. 
 Sport has its proper place in the life of an under- 
 graduate ; but it does not, and cannot, absorb the 
 whole of that life. Yet if a man is to spend two 
 hours with Mr. Sandow, and about two hours and 
 a half (I calculate from the moment he leaves his 
 rooms until he returns from the river) on the 
 exercise of rowing, it is not easy to see how he 
 will have sufficient vigour left to him to tackle 
 the work required even for the easiest of pass 
 examinations. I can foresee that not only the 
 man himself, but his tutors and his parents might 
 offer some rather serious objections. 
 
ROWING TYPES. 
 NO. 4. 
 
A RECENT CONTROVERSY. 303 
 
 But I am not going to content myself with 
 pointing out these preliminary difficulties. I go 
 further, and say that the whole proposal is based 
 upon a fallacy. The method of training and 
 development that may fit a man admirably for 
 the purpose of weight-lifting, or of excelling his 
 fellow-creatures in the measurement of his chest 
 and his muscles, is utterly unsuited for a contest 
 that requires great quickness of movement, highly 
 developed lung-power, and general endurance 
 spread over a period of some twenty minutes. It 
 does not follow that because a man measures 
 forty-two inches round the chest, and has all his 
 muscles developed in proportion, he will therefore 
 be better fitted for the propulsion of a racing-boat 
 than a man who in all points of development is 
 his inferior. If I produced Mr. C. W. Kent 
 incognito before Mr. Sandow and asked whether 
 it would be feasible to include this gentleman in 
 an eight-oared crew, Mr. Sandow would probably 
 laugh me to scorn. Mr. Sandow could doubtless 
 hold out Mr. Kent at arm's length with the 
 greatest possible ease. I am perfectly certain 
 that Mr. Kent if he will pardon me for thus 
 making free with his name could do nothing 
 
304 ROWING. 
 
 of the kind to Mr. Sandow. Yet I am perfectly 
 certain, too, that, in a severely contested race, Mr. 
 Kent admittedly one of the finest strokes that 
 ever rowed would, to put it mildly, be more useful 
 than Mr. Sandow. All gymnasium work, and 
 even the modified form of it patented by Mr. 
 Sandow, must tend to make men muscle-bound, 
 and therefore slow. Skilled rowing consists of 
 a series of movements which have to be gone 
 through with a peculiar quickness, precision, and 
 neatness. To be able to go through Mr. Sandow's 
 eight weight exercises, to lift weights, to carry 
 horses on your chest, may indicate great muscular 
 strength, but it has absolutely nothing to do with 
 being able to row. If a rowing man requires some 
 exercise subsidiary to rowing, he would, in my 
 opinion, be far better advised if he devoted some 
 of his spare time to boxing and to fencing, exer- 
 cises which necessitate immense quickness and 
 perfect combination between brain, hand, and eye, 
 than if he were to spend time in building up his 
 body with such exercises as are included in the 
 Sandow curriculum. But, in the main, rowing 
 must develop for itself the muscles it requires. It 
 is an exercise which, when all is said and done, can 
 
ROWING TYPES. 
 
 xo. 5. 
 
A RECENT CONTROVERSY. 305 
 
 only be learnt effectively in a boat on the water. 
 It is thus, and thus only, that a man can acquire 
 the necessary movements, and perfect himself in 
 that sense of balance and of rhythm which is as 
 necessary to a rowing man as muscular strength. 
 My experience leads me to the conclusion that 
 men who, though naturally well-framed and pro- 
 portioned, are not afflicted with excessive muscle, 
 are more likely to be useful in rowing than the pet 
 of a gymnasium or the muscle-bound prodigies 
 made in the image of Mr. Sandow. I may cite 
 as examples such men as Mr. R. P. P. Rowe, Mr. 
 R. O. Kerrison, Mr. W. Burton Stewart, Mr. W. 
 E. Crum, Mr. J. A. Ford, and Mr. C. W. Kent.* 
 All these men acquired their unquestionable 
 excellence as oarsmen by the only possible 
 method that is, by long practice of rowing in 
 boats. Even an exercise so nearly resembling 
 actual rowing as the tank work practised in the 
 winter by American crews has very serious dis- 
 advantages. It might be supposed that it would 
 
 * The photographs reproduced in this chapter are those of active 
 rowing men. No. 4, whose muscular development is the slightest, 
 is one of the most brilliant oarsmen of the day. See also photo- 
 graphs of Mr. Kent and Mr. Gold in Chapter V. 
 
 X 
 
306 ROWING. 
 
 exercise and keep in trim the muscles required 
 for actual rowing ; but its effect is to make men 
 slow and heavy, faults which they have to correct 
 when they once more take to the river. 
 
 With regard to Mr. Sandow's revolutionary pro- 
 posals about diet, smoking, and hours, I have only 
 this to say. We rowing men have shown time 
 after time that by adhering to what I do not hesi- 
 tate to call our common-sense system of rules 
 tempered with indulgences we can bring our men 
 to the post in the most perfect health and con- 
 dition, absolutely fit, so far as their wind and 
 powers of endurance are concerned, to take part 
 in the severest contests. What has Mr. Sandow 
 shown that should avail, with these results before 
 our eyes, to make us exchange our disciplined 
 liberty for his unfettered license? In the mean 
 time we shall very properly hesitate to take the 
 leap in the dark that he suggests. 
 
 I trust that the President of the C.U.B.C. will, in 
 future, conduct the practice of his crew according 
 to the methods that have proved their efficacy over 
 and over again, and that he will not listen to the 
 voice of Mr. Sandow, charm he never so unwisely. 
 Non tali auxilio are boat-races to be won. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 HENLEY ROYAL REGATTA. 
 
 Secretary : J. F. COOPER. 
 
 QUALIFICATION RULES. 
 THE GRAND CHALLENGE CUP, FOR EIGHT OARS. 
 
 Any crew of amateurs who are members of any University 
 or public school, or who are officers of Her Majesty's army 
 or navy, or any amateur club established at least one year 
 previous to the day of entry, shall be qualified to contend 
 for this prize. 
 
 THE STEWARDS' CHALLENGE CUP, FOR FOUR OARS. 
 The same as for the Grand Challenge Cup. 
 
 THE LADIES' CHALLENGE PLATE, FOR EIGHT OARS. 
 
 Any crew of amateurs who are members of any of the 
 boat clubs of colleges, or non-collegiate boat clubs of the 
 Universities, or boat clubs of any of the public schools, in 
 the United Kingdom only, shall be qualified to contend for 
 this prize ; but no member of any college or non- collegiate 
 crew shall be allowed to row for it who has exceeded four 
 years from the date of his first commencing residence at the 
 
308 APPENDIX. 
 
 University ; and each member of a public school crew shall, 
 at the time of entering, be bond fide a member " in statu 
 pupillari" of such school. 
 
 THE VISITORS' CHALLENGE CUP, FOR FOUR OARS. 
 The same as for the Ladies' Challenge Plate. 
 
 THE THAMES CHALLENGE CUP, FOR EIGHT OARS. 
 
 The qualification for this cup shall be the same as for the 
 Grand Challenge Cup ; but no one (coxswains excepted) may 
 enter for this cup who has ever rowed in a winning crew 
 for the Grand Challenge Cup or Stewards' Challenge Cup ; 
 and no one (substitutes as per Rule 1 1 excepted) may enter, 
 and no one shall row, for this cup and for the Grand 
 Challenge Cup, or Stewards' Challenge Cup, at the same 
 regatta. 
 
 THE WYFOLD CHALLENGE CUP, FOR FOUR OARS. 
 
 The qualification for this cup shall be the same as for the 
 Stewards' Challenge Cup ; but no one shall enter for this 
 cup who has ever rowed in a winning crew for the Stewards' 
 Challenge Cup ; and no one (substitutes as per Rule 1 1 
 excepted) may enter, and no one shall row, for this cup and 
 for the Stewards' Challenge Cup at the same regatta. 
 
 THE SILVER GOBLETS, FOR PAIR OARS. 
 
 Open to all amateurs duly entered for the same according 
 to the Rules following. 
 
 THE DIAMOND CHALLENGE SCULLS, FOR SCULLS. 
 
 Open to all amateurs duly entered for the same according 
 to the Rules following. 
 
APPENDIX. 39 
 
 GENERAL RULES. 
 Revised December u/, 1894. 
 
