ROWING.
“A boat, a boat, is the toy for me,
To rollic about in on river and sea;
To be a child of the breeze and the gale,
And like a wild bird on the deep to sail,
This is the life for me!”—Procter.
HISTORICAL MEMORANDA.
The sea service is the glory of Old England, notwithstanding all the glorious land service of ancient and modern days. A country having nearly ten thousand miles of sea-coast, with numerous ports, harbours, estuaries, river mouths, and capacious bays, must ever be a maritime nation, and look for its supremacy to the sea—to her sons being amphibious; and nothing is better calculated to develop the inherent instinct for sea duties than the amusements of boating, of rowing, of sailing, and other aquatic sports. Every young gentleman in England should know how to manage a boat, and to sail a cutter; and it will be our duty to initiate him into the methods of doing so.
The origin of ships must be traced to the ark of Noah; but this was not a sailing or a rowing vessel, but simply a large floating house or receptacle for Noah and his family, and the various types of animated nature. The first navigators were the Phœnicians, who sailed in various seas. They were succeeded by the ships of Carthage, Egypt, Venice, Genoa, Holland, and Portugal. The Saxons under Alfred, and the Danes under Canute, had formidable navies. Alfred, who ascended the throne in 872, commenced the first English fleet in person, and is said to have suggested a variety of improvements in the structure, as well as greatly to have increased the size of the vessels, some of the largest of which carried sixty oars. After the death of Alfred, the naval power of England seems to have lain dormant; and this, no doubt, tempted the Norman invasion in 1066, under William the Bastard, who sailed for the coast of England with a fleet of 900 vessels; and so sensible was he of the importance of the naval service, that he gave certain privileges to certain towns on the sea-coast, which were from their number called the Cinque Ports. Richard I. fitted out large fleets; and his successor, John, asserted the exclusive right of the English nation to the dominion of the seas. The reign of Edward I. was also distinguished for successes at sea. Henry VII., on gaining the throne, in 1485, put the navy into a respectable condition; and a large ship, called the “Great Harry,” which may properly be termed the first ship of the British navy, was built at a cost of 14,000l. The discovery of America, about the period of the accession of Henry VIII., gave a new stimulus to our navy, and many ships were then built of large tonnage, some of a thousand tons. But Queen Elizabeth, deeply impressed with the maxim, that “whosoever commands the sea, commands the trade of the world,” and that “whosoever commands the trade, commands the riches of the world,” and consequently the world itself, so encouraged and restored the marine, that she may be called the “Restorer of the naval power of England;” and, in a few years after, the invasion of the Spanish Armada put our naval power to the proof. Charles I., the great and courageous Cromwell, and even the pleasure-loving Charles II., were all impressed with the great advantages of a formidable navy; and in the reign of Anne, fifty-two French ships, containing more than 3,000 guns, were captured. And during the reign of George III. the naval superiority was placed by a series of glorious successes beyond all dispute; and it is to be hoped that the reign of our beloved Queen Victoria, who is herself a sailor, and full of every generous aspiration that belongs to a British Tar, will, notwithstanding the “mistakes of the Admiralty,” prove that England still retains the sovereignty of the ocean, and on that element she will defy the world.
CONSTRUCTION OF ANCIENT SHIPS AND GALLEYS.
The Egyptian vessels are the earliest of which any well-authenticated graphic illustration has been preserved. We [here] give a view of one of their earliest sailing vessels. The celebrated Egyptian vessel called the “Isis” is said to have been in length 180 feet, in breadth 45 feet, and in height, from the upper edge of the deck to the bottom of the well, 43 feet. The well-known ship of Hiero, king of Syracuse, was nearly 400 tons burden.
ROMAN GALLEYS, SHIPS, ETC.
