Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopaedia of Sports and Amusements Part 45

MANAGEMENT OF THE OAR.

The rower should, as far as possible, take some good oarsman for his model, and endeavour to imitate him in every respect, which is the only mode of acquiring a good style. Description is useful in putting the learner in the way of acquiring what is to be taught, but it is not all-sufficient for the purpose. In the first place, the learner should place himself square on the seat, with his feet straight before him, and the toes slightly turned out. The knees may either be kept together, in the Newcastle or Clasper style, or separated considerably, as practised generally in England, the latter being in my opinion the better mode, as it allows the body to come more forward over the knees. The feet are to be placed firmly against the stretcher, which is to be let out or shortened, to suit the length of the individual; and one foot may be placed in the strap which is generally attached to the stretcher in modern boats. The oar is then taken in hand, raising it by the handle, and then either at once placing it in the rowlock, or else first dropping it flat on the water, and then raising the handle it may gently be lowered to its place. The outside hand is placed upon the handle at (_a_), with the thumb as well as the fingers above it, while the other hand firmly grasps it lower down at (_b_), keeping the nut towards the person. The arms are now quickly thrust forward till they are quite straight at the elbows, _after which_ the back follows them by bending forward at the hips, carefully avoiding any roundness of the shoulders.

When the hands have reached their full stretch they are raised, and the blade quietly and neatly dropped into the water; immediately after which, and with the water just covering the blade, the body is brought back with a graceful yet powerful action, till it reaches a part a little behind the perpendicular of the back of the seat, when the hands are brought back to the ribs, the elbows gliding close by the hips; and at the last moment, as the hand touches the rib, the wrist of the inside hand is depressed, the knuckles being at the same time brought against the chest, and the oar is made to rotate in the rowlock, which is called "feathering" it, and by which it is brought cleanly out of the water.

The next action is to push the oar rapidly forward again, first however restoring it to its original position in the rowlock, which is effected by raising the wrist, and then darting the arms forward till the elbows are quite straight, which brings the rower to where we started from in the description. In "backing water" the reverse of these actions takes place. The oar is first reversed in the rowlock, and then it is _pushed_ through the water with as much power as is needed, and _pulled_ through the air. When the oars on one side are pulled, and those on the other are backed, the boat is made to turn on its own water. "Holding water"

is effected by the oars being held in the position of backing without moving them.

THE ESSENTIAL POINTS IN ROWING.

1st. To straighten the arms before bending the body forward; 2d, to drop the oar cleanly into the water; 3d, to draw it straight through at the same depth; 4th, to feather neatly, and without bringing the oar out before doing so; 5th, to use the back and shoulders freely, keeping the arms as straight as possible; and 6th, to keep the eyes fixed upon the rower before them, avoiding looking out of the boat, by which means the body is almost sure to swing backwards and forwards in a straight line.

MANAGEMENT OF THE BOAT.

Every boat without a rudder is manuvred in the water, either by pulling both sides alike, in which case it progresses in a straight line, or by reversing the action of the oars, equally on both sides, pus.h.i.+ng them through the water instead of pulling them, and called backing water, when the boat recedes; or by pulling one side only, on which the boat describes a segment of a circle, which is made smaller by pulling one oar, and backing the other. By means of a rudder the boat is made to take a certain course, independent of the rowers, called "steering," the chief art in which consists in keeping the rudder as still as possible, by holding the lines "taut," and avoiding pulling them from one side to the other more than is absolutely necessary. Some steersmen think it necessary to swing backwards and forwards with a great effort, but this is quite useless, and the more still they keep the better. Every c.o.xswain should know the course of the stream or tide; and when meeting other boats he should, if he is going down stream, give them the side nearest the sh.o.r.e, so as to allow them the advantage of the slack water, which is quite prejudicial to him. When a crew are steered by a competent c.o.xswain, they ought to be perfectly obedient to his commands, rowing exactly as he tells them. His orders are communicated by the following words, viz. when desiring his crew to row he says, "Pull all;"

or if wis.h.i.+ng any one oar to be pulled, he says "Pull bow," or "Pull, No. 3," or 4, &c. as the case may be. If they are to stop rowing, he says "Easy all," or for any one oar, "Easy bow," or No. 2. The same kind of order is conveyed when "backing" or "holding water" is desired; the only variation, as before, being between confining his order to any one or more oars, or extending it to all. In this way all the evolutions practicable on the water are managed, and the c.o.xswain has complete control over the boat, being able to cause her to be rowed slowly or quickly, or to be stopped, backed, or turned on her own centre.

ROWING TOGETHER

Is of the utmost importance to the success of a boat when she is manned by a crew; and they should all endeavour to attain the same style as the "stroke-oar," who should be the best in the boat, and as free from faults as possible. In a four or eight-oared boat, every one of the crew would do well to imitate his stroke by rowing with him occasionally in a pair-oared boat, or else, if this is not practicable, by pulling behind a waterman who rows in the same style as the stroke-oar. In this way an uniform kind of rowing is attained, and the boat is propelled equally by all at the same time. The great object is for all to lay hold of the water at the same moment, and pull their oars through it and out with the same power and at the same time; this is called "keeping stroke."

"Keeping time" means, all "feathering" the oar together, by which the peculiar click of the oars in the rowlocks is made exactly at the same instant. When this is not done precisely together, the "time" is defective, and the ear at once detects the error; but even when the "time" is ever so good, the want of keeping stroke is fatal to the speed of any boat, however good the individuals may be.

CAUTIONS TO YOUNG ROWERS.

