What Makes a Boat Go Fast?

What makes a boat go fast? I think the most important element is the spirit of the crew. The crew’s spirit is the inspiration that moves the boat through the hard times, the long workouts, the frustration. When hope seems lost, then it is a very hard pull indeed!

I always return to the words of George Yeoman Pocock in a book by Gordon Newell called Ready All!: George Yeoman Pocock and Crew Racing. He (George) sent a note to the UW Crew when they raced in the 1958 Henley Regatta. The UW team found this note wrapped around their oars:

“Rowing a race is an art, not a frantic scramble. It must be rowed with head power as well as muscular power. From the first stroke, all thoughts of the other crew must be blocked out. Your thoughts must be directed to your and your own boat, always positive, never negative. Row your optimum power with every stroke, try and increase the optimum. Rowers, as fit as you are, when everyday strength is gone, can draw on a mysterious reservoir of power far greater. It is then you can reach for the stars. That is the only way champions are made. That is the legacy rowing can leave you. Don’t miss it.”

Key here are two things, “rowing is an ART, not a frantic scramble,” and “thoughts must be directed to you and your own boat – ALWAYS POSITIVE, NEVER NEGATIVE”.

Elsewhere in the book, George speaks about how eight hearts must beat as one. “Tempers must be held in check. I have seen angrey and frustrated oarmen slashing at the water as if trying to break their oars. This does more to stop the run and lose the race.” “Good thoughts have much to do with good rowing…. IT is the SPIRIT of rowing that makes it what it is. Eight hears must beat as one in a 8-oard shell, or you don’t have a crew.”

Remember that the rate is not what makes a boat go fast. It is the power and the swing and the HEART. Catch the spirit together!

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Author: Michelle Hoverter, Everett Rowing Association.
Reprinted from May 1999 issue of the newsletter "Everett Rowing", used by permission.