They were in length about 125 feet, and in breadth 10 feet. Their first requisite was swiftness, and no part of the side was left vacant where an oar could be put out; hence they had often three banks of oars, one above the other. In most ancient ships, there was placed at the prow an image called “the sign.” The part of the vessel that cut the water was called the “goose.” At the stern, which generally resembled a shield, was set or some way delineated a representation of the deity to whose tutelary favour the ship was committed, and to which daily prayer and sacrifice were offered. War ships were chiefly rowed with oars, that they might be able to tack about. The first long ships were rowed with fifty oars, but afterwards a larger number was used. In the more perfect condition of ancient navigation, there were some ships that had as many as five tiers of oars, and three hundred rowers. Two large holes at the prow of the vessel, occasionally used for oars, were called the ship’s “eyes;” and a wooden projection at the prow, covered with brass, was called a “beak;” and pieces of wood placed on each side of the prow of a vessel, to ward off the force of the enemy’s beak, were called the ship’s “ears.” Over these vessels were certain raised platforms, and on their forecastles were towers on which the soldiers stood, whose shields were usually hung upon the railings which begirt the ship. The sides of the prow were called “cheeks.” The anchors at first used were often large stones, or even bags of sand; afterwards, however, the ancient ships carried anchors with one, two, and four flukes. The larger anchor was called the “sacred anchor,” and reserved for the most trying occasions. Among the ancients, ships were usually termed “horses,” which explains many ancient fables. The elder Pliny, for instance, tells us of a boy who was carried by water some miles every day on the back of a dolphin to school; the vessel, in all probability, having a dolphin at the prow. Arion, the famous musician of Lesbos, having made great wealth in foreign parts by his profession, was returning home by ship, when the sailors resolved to kill him, and seize upon his riches. Playing once again, at his last request, a favourite tune, he leaped into the sea. A dolphin, attracted by his melody, received him safely on its back, and carried him again to the coast where Periander lived. Arion, doubtless, escaped by a boat, the fore-part of which consisted of a dolphin.
Having thus given the young reader a notion of ancient boats and ships, we shall now proceed to make him acquainted with the modern practices of rowing, boating, sailing, &c.
OF BOATS.
A Boat is properly a vessel propelled by oars. In a more extensive sense the word is applied to other small vessels, which differ in construction and name, according to the services in which they are employed. Thus they are light or strong, sharp or flat-bottomed, open or decked, according as they are intended for swiftness or burden, deep or shallow water, &c.
The Barge is a long, light, narrow boat, employed in harbours, and unfit for sea. The Long Boat is the largest boat belonging to a ship, generally furnished with two sails, and is employed for cruising short distances, bringing the cargo and bales on board, &c.
The Launch is more flat-bottomed than the long boat, which it has generally superseded. The Pinnace resembles the barge, but is smaller. The Cutters of a ship are broader and deeper than the barge or pinnace, and are employed in carrying light articles, single passengers, &c. on board.
Yawls are used for similar purposes to the barge and pinnace. A Gig is a long, narrow boat, used for expedition, and rowed with six or eight oars. The Jolly Boat is smaller than a yawl, and is used for going on shore. A merchant ship seldom has more than two boats,—a long boat and a yawl.
A Wherry is a light, sharp boat, used in a river or harbour for transporting passengers. A Punt is a flat-bottomed boat, chiefly used for fishing on a fresh water river. A Skiff is a small sharp-nosed boat, used in rivers. A Dingy is a very small stiff boat used by yachts. A Yacht is a pleasure sailing-boat. A Lugger is a boat which is furnished with sails of a peculiar cut. A Funny is a small light boat used in river rowing, and made with her bow and stern nearly alike.
THE COMPONENT PARTS OF BOATS.
[Rowing boats] consist of the bows (1); the stem, or entrance (2); the stern (8), where are the rudder and the lines for steering; the rowlocks (3), for giving purchase to the oars; and the thwarts, or seats (4). At the bottom are the foot-boards (5), which are easily removed, in order to bail out any water which may leak into the boat. Besides these parts there is a board placed across the boat for the feet of the rower, called a stretcher. The whole boat is composed of one or more planks, called streaks, nailed upon a light oak framework, called the timbers, or ribs; and the upper streak, upon which the rowlocks are placed, is called the wale-streak. Boats with two rowlocks opposite each other are called sculling boats, and are propelled by a pair of light oars called sculls, the art being called “sculling.” When a boat is fitted with a pair of rowlocks not opposite each other, it is called a pair-oared boat. If with two in the middle opposite each other, and two others, one before and the other behind, but not opposite each other, it is called a randan. When a boat has four rowlocks, none of which are opposite one another, it is called a four-oared boat, and so on up to ten oars, which is the utmost limit in common use for any kind of boat but the pleasure barge, which sometimes has twenty-four oars, as in the City barges of London. The rowlock nearest the bow is called the bow rowlock, or No. 1; the next No. 2, and so on; and the oars used in them receive the same number, the one nearest the stern being called the “stroke oar.” The rowlocks in river and sea boats are somewhat different in shape though identical in principle, both consisting of a square space of about the breadth of a man’s hand, and both lying on the wale-streak; but in river boats being generally bounded before and behind by a flat piece of oak or ash called, respectively, the thowl-pin and stopper; whilst in sea boats they are merely common round wooden pins dropped into holes made in the wale-streak, but still receiving the same names. The thowl-pin is for the purpose of pulling the oar against, whilst the stopper prevents the oar from slipping forwards when the rower is pushing it in that direction after the stroke.
