ROWING, the act of propelling a boat (q.v.) by two or more persons by means of a succession of strokes of oars.
An oar is a long shaft of wood with a blade, or thin enlarged surface, at one end, and a handle at the other, and is, in theory, a lever of the second order. With the blade immersed the water forms the fulcrum, and the resultant pressure against the handle applied at some intermediate point of the shaft to a rowlock, or fixed pin in the side of the boat, drives the boat forward. From the earliest days until the Spanish Armada it wielded a vast in fluence on the seas as an instrument both of war and of commerce. In the days of Queen Anne the river was still the highway of London. There were no fewer than Io,000 licensed watermen on the tidal reaches of the Thames above London Bridge.
The oldest race of which there are records, save the Chester Cup, is the sculling-race known to this day as "D'oggett's Coat and Badge." Thomas Doggett, the famous comedian of the early 18th century, caused the following placard to be posted on London Bridge on the eve of August 1, 1715: "This being the day of his Majesty's happy accession to the Throne, there will be given by Mr. Doggett an orange livery, with a badge representing Liberty, to be rowed for by six watermen that are out of their time within the year past. They are to row from London Bridge to Chelsea. It will be continued annually on the same day for ever." True to his word Thomas Doggett left in his will, on his death in 1721, a sum of money in trust, and, with the exception of the years 1915-18 inclusive, the race has been rowed ever since under the administration of the Fishmongers' Company, and the list of win ners is almost complete. In 1919 those who had not raced during the World War were then matched against each other, so there is really no break in continuity.
The first English regatta (Ital. regata, an entertainment intro duced, as the Annual Register records, from Venice) of which we have evidence, took place on the Thames off Ranelagh Gardens in 1775. It attracted a great deal of public interest but no records of the races are preserved. Though there are numerous instances of professional matches at the beginning of the 19th century, it was not until the Napoleonic Wars were over that the "gentleman amateur" began to practise the sport to any extent. Westminster school Water Ledger is the first contemporary record of boat racing. It commences in 1813 with the names of the crew of the six-oared "Fly," but it is only reasonable to suppose that the school-boys had manned craft and raced much earlier than that.
Eton had a 10-oared boat "The Monarch" and three eight-oars as early as 1811, but no record exists of any racing until 1817. Eton challenged Westminster to row from Westminster to Kew against the tide in 1818, but the authorities refused to allow the race. This year is generally taken as the date of the foundation of the Leander club, which at once became the premier rowing club.
The records of college races at Oxford begin in 1815, but the very nature of the bumping races shows that evolution must have been gradual. It was apparently the custom for crews in eight oared boats to row down to Sandford in company to supper. On the way home all would collect in Iffley lock. The broad, in-rigged wherries had a gang plank running from the bows to the stroke thwart. As soon as the lock gates were opened the stroke of the leading boat ran down the gang plank shoving the boat out of the lock with a boat-hook, and then, clear of the lock, dropped into his seat and raced away, followed as quickly as possible by the second boat and so on. If a crew were good enough to keep their lead, they kept their place, but if bumped they gave their position up to the boat that caught them on the next night's racing.
The year 1829 is the first great date in rowing history, for it saw the first University boat race and the first match between Eton and Westminster. Cambridge had founded a university boat club in 1827 but Oxford did not follow suit until 1839. The first race was, in all probability, suggested by Charles Wordsworth of Christ Church, whose father was the Master of Trinity, and who therefore knew personally the oarsmen on both Isis and Cam. A meeting of the C.U.B.C. was held in Mr. Gisbourne's rooms on Feb. 20, 1829, at which it was resolved : "That Mr. Snow, of St. John's, be requested to write immediately to Mr. Staniforth, Christ Church, Oxford, proposing to make up a University match" and on March 12 a formal challenge was issued as follows "That the University of Cambridge hereby challenge the Uni versity of Oxford to row a match at or near London, each in an eight-oared boat, during the ensuing Easter vacation." In the end the race was decided at Henley on June io over a course from Hambleden Lock to Henley Bridge against the stream, about 2m. distance. Oxford won easily in a time given as 14 minutes.