Clwb Rhwyfo Porthmadog Rowing Club

These notes were originally designed for coxes’ but it is now deemed beneficial that all rowers should read them to make them aware of decisions that coxes’ have to make all the time.

THE COX IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SAFETY OF THE BOAT AND ALL CREW.
DON’T DO ANYTHING THAT WILL PUT EITHER AT RISK OR ANYTHING YOU or ANY OF YOUR CREW FEEL UNHAPPY ABOUT.

Pre launch:
Fill out the Risk Assessment form which will include checking the integrity of the boat (all gates, the rudder locked in place with a serviceable lanyard, pump working, both hatches secured tightly, bung hole unobstructed, hull and oars ok. Ensure you have filled out your destination and the name of the person you have checked out and back with.)
Make sure you have the grab bag, ensure that everyone is familiar with the correct use of life jackets and that they are worn tightly facing forwards or under the inboard elbow. Tie the loose end of the throw line to a secure point on the boat. Remember bucket/bailer. Drinking water (especially in hot weather and long rows), hand held VHF MUST be attached to the coxes own life jacket and really only to be used by qualified person, and lastly your mobile phone also on the coxes person in the waterproof container provided.
Check your crew for fitness to row, be aware of anyone who might be week due to their recovering from an illness or suffering from asthma or diabetes etc.
Check that the ratchet on the winch is locked. When letting the boat down the slip, make sure everyone is up hill of the wheels and that you have sufficient people to control the speed of the descent safely. Be vigilant of other people using the slip especially children.
REMEMBER to put the bung in.

Launching:
Delegate 2 people to support the bows of the boat as it is run off the trailer to ensure that the end of the trailer doesn’t catch the boat and damage it.
Once on the water, don’t move away until everyone is ready. Ensure everyone, especially the bow rower can hear and understand you and make sure that they know what colour they are pulling and that they are familiar with all commands.
Rowing positions are numbered from the bow(No 1) through to the stroke (No.4).
When rowing in the harbour, take care when rounding blind corners and other potential collision points.

BUOYAGE
When navigating out to sea, follow the channel buoys. A more experienced cox could consider cutting corners at high water.

RULES of THE ROAD (at sea, make like the French and drive on the right).
Going out from the harbour, keep all GREEN buoys on your LEFT (PORT), keep RED buoys on your RIGHT (STARBOARD).
When coming back into port you reverse the rule: Pass RED buoys on your LEFT (PORT) and keep GREEN buoys on your RIGHT (STARBOARD). This rule applies to all harbours with buoyed channels.
Remember the phrase referring to the matching of oar colours to buoy colours
“OPPOSITE GOING OUT, SAME COMING BACK”.
PASSING oncoming vessels. Keep them on your LEFT (PORT); they will do the same to you, hence the nautical expression PORT to PORT. If you need to overtake another boat, pass it on your RIGHT (STARBORD) side.

ALWAYS BE AWARE OF NOT ONLY WHAT’S IN FRONT OF YOU, BUT ALSO WHAT MAY BE COMING UP BEHIND YOU. ALWAYS CHECK BEHIND YOU BEFORE ALTERING COURSE.
USE YOUR “STROKE” as an extra set of eyes.
In the case of confusion involving another craft coming straight at you, indicate your intentions with clear arm signals.

Forces other than rowers that act against a straight course: Wind, Tide/Current, and Rudder

WIND: When heading for a specific point in a cross wind you have to remember to allow for the “Sail” effect on the side of your craft and steer up wind of your intended destination. This is sometimes referred to as “Ferry Gliding”.

A useful way of calculating this side drift is to line up a buoy with a fixed point on the
Land or if that’s not practical, line up 2 buoys and take note of their changing positions in relation to each other.
Having established how much drift, you can steer to compensate.

TIDE and CURRENT: The wind is tangible as you can feel it on your face but the forces of tide and current aren’t always so apparent. You should check in advance what the tide is doing and also by observing moored buoys to see which side the wash is on and how strong.  Neap tides- occur mid lunar cycle and are very mild with tides coming in ¾ and going out ¾, so not a lot of water moving, unless the rivers are swollen due to heavy rain.  Spring tides occur around full and new moon. They are powerful tides with extremes of high and low water meaning a lot of water moving in and out twice a day.  When Spring tides are ebbing (going out) combined with possibly a lot of river water coming down both estuaries, currents can be ferocious with channel buoys leaning right over with the force of water. So be prepared to apply the same “Ferry Gliding” technique as mentioned above as with cross winds. In these conditions be prepared for extreme underwater turbulence at headlands when it can feel like something has suddenly grabbed your rudder; in these conditions give headlands, buoys and rocks a wide berth.
When turning on a buoy in a strong head current make sure you go a full boats length past it before turning, otherwise you stand the risk of being driven down onto the buoy and possibly snagging oars. In the worst case scenario you could even be driven hard onto the buoy and capsized.
In strong tides remember that what might be easy going one way is going to be hard work the other way. So make allowance for a situation where an exhausted crew have to row back for a long time against a strong current.