THE OARS AND SCULLS.
A scull is a small oar used with one hand, and requiring a pair, as in the case of oars, one being placed in the rowlock on each side the boat, and the pair being used by one person with his right and left hands. Oars are used by both hands, and a pair-oared boat consequently requires two oarsmen; a four-oared boat four, and so on. Both [sculls and oars] consist of the same parts, except that the handle of the oar is made long enough for both hands, as at (b). In every case there is a rounded handle (a b), a loom, square in form, and extending from the handle to the button, or about one-third of the length of the oar; and beyond the button is the blade, which is first nearly round, and then gradually widens, until it assumes the form best adapted for laying hold of the water, which is now found to be broad rather than long, as was formerly thought to be desirable. The button is a piece of leather nailed on to prevent the oar from slipping through the rowlock, but only used in river rowing, as it is not adapted for the rough work which is often met with in sea rowing.
SEA ROWING.
This is necessarily less elegant than river rowing, because of the rough nature of the element on which the exercise is pursued. The oar must be held firmly in the hands, the inside hand being placed at ([b]), and the outside at ([a]), and both hands grasping the oar between the thumbs and fingers. The whole art consists in the crew moving backwards and forwards together, called “swinging,” and laying hold of the water as well as they can, taking care to avoid pulling in the air with great force when there is a trough or interval between two waves, and on the other hand equally avoiding a heavy wave, which has a tendency to dash the oar out of the hand. All this requires practice in the rowers, and also in the steersman, called the coxswain, who should watch for the high waves, and warn his men when a heavy one is coming. He should also take care to cross the roll of the sea as much as possible, so as to avoid being struck on the side of the boat called “the counter,” which would either swamp her, or else knock the oars out of the rowlocks. In this kind of rowing, the “feathering” of the oar, to be presently described, is not attempted, on account of the roughness of the water, but it merely is pulled steadily, but strongly, backwards, and is then pushed forwards in the rowlocks.
RIVER ROWING.
The art of river rowing is capable of a high degree of elegance, and few sights are more pleasing to a lover of graceful forms than that of a crew of fine lads, or young men, rowing well together and in good style. To do this requires great practice, and attention to a few essential points, which I will here endeavour to describe.
MANAGEMENT OF THE OAR.
The rower should, as far as possible, take some good oarsman for his model, and endeavour to imitate him in every respect, which is the only mode of acquiring a good style. Description is useful in putting the learner in the way of acquiring what is to be taught, but it is not all-sufficient for the purpose. In the first place, the learner should place himself square on the seat, with his feet straight before him, and the toes slightly turned out. The knees may either be kept together, in the Newcastle or Clasper style, or separated considerably, as practised generally in England, the latter being in my opinion the better mode, as it allows the body to come more forward over the knees. The feet are to be placed firmly against the stretcher, which is to be let out or shortened, to suit the length of the individual; and one foot may be placed in the strap which is generally attached to the stretcher in modern boats. The oar is then taken in hand, raising it by the handle, and then either at once placing it in the rowlock, or else first dropping it flat on the water, and then raising the handle it may gently be lowered to its place. The outside hand is placed upon the handle at ([a]), with the thumb as well as the fingers above it, while the other hand firmly grasps it lower down at ([b]), keeping the nut towards the person. The arms are now quickly thrust forward till they are quite straight at the elbows, after which the back follows them by bending forward at the hips, carefully avoiding any roundness of the shoulders. When the hands have reached their full stretch they are raised, and the blade quietly and neatly dropped into the water; immediately after which, and with the water just covering the blade, the body is brought back with a graceful yet powerful action, till it reaches a part a little behind the perpendicular of the back of the seat, when the hands are brought back to the ribs, the elbows gliding close by the hips; and at the last moment, as the hand touches the rib, the wrist of the inside hand is depressed, the knuckles being at the same time brought against the chest, and the oar is made to rotate in the rowlock, which is called “feathering” it, and by which it is brought cleanly out of the water. The next action is to push the oar rapidly forward again, first however restoring it to its original position in the rowlock, which is effected by raising the wrist, and then darting the arms forward till the elbows are quite straight, which brings the rower to where we started from in the description. In “backing water” the reverse of these actions takes place. The oar is first reversed in the rowlock, and then it is pushed through the water with as much power as is needed, and pulled through the air. When the oars on one side are pulled, and those on the other are backed, the boat is made to turn on its own water. “Holding water” is effected by the oars being held in the position of backing without moving them.
