First time on the water!

[icomefrombirmingham]

Hi Brent.

Balance is probably the most unpredictable things in rowing and also the hardest to get right. This is simply because it is affected by EVERYTHING - and I mean Everything. A list of examples of things that can cause the balance to be off are;

Varying stroke lengths
One side not drawing up enough
One Side washing out slightly
Timing (catch, drive, extraction)
Hand heights on the draw
Hand heights on the recovery
Body positions in relation to each other (bow to stern)
Body weight position in the boat (central or not)
How much rudder is on
...............

The list is virtually endless, and each of these things can have a knock on effect onto something else. The key is (and I think I mentioned it before) is to make sure you look after what you are doing, and stay consistent. From what you describe,, the only suggestion I could offer is for yourself (#5) and #7 to concentrate on "drawing up". That is not to say raise the hands during the drive (the hands should remain level), but it means that as you come to the end of the drive (legs extended, body lean, and hands finishing) that you dont allow the handle to drop towards your lap, as this will just limit the amount of room you have around the turn as your hands will have nowhere to tap down to.

Probably not a great explanation, and maybe Paul or Bob has a better idea of what could be causing the problem, but that would be my gut feeling.

Cheers

Raymond

Holy Moly!
With all those things how do we ever get the boat square?
Thanks for the tip. You may be right that I allow the handle to drop...I shall watch for this. However, on the recovery, I consciously try to get a quick release and to carry the blade back at a consistent height, low to the water. I certainly don't "sky" the blade on the recovery, so I know I am trying to keep it level....may not be acheiving it....but trying to. In fact on Sunday our coach wanted the blade to skim along the water on recovery (inefficient but it makes a lovely sound).
What do you mean by limiting the "amount of room I have around the turn" and my "hands having no room to tap down to"?
The girl in 7 seat on Sunday was a novice like me. And is realistically the least co-ordinated in the boat at this stage....I think her family were crab fishermen and it is in the genes. Perhaps this had an effect?

I assume that our two more experienced rowers will row at 8,7 or 1,2 or 1,8 when we sort the boat out.

Thanks again,
Brent

[Ray79]

Sorry Brent, rowing terminology from this side of the Atlantic (it may or may not be the same in the US)

"amount of room I have around the turn" and my "hands having no room to tap down to"

The 2 terms refer to the extraction and first part of the recovery. Because of the shape of the blade and the requirement to extract the blade square (in order to get the most from the stroke and not wash out), you need to have space for your hands to "tap down" to, therefore lifting the spoon out of the water - Square. Room around the turn refers to the phase of extraction - tap down - feather and hands away. Called the turn as it is the change in direction of the stroke phase.

[Bob S.]

Now, when we went to stern 4 rowing together I had some problems at the end of the drive getting my blade out of the water because the boat was leaning to my side. I don't look at my blade and I try hard to keep my handle moving along a consistent path.I can't tell whether I am doing something wrong or whether the four who are setting up the boat behind me are being inconsistent so that my blade is deeper in the water because of the lean than my handle path leads me to believe.
Brent

It sounds to me as if the bow 4 are not doing their proper job. I am assuming that they have their blades skimming the water, since that is the usual way that the drill is done. The boat should be solid as a rock, not leaning to either side. (It also feels like you are pulling a rock, especially when it is 2 on and 6 off.) Is your coxswain in the bow or the stern? A really good cox in the stern can be as good as a coach in spotting technique problems, so if you have a stern cox, you might ask him/her if he/she can tell if there is anything that you need to correct in your own technique. Also, if any of the boat setters in the bow 4 are observant, they might be able to notice if there is a problem.

By the way, I think that it is a sad state of affairs that most crews have gone over to bow-coxed boats. Perhaps the design is a bit faster, but a good stern cox can be the most valuable member of the crew.

Bob S.

[icomefrombirmingham]

Now, when we went to stern 4 rowing together I had some problems at the end of the drive getting my blade out of the water because the boat was leaning to my side. I don't look at my blade and I try hard to keep my handle moving along a consistent path.I can't tell whether I am doing something wrong or whether the four who are setting up the boat behind me are being inconsistent so that my blade is deeper in the water because of the lean than my handle path leads me to believe.
Brent

It sounds to me as if the bow 4 are not doing their proper job. I am assuming that they have their blades skimming the water, since that is the usual way that the drill is done. The boat should be solid as a rock, not leaning to either side. (It also feels like you are pulling a rock, especially when it is 2 on and 6 off.) Is your coxswain in the bow or the stern? A really good cox in the stern can be as good as a coach in spotting technique problems, so if you have a stern cox, you might ask him/her if he/she can tell if there is anything that you need to correct in your own technique. Also, if any of the boat setters in the bow 4 are observant, they might be able to notice if there is a problem.

By the way, I think that it is a sad state of affairs that most crews have gone over to bow-coxed boats. Perhaps the design is a bit faster, but a good stern cox can be the most valuable member of the crew.

Bob S.

Hi Bob,
I was hoping someone would say it was the bow 4 not doing their job!
However, since none (but 2) of us know what we're doing...that wouldn't be surprising.

There are 18 people plus a coach to each boat in our rec league. All 18 signed up to row, so the "cox" is one of the 18 plonked there for the session really just to steer the boat. So not much useful critiquing is coming from there.

I will ask the coach to take a look tomorrow night, or one of our experienced rowers if they are positioned bowward of me.

Thanks,
Brent

The boats are all stern coxed. The cox on Sunday morning was particularly stern I thought.

[icomefrombirmingham]

What you are describing in single skulls sounds fantastic.

Hi Brent

This guy is pretty handy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQexYYr7H-g

Particularly like the racing starts with the oars upside down at about 1:48

Hmmm...perhaps we do that next practice?
Brent

[Bob S.]

Hi Bob,
Thanks,
Brent

The boats are all stern coxed. The cox on Sunday morning was particularly stern I thought.

Yeah. That use of "stern" occurred to me also, but I was afraid that if I played games with it my main message might get messed up.

Bob S., who is a sucker for almost any pun, good or bad.

Speakling of coxes and sterns, I remember one day at the club when a group of women had to prevail on one of their rowers to do the honors. She was not exactly the ideal cox — probably a full 100% heavier than a regular cox. She wasn't obese, just a really big woman, tall and wide, especially across the beam. It was not easy for her to get into that narrow cox's seat and her crew mates were needling her about what would happen if they flipped and there she would be, head down in the water, suspended from her wedged-in derriere.

[icomefrombirmingham]

Hi Bob,
Thanks,
Brent

The boats are all stern coxed. The cox on Sunday morning was particularly stern I thought.

Yeah. That use of "stern" occurred to me also, but I was afraid that if I played games with it my main message might get messed up.

Bob S., who is a sucker for almost any pun, good or bad.

Speakling of coxes and sterns, I remember one day at the club when a group of women had to prevail on one of their rowers to do the honors. She was not exactly the ideal cox — probably a full 100% heavier than a regular cox. She wasn't obese, just a really big woman, tall and wide, especially across the beam. It was not easy for her to get into that narrow cox's seat and her crew mates were needling her about what would happen if they flipped and there she would be, head down in the water, suspended from her wedged-in derriere.

Yes, I like a pun myself.

Actually the stern stern cox I was speaking of was also wide in the beam.
She was fairly wide in themouth too.
Brent