RUDDER:
Simple rule of thumb when steering-
The boat will go in the direction that you pull the rudder lanyard. I.e. if you pull the lanyard forwards with your left hand then the boat will go to the left whether you are going forwards or backwards.
In general, unless you are negotiating a buoy or obstacle, you should try a keep the rudder amidships, as excessive rudder slows the boat and makes rowing very heavy. If through misjudgement you have a mismatched crew then if necessary ask the stronger side to ease off a bit, or the weaker side to pull harder!
If you have got a heavy swell and choppy waves, sometimes it is a good tactic to steer head into the waves as this makes for easier steering and rowing. Also if you have the opportunity and space, steer into the wind. This will eliminate the need to keep the tiller over to compensate for the pressure of the wind on one side of the boat. Sometimes you don’t have the option and you just have to put up with the boat corkscrewing.

You might even be in a situation where the wind is so strong on one side of the boat that you can’t get the boat on the heading that you want. In which case simply tell the windward rowers to ease off or even stop rowing whilst you get back on course. Remember, unless water is moving past your rudder you won’t have any steerage.
In a crisis rowers have been known to actually stop rowing! This is the very last thing you want as the boat is in effect out of control. Keep control of your rowers, shout if necessary to maintain discipline but don’t panic.
SHOALING- This is when breaking waves suddenly appear out of nowhere but are caused by long rollers suddenly confronting shallow water (sandbanks, rocks or reefs). These will become more pronounced as the tide ebbs (goes out).
BROACHING- This can occur when a breaking wave hits you on your beam (side) and can swamp your boat or even capsize you. Take great care when turning with a heavy sea and large rollers on your bow; time your turn to start as you crest one wave and try to have it completed before the next wave gets to you. Your crew must be made aware of the urgency of turning the boat quickly by speeding up the rate and shortening the length of the stroke.
POOPING- This can occur when a wave actually breaks over your stern. Be aware of a following sea and use it to surf down the wave. Waves will quite often be travelling faster than you can row, so when a wave is approaching you from astern, the speed of the boat must increase to catch it and sit on it, otherwise it will pass you by. Instruct your crew to give it all they’ve got to achieve this speed. Once on the wave the rowers will have to stop rowing as they will not be able to keep up with the wave and oars in the water will hamper the run down. The rudder might be out of the water whilst on the crest, but if you do have some steerage, the helm should be kept straight, if the boat starts to slew one way, you can ask for the oars on the opposite side to briefly dip to bring you straight again .
DO NOT ATTEMPT SURFING IF THE WAVE IS BREAKING! IN FACT KEEP WELL AWAY FROM BREAKING SURF!
Surfing is very exhilarating and can give you the edge on another boat.

CREW CARE
Always be aware of the physical and mental state of your crew.
Keep checking that everyone is OK by asking each by name and MONITOR HIS OR HER RESPONSE.
You may have to really shout in rough seas so that the bow person can hear you.
In hot weather make sure that you give everyone the opportunity to have a drink every 20 minutes. This can be done individually whilst everyone else continue to row or call a stop to rowing whilst everyone relaxes for a couple of minutes.
HUMOUR is a great asset and can hopefully keep your crew’s spirits high in times of pain and despair!!
Encourage your crew with positive feedback and where necessary, constructive advice. You don’t need to pin-point one particular person, ie “Greens are going in early” or “Reds, need to pull harder”.
In general plenty of praise and thank them at the end of a session for their hard work and progress.
Some rowers are not happy going out into breaking waves, so make sure that if they make their discomfort known to you that you turn back, do not ridicule them and do not stand for other rowers ridiculing them either.
When starting off a training session you should make sure that the crew has a steady warm-up before any hard exertion. Tell the stroke to take it easy with a relatively slow rate of around 25 strokes per minute. After 5 minutes they should have warmed up sufficiently to start hard work. At a convenient place and out of the way of other traffic, stop them rowing so they can strip off outer layers and do any adjusting to their blocks and a quick sip of water. CAUTION: When in this state of no-one rowing you must be very vigilant and watch that you don’t drift into danger, such as other boats, buoys and rocks.