Do not be over anxious to avoid "catching crabs," which is an event likely to occur in early practice; and should it happen, throw the oar quickly upwards out of the rowlock, and no mischief will ensue. The young rower should be at once shown how to free his oar in this way, and then he may pull with that freedom from restraint which is necessary to produce a good style. Do not stand on the seats, or lean out of the boat, and never attempt any practical jokes on the water, as it is a dangerous element to trifle with.

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SAILING.

"The tar's a jolly tar, that can hand, reef and steer, That can nimbly cast-off and belay; Who in darkest of nights finds each halliard and gear, And dead reckoning knows well, and leeway: But the tar to please me must more jolly be, He must laugh at the waves as they roar."--_Dibdin._

It would be very difficult to trace to its origin the art of sailing.

Perhaps the curled leaf pa.s.sing over the water, with one end erect, might have given to observant man the first notion of a sail. It has been supposed that the _Nautila_, _Argonaut_, or sailor-fish, was suggestive of the first sailing-vessel; but long before the Argonaut had been noticed, sails of some kind or other had no doubt been common. A man could not stand in the simplest boat without perceiving that the wind exerted a power upon him and his boat; and therefore the idea of a sail must have been identical with the first launching of the rudest boat. The _science_ of sailing, however, has grown up gradually through a succession of ages, and has now reached a perfection of which the ancients had no idea.

We will first speak of the various kinds of vessels, which are distinguished princ.i.p.ally by the number of masts, and the number and shape of their sails.

A _Sloop_ is properly a vessel with one mast, having her sails, with the exception of her topsails, set in the plane of her length, which is technically called "set fore and aft." Her topsail is a square sail, rigged at right angles to the plane of her length. The bowsprit is generally elevated from the bows, inclining slightly to the deck. The term "sloop" is now usually applied to a man-of-war, s.h.i.+p-rigged, and carrying less than 18 guns.

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A _Cutter_ differs from a sloop in being without a square sail, and in having her bowsprit horizontal; her mast at the same time "raking" aft.

Her topsail is fore and aft, and triangular in shape.

A _Brig_ is a square-rigged vessel, with two masts.

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A _Schooner_ is a two-masted vessel, with fore and aft topsails, which are called gaff-topsails. Sometimes she has a square fore-topsail and top-gallantsail.

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A _Brigantine_ is something between a schooner and a brig, and is worked either with oars (called sweeps) or sails.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DUTCH GALLEOT.]

A _Dutch Galleot_ is rigged like a schooner, but of a broader and more Chinese build, her bottom being nearly flat.

A _Billy-boy_ is rigged sometimes like a sloop, and sometimes like a schooner; but her bottom is nearly flat, and she draws but little water.

A _Smack_ is a small vessel with one mast like a cutter, used princ.i.p.ally for fis.h.i.+ng.

A _Canoe_ is a boat used by savages, usually made of a trunk of a tree, hollowed.

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A _Felucca_ has two triangular sails, is used in the Mediterranean, and is particularly swift. It can also use oars in calm weather.

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A _Junk_ is a Chinese vessel, used either for war or merchandise, is built very heavily.

A _Proa_ is used by the natives of the Ladrone Islands, and is remarkable for its swiftness and sailing close to the wind. The lee-side is quite straight, and the weather-side is convex, like a common boat.

Both head and stern are equally sharp; and in working her there is no necessity to tack or turn at any time. Besides this peculiarity of construction, the proa has on her lee-side what is called an "out-rigger," which is made of two poles, extending about 10 feet from her side, having at their extremity a piece of solid wood. This prevents her from having any lee-way. She will sail with a good wind twenty miles an hour.

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The natives of the Society Islands use a canoe, averaging in length from ten to forty feet. It is made of a trunk of a tree, hollowed out; and is just wide enough for a person to sit down. It will carry from one to as many as thirty persons. It also has an outrigger, like a proa. When a native leaves one island to go to another, he joins two large canoes together, and builds on them a small hut, which will hold all his family. This is the most convenient way to travel in a canoe, for it is difficult to see anything but one's knees when sitting down in the ordinary manner. These canoes carry a square sail in the fore-part.

We will now speak of the vessels we have most to do with--viz. yachts.

CHARACTERS OF A YACHT.

Speed, safety, and accommodation are the three first qualities of a yacht. She ought to be pleasing to the eye when afloat, of such a breadth as to carry her canva.s.s with ease, and at the same time so sharp in her bow and well-shapen astern as to displace her weight of water smoothly and gradually, while she leaves it in the same way.

VARIOUS KINDS OF YACHTS.

Yachts are of various kinds, according to their size. If more than eighty tons burden, the schooner is most suitable; for, as the spars are more numerous, they are proportionally lighter. The schooner, as has been before observed, has two masts--the foremast and mainmast; the one bearing the sail called the boom-foresail, and the other a mainsail. She has two or more headsails, called staysail, fore-staysail, and jib. Her topsails are either square or fore and aft.

The _Cutter_ has one mast and four sails--viz. mainsail, maintopsail, foresail, and jib. Some smaller craft have larger jibs, and no foresail.

The _Dandy-rigged Yacht_ differs from a cutter, in having no boom for her mainsail, which can consequently be brailed up by a rope pa.s.sing round it. She has a mizen-mast standing in the stern, which sets a sail called a mizen, and which is stretched on a horizontal spar, projecting over the stern. This style of rig is more safe for a yacht, as the boom in ordinary cutters is liable to sweep persons overboard; and the sail can be taken in quicker by brailing it up than by lowering it down.