Rowing - 9/3/16

We were finally able to locate a group willing to help us with our final rowing event - the Eight!  The most difficult part about it was simply locating a boat.  Not many clubs have one, partially due to the cost of the boat, but also due to the space required to store it.  The boat is about 60 feet long!  One other group had a boat, but the cost was a bit out of our reach.  Luckily, the TCU Rowing Club was willing to let us use theirs.


The Eight is the largest boat used for competition.  Also unique to this event is the presence of a "coxswain" in the boat - so the boat in fact carries nine people, although only eight row.  From Wikipedia:  "A successful coxswain must keep track of the drill, time, pace, words of the coach, feel of the boat, direction of the boat, and safety. During a race, a coxswain is responsible for steering, calling the moves, and responding to the way the other boats are moving."  The term "coxswain" is derived from terms that essentially mean "boat servant".


It was a gorgeous Saturday morning in late summer when we met Coach Pete, from Fort Worth Rowing Club and TCU Rowing, at Marine Creek Reservoir.  Water has been down on the Trinity River, so rowing of the eight needed to be somewhere with a sufficient water level.  We signed our waivers and reviewed the correct positioning and motion on an erg with one of the TCU rowers, then headed over to the boat to take her down to the water.

Getting ready to put the boat in the water

Coach Pete was our cox and had two experienced rowers on either end of the boat, with the four of us in the middle.  The eight is a sweep boat - so each person has only one oar.  We first started with only a couple of people rowing at a time, then worked on some basic drills to ensure the boat stayed level and steady and that our timing was correct.  Slowly we added more rowers, two at a time, until we were up to all eight.  We practiced an "Olympic start" which means we start off by taking two half-strokes, followed by a 3/4 stroke before going to full strokes.  This gets the boat moving quicker and keeps it steady, as opposed to full out strokes from the get-go.


Much like we saw with the four-man boat, it was amazing at how simple it was to row once we all were helping.  It almost seemed like it took no effort.  When it comes to racing, it all comes down to timing to make sure that every person is moving as much water as possible, at the same time.  There were a couple of kayakers also in the lake and we left them behind quite quickly each time we'd get moving!


Almost 2 years since we first rowed, we have now finished.  We've all very much enjoyed the sport and have been very lucky to have found such great people to help us learn the basics!  A huge thank you to everyone that has taken the time to teach us!!!

Our crew!