EMERGENCY STOPS
Sometimes you might find you are in a situation that requires immediate and urgent action apart from steering. In the summer season there are a lot of other boat users on the water. In the confined space of the crowded moorings, a small dingy can appear out of nowhere from the blind spot of a yacht; and a longboat going at full speed could inflict a lot of damage.
The command for an emergency stop is HOLD IT UP! Make sure that all your crew know this command and know what to do quickly without hesitation. Do practice emergency stops as part of your training session.
The action of the crew on the command is to immediately dig their oars squared into the water and push hard on the handle to effect a breaking action.

CAPSIZE
In the unlikely event of a capsize, it is imperative that you the cox ensure that everyone is safe and accounted for. There will inevitably be a certain amount of disorientation and possibly panic. You must keep your head and reassure everyone. Make sure everyone has their life jackets inflated. Locate and deploy the emergency lifeline (throwline bag) near the rudder for crew to hang onto. If you are too far from the shore or shallow water to swim, then you should stay with the boat if it is safe to do so as this helps Search & Rescue to locate you. Keep everyone together on the lee side of the boat (the side out of the wind and breaking sea). If in breaking surf, keep well away from the boat but keep a hold on the throwline. Locate the grab bag, probably floating nearby, and nominate one person to get the flares out and operate them whilst you contact the emergency services on you mobile phone or VHF radio. Keep your head, be clear and precise. Example-
“MAYDAY-MAYDAY-MAYDAY-ROWING BOAT CAPSIZED-PORTHMADOG ESTUARY–FIVE PEOPLE IN WATER—LISTENING—OVER” that’s all you need to say, they might want to know your mobile number, but the ball will be rolling. If you manage to get everyone to the shore you should still contact emergency services as delayed shock, exposure or secondary drowning can occur and medical examination should be carried out as soon as possible. Contact someone from the club so they can start ringing around relatives.

FINAL WORD –Always have the greatest respect for the sea and rivers, they are very powerful forces and not always easily predicted.
Remember! Unless you have water moving past your rudder, you do not have any steerage, this is particularly relevant when rowing against a very strong wind or being carried along by a fast current.

COXING TERMS

Forward to row – The first command to prepare to start rowing, lean forward arms locked out and ready to take first stroke.

Together or GO – All rowers start to row.

Hold it up – Hold Water – Put the blades square into the water, causing the boat to decelerate quickly and stop. Command for an EMERGENCY STOP!

Back it down – Push the oar backward through the water to move the boat towards the stern. In effect REVERSING.

Skim – Place the back of the oar on the water to create a very slight resistance when turning or slowing.

Power ten or Big ten - Coxswains call to take a certain number of power strokes that muster all the rowers’ strength.

Easy oars – Coxswains call to have all rowers stop rowing and lay the spoons/blades flat on the water. (This has a good stabilising effect on the boat when rowers have to move around).

Let it run – call for all rowers to stop rowing and to pause at the finish, letting the boat glide through the water and coast to a stop.

Greens or Reds only – Command for the other side to stop rowing when manoeuvring a sharp turn.

General maritime terms:-

Beam Sea – Waves coming at the boat from one side causing it to corkscrew – DANGER of capsize.
Flood tide – Tide coming in.
Ebb tide – Tide going out.
Spring tide – Extremes of high and low water falling around full and new moon. A lot of water on the move.
Neap tides – Short tides with tidal differences considerably reduced. Less water on the move.
Lee Shore – When the wind is blowing onto the shore. Potential DANGER of being driven onto shore or rocks.
Shoaling waters – short irregular breaking waves usually associated with sand banks or shallow water.
In the Lee of… – protected from the wind by a headland or another boat or structure.
Off Shore - when the wind is blowing off the land. Potential DANGER of being blown out to sea
Wind over Tide – Choppy Sea caused by the tide running in the opposite direction to the wind.
Rip Tide- A strong under current running parallel to the shore caused by tidal flow. Frequently catches out swimmers and can carry them out to sea.
Port – LEFT/RED
Starboard – RIGHT/GREEN

Useful reading: -
The Seaway Code RYA, The Stationery Office – ISBN 0-11-702535-6 £5
Tides and Currents, by David Arnold – Fernhurst Books – £9
Yacht Master, RYA training publication. – £7
Flags and Signals. RYA,Blackmoor Ltd. £4

Simon Pendrell
Porthmadog
February 2009

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