Page:Boating - Woodgate - 1888.pdf/96

 the endeavour to catch the water sharply at the beginning. Of course they lose power by doing so; but they do not realise their Joss, because, feeling a greater strain on their arms, they imagine that they must therefore be doing more work,

Lessons in a tub-gig are the best remedies for this fault.

‘Paddling’ is an art which is of much importance in order to bring acrew to perfection, and at the same timc it is too often done in a slovenly manner compared with hard rowing.

‘The writer admits that his own yiews as to how paddling should be performed differ somewhat from those of sundry good judges and successful coaches. Some of these are of opinion that paddling should consist of rowing gently, com- paratively speaking, with less force and catch at the beginning of the stroke and with less reach than when rowing hard, but with blade always covered to regulation depth. When the order is given to ‘Row,’ then the full length should be attained and the full ‘catch’ administered.

The writer’s own version of paddling differs as follows, He is of opinion that the difference between paddling and rowing should be produced by working with a ‘light’—only partially covered—hlade when paddling. The effect of this is to ease the whole work of the stroke; but at the same time the swing, reach, and catch should be just the same as if the blade were covered. Then, when the order comes to ‘ Row,’ all the oarsman has to do is so to govern his blade that he now immerses the whole of it, and at the same time to increase his force to the amount necessary to row the stroke of the full blade throughout the required time.

Those good judges who differ from him as aforesaid base their objections to his method chiefly on the ground that it requites rather a higher standard of watermanship to enable an oarsman so to govern his blade that he can immerse it more or Jess at will, and yet maintain the same outward action of body, only with more or less force employed, according to amount of blade immersed.

The writer admits that his process does entail the acquisition