“In the first place take your oar, and, if you’re to row on the side of the shell that happens to be nearest the float at the time, lay your blade on the platform. If you’re on the water side, lay the blade flat on the surface of the water.
“Now get in, facing the stern, being careful to step lengthways, as I told Housenlager. Stoop down, with a hand on either gunwale, and lower yourself into your seat. You will of course notice the seats slide back and forth, that you have outriggers instead of gunwale oarlocks, and that there are stretchers, or loops under which to thrust your toes.
“Once in your seat, ship your oar by thrusting the handle in through the outrigger oarlock from outside. Sit straight, not to one side, and squarely face the handle of your oar, have your shoulders a bit back, and your elbows close to your flanks. I’ll give you more points as we go along.
“Hold your oar with the outside hand close to the end of the handle, but not over the edge of it. You get more power from your outside hand, remember. The ‘outside’ hand, strange as it may seem, is the one nearest the centre of the boat, and the inside one, that nearest the ‘loom,’ spoon, body or blade of the oar. Put the other hand not more than two and a half inches from the outside hand. Thumbs underneath, or toward the bottom of the boat, of course; though some men row with the thumb of one hand in the same position as the fingers.
“And now then, to give you brief instructions in how to row. First give a full, fair reach out over your toes, with both arms perfectly straight, dip your oar in the water—plunge it in with force. Get a good hold on the water with the blade, and the instant it is immersed, pull with all your might, and then follow through, as we say, with a long, firm stroke without vibration or wavering.
“Then, with a light finish, get your oar blade clear of the water cleanly, feather light, low and quick—into the water again all together with a ‘chug’—another pull and—there you are—you’re rowing!”
There was silence for a moment, and then Tom remarked:
“Sounds easy; doesn’t it?”
“Yes, and some of you will find it easy,” remarked Mr. Lighton, with a smile. “Others will not. But we can tell soon who the rowers are going to be, though that is not saying that, with practice, some of those who seem the least fitted may not become very proficient.”
“I once belonged to a swell New York club,” remarked Reginald Boswell.