 Definition. 
 
 I. No person shall be considered an amateur oarsman, 
 sculler or coxswain 
 
 1. Who has ever rowed or steered in any race for a stake, 
 
 money, or entrance-fee.* 
 
 2. Who has ever knowingly rowed or steered with or 
 
 against a professional for any prize. 
 
 3. Who has ever taught, pursued, or assisted in the 
 
 practice of athletic exercises of any kind for profit. 
 
 4. Who has ever been employed in or about boats, or in 
 
 manual labour, for money or wages. 
 
 5. Who is or has been by trade or employment for 
 
 wages, a mechanic, artisan, or labourer, or engaged 
 in any menial duty. 
 
 6. Who is disqualified as an amateur in any other branch 
 
 of sport. 
 
 Eligibility. 
 
 II. No one shall be eligible to row or steer for a club 
 unless he has been a member of that club for at least two 
 months preceding the regatta, but this Rule shall not apply 
 to colleges, schools, or crews composed of officers of Her 
 Majesty's army or navy. 
 
 Entries. 
 
 III. The entry of any amateur club, crew, or sculler, in 
 the United Kingdom, must be made ten clear days before 
 the regatta, and the names of the captain or secretary of each 
 
 * This clause is not to be construed as disqualifying any otherwise 
 duly qualified amateur who previously to June 23, 1894, has rowed 
 or steered for a stake, money, or entrance-fee, in a race confined to 
 members of any one club, school, college, or University. 
 
310 APPENDIX. 
 
 club or crew must accompany the entry. A copy of the list 
 of entries shall be forwarded by the secretary of the regatta 
 to the captain or secretary of each club or crew duly entered. 
 
 IV. The entry of any crew or sculler, out of the United 
 Kingdom, other than a crew or sculler belonging to a club 
 affiliated to the Union des Socie'te's Francises de Sports 
 Athldtiques, or of the Deutscher Ruder Verband, or of 
 the Verbonden Nederlandsche Roeivereenigingen, must be 
 made on or before the 3ist of March, and any such entry 
 must be accompanied by a declaration made before a notary 
 public, with regard to the profession of each person so 
 entering, to the effect that he has never rowed or steered in 
 any race for a stake, money, or entrance fee ; has never 
 knowingly rowed or steered with or against a professional 
 for any prize ; has never taught, pursued, or assisted in 
 the practice of athletic exercises of any kind for profit ; 
 has never been employed in or about boats, or in manual 
 labour for money or wages ; is not, and never has been, 
 by trade or employment, for wages, a mechanic, artisan, 
 or labourer, or engaged in any menial duty ; and is not 
 disqualified as an amateur in any other branch of sport ; 
 and in cases of the entry of a crew, that such crew represents 
 a club which has been duly established at least one year 
 previous to the day of entry : and such declaration must be 
 certified by the British Consul or the mayor, or the chief 
 authority of the locality. 
 
 The entry of any crew or sculler belonging to a club 
 affiliated to the Union des Socie'te's Frangaises de Sports 
 Athle'tiques, or of the Deutscher Ruder Verband, or of the 
 Verbonden Nederlandsche Roeivereenigingen, must be made 
 on or before the ist of June, and any such entry must be 
 accompanied by a declaration in writing by the secretary 
 of such Union, or Verband, or by the Council of the club 
 from time to time appointed by the Verbonden Nederlandsche 
 
APPENDIX. 311 
 
 Roeivereenigingen, with regard to the profession of each 
 person so entering, to the effect that he has never since 
 the institution of the Union des Socie'te's Franchises de 
 Sports Athle*tiques, or the Deutscher Ruder Verband, or of 
 the Verbonden Nederlandsche Roeivereenigingen, as the 
 case may be, either rowed or steered in any race for a stake, 
 money, or entrance fee ; or knowingly rowed or steered with 
 or against a professional for any prize ; has never taught, 
 pursued, or assisted in the practice of athletic exercises of 
 any kind for profit ; has never been employed in or about 
 boats, or in manual labour for money or wages ; is not, and 
 never has been by trade or employment, for wages, a mechanic, 
 artisan, or labourer, or engaged in any menial duty ; and is 
 not disqualified as an amateur in any other branch of sport ; 
 and in cases of the entry of a crew, that each member thereof 
 is and has been for two months a member of such club, and 
 that such club has been duly established at least one year 
 previous to the day of entry. 
 
 V. No assumed name shall be given to the secretary 
 unless accompanied by the real name of the competitor. 
 
 VI. No one shall enter twice for the same race. 
 
 VII. No official of the regatta shall divulge any entry, or 
 report the state of the entrance list, until such list be closed. 
 
 VIII. Entrance money for each boat shall be paid to the 
 secretary at the time of entering, as follows : 
 
 s- d. 
 
 For the Grand Challenge Cup 66 o 
 
 Ladies' Challenge Plate ... 5 5 o 
 
 Thames Challenge Cup ... 5 5 o 
 
 Stewards' 44 o 
 
 Visitors' 33 o 
 
 Wyfold 33 o 
 
 Silver Goblets 22 o 
 
 Diamond Challenge Sculls ... I i o 
 
312 APPENDIX. 
 
 IX. The Committee shall investigate any questionable 
 entry, irrespective of protest. 
 
 X. The Committee shall have power to refuse or return 
 any entry up to the time of starting, without being bound to 
 assign a reason. 
 
 XI. The captain or secretary of each club or crew 
 entered shall, seven clear days before the regatta, deliver 
 to the secretary of the regatta a list containing the names 
 of the actual crew appointed to compete, to which list the 
 names of not more than four other members for an eight-oar 
 and two for a four-oar may be added as substitutes. 
 
 XII. No person may be substituted for another who has 
 already rowed or steered in a heat. 
 
 XIII. The secretary of the regatta, after receiving the list 
 of the crews entered, and of the substitutes, shall, if required, 
 furnish a copy of the same, with the names, real and assumed, 
 to the captain or secretary of each club or crew entered, 
 and in the case of pairs or scullers to each competitor 
 entered. 
 
 Objections. 
 
 XIV. Objections to the entry of any club or crew must 
 be made in writing to the secretary at least four clear days 
 before the regatta, when the committee shall investigate the 
 grounds of objection, and decide thereon without delay. 
 
 XV. Objections to the qualification of a competitor must 
 be made in writing to the secretary at the earliest moment 
 practicable. No protest shall be entertained unless lodged 
 before the prizes are distributed. 
 
 Course. 
 
 XVI. The races shall commence below the Island, and 
 terminate at the upper end of Phyllis Court. Length of 
 course, about i mile and 550 yards. 
 
APPENDIX. 3' 3 
 
 XVII. The whole course must be completed by a com- 
 petitor before he can be held to have won a trial or final 
 heat. 
 
 Stations. 
 XVI II. Stations shall be drawn by the Committee. 
 
 Row over. 
 
 XIX. In the event of there being but one boat, entered 
 for any prize, or if more than one enter, and all withdraw 
 but one, the crew of the remaining boat must row over the 
 course to be entitled to such prize. 
 
 Heats. 
 
 XX. If there shall be more than two competitors, they 
 shall row a trial heat or heats ; but no more than two boats 
 shall contend in any heat for any of the prizes above 
 mentioned. 
 
 XXI. In the event of a dead heat taking place, the same 
 crews shall contend again, after such interval as the Com- 
 mittee may appoint, or the crew refusing shall be adjudged 
 to have lost the heat. 
 
 Clothing. 
 
 XXII. Every competitor must wear complete clothing 
 from the shoulders to the knees including a sleeved jersey. 
 
 Coxswains. 
 
 XXIII. Every eight-oared boat shall carry a coxswain ; 
 such coxswain must be an amateur, and shall not steer for 
 more than one club for the same prize. 
 
 The minimum weight for coxswains shall be 7 stone. 
 Crews averaging io stone and under n stone to carry 
 not less than 7 stone. 
 
314 APPENDIX. 
 
 Crews averaging 1 1 stone or more, to carry not less than 
 8 stone. 
 
 Deficiencies must be made up by dead weight carried on 
 the coxswain's thwart. 
 
 The dead weight shall be provided by the Committee, 
 and shall be placed in the boat and removed from 
 it by a person appointed for that purpose. 
 
