Every Thursday morning has been the same routine for me until recently when I discovered a wake-up call to end all others: rowing. On a typical Thursday morning I would wake up around 8:30 and take my time with a shower and shave, maybe spoil myself and make some breakfast before strolling to class which begins at 10. This past Thursday morning was a bit different. I woke up long before the sun, which is actually anytime before 8:00 a.m. here, to run from my apartment to Hughes Hall to meet with the team. From Hughes we ran (actually I ran because everyone else had bikes) down to the boathouse to begin rowing at around 7:00 a.m. Before I begin to explain what is involved in the rowing process, let me first draw a clear picture of my level of rowing skill and experience: I have no rowing skill and even less experience.
The basic concept, as with any rowing sport, is to go faster than your opponent can. There are eight people who sit with their backs towards the bow (back) of the boat who function as the slaves that drive the boat. Their basic job is to make the boat go faster than the others on the water. At the very front (stern) of the boat is the captain (Cox) who calls out orders and directs the crew around corners. His - or in some cases, her - basic job is to keep the crew from rowing into the shore or into other crews. For the most part Thursday he kept us moving in a straight line. Keeping us from smashing into the other crews is more of a task than one would imagine. Every crew from the school is on the water at the same time. Crews on the water include but are not limited to Emmanuel, St. Johns, St. Edmunds, Trinity, Caius, New College (a woman’s college), and Darwin to name a few. Next time I will pay more attention to who is on the water with me, this time I did all I could to keep up. So with no formal training aside from finding the best fishing spot when I was 8, this brave crew allows me to join them and prays that I do not capsize them in front of the other teams.
The first day did not go badly. I did not capsize the boat and only caught two crabs. Let me explain. “Catching a crab” is the phrase the crew uses when someone allows their oar to drag in the water longer than it should after the stroke. This causes the end in the water to move towards the stern while the handle drives into your chest or face depending on the size of the “crab.” When this happened the first time the entire crew had to stop and let me get it back in the right place because it was dragging so badly and threatened to pull us over. The second time it happened I was able to lean back quickly and pop it out of the water and catch up while only missing two strokes. If any of this seems unclear just think how it felt to be doing it for real. For the most part there are only four people rowing at a time while the other four are balancing the boat. While the stern four (front four) are rowing, the bow four (back four) balance the boat by placing their oars in the water at an angle and pressing against the water. After an eternity of rowing the two sides switch duties. After both sides have had their chance to row the captain gradually brings all eight of us into it and we hurtle down the river much faster than I would like at this point in my rowing career.
With my first day of rowing behind me I headed off in dire need of a shower. It would not dawn on me until the next morning that stretching would be a good idea before continuing my day. I awoke to discover muscles that I was unaware were part of my body as they screamed in protest of being moved.
Rowing is arguably the most important sport at the university level here. I say this with the hopes that none of the rugby players read this and decide to show me just how important rugby players are. Rowing is the equivalent of football at most American universities as far as importance is concerned. The Oxford-Cambridge race is legendary and, as Dr. O’Shaughnessey likes to point out (as an Oxford graduate), Oxford wins every year. This is of course not true anymore as Cambridge has won the last six meetings between the schools. This does not affect me much because I am rowing for Hughes Hall. If I were able to come in with no experience and row for the big crew it would be no wonder that they get beat by Oxford every year. As it stands I am no threat to set any records or start any legacies but I will have fun here during the time I have and will post more as the season goes on.