She's baaack!

Back to blogging, and this time I'm going to talk about my latest obsession.  Rowing.  Specifically all the ins and outs of competitive rowing.  This has all come about due to my reading of the fantastic book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown.  This book had been recommended to me by a couple of different folks including my school's very savvy librarian, I mean media specialist.  It absolutely captivated me.

I knew very, very little about rowing before reading this book, but Brown's accessible writing invites anyone and everyone into the mechanics and emotions of the sport and the boats themselves while weaving two narrative throughout--that of Joe Rantz, the primary figure in the book--a Great Depression true life Horatio Alger and University of Washington rower; and that of the growing power and influence of the 3rd Reich and its preparations for hosting the world at the Olympics.  So fascinating, it reads like works by Erik Larson.  I've already ordered an earlier book by Brown titled Under a Flaming Sky: the Hinckley Firestorm of 1894.  Hinckley is not far from Sandstone, Minnesota from which my aunt Jo hails.  I remember learning about the fire when we were in Sandstone in preparation for her and my uncle's wedding.  One of the tag lines in the book asserts that the fire in Hinckley which really was two fires meeting up was so intense that it created its own weather system.  This is right up by alley.  Reminds me of Larson's Isaac's Storm.  Anyway, back to the rowing.

So the role of the coxswain captivated me and I started watching YouTube videos mainly to see how the modern coxswain operates.  Fortunately, there are many recordings available of coxswains at work during World Cup/ Championship Events.  They are part coach, strategist, cheerleader, strategist, foreman, strategist, taskmaster, strategist and psychologist.  They are tiny, necessarily so for the weight component, but yell forcefully commands, curses and encouragement throughout the race.  Amazing.

Mary Whipple, USA Women's Coxswain:  World Cup Final 2003

The Boys in the Boat.  Check it out!