 Each competitor (including the coxswain) in eight and 
 four-oared races shall attend to be weighed (in row- 
 ing costume) at the time and place appointed by 
 the Committee : and his weight then registered by 
 the secretary shall be considered his racing weight 
 during the regatta. 
 
 Any member of a crew omitting to register his weight 
 shall be disqualified. 
 
 Flag. 
 
 XXIV. Every boat shall, at starting, carry a flag showing 
 its colour at the bow. Boats not conforming to this Rule 
 are liable to be disqualified at the discretion of the umpire. 
 
 Umpire. 
 
 XXV. The Committee shall appoint one or more umpires 
 to act under the laws of boat-racing. 
 
 Judge. 
 
 XXVI. The Committee shall appoint one or more judges, 
 whose decision as to the order in which the boats pass the 
 post shall be final. 
 
 Prizes. 
 
 XXVII. -The prizes shall be delivered at the conclusion 
 of the regatta to the respective winners, who on receipt of a 
 
APPENDIX. 315 
 
 challenge prize shall subscribe a document of the following 
 effect : 
 
 "we A (B C D, etc.) (members of the club), having been 
 this day declared to be the winners of the Henley Royal 
 Regatta Challenge Cup (or diamond sculls), 
 
 and the same having been delivered to us on behalf of the 
 stewards of the said regatta, do (jointly and severally) agree 
 to return in good order and condition as now received the 
 said cup (or diamond sculls), to the stewards on or before 
 June ist next, and w r e do also (jointly and severally) agree 
 that if the said cup (or sculls) be accidentally lost or 
 destroyed, or in any way permanently defaced, J e will on 
 or before the date aforesaid, or as near thereto as may be 
 conveniently possible, place in the hands of the said stewards 
 a cup (or diamond sculls) of similar design and value, and 
 engraved with the names of the previous winners (their 
 officers) (and crews) as now engraved on the present cup and 
 case.' I* 1 witness of which agreement w j e have hereunto 
 subscribed JJJ (respective) 
 
 name, 
 names. 
 
 Committee. 
 
 XXVIII. All questions of eligibility, qualification, inter- 
 pretation of the Rules, or other matters not specially provided 
 for, shall be referred to the Committee, whose decision shall 
 be final. 
 
 XXIX. The laws of boat-racing to be observed at the 
 regatta are as follows : 
 
 (The same as the A.R.A. Laws.} 
 
316 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE AMATEUR ROWING ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Hon. Sec. : R. C. LEHMANN, 30, Bury Street, St. James's, S.W. 
 Revised, April 2yd, 1894. 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 I. THIS Association shall be called " The Amateur Rowing 
 Association," and its objects shall be 
 
 1. To maintain the standard of amateur oarsmanship as 
 
 recognized by the Universities and principal boat 
 clubs of the United Kingdom ; 
 
 2. To promote the interests of boat-racing generally. 
 II. The Association shall consist of clubs which adopt 
 
 the following definition of an amateur, viz. : 
 
 No person shall be considered an amateur oarsman, 
 sculler, or coxswain 
 
 1. Who has ever rowed or steered in any race for a 
 
 stake, money or entrance-fee.* 
 
 2. Who has ever knowingly rowed or steered with or 
 
 against a professional for any prize. 
 
 3. Who has ever taught, pursued, or assisted in the 
 
 practice of athletic exercises of any kind for profit. 
 
 * N.B. This clause is not to be construed as disqualifying any 
 otherwise duly qualified amateur who previously to April 23rd, 1894, 
 has rowed or steered lor a stake, money or entrance-fee, in a race 
 confined to members of any one club, school, college, or University. 
 
APPENDIX. 317 
 
 4. Who has ever been employed in or about boats, or in 
 
 manual labour, for money or wages. 
 
 5. Who is or has been by trade or employment for wages 
 
 a mechanic, artisan, or labourer, or engaged in any 
 menial duty. 
 
 6. Who is disqualified as an amateur in any other 
 
 branch of sport. 
 
 III. Any amateur club willing to bind itself to observe 
 the rules of the Association may become affiliated upon 
 making application to the Hon. Sec. of the A.R.A., and being 
 elected by a majority of two-thirds of the meeting of the 
 Committee. 
 
 Every affiliated club shall have at least one vote at General 
 Meetings. Any club having more than two hundred full 
 members shall have in addition one vote for every hundred 
 or part of a hundred members in excess of two hundred ; 
 but no club shall have more than six votes. 
 
 Every affiliated club shall, when required, send to the 
 Hon. Sec. of the A.R.A. a list of its members and a copy of 
 its last balance-sheet. 
 
 The Committee shall not consider an application for affilia- 
 tion from any club previously refused, until after the expiration 
 of twelve calendar months from the date of such refusal. 
 
 IV. Each club shall pay to the expenses of the Associa- 
 tion an annual subscription to be fixed by the Committee ; 
 such subscription not to exceed one guinea. 
 
 V. The government and management of the Association 
 shall be vested in a Committee of twenty-five members, who 
 shall meet once at least in every six months, or as often as 
 may be required. At the first meeting of the Committee in 
 each year a chairman shall be elected, who shall remain in 
 office until the next General Meeting. At all meetings of the 
 committee the chairman shall preside, and in his absence a 
 chairman shall be elected for the occasion ; seven members 
 
3i 8 APPENDIX. 
 
 shall form a quorum, and the chairman shall have a casting 
 vote. 
 
 VI. For the purpose of electing the members of the 
 Committee a General Meeting of the representatives of the 
 affiliated clubs shall be held once a year at a date to be fixed 
 by the Committee. Ten days' notice of this meeting shall 
 be given. 
 
 Each club shall notify to the Secretary in writing, not less 
 than three days prior to the Annual General Meeting, the 
 names of its authorized representatives, the number of whom 
 must not exceed the number of votes to which such club is 
 entitled ; but should a club nominate one representative only 
 such representative can record the number of votes to which 
 his club is entitled. 
 
 VII. Five members of the Committee shall be elected at 
 each Annual General Meeting, and shall remain in office for 
 three years. The Committees of the Cambridge University 
 Boat Club, the Royal Chester Rowing Club, the Kingston 
 Rowing Club, the Leander Club, the London Rowing Club, 
 the Molesey Boat Club, the Oxford University Boat Club, 
 the Thames Rowing Club, and the Twickenham Rowing 
 Club shall each nominate annually a member of the Com- 
 mittee, and such nomination shall be sent to the Secretary 
 prior to the General Meeting. The Hon. Sec. of the A.R.A. 
 shall be an ex officio member of the Committee of the A.R.A. 
 In the year 1894, in order to complete the number of twenty- 
 five, the fifteen members of the Committee elected and nomi- 
 nated as hereinbefore provided shall meet and co-opt the 
 remaining ten members, and the business of that meeting 
 shall be confined to this object alone. Five members of the 
 Committee shall retire annually by rotation, but shall be 
 eligible for re-election. Five of the co-opted members shall 
 retire in 1895, the remaining five in 1896. The Committee 
 shall have power to fill up any vacancy that may occur 
 
APPENDIX. 319 
 
 during the year amongst the elected members, but any 
 vacancy amongst the nominated members shall be filled up 
 by the club affected. 
 
 VIII. The Committee shall have power to affiliate clubs 
 to the Association, to appoint officers, to make or alter rules, 
 to suspend, disqualify, and reinstate amateurs, and generally 
 to determine and settle all questions and disputes relating to 
 boat-racing which may be referred to them for decision. 
 And further, the Committee shall take such other steps as 
 they may consider necessary or expedient for carrying into 
 effect the objects of the Association. 
 
 IX. The Committee shall have power on due cause being 
 shown to suspend any affiliated club or to remove it from the 
 list of affiliated clubs. 
 
 No motion for the suspension or removal of a club shall be 
 considered except at a Committee Meeting specially called 
 at not less than seven days' notice for the purpose. Such a 
 motion shall not be deemed carried except by a majority of 
 two-thirds of the Committee present. 
 
 A resolution for the removal of a club must be confirmed 
 at a subsequent meeting of the Committee specially sum- 
 moned at not less than seven days' notice for the purpose. 
 
 X. The hon. sec. shall be elected by the Committee ; he 
 shall keep a proper record of the proceedings of the Com- 
 mittee and of General Meetings, and shall be responsible 
 for the books, accounts, and funds of the Association. 
 
