ROWING EXPERIENCE
Off we go to the Head of the Charles
Without my buddy , Ben racing by my side , I was in a pickle . I know very little about boats and blades and how you tinker with them to fit your frame . An incorrectly sized boat can be like riding a bike that is too big for you . Sure you can cycle it , however it doesn ’ t really aid performance . I went full nerd and wrote down a list of the components I needed to be aware of for my boat :
• Boat size
• Oar settings ( length , inboard and span )
• Oar type ( blade type , handle size etc )
• Footboard
• Gates
• Rail setting
Failing to resolve any of these points not only results in a slow row but leads to bloodied knuckles and calves .
So with my sneaky note book , I did my best to replicate the settings from back home in the Ravens boat shed . Ravens is a St Benedict ’ s Old Boys and parents rowing club which rows at the Victoria Lake Club in Germiston . After tinkering for an hour , I decided to text Ben for advice hoping for a window between our international time zones . Our conversations sound like gobbledygook and went something like this :
I wandered through the neatly racked boats in the Weld Boathouse looking for my scull . With the Newell Boathouse ( located on the south side of the Charles river ) under construction , all Harvard crews - and a few select international crews – were using boats from the Weld Boathouse located on the Cambridge side of the river . Imposter syndrome is only a problem if you acknowledge imposter syndrome .
“ Rob ( after noting boat measurements with a tape measure and pencil ): I wangled your boat from last year . Changed span to 159 . Crocker blades . 286cm with inboard of 88cm . Took it for a spin today on the course . Great morning for rowing .
Ben : That sounds perfect . What are the shape of the spoons ?
Rob ( after a quick check of the rowing terminology book ): Normal spoons I think .
Ben : Cool yup - should be all good . If head wind on day just go a little lighter on inboard .
Rob ( after referencing the rowing terminology book to understand the difference between inboard and outboard and when the blade is heavy and when it is lighter and what that means if there is wind on the day ): Ok cool . So 89cm on inboards if head wind ?
Ben : Yup anywhere between 88.5 and 89 . Then look for length you were getting in the double .
Rob ( after doing an internal fist-pump of elation in having understood rowing terminology and what that means for the boat ): Ok cool . Thanks my boy .”
Rowers are a tribe .
The Race
Having completed the 2022 edition of the race , this time I felt composure . What a wonder a year makes . I focused on racing a tight line around the course without using big zig-zag turns like I did last year . The race seemed more palatable .
I started the HoTC in the middle of the field and within a few minutes had overtaken my first sculler . A few minutes later I overtook my second . The feeling was remarkable . I had never really overtaken anyone and it did wonders for the confidence . I employed a tactic I use in open water swimming : I pretend I know what I am doing and take the most aggressive line possible . It works in swimming so why not rowing ?
After successfully navigating the treacherous turns under the Weeks and Anderson bridges , I knew there was no reason to back off the pace . I let in the nitrous . I overtook a pair of scullers in the last kilometre and manoeuvered my way around the last buoy under the shifty Eliot Bridge .
Thoughts of Valentino Rossi placing his knee on the inside chicane of the Mugello with the gentleness of a choir boy blowing out altar candles entered my mind as I nudged the stroke rate to 30 and then to 32 .
“ The Doctor ,” I muttered to no one in particular , “ is in the house .”
I emptied the quads and through force of will held my consciousness over the finish line . I tucked myself forward into a recovery position as the acid and mercury seeped out the body . My boat drifted . The autumn trees had greyed in the last few hundred metres and the river bubbled the colour of blood .
I finished in 69th place in 21m52s .
Good enough , I thought . Good enough . An improvement from 2022 ’ s 97th place in 23m24s .
Cool stats
• My average strokes per minute was 31 .
• My best pace on the no-current course was 2m06s for 500m .
• Crabs = 0 24 SA Schools Rowing Champs 2024
• Winner : Greg Benning 18m46s
HoTC Men ’ s Youth Eight Results
• St Paul ’ s “ A ” – 1st place in 15m13s
• St Benedict ’ s A – 20th place in 16m20s
• St Benedict ’ s B – 72nd place in 17m58s