A rower's perspective

This weekend I went to go watch my brother row in the first regatta of the school's rowing season. When I coached rowing last year, it was extremely different to actually doing the sport. It felt odd not being on the water with them - but it reminded me how much I loved the sport. And going to watch Greg just gave me back that whole regatta and teamwork vibe that I took part in for 6 years. I am definitely going to do rowing at Rhodes (I leave on Friday aaahhhhh!) and at leat give it a try. Because I'm not exactly my fittest at the moment haha. But I will try.



My first quad, and best. The 5 of us were the last 5 standing in my last year of rowing... <3 ...



After thinking about how to explain Rowing and my love for it, I really couldn't put it into words. Which isn't very good considering what I want to do for the rest of my life is write. Haha, but for now, I found some really true and awesome pieces from all different kinds of writing about the sport. I can't agree more with all of them.


1)
There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.
Ratty in Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

2)
He keeps his sturdy legs applied
Just where he has been taught to,
And always moves his happy slide
Precisely as he ought to.
He owns a wealth of symmetry
Which nothing can diminish,
And strong men shout for joy to see
His wonder working finish.
From “The Perfect Oar” by R. C. Lehmann

3)
Dead-heat to Oxford by five feet.
‘Honest’ John Phelps, the 1877 finishing judge at the Boat Race

4)
It’s a great art, is rowing.
It’s the finest art there is.
It’s a symphony of motion.
And when you’re rowing well
Why it’s nearing perfection –
And when you reach perfection
You’re touching the Divine.
It touches the you of you’s
Which is your soul.
George Pocock

5)
The three ‘R’s of rowing are: Rowing, Rowing, and Rowing.
Stan Pocock

6)
There is no disgrace being beaten when you are trying to win.
Jack Beresford, Jr.,

7)
From stretcher to oar with drive and draw,
He speeds the boat along.
All whalebone and steel and a willowy feel –
That is the oarsman’s song.
From “The Oarsman’s Song” by Steve Fairbairn

8)
If anybody sees me near a boat again, they have my permission to shoot me.
[Later Sir] Steve Redgrave after winning his fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal. However, he would become Olympic Champion again, in Sydney in 2000.

9)
Nothing as beautiful as rowing, the records of how we have used it to test ourselves and each other, and the reasons it should be preserved for future generations, should be so neglected, so forgotten, or so unsung.
Thomas E. Weil in his essay “The dangerously neglected legacy of rowing”

10)
Jolly boating weather,
And a hay harvest breeze,
Blade on the feather,
Shade off the trees,
Swing, swing together
With your bodies between your knees.
"Eton Boating Song" by William Cory
by Thomas E. Weil



HRS Winning VLC Sprints 2008