 XI. No member of any club affiliated to the Association 
 shall compete in any regatta in England which is not held 
 in accordance with the rules of the Association. 
 
 XII. No addition to or alteration in these rules shall be 
 made except by the vote of a majority of two-thirds of a 
 meeting of the Committee specially summoned at not less 
 than seven days' notice for the purpose. Such notice shall 
 state the alteration or addition proposed. 
 
320 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 LIST OF AFFILIATED CLUBS. 
 
 N.B. The figures denote the number of votes to which 
 each of the clubs is entitled. 
 
 (i) Albion Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Anglian Boat Club. 
 
 (i) Ariel Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Avon Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Barry Amateur Rowing 
 Club. 
 
 (i) Bedford Amateur Rowing 
 Club. 
 
 (i) Bewdley Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Birmingham Rowing 
 Club. 
 
 (i) Bradford Amateur Row- 
 ing Club. 
 
 (i) Bridgnorth Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Broxbourne Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Burton Rowing Club. 
 
 (6) Cambridge University 
 Boat Club. 
 
 (i) Cardiff Amateur Rowing 
 Club. 
 
 (i) Cecilian Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Cooper's Hill Boat Club. 
 
 (i) Gloucester Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Henley Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Irex Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Iris Rowing Club. 
 
 (i) Ironbridge Rowing Club. 
 
 (1) Kensington Rowing Club. 
 
 (2) Kingston Rowing Club. 
 
 (6) LeanderClub. 
 (i) Leicester Rowing Club, 
 (i) Liverpool Rowing Club. 
 (6) London Rowing Club, 
 (i) Marlow Rowing Club, 
 (i) Medway Rowing Club, 
 (i) Mersey Rowing Club, 
 (i) Molesey Boat Club, 
 (i) North London Boat 
 
 Club, 
 (i) Nottingham Rowing 
 
 Club. 
 (6) Oxford University Boat 
 
 Club. 
 
 (1) Pembroke Rowing Club. 
 
 (2) Pengwern Boat Club, 
 (i) Reading Rowing Club. 
 
 (1) Redcliffe Rowing Club. 
 
 (2) Royal Chester Rowing 
 
 Club. 
 
 (i) Royal Savoy Club, 
 (i) Staines Boat Club, 
 (i) Stourport Boat Club. 
 (5) Thames Rowing Club, 
 (i) Twickenham Rowing 
 
 Club. 
 
 (i) Vesta Rowing Club, 
 (i) Warwick Boat Club, 
 (i) Worcester Rowing Club. 
 
APPENDIX. 321 
 
 RULES FOR REGATTAS. 
 
 I. The laws of boat-racing adopted by the Association 
 shall be observed, and the Association's definition of an 
 amateur shall govern the qualifications of each competitor. 
 
 II. The Regatta Committee shall state on their pro- 
 grammes, and all other official notices and advertisements, 
 that their regatta is held in accordance with the rules of the 
 A.R.A. 
 
 III. No money or "value prize" (i.e. a cheque on a 
 tradesman) shall be offered for competition, nor shall a 
 prize and money be offered as alternatives. 
 
 IV. Entries shall close at least three clear days before 
 the date of the regatta. 
 
 V. No assumed name shall be given to the secretary of 
 the regatta unless accompanied by the real name of the 
 competitor. 
 
 VI. No one shall enter twice for the same race. 
 
 VII. No official of the regatta shall divulge any entry, or 
 report the state of the entrance list, until such list be closed. 
 
 VIII. The Regatta Committee shall investigate any 
 questionable entry irrespective of protest, and shall have 
 power to refuse or return any entry up to the time of starting, 
 without being bound to assign a reason. 
 
 IX. The captain or secretary of each club or crew entered, 
 shall, at least three clear days before the regatta, deliver to 
 the secretary of the regatta a list containing the names of the 
 actual crew appointed to compete, to which list the names 
 of not more than four other members for an eight-oar, and 
 two for a four-oar, may be added as substitutes. . 
 
 X. No person may be substituted for another who has 
 already rowed or steered in a heat. 
 
 XI. The secretary of the regatta, after receiving the list 
 of the crews entered, and of the substitutes, shall, if required, 
 
 Y 
 
322 APPENDIX. 
 
 furnish a copy of the same, with the names, real and assumed, 
 to the captain or secretary of each club or crew entered, and, 
 in the case of pairs or scullers, to each competitor entered. 
 
 XII. Objections to the qualification of a competitor must 
 be made in writing to the secretary of the regatta at the 
 earliest moment practicable. No protest shall be entertained 
 unless lodged before the prizes are distributed. 
 
 XIII. The whole course must be completed by a 
 competitor before he can be held to have won a trial or final 
 heat. 
 
 XIV. In the event of there being but one boat entered 
 for any prize, or if more than one enter and all withdraw but 
 one, the crew of the remaining boat must row over the course 
 to be entitled to such prize. 
 
 XV. In the event of a dead heat taking place, any 
 competitor refusing to row again, as may be directed by the 
 Regatta Committee, shall be adjudged to have lost. 
 
 XVI. Every competitor must wear complete clothing 
 from the shoulders to the knees including a sleeved 
 jersey. 
 
 XVII. The Regatta Committee shall appoint one or more 
 umpires. 
 
 XVIII. The Regatta Committee shall appoint one or more 
 judges, whose decision as to the order in which the boats 
 pass the posts shall be final. 
 
 XIX. A maiden oarsman is an oarsman (A) who has 
 never won a race with oars at a regatta ; (B) who has never 
 been a competitor in any International or Inter-University 
 Rowing Match. 
 
 A maiden sculler is a sculler (A) who has never won a 
 sculling race at a regatta ; (B) who has never competed for 
 the Diamond Sculls at Henley, or for the Amateur 
 Championship of any country. 
 
 XX. A junior oarsman is an oarsman (A) who has never 
 
APPENDIX. 323 
 
 won a race with oars at a regatta other than a school race ; 
 a race in which the construction of the boats was restricted ; 
 or a race limited to members of one club ; (B) who has never 
 been a competitor in any International or Inter-University 
 match. No oarsman who has won a race at a regatta in 
 which the construction of the boats was restricted, shall 
 compete as a junior in any such race after the end of the 
 current year. 
 
 A junior sculler is a sculler (A) who has never won a 
 sculling race at a regatta other than a race in which the 
 construction of the boats was restricted ; or a race limited to 
 members of one club ; (B) who has never competed for the 
 Diamond Sculls at Henley, or for the Amateur Championship 
 of any country. 
 
 N.B. The qualification shall in every case relate to the 
 day of the regatta. 
 
 XXI. All questions not specially provided for shall be 
 decided by the Regatta Committee. 
 
 LAWS OF BOAT-RACING. 
 
 I. All boat races shall be started in the following 
 manner : The starter on being satisfied that the competitors 
 are ready, shall give the signal to start. 
 
 II. A boat not at its post at the time specified, shall be 
 liable to be disqualified by the umpire. 
 
 III. The umpire may act as starter, or not, as he thinks 
 fit ; when he does not so act, the starter shall be subject to 
 the control of the umpire. 
 
 IV. If the starter considers the start false, he shall at 
 once recall the boats to their stations, and any boat refusing 
 to start again shall be disqualified. 
 
 V. Each boat shall keep its own water throughout a race. 
 A boat departing from its own water will do so at its peril. 
 
324 APPENDIX. 
 
 VI. A boat's own water is its due course, parallel with 
 the course of the other competing boat or boats, from the 
 station assigned to it at starting, to the finish. 
 
 VII. No fouling whatever shall be allowed ; the boat or 
 boats committing a foul shall be disqualified. 
 
 VIII. It shall be considered a foul when, after a race has 
 been started, any competitor, by his oar, boat, or person, 
 comes into contact with the oar, boat, or person of another 
 competitor ; unless, in the opinion of the umpire, such 
 contact is so slight as not to influence the race. 
 
 IX. A claim of foul must be made to the umpire or the 
 judge by the competitor himself before getting out of his boat. 
 X. In case of a foul the umpire shall have power 
 (a) To place the boats not disqualified in the order in 
 
 which they come in. 
 (&) To order the boats not disqualified to row again on 
 
 the same or another day. 
 (c) To re-start the boats not disqualified according to 
 
 his discretion. 
 
 XI. The umpire shall be sole judge of a boat's own 
 water and due course during a race, and he may caution any 
 competitor when in danger of committing a foul. 
 
