Posted by Bob on September 23, 1999, at 9:36:38
In reply to Re: Bob, posted by Janet on September 23, 1999, at 8:00:51
Caught a crab? Me?! NEVER!
... okay, maybe two or five times those first few months. [For those who don't know, "catching a crab" is when you bury you oar blade too deeply into the water. Unless you really have some good upper body strength and fast reactions, the least of your troubles will be loosing control of the oar handle, maybe getting a knock on the chin, and snagging an oar of your boatmates ahead or behind. In one regatta on the Marietta River in SE Ohio, I saw this poor fellow rowing in a novice (rookie year of rowing) eight catch a crab, get lifted straight up and out of his stretchers ("fasteners" for your feet), only to come straight back down to put both of his feet right through the bottom of the wooden shell they were racing in (wooden shells are extremely thin -- about 1/8 of an inch or so).]I've played a lot of team sports, but the synchronicity of rowing eights is unparalleled in my experiences. On top of that, you're doing 20 knots, butt on the waterline, this thin framekeeping you afloat, working every muscle in your body for 6+or- minutes (sprints) at 100% or higher, and you're doing it all backwards!
... and now, I'm living up near Columbia's boathouse ... I wonder if they have a club program .....
(dreamily),
Bob
poster:Bob
thread:11904
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990914/msgs/11948.html