THE SEAT.
The rower must sit a-midships on the thwart or seat of the boat, else she will heel to the side on which he is sitting, and much of his labour will be lost. He should sit with ease to himself, having his feet on the middle of the stretcher, and his legs not quite extended; but his knees, as he rows, should be brought down, and his legs stretched.
THE PULL.
The rower should make long strokes in a heavy boat, and shorter and quicker strokes in a light boat. At the beginning of the pull, he must, in general, bend his body till his head is over his knees, and extend his arms as far aft as convenient, that the blades of the sculls may be thrown correspondingly forward. [Plate XXIX.] f. 1. With regard to the back in particular, some think that, if a short distance is to be rowed, it should be bent; and that, if a long distance, it is less fatiguing to keep it straight. When the arms are extended as far aft, and the blades of the sculls as far forward as convenient—which must never be so far as to jam in the rullocks—([Plate XXIX.] f. 1) the rower must dip the sculls into the water, and pull towards him, by at once bending the arms and the body.
When in the middle of the pull, if the sculls are not short enough, or even if the head and body are slightly turned, one of the hands will go higher than the other; and, as the right is generally the stronger, it may go above, and the left below. It is often found difficult to keep one hand clear of the other in pulling a pair of sculls. This is so much the case, indeed, that the inexperienced frequently suffer more from the knocking and rubbing of the backs and sides of the hands against each other, than from the friction of the handles of the oars in the palms of the hands. This may be easily obviated by attending to the following advice:—
Having seated yourself in the centre of the thwart, with your feet close together against the centre of the stretcher, ship your sculls, but, before pulling a stroke, move your body three or four inches to the right hand, and still retain your feet in the centre: thus you will be sitting rather obliquely; this will throw your right shoulder more forward, and consequently the right hand; and thus the hands will work perfectly clear of each other. This rule, however, must be modified by the circumstances of river-rowing. A waterman writes us as follows:—“As to carrying one hand above the other, my way is, that if, for instance, I go from Greenwich to Blackwall against tide, I keep down on the Greenwich side, in general look toward the shore, and having my face over the left shoulder, my right hand is then above. If I go from Greenwich to London, my face is turned over the right shoulder, and the left hand is then uppermost.”
Plate XXIX
Beginning of the Pull.
Middle of the Pull.
Plate XXX
End of the Pull.
Return of the Sculls.
(The usual position in the middle of the pull is shown in [Plate XXIX.] fig. 2.)
The end of the pull must not take place till the elbows have approached the tops of the hips, the hands are brought towards the chest, and the body is thrown well back. There would be a loss of power, however, if the hands were brought too near the chest; and the body should not be thrown further back than it may easily and quickly recover its first position for the next stroke.—([Plate XXX.]) As the water is being delivered from the sculls, the elbows sink, the wrists are bent up, and the backs of the hands are turned towards the fore-arms, in order to feather the sculls.—([Plate XXX.] fig. 1.)
In the return of the sculls, the hands must remain turned up until the sculls are put into the water.—([Plate XXX.] f. 2.) In the middle of the return, if the sculls are not short, or if the head and body be turned, one of the hands also goes higher than the other.
As to the degree of the immersion of the sculls.—In the middle of the pull, the blades must be covered by the water. The learner in general dips them very deep; but that ought to be avoided, especially in calm weather. In the whole of the return, the tips should, in calm weather, be two or three inches above the water; and, in rough weather, they should be higher, in order to clear it, as represented in the preceding Plates. The head ought throughout to be very moveable—first to one side, then to the other, but generally turned towards the shore when against the tide. The same movements have only to be repeated, throughout the course.
THE TIDE OR CURRENT.
In river-rowing, when the tide or current is with the rower, a learner should in general take the middle of the stream. In rowing with the tide, however, watermen generally cut off the points, in order to keep a straight course. When the tide or current is against the rower, he should take the sides, preferring that side on which, owing to the course of the river, the current is least. As there is an eddy under the points, watermen generally, when rounding them, shoot the water to the next point, and so on.
TO TURN.
Back water with one scull, by putting the one on the side you wish to turn to into the water, with its concave front or filling towards you, and pushing against it; and at the same time pull strongly with the other scull, until the boat’s head is turned round.
MEETING OR PASSING.
In meeting, the boat which comes with the tide must get out of the way. In this case, both boats, if close, lay the blades of their sculls flat on the water, lift them out of the rullocks, and let them drift alongside. Each replaces them when the other has passed. In passing a boat, the rower who passes must take the outside, unless there is ample room within, and must also keep clear of the other’s sculls or oars. If one boat is crossing the water, and another coming with the tide, the one coming with tide must keep astern of the other, and have a good look-out ahead.
TO LAND.
Give the boat its proper direction, and keep its head inclining towards the tide, and its stern will turn up or down, as the tide runs; unship the sculls by the manœuvre directed above; but, instead of letting them drift alongside, lay them in the boat, the blades forward and the looms aft; seize the headfast; jump ashore; and take two half-hitches round the post or ring.
SEA-ROWING, OR ROWING IN A GALLEY ON THE RIVER.
In launching a boat from the sea-beach, when it is rough, and there is a heavy surf, the two bowmen must get into the boat with their oars run out; and the other rowers follow the boat quickly in her descent; but they should not jump in till she is quite afloat, lest their weight might fix her on the beach, and she might ship a sea.
It may happen, that immediately on the boat floating, a sea shall take the bow (before the rowers are sufficiently prepared with their oars to keep her head out), and place her broadside to the waves. In this situation, the boat is in danger of being swamped, and the lives of those on board are in peril. When thus situated, it is best for two of the rowers to go near the bow of the boat, and immediately force each his boat-hook or oar on the ground, on the shore side of the boat, as the most effectual, safe, and expeditious method of bringing her head again to the sea. Should there be more than a usual swell, both the rowers and the sitter, or steersman, cannot be too particular in keeping, throughout, the head of the boat to the swell, as lying broadside to a heavy sea is extremely dangerous.
In rowing, each man has in general a single oar, and sits on the opposite side of the galley from the rullock through which his oar passes. The oar must consequently cross the boat, and be held on its opposite side, so as to clear the back of the man before.
It should be neither held nor pulled obliquely to the side by twisting the body, as is practised by many, because the muscles in that case act disadvantageously, and are sooner fatigued. The stroke must be longer in sea than in river rowing. The oar must be thrown out with a heave, caused by the simultaneous extension of the body and the arms. It is still more essential to feather in sea than in river rowing.
The oar must be drawn back with great power, caused by the simultaneous contraction of the body and arms; time with the other rowers being accurately kept, and distinctly marked.
When the oars are delivered from the water, the time, until they go into it again, may be counted, one, two, three,—when they pass through the water. This time is kept by the strokesman, or sternmost man of the rowers.
In landing, the word is, “in bow,” when the bowman or foremost man gets the boat-hook ready to clear away for the shore, or the stairs. The next word is from the coxswain, “rowed off all,” or “well rowed;” when all the oars are laid in, with the blades forward, and the boat is made fast.
In landing on the sea-beach, when there is a surf, the rowers may watch for a smooth, and then give good way ashore, when the bowman should instantly jump out with the headfast or penter, and pull her up, to avoid shipping a sea. The distances run in this way are very great. We have known four men, in a short galley, row thirty miles in four hours, namely, from Dover to eight miles below Calais, or abreast of Gravelines, on the opposite coast. In such a row, a London waterman would have no skin left on his hands; and a member of the Funny Club would, we suppose, have no hands left on his arms!