 XII. The umpire, when appealed to, shall decide all 
 questions as to a foul. 
 
 XIII. Every boat shall abide by its accidents, but if 
 during a race a boat shall be interfered with by any outside 
 boat, the umpire shall have power, if he thinks fit, to re-start 
 the boats according to his discretion, or to order them to row 
 again on the same or another day. 
 
 XIV. No boat shall be allowed to accompany or follow 
 any race for the purpose of directing the course of any of 
 the competitors. Any competitor receiving any extraneous 
 assistance may be disqualified, at the discretion of the 
 umpire. 
 
APPENDIX. 325 
 
 XV. Boats shall be held to have completed the course 
 when their bows reach the winning post. 
 
 XVI. Any competitor refusing to abide by the decision of 
 the umpire, or to follow his directions, shall be disqualified. 
 
 XVII. The umpire, if he thinks proper, may reserve his 
 decision, provided that in every case such decision be given 
 on the day of the race. 
 
 XVIII. The jurisdiction of the umpire extends over a 
 race and all matters connected with it, from the time the 
 race is specified to start until its termination, and his decision 
 in all cases shall be final and without appeal. 
 
 A brief explanation of some points arising out of the Rules 
 and Regulations of the A.R.A. may be useful. 
 
 " PROFESSIONAL." 
 
 Up to 1894 the A.R.A. gave a very wide interpretation to 
 the term "professional," which was held to include "any 
 person not qualified as an amateur under A.R.A. Rules." 
 Mechanics, artisans, labourers, men engaged in menial duty, 
 or employed in manual labour for money or wages, were, 
 therefore, not merely disqualified as amateurs, but were con- 
 sidered to be professionals, and competition against them for 
 a prize involved disqualification to the amateur so competing. 
 In 1894, however, the whole code of A.R.A. was submitted 
 to the revision of a sub-committee, and their report, subse- 
 quently adopted by the full committee, laid it down that from 
 this time on the word "professional" must be interpreted 
 "in its primary and literal sense," i.e. one who makes 
 money by rowing, sculling, or steering. An amateur row- 
 ing, or sculling, or steering with or against a professional 
 for a prize is still disqualified, but the amateur status of one 
 who rows or steers with or against mechanics, artisans, etc. 
 
326 APPENDIX. 
 
 (provided, of course, the race is not for a stake, money, or 
 entrance fee), is not affected. At the same time it must 
 be remembered (Rule I of Rules for Regattas) that at 
 regattas held in accordance with A.R.A. rules no mechanic, 
 artisan, etc., can be admitted to compete, and by Clause XI. 
 of the Constitution no member of any club affiliated to the 
 A.R.A. is permitted to compete at a regatta not held in 
 accordance with A.R.A. rules. The result would seem to be, 
 therefore, that whereas an amateur who is not a member 
 of a club affiliated to the A.R.A. can compete against 
 mechanics, artisans, etc., at a regatta not held in accordance 
 with A.R.A. rules without incurring any penalty, a member of 
 a club affiliated to the A.R.A. can compete against this class 
 only in a private match. Any member of an affiliated club 
 transgressing Clause XI. would unquestionably render him- 
 self liable to suspension under Clause VIII. of the Constitu- 
 tion. There are now, therefore, three classes of oarsmen, 
 viz. amateurs, non-amateurs, and professionals. 
 
 NON-AMATEURS. 
 
 The A.R.A. holds that "apprenticeship is no disqualifica- 
 tion." Nobody, therefore, is to be disqualified for serving 
 an apprenticeship, even if it involves (as in the case of 
 engineers or nurserymen) manual labour for a money pay- 
 ment. But such manual labour on the part of one who has 
 passed through his ordinary apprenticeship and still continues 
 at the work for a year or two would disqualify. 
 
 The committee has held that disqualification attaches, for 
 instance, to 
 
 (1) A watchmaker's assistant who works, or has worked, at 
 the bench. 
 
 (2) A baker's assistant who not only helps to make bread, 
 but also delivers it. 
 
APPENDIX. 327 
 
 (3) Engravers and etchers. 
 
 (4) A man having an interest in a boat-letting business, 
 and taking in or starting boats at a raft. 
 
 But not to 
 
 (5) A 3rd engineer, sea-going, who goes to sea and works 
 for money, where such sea-service is necessary to qualify 
 him for passing his examinations for the position of chief 
 engineer. 
 
 (6) A draughtsman in an engineering firm, though working 
 for wages. 
 
 Decisions 3 and 6 are not easily to be reconciled. 
 
 REGATTA. JUNIOR OARSMEN AND SCULLERS. 
 
 Doubts have occasionally arisen as to what is the correct 
 meaning of the word "Regatta " in Clause XI. of the Con- 
 stitution, and in Rules 19 and 20 of the Rules for Regattas. 
 The committee has held that any meeting, whether or not 
 called open, at which more than one club, or members of 
 more than one club, compete, is a regatta. This decision 
 does not cover a private match, but does cover a regatta 
 where, for instance, the competition is limited to certain 
 clubs, specially invited by the club or committee who arrange 
 and manage the regatta. Thus, if a junior competed and 
 won, either as an oarsman or sculler, at a regatta limited, 
 say, to members of the London, Kingston, and Thames 
 Rowing Clubs, he would by so winning cease to be a junior, 
 provided the race was neither a school race nor one in which 
 the construction of the boats was restricted. 
 
 The committee has decided that a man who rows over for 
 a junior sculls race, even though he receive no prize (the 
 committee not awarding one in any race in which there was 
 only one starter), ceases to be a junior sculler. 
 
 A junior sculler may be a senior oarsman, and vice versa. 
 
328 APPENDIX. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE RULES AND 
 REGULATIONS OF THE CAMBRIDGE 
 UNIVERSITY BOAT CLUB. 
 
 LAWS OF THE CLUB. 
 
 I. THAT the CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY BOAT CLUB 
 consist of the members of the several boat clubs in the 
 University. 
 
 II. That the affairs of the club be under the management 
 of a president, a vice-president (who shall also be hon. 
 secretary), a treasurer, the captains of all boats rowing in 
 the regular University races, and all those who have been 
 members of the University crew. The president and vice- 
 president shall be elected at the first meeting in each term, 
 and those only to be eligible who shall have been members 
 of a University crew. The treasurer shall be a resident 
 graduate of the University, to be elected annually at the first 
 meeting of the Easter Term. 
 
 III. That to assist the officers in case of extraordinary 
 and pressing business, a small committee be formed, con- 
 sisting of the president, vice-president, treasurer, and three 
 extra committee-men, who shall be elected at the last 
 meeting of the C.U.B.C. in each term. That members of 
 the Committee shall have the right of attending meetings 
 of the C.U.B.C. and voting at the same. That at meetings 
 of the committee all except the treasurer must be present 
 
APPENDIX. 329 
 
 in person or by deputy. The treasurer must attend all 
 meetings of the committee on financial questions. 
 
 VI 1 1. That all cases of dispute be referred to the president 
 or his deputy, and the four first-boat captains, in residence, 
 of the clubs in their order on the river who are not concerned 
 in the dispute : whose decision shall be final. That repre- 
 sentatives of the clubs concerned be present at the meeting. 
 
 XVIII. That the secretary of each boat club do send in to 
 the assistant-secretary of the C.U.B.C. a balance-sheet of the 
 receipts and expenditure of his club for the past year, within 
 three weeks of the beginning of the October Term. That 
 the penalty for neglecting this Rule be one guinea. 
 
 XIX. That every club do pay to the C.U.B.C. a subscrip- 
 tion in proportion to its receipts for the previous year. 
 
 XX. That the rate per cent, of this tax be fixed by the 
 treasurer of the C.U.B.C., and, when confirmed by the 
 Finance Committee, levied in three equal instalments. 
 
 XXI. That all moneys, however obtained, be included in 
 the receipts of a College boat club, except such as are 
 specially subscribed towards the expenses of a crew going to 
 Henley. 
 
 XXII. That any club neglecting to pay the subscriptions 
 or arrears due to the C.U.B.C. within six weeks of the 
 beginning of full term be fined one guinea ; and that no 
 captain be allowed to vote whose club is in arrear. 
 
