OUR ANCESTORS Year 1 Paine: “He must first of all ‘pass’ in swimming, a precaution attended with pic- turesque formality. Squads of dripping and nervous youngsters are put through their paces under the eyes of two or three masters. ‘Passing’ consists of achieving a ‘header,’ swimming the breast-stroke for ten yards [9m] and return, treading water, and pad- dling a few strokes on the back.130 “The Eton boy then becomes eligible to hire a boat of his own and teach himself the rudiments of watermanship. Paddling about as a lower boy, he finds much fun in the sport and begins to cast envious eyes at the Novice Eights, which are the beginning of real rowing. Year 2 Paine: “In his second summer, if he has the right stuff in him, the wet-bob has done some pair-oar racing and qualified for the skittish excitement of pulling against his fellows as a novice in an outrigger131 boat.”132 Gully Nickalls, who went through the Eton system between 1913 and 1917: “It was important, should you find yourself a lower boy in your second summer, that you should distinguish yourself, however slight- ly, either in the lower boy sculling or in the lower boy pulling (or pair-oar race). If you could manage this, you were pretty sure to get your ‘boats’ the following year.”133 This is perhaps the most modern facet of the entire Eton system. The path to success was through singles and pairs. This was only embraced by the U.S. National Team, for example, after 1992! The Procession of Boats The seminal manual Rowe & Pitman: “‘The Boats’ are those members of the school who are entitled to wear a ‘colour’ for proficiency in rowing. They are divided into Upper and Lower Boats, the former consisting of a ten-oar and two eight-oars, and the latter of six eight-oars.”134 Historian Gilbert C. Bourne: “Eton led the way in the use of eight-oared boats and boasted a ten-oar before the end of the 18th Century. The ten-oar was a subtle compli- ment to Royalty, for the King’s barge, which is still in commission [1925] and has carried their present majesties at the Henley Regat- ta, is fitted for ten oars. “It was a truly regal spectacle, and the Eton boys must have been familiar with the appearance of the self-same boat when they enjoyed a special share of royal favor in the days of King George III [1760-1820]. “Small wonder that they fitted out their head boat in imitation of her.”135 Historian W.E. Crum: “Each of the Upper Boats has a distinctive colour, where- as all the members of the Lower Boats wear the same cap.”136 It is these Upper and Lower Boats which make up the Eton Procession of Boats eve- ry year. Parades of boats on water are not 130 Passing has traditionally required a swim of fifty yards (46m) upstream, followed by treading water, and then fifty yards back downstream, per Grenfell, 2008. 131 Evolution in equipment is discussed in Chap- ter 4. 132 Paine, pp. 498-9 133 G.O. Nickalls, Rainbow, pp. 37-8 unique. Most ports around the world have long had water-born festivities, but those of the 18th Century British do stand out. 134 Rowe & Pitman, p. 210 135 Bourne, Textbook, p. 197 136 W.E. Crum, Rowing at Eton College, Isthmi- an Rowing, p. 238 47