THE ESSENTIAL POINTS IN ROWING.
1st. To straighten the arms before bending the body forward; 2d, to drop the oar cleanly into the water; 3d, to draw it straight through at the same depth; 4th, to feather neatly, and without bringing the oar out before doing so; 5th, to use the back and shoulders freely, keeping the arms as straight as possible; and 6th, to keep the eyes fixed upon the rower before them, avoiding looking out of the boat, by which means the body is almost sure to swing backwards and forwards in a straight line.
MANAGEMENT OF THE BOAT.
Every boat without a rudder is manœuvred in the water, either by pulling both sides alike, in which case it progresses in a straight line, or by reversing the action of the oars, equally on both sides, pushing them through the water instead of pulling them, and called backing water, when the boat recedes; or by pulling one side only, on which the boat describes a segment of a circle, which is made smaller by pulling one oar, and backing the other. By means of a rudder the boat is made to take a certain course, independent of the rowers, called “steering,” the chief art in which consists in keeping the rudder as still as possible, by holding the lines “taut,” and avoiding pulling them from one side to the other more than is absolutely necessary. Some steersmen think it necessary to swing backwards and forwards with a great effort, but this is quite useless, and the more still they keep the better. Every coxswain should know the course of the stream or tide; and when meeting other boats he should, if he is going down stream, give them the side nearest the shore, so as to allow them the advantage of the slack water, which is quite prejudicial to him. When a crew are steered by a competent coxswain, they ought to be perfectly obedient to his commands, rowing exactly as he tells them. His orders are communicated by the following words, viz. when desiring his crew to row he says, “Pull all;” or if wishing any one oar to be pulled, he says “Pull bow,” or “Pull, No. 3,” or 4, &c. as the case may be. If they are to stop rowing, he says “Easy all,” or for any one oar, “Easy bow,” or No. 2. The same kind of order is conveyed when “backing” or “holding water” is desired; the only variation, as before, being between confining his order to any one or more oars, or extending it to all. In this way all the evolutions practicable on the water are managed, and the coxswain has complete control over the boat, being able to cause her to be rowed slowly or quickly, or to be stopped, backed, or turned on her own centre.
ROWING TOGETHER
Is of the utmost importance to the success of a boat when she is manned by a crew; and they should all endeavour to attain the same style as the “stroke-oar,” who should be the best in the boat, and as free from faults as possible. In a four or eight-oared boat, every one of the crew would do well to imitate his stroke by rowing with him occasionally in a pair-oared boat, or else, if this is not practicable, by pulling behind a waterman who rows in the same style as the stroke-oar. In this way an uniform kind of rowing is attained, and the boat is propelled equally by all at the same time. The great object is for all to lay hold of the water at the same moment, and pull their oars through it and out with the same power and at the same time; this is called “keeping stroke.” “Keeping time” means, all “feathering” the oar together, by which the peculiar click of the oars in the rowlocks is made exactly at the same instant. When this is not done precisely together, the “time” is defective, and the ear at once detects the error; but even when the “time” is ever so good, the want of keeping stroke is fatal to the speed of any boat, however good the individuals may be.
CAUTIONS TO YOUNG ROWERS.
Do not be over anxious to avoid “catching crabs,” which is an event likely to occur in early practice; and should it happen, throw the oar quickly upwards out of the rowlock, and no mischief will ensue. The young rower should be at once shown how to free his oar in this way, and then he may pull with that freedom from restraint which is necessary to produce a good style. Do not stand on the seats, or lean out of the boat, and never attempt any practical jokes on the water, as it is a dangerous element to trifle with.