 XXIII. That medals be given by the C.U.B.C. to each 
 member of such University crews as shall be winners of the 
 University match with Oxford. Also to each member of those 
 College crews which shall be head of the river at the end of 
 the Lent and Easter Term races ; and to each member of the 
 Trial Eights. 
 
330 APPENDIX. 
 
 XXVI. That all boats, except tub-pairs, used for coaching 
 purposes be obliged to carry an india-rubber ball fixed to the 
 nose of the boat. That the penalty for neglecting this Rule 
 be one guinea. 
 
 REGULATIONS FOR BOAT-RACING. 
 
 L -That none but members of the C.U.B.C. be allowed to 
 row or steer in the C.U.B.C. races. 
 
 II. That there be regular eight-oared races in the Easter 
 and Lent Terms, and that the days on which they shall take 
 place and the number of races be appointed and declared 
 at the last general meeting of the preceding term respec- 
 tively. That in these races two umpires be appointed by the 
 president or his deputy ; that in all other C.U.B.C. races one 
 umpire be appointed. 
 
 III. That the number of boats be limited in the Easter 
 Term to thirty, rowing in two divisions of fifteen and sixteen 
 respectively, including the sandwich boat, and in the Lent 
 Term to thirty-one, rowing in two divisions of sixteen each, 
 including the sandwich boat. 
 
 IV. (i) That in the Lent and Easter Terms the two 
 divisions be named respectively first and second division. 
 That in the Lent Term both divisions shall row in clinker- 
 built boats not more than 57 feet long, with not less than 
 five streaks on a side, none of which shall exceed 4^ inches 
 (outside measurement). All such boats must be passed by 
 the president and secretary of the C.U.B.C. before they can be 
 used in the races. That in the Easter Term the first division 
 shall row in racing ships on sliding seats, and the second 
 division in clinker-built boats, as above, and sliding seats. 
 
 (2) That every college boat club have the right to be 
 represented by at least one boat in the Lent races ; and by 
 at least one, and not more than three, in the May races. 
 
APPENDIX. 33i 
 
 V. That during the races no person shall row or steer in 
 both divisions (the crews of the last boats in a division 
 excepted), except under peculiar circumstances, to be decided 
 by the president or his deputy and the four senior captains 
 in residence who are not concerned, which decision must be 
 obtained before the crew or crews in question be allowed 
 to start. 
 
 VI. In the races in the Lent Term no one be allowed to 
 row or steer who rowed or steered respectively in any race 
 of the previous Easter Term. 
 
 VII. That no one be allowed to row in the Lent or May 
 races, or Fours or Pairs, after more than four years have 
 elapsed from the first term he came up, unless he keep in 
 residence three-fourths of the term in which he desires 
 to row. 
 
 VIII. That each crew be chosen from one club and college 
 in the case of Trinity and St. John's, and from not more than 
 two clubs or two colleges in the case of other colleges ; and 
 that the crew of the two colleges joining be considered as a 
 fresh one, and start from the bottom. 
 
 IX. That in order to take a boat off the river the captain 
 must give notice to the hon. secretary of the C.U.B.C., who 
 shall place lists of the boats entered for the races, arranged 
 according to their order, in the different University boat- 
 houses, at least a week before the commencement of races 
 in each term, and on every race day during the term. 
 
 X. (i) That in the Easter Term any club desirous of putting 
 on a second or third boat shall have the right to challenge 
 the lowest non-representative boat to a bumping-race, but 
 if successful shall start at the bottom of the river. That if 
 there be more challenging crews than one, they shall row 
 a time race amongst themselves, and the winner shall row 
 the challenged boat. That the entrance fee for such races 
 be five guineas ; that the date for them be fixed at the first 
 
332 APPENDIX. 
 
 general meeting of the term, and that at least ten clear days' 
 notice be given to the secretary of the C.U.B.C. by the 
 captains of crews desirous to compete. 
 
 (2) That no man who has rowed in the successful chal- 
 lenging boat shall row in a higher boat during the following 
 May races, except as in Chapter III., rule 7. 
 
 XI. That the boats row down to their stations in reversed 
 order, the last boat of each division starting first. 
 
 XII. That on racing days in the Lent Term a gun be fired 
 at the Railway Bridge, at 3 p.m., as a signal for the last boat 
 of the second division to row down ; at 3.15 p.m. for the first 
 boat of the division ; and a third at 4 p.m. for the first boat 
 of the first division. That in the Easter Term corresponding 
 signals be fired for the second and first division boats at 5, 
 5.15, and 6.15 p.m. respectively. That boats starting late be 
 fined one guinea. 
 
 That at the close of each race of the second division in the 
 Lent Term, and of the second division in the Easter Term, 
 a gun be fired at the Bridge ; and that until this gun be fired 
 no boat of the other racing division shall pass below the Ash 
 Plantation under penalty of one guinea. That the umpire 
 be responsible for the punctual firing of these guns. That 
 any racing boat, leaving so late as to be obliged to pass the 
 first boat of its division below Ditton Corner, be fined one 
 guinea by the captain of the latter on behalf of the C.U.B.C. 
 That the captain of the first boat starting late, or neglecting 
 to act as this rule directs, be fined one guinea. 
 
 XIII. That the races be bumping races, and the starting 
 posts be 175 feet apart. That the last post be at Baitsbite- 
 lock, and the winning-posts at the Big Horse-grind and the 
 first ditch above the Railway Bridge. 
 
 XIV. That the first seven boats in all divisions be obliged 
 to go up to the further post at the Big Horse-grind, and the 
 other boats be obliged to stop at the nearer post at the first 
 
APPENDIX. 333 
 
 ditch above the Railway Bridge ; also that the eighth boats 
 have the option of stopping at the nearer or going on to the 
 further post. 
 
 XV. That each boat start with the coxswain holding a 
 line 36 feet in length attached to its post (or, if he by chance 
 lose the line, with No. 7's rowlock opposite the post) ; that 
 otherwise it cannot make a bump, but is subject to be 
 bumped and to be fined one guinea. 
 
 XVI. That if a boat miss a race, the boat behind it shall 
 row past its post and be allowed the bump, and that the 
 boat missing the race be fined one guinea. 
 
 XVII. That the boats be started by three guns : the first 
 gun shall be fired when the head boat shall have arrived at 
 its post, the order being given by the captain of that boat ; 
 the second gun three minutes after the first, and the last gun 
 one minute after the second. 
 
 XVIII. That a boat be considered fairly bumped when it 
 is touched by any part of the boat behind it, before its stern 
 is past the winning-post ; passing a boat being equivalent to 
 a bump, providing the passing boat draw its whole length 
 in advance. (The word boat includes the ship, crew, and 
 oars, if in rowlock). That the coxswain of a boat so bumped 
 shall immediately acknowledge the bump by holding up his 
 hand, and that the crew making the bump immediately 
 cease rowing ; that any crew neglecting this rule be fined 
 one guinea. 
 
 XIX. That when one boat bumps another, both shall 
 immediately draw aside till the racing boats have passed ; 
 that the last boat carry a white flag in the bows ; that any 
 boat neglecting this rule be fined one guinea. 
 
 XX. That if one boat bumps another they exchange 
 places, whatever may have been their position before start- 
 ing. That any boat making a bump may row up after the 
 race with its flag hoisted ; as also the boat rowing head. 
 
334 APPENDIX. 
 
 XXI. That in order to claim a bump, the captain, on 
 arriving at the Goldie Boat-house, must bracket the bump, 
 state where it took place, and sign his name on the secre- 
 tary's list ; if the bump be not bracketed he shall be fined 
 one guinea, but that the bumps shall,'on sufficient evidence, 
 be allowed ; and that no bumps can be claimed after six 
 o'clock in the Lent Term, or after nine in the Easter Term, 
 or disputed after nine on the following morning. 
 
 XXII. That all cases of disputed bumps be referred to the 
 president, or his deputy, and the four first-boat captains, in 
 residence, of the clubs in their order on the river who are 
 not concerned in the dispute, whose decision shall be final ; 
 and who shall have the power, in all doubtful cases, of 
 causing the boats concerned to row the race again, starting 
 from their original posts ; and that there be representatives 
 at the meeting of the clubs interested in the dispute. 
 
 XXV. That watermen be allowed to coach members of 
 College boats in tub-pairs only till within a fortnight of the 
 first day of the races. 
 
