I used to row crew back in high school and college. So after getting the thought from Fred about where to shoot on LI and talking to Art, I went over to my old boathouse last night.
I got home and looked at the photos but I was a bit disappointed. But here are a few anyway. Better luck next time.
In any event, besides loving planes, this is another of my loves. Enjoy hte photos and if anyone else wants to row next season, I'll take you out on a double.
This is the boathouse. You are looking at four's and eights's and many oars towards the back wall.
These are a bunch of 4's all sitting outside the boathouse.
These are the oar handles for our oars.
These are St. Anthony's oar blades. Our black and gold never changed.
Four different boats race back to the dock.
Alright, so this is an 'eight'. The 'B' is the bow seat, also known as the #1 seat or the bowman. I was a bowman in HS and college. The 1 and 2 seat are the bow pair. Being in the bow pair has a few nice benefits. First, we are alwasy hte first to cross the finish line. Second, we aid in steering and last, we carry on our own private conversations up there and no one knows the wiser, not even the coxswain.
The middle 4 seats are the 'engine room' and the last two seats, 7 and 8, are the stroke pair. The 'S' is the stroke who sets pace for the boat. The 'C' is the coxswain/coxin. They are the eyes and ears of the boat.
THe Brommer is a four that I used to train in.
This is an 'eight' coming into dock. Notice only the bow pair is rowing the rest of the boat into dock while the other 6 rowers are at rest. That is precision rowing. ;)
Here is a 'four' The coxin is looking back and awaiting landing clearance.
Now this is a double. Notice that each rower has two oars? This type of rowing is called sculling... the previous boats were all examples of sweep rowing. Sweep boats are called pairs, fours or eights while sculling boats are called singles, doubles and quads and there is a rumored 8 sculling boat called a Octuble but I have never seen one.
Sculling is nice because its more symmetry and you can do it alone or with a friend(s). Funny story about that yellow double is that in high school, I actually flipped THAT ONE with my bow pair partner. Why? WE'd never learned to scull, only sweep row. And balance is crucial! It was March and it was freezing but the coaches pulled us out of the water.
Later in college I learned sculling. And I mastered balance on the yellow double :) All you need is one person who knows what they are doing and you'll always stay dry.
Judging by the synchronicity of the oars, I believe this is a novice four. But in the weeks and months to follow, that boat will completely be in synch...cutting like a diamond through glass on the water. And when you see it and hear it, its just beautiful. Everyone becomes one engine.
Ah, a women's double. I've had numerous women row with me in a double. You'd don't have to worry about being stronger or weaker than the other rower. Its a great way to be competitive but keep everything on a fair level. You can row in the same pace but have varying amounts of power.
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