SWXX Special Report: University Boat Race 2012. By guest editor Salina Christmas. Photography by Zarina Holmes.
The University Boat Race, it is said, is a coxswain’s race, an event by which his or her judgement, as well as the oarsmen’s speed, determine the outcome of months of training and mental preparation.
The Cambridge crew leaves the Crabtree. Photo: @Zarina Holmes
That is quite a responsibility for two very young people entrusted to captain two crews, to undertake. The race is, after all, only a varsity race. To some of the rowers, this event is the culmination of their rowing career, before they graduate and retire, or go on to compete at amateur level at local rowing clubs.
Mr Edward Bosson turned 19 a day before the race. The 5'7" coxswain led his team to victory on 7 April 2012. Photo: @Zarina Holmes
The 2012 event saw the Cambridge coxswain, Mr Edward Bosson, holding his line and steering his crew to victory at the final stage of the race, even after a clash of blades with the Oxford crew. A strange turn of events saw the race being disrupted at Hammersmith by a protest swimmer, who did it to oppose the “elitism” associated with rowing.
The University Boat Race is a free event that attracts about a quarter of a million spectators every year. For the inhabitants of Putney, Fulham, Hammersmith and Chiswick, the race is a day for parents and children to go out and enjoy the pomp and ceremony. Nobody has to pay for a season ticket to watch the race.
Mr Niles Garrat, the stroke, contemplates before stepping out to the water. Photo: @Zarina Holmes
I began coxing and rowing some years ago in Putney and Hammersmith to save money by doing a sport locally. A neighbour saw me sparring at a taekwondo interclub competition and asked if I could cox her crew. It was not as expensive as I thought it would be, and all I needed was to wake up earlier than normal and walk to Putney. After another sparring event, in which I ended up with two broken fingers and two hours at the A&E, I decided that early mornings were not going to be so bad after all.
Mr Steve Dudek, of Wisconscin, USA, is the heaviest University Boat Race rower to date, weighing 109.6 kg. Photo: @Zarina Holmes
As a novice, I would often gawped at the Cambridge team when they came and left the Cabtree boathouse next door. I used to marvel at the size of the oarsmen and wondered how it was possible for some men to grow that big and heavy, and how the fine boat, within a few decades, became even lighter and slimmer in design.
In that period, the rudder morphed from a wooden keel-like object to being no bigger than a credit card, making the boat faster to row, but less stable to sit in. In fact, a fine boat floats nicely on its own on the water – until a human being sits in it. How is that so?
My curiosity of the rowers’ genotype, and the material culture of the sport, led to me to taking up photography – initially for portraiture, but later, for anthropology. UCL anthropologist Ludavic Coupaye, who teaches Anthropology of Techniques and Technology for my alma mater, told me recently that the way the boat is designed is like that of the bicycle – it has nothing to do with comfort but all to do with winning a race.
The University Boat Race falls in early Spring to mark the beginning of the regatta season.
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What a pithy report, Salina and Zarina! The pictures and words have all the more impact for the taut editing that allows us to get quickly to the heart of the occasion – and to the meaning for yourselves. Salina’s autobiographical links and Zarina’s respectful observation bring the event to life. (One of my very earliest memories is being in my Dad’s motor boat while he coached his Wallasey Grammar School Eight among the towering sides of big ships in Birkenhead docks. My first career ambition was thus to be a sailor!)
Thanks again for wonderful observation, Richard. You’ll make a good captain! We know this sport well and feel a bit sad about the ‘elite’ accusation. It is not the case. UK is surrounded by water and has a long history of great maritime tradition. Everybody can get to the water within an hour or so. The sport belongs to all, regardless of class.
I completely agree, and so would my Dad, having as he does deep working class roots as son of an unemployed decorator during the 1930s Depression in Kent. Maybe his upbringing by the sea on the Isle of Thanet encouraged him to take up rowing for his College, St Peters, when he won a scholarship to Oxford. I’m pretty sure he didn’t view it as a sport for toffs when he coached the Merseyside lads of Wallasey!
Thank you for saying I’d make a good captain! I can certainly sail a dinghy, but vocationally I have to report that more mundane options prevailed.
I was informed that Mr Richard Tinkler, former GB coach, took up rowing while working for Transport for London. I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to him briefly at the Head of the River Race. He was down in London to support his current team, University of Exeter Boat Club. We said hello and then off he went to cycle up to Barnes Bridge (in his wellies) to receive his crew. No airs, and straight to business. I was bowled over.
Just saw your comment while trying to find out what Richard Tinkler is up to now. I used to row for London Transport (District Line) R.C. in the 1970s and 80s. Richard was then a bus driver who rowed for London Transport (Central Road Services) Thames. He was a cheeky chappie and pretty good oarsman. In those days London Transport had 4 rowing clubs. I was Ladies Captain at District Line and we were the first women they ever had rowing for them. Sadly all the clubs are now defunct since privatisation. I was amazed and pleased to hear Richard’s name mentioned in such high places.
Thank you, Jenny. Small world. Mr Tinkler’s cousin was my Managing Editor, Life Sciences, at the publishing company we worked for. He was also my research mentor whilst I was doing some medical anthropology works whilst at University College London. Please get in touch with us. My other blog dedicated to cycling and running (and rowing) is GLUE at http://www.smellslikeglue.com.