THE SPORT OF ROWING champions” motto derived from the examples among Australian and British professionals687 and from his own active life. 1882 With Sadler coaching, Jesus had been Mays Head of the River every year since 1875. In 1882, with Fairbairn and four other freshmen aboard688 and only Hutchinson left over from the previous Mays winner,689 Jesus retained their title under Fairbairn’s coaching. With Steve and Hutch, they would remain Head of the River until 1886, when Steve had taken seriously ill with jaundice.690 At Henley in 1882, Hutch and Steve rowed 2 and 3 in winning the Wyfold Fours for Jesus and in addition rowed in the Grand Challenge Cup for Kingston R.C.,691 one of the older Metropolitan amateur clubs. Also in the Kingston Eight was G.C. “Beja” Bourne,692 who would become a great rowing coach and writer and also a friend of Steve’s for life.693 1883 Steve rowed in his second Blue Boat in 1883 and found the coaching even more disagreeable than the previous year. He then took the Jesus Mays Head of the River boat with himself in 7694 and entered the Grand at Henley. After being level at half distance, they were put out in the first round by 687 See Chapter 131. 688 Durack et al, The Bumps, database 689 Page, p. 28 690 Durack et al, op.cit. 691 They row with red blades. 692 Page, p. 17 693 See Chapter 16. 694 An oar from his 1883 Head boat is illustrated at the beginning of this chapter. London Rowing Club. Then in the Stewards’ Cup heats, London also put out the Jesus ‘82 Wyfold-winning Four with himself in 3. 1884 Having learned his lesson, Fairbairn refused the invitation to represent Cambridge for a third time in the Boat Race in 1884. After Jesus again went Head of the River, Steve represented Thames Rowing Club at Henley. Page: “[Steve] learnt something in turn from Thames men, not least Jimmie Hastie, whom he quotes frequently in his writings.”695 “Hastie won over two hundred races on the river, and his Henley tally was the Goblets three times, Grand, Stewards’ and Thames twice each, and Wyfold once. “In A Textbook of Oarsmanship, G.C. Bourne paid his tribute to Hastie: ‘When I attempt to conjure up out of my memory an ideal oarsman . . . I think of the late Mr. J. Hastie of the Thames Rowing Club, whose vigorous and perfectly balanced action, free from all affectation of unnecessary ornament, has rarely been equaled and never been surpassed.’ “He is one of the Thames immortals.”696 In 1884 with Steve aboard, Thames lost in the heats for the Grand by half a length to the eventual winners from London R.C., but Steve’s Thames Four with himself at 3 and Hutchinson stroking won the Wyfold Fours by three lengths in its final over the Marlow and London Rowing Clubs. 695 Page, p. 29 696 Ibid, p. 24 186