 XXVII. That breaches of Regulations issued by the 
 officers of the C.U.B.C. be liable to a fine of one guinea. 
 
 LENT TERM RACES AND TIME RACES. 
 
 I. That all clubs wishing to put another boat on the river 
 must enter such boat with the secretary of the C.U.B.C. on 
 or before a date to be appointed by him at the beginning of 
 the Lent Term. 
 
 Entrance fee, three guineas, to be paid at the time of 
 entry. 
 
 II. That the Rules for these races be the same as those for 
 the " Getting-on " races in the Easter Term, and that the 
 
APPENDIX. 335 
 
 races be under the management of the C.U.B.C. or their 
 deputies [see chapter II., rule 10 (i) ]. 
 
 III. That no first boat of a club be obliged to row for 
 its place. 
 
 IV. That these races be rowed on days preceding the 
 Lent races. 
 
 V. That no man shall row in'these time races (i) who has 
 rowed on any night of the previous May races, or (2) who 
 does not comply with Chapter II., rule 7. 
 
 VI. That no man who has rowed in the successful boat or 
 boats during these trial time-races shall row in a higher 
 boat in the following Lent races, except under peculiar cir- 
 cumstances, to be decided upon by the president, or his 
 deputy, and the four senior captains in residence who are 
 not concerned. 
 
 VII. That when more than two boats start in a heat to 
 race for getting on the river, such heat be started by three 
 guns : the first gun to be fired when the last boat to come 
 down shall have arrived at its post, the order being given 
 by the umpire ; the second gun three minutes after the first, 
 and the last one minute after the second. That chains 36 
 feet in length be provided 100 yards apart. That each boat 
 start with the coxswain holding the chain allotted to it (or, if 
 he by chance lose the chain, with No. 7's rowlock opposite 
 the post), that otherwise it is liable to be disqualified. 
 
 VIII. That in time races, under the management of the 
 C.U.B.C., the pistols at the winning-posts be fired by Uni- 
 versity men, who shall be called on to do so in the following 
 order : 
 
 The president, secretary, and committee of the C.U.B.C.; 
 then the first captain of the boats in their order on the river, 
 or deputies from their own clubs ; provided that no one of 
 the same club as any of the competitors shall fire a pistol in 
 any race in which such competitor of his own club is rowing ; 
 
336 APPENDIX. 
 
 and that no one need, by reason of this rule, refuse to umpire. 
 And that to prevent all difficulties of a pistol missing fire, a 
 second person be appointed by the President or his deputy 
 to stand at each winning-post and hold up a white flag, 
 which shall be dropped the moment that the nose of the 
 boat passes the post. 
 
 IX. That in time races no boat draw more than one bye. 
 
 X. That if in any time race any boat touch any part of, 
 or pass on the course, or be in any way inconvenienced by 
 any boat in front of it, and the boat so touching, passing, or 
 being inconvenienced, shall not come to its post first in order, 
 such boat shall be allowed to start in the following day's 
 race, whether the same would otherwise have been a final or 
 a trial heat, and shall start on the same footing as regards 
 drawing for stations, etc., as the other boats left in. 
 
 Or the boat so impeded shall row again with the boat 
 coming in first. 
 
 RULES FOR THE UNIVERSITY CLINKER 
 FOURS. 
 
 I. That the University Clinker-built Fours be rowed as 
 time races over the Colquhoun course. 
 
 II. That the race be open to crews from any club, such 
 crews to be composed solely of men who did not row in the 
 first division of the previous May races. 
 
 III. That no " Blue " be allowed to compete. 
 
 IV. That the coxswains must be members of the clubs 
 they steer, and must weigh not less than yst. ylbs. 
 
 V. The definition of a clinker boat is as follows : That 
 no boat have less than five streaks on a side, none of which 
 shall exceed 4^ inches (outside measurement). All such boats 
 must be passed by the president and secretary of the C.U.B.C. 
 at least one week before the commencement of the races. 
 VI. That the entrance money for each boat be one guinea. 
 
APPENDIX. 337 
 
 LAWS OF THE MAGDALENE SILVER PAIR- 
 OARS AND UNIVERSITY PRESENTATION CUPS. 
 
 I. That watermen be allowed to coach and steer for 
 these races. 
 
 IV. That any member qualified to pull in the C.U.B.C. 
 races be qualified to start for these oars. 
 
 V. That the crews need not consist of members of one 
 club. 
 
 VI. That no winning pair be allowed to enter together a 
 second time. 
 
 REGULATIONS OF THE "COLQUHOUN SILVER 
 SCULLS." 
 
 III. That only those members of the C.U.B.C. who have not 
 exceeded five years from the date of their first commencing 
 residence be allowed to start, on complying with the terms 
 herein specified. 
 
338 APPENDIX. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE RULES AND 
 REGULATIONS OF THE OXFORD 
 UNIVERSITY BOAT CLUB. 
 
 GENERAL RULES. 
 
 I. That the club be open to all members of the University 
 on the following conditions : 
 
 II. That any graduate of the University by paying two 
 pounds, or any undergraduate by paying three pounds ten 
 shillings, may become a life member. 
 
 III. That any member of the University by paying one 
 pound may become a member for one term, not being thereby 
 qualified to row or steer in any of the University races unless 
 he has paid four such terminal subscriptions. 
 
 IV. That the subscription must be paid before the admis- 
 sion to the club. 
 
 V. That this club is affiliated to the Amateur Rowing 
 Association, and that members are therefore bound to 
 observe the A.R.A. rules. 
 
 VII. That the officers of the club consist of president, 
 secretary, and treasurer ; who, with two other members of 
 the club, shall form a committee. 
 
 VIII. That no member who is not strictly residing be on 
 the committee. 
 
 IX. That the president, secretary, treasurer, and com- 
 mittee be elected by the captains of College boat clubs, or 
 their representatives. 
 
APPENDIX. 339 
 
 X. That the election of the president and secretary take 
 place at the first captain's meeting in the Summer Term, that 
 of the treasurer and the other members of the committee at 
 the first meeting in the October Term. 
 
 XI. That the president have the entire supervision of the 
 property of the club ; that he preside over all captains' 
 meetings ; have the sole selection and management of all 
 University crews, and that he have absolute authority and 
 entire responsibility in all matters immediately concerning 
 the University boat ; that he have charge of the president's 
 book, and make such records in it as shall be interesting and 
 useful to the future of the club ; and that he keep the official 
 records of all University races. 
 
 XXV. That if Henley Regatta do not take place at such 
 a date in relation to Commemoration Day as is convenient 
 to the O.U.B.C., the club reserves to itself the right of with- 
 drawing its subscription. 
 
 XXVI. That the racing boat last purchased be not let or 
 sold under any circumstances whatever. 
 
 RULES FOR RACES. 
 
 I. That all future members of the O.U.B.C. shall show 
 a certificate of having passed a satisfactory swimming test 
 before being allowed to row in University races. 
 
 II. That such certificate be either (i) that of some public 
 school approved by the committee, or (2) a certificate from 
 Dolley's Baths, signed by the bathman, and countersigned 
 by the captain of the College boat club. 
 
 III. That any College boat club rowing a member who 
 has obtained a certificate unfairly shall be fined five pounds, 
 and lose one place on the river for each night on which he 
 has rowed. 
 
340 APPENDIX. 
 
 IV. That each college shall have its own punt and water- 
 man during the races. 
 
 V. That the captain of each boat club shall, so far as 
 possible, fix upon the maximum number which his punt is 
 able to carry, and that this number shall in no case exceed 
 twelve, and that the fine for overcrowding be five shillings. 
 
 VI. That each barge shall be furnished with two life- 
 buoys. 
 
 VI I. That the bows of all racing Eights and Fours, both 
 keel-less and clinker-built, and of all racing pair-oars and 
 sculling boats be protected by an india-rubber ball, and the 
 penalty for violation of this rule be, in the case of Eights 
 and Fours, one pound ; in the case of all other boats, ten 
 shillings. 
 
 VIII. That all Challenge Cups which are the property of 
 the^O.U.B.C. shall either be taken home by the captain 
 of the boat club which holds them, or be deposited at Rowell 
 and Harris's during the vacation. 
 
 THE EIGHTS AND TORPIDS. 
 
 I. That all gentlemen rowing or steering in the races 
 must be life members of the O.U.B.C. 
 
 IL That no boat be allowed to start in the races with 
 more or less than eight oars. 
 
 III. That all boats starting in the races carry a coxswain 
 over the whole course. 
 
 IV. That the names of the crews be sent to the treasurer 
 at least one day before the races begin, and that afterwards 
 no change can be made, unless notice is given to the presi- 
 dent at least one hour before the races begin, under a penalty 
 of one pound. 
 
 V. That every club neglecting to send in the names of its 
 
APPENDIX. 341 
 
 crew to the treasurer, and pay the entrance money, five 
 pounds, into the Old Bank, on or before the day previous to 
 the first race in which they intend to row, shall forfeit five 
 shillings ; and that every club entering a boat after the races 
 have begun shall pay one pound for every night of the races 
 on which it has not had a boat on. 
 
 VI. That no club start a boat in the races till all its 
 arrears are paid, whether of fines, entrance money, or annual 
 subscription. 
 
 VII. That no crew be allowed to start in the races which 
 shall have employed any waterman in capacity of coach or 
 trainer within three weeks of the first race. 
 
 VIII. That no college be allowed to enter more than one 
 boat for the Eights, unless it has had on a Torpid in the same 
 year. 
 
 IX. That each boat start from a rope held by the 
 steerer, and fastened to a post on the Berkshire shore ; the 
 rope to be 50 feet in length. 
 
 X. That the last boat be stationed above Iffley Lasher ; 
 and that 130 feet be the distance between the posts. 
 
 XL That the boats entered for the races be divided as 
 equally as possible, and row in two divisions ; that the second 
 division row first, and never contain fewer boats than the 
 first division ; that the head boat of the second division may 
 row again with first division ; and that the last boat of the 
 first division start head of the second division on the follow- 
 ing day. 
 
 XII. That the president provide a starter, who shall fire 
 a signal gun for the boats to take their places ; after four 
 minutes another gun ; and after the interval of one minute 
 another gun for the start ; after the third gun the race be 
 always held to have begun. 
 
 XIII. That any boat starting before the gun goes off do 
 lose a place forthwith. 
 
342 APPENDIX. 
 
 XIV. That when a boat touches the boat or any part of 
 the boat before it, or its oars or rudder, it be considered a 
 bump ; and also if a boat rows clean by another it be 
 equivalent to a bump. 
 
 XV. That both the boat which bumps and the boat 
 which is bumped immediately row out of the course of the 
 other racing boats ; and in case any obstruction be caused 
 by culpable neglect of this, the offending boat be fined five 
 pounds. 
 
 XVI. That after every bump the boat bumping change 
 places with the boat bumped, whatever be their orders before 
 starting ; also in a bumping race no boat can make more 
 than one bump, but of four boats, A, B, C, D, should B bump 
 C, then A may bump D, and the next race A and D change 
 places with each other. 
 
 XVII. That in the case of any boat not starting, the boat 
 immediately behind them do row past their starting-post 
 and be considered to have bumped the other boat. 
 
 XVIII. That all boats stand by their accidents ; and that, 
 in case of dispute, boats must take the place assigned them 
 by the committee. 
 
 XIX. That an umpire be appointed by the first six 
 colleges of each division in rotation, who shall sit and vote 
 on the committee to decide disputes on the day on which he 
 is in authority. 
 
 XX. That the races finish at the lower of the white 
 posts to which Salter's barge is moored, on which a flag is to 
 be hoisted, and that a boat is liable to be bumped till every 
 part of it has passed that post, and that a judge be appointed 
 by the president. 
 
 XXI. That if any boat after passing the post impedes 
 another which has not passed the post, it be fined five 
 pounds. 
 
APPENDIX. 343 
 
 XXVI. That all disputes concerning bumps, etc., arising 
 out of the races, be referred to the committee on the day 
 of the race, who shall decide the point before the next 
 race. 
 
 
 
 XXVIII. That the College races take place in Easter or 
 Act Term, and be six in number. 
 
 XXIX. That no non-resident member of the University 
 may either row or steer in the races, unless he has resided in 
 Oxford at least ten consecutive days before the races 
 commence. That this rule apply to all University races, viz. 
 Eights, Torpids, Fours, Pairs, and Sculls. 
 
 XXX. That no one may be allowed to row or steer in 
 the races for a college or hall of which he is not a bond fide 
 member. 
 
 XXXI. That a man maybe held to have rowed or steered 
 in the Eights or Torpids when he has so officiated for three 
 days. 
 
 TORPID RACES SPECIAL RULES. 
 
 That the Torpid races be regulated by the above rules as 
 far as they are applicable : but 
 
 (1) That the races take place in the Lent Term, and be six 
 in number. 
 
 (2) That no one who has rowed or steered in the Eights 
 may officiate in the same capacity in the next Torpid 
 races. 
 
 (3) That no one be allowed to row in his Torpid who has 
 exceeded sixteen terms from his Matriculation. 
 
 (4) That unless a college has had an Eight on the river 
 more than three nights during the previous year, it be not 
 permitted to start a Torpid, unless it engage to put on a 
 distinct Eight in the ensuing Eights. 
 
344 APPENDIX. 
 
 That in this case the distinct Eight 
 
 (a) do contain five men, at least, who have not rowed 
 
 in the Torpids. 
 
 (<$) be compelled to row more than three nights, under 
 penalty of ,10. 
 
 (5) That the committee have power to relax this rule at 
 their discretion in the case of boats in the second division. 
 
 (6) That these races be rowed in gig boats, of the specified 
 mould, measuring inside at the gunwale not less than 2ft. 2in., 
 clinker-built of not less than 5 streaks. 
 
 (7) That the distance between the starting-posts be 160 feet. 
 
 (8) That no Torpid be allowed to use sliding seats. 
 
 (9) That if more than twenty-five Torpids enter, the races 
 shall be in three divisions ; the boats to be divided as equally 
 as possible, so that a higher division shall not contain more 
 boats than a lower one. 
 
 FOUR-OAR CHALLENGE CUP. 
 
 I. That the Cup be open for competition to members of 
 any one college or hall who have not exceeded eighteen 
 terms from their Matriculation. 
 
 II. That the race take place annually, in the Michaelmas 
 Term. 
 
 VII. That no crew be allowed to start which has had any 
 waterman in the capacity of " coach " or trainer within three 
 weeks of the first race. 
 
 CLINKER FOURS RACE. 
 
 I. That the race be called the " Clinker Fours " race. 
 II. That the race take place annually in the Lent Term. 
 III. That it should be open for competition to members 
 
APPENDIX. 345 
 
 of any college or hall who have not exceeded eighteen terms 
 from their Matriculation, and who have not rowed either in 
 the University Race at Putney, or the Trials, or rowed in a 
 College Eight which finished in the upper division of the 
 summer races in the previous year, sandwich boat reckoning 
 as Second Division. 
 
 IV. That the race shall be rowed in keeled clinker-built 
 boats with slides of not more than 12 inches, having not less 
 than 5 streaks in each side, exclusive of saxe-board. The 
 streaks shall not be more than 4J inches in breadth. The 
 maximum inside width of each boat shall not be less than 24 
 inches, measured on the top of the gunwale. No batswings, 
 false outriggers, splayed-boards, or other device will be 
 allowed to take the place of saxe-boards, and the committee 
 of the O.U.B.C. reserve the right of determining in each 
 instance whether these conditions have been fairly carried 
 out or not. 
 
 V. That no boat be allowed to start with more or less than 
 four oars and a coxswain. 
 
 VI. That no crew be allowed to start which has had any 
 waterman in the capacity of" coach " or trainer. 
 
 RULES FOR THE UNIVERSITY TRIAL EIGHT 
 RACE. 
 
 I. That the race be called the " University Trial Eight 
 Race." 
 
 II. That the race take place in Michaelmas Term, and 
 subsequent to that for the Four-Oared Challenge Cup. 
 
 III. That the crews be selected by the president. 
 
 IV. That the crews be in practice not less than twelve 
 days. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 V. That each member of the two crews pay ten shillings 
 entrance money. 
 
 VI. That a silver medal be presented to each of the 
 winning crew. 
 
 VII. That any member of the two crews who refuses to 
 row in the University Eight if called upon to do so, be 
 suspended by the committee from rowing in any University 
 race till the end of the Summer Term, unless he shows 
 reasonable grounds for refusal. 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES. 
 
November, 1897. 
 
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