THE SPORT OF ROWING compete as an athlete at the highest levels, even if you don’t come out the winner, you are forced to learn more about who you are deep down.’ Lyon: “We all had tremendous respect for Stan. He had a keen eye for detail and a clear vision of the ideal rowing stroke. He also knew that he lacked the ability to yell and motivate crews, so one day when he was a little disappointed in our progress, he faked anger, throwing his megaphone into the coaching launch and speeding down the course ahead of us. That worked to make us go even harder.”3626 Phil Durbrow Phil Durbrow: “When it was decided that Stan Pocock would gather some of the best oarsmen in the country to train in Seattle for the 1964 Olympics,3627 I was not one of the guys that anyone would have thought of, having only rowed for two years.”3628 Durbrow had a unique background. He had worked as Troy Donahue’s stunt double for equestrian scenes in Susan Slade and other Hollywood films. Georg Meyers, The Seattle Times: “Durbrow banked his movie earnings, enrolled at the University of California, rowed in Coach Jim Lemmon’s Junior Varsity and was drafted by the Army.”3629 Durbrow: “I feel very lucky that Duvall Hecht3630 had been my first rowing coach [at Menlo College]. Duvall helped me to appreciate the artfulness as much as the physical aspects of rowing. He had 3626 Lyon, op. cit. 3627 Stan Pocock: “I had nothing to do with getting people to show up!” – personal correspondence, 2009 3628 Durbrow, personal correspondence, 2009 3629 Georg N. Meyers, Hollywood Stuntman, Phil Durbrow’s Dream, The Seattle Times, October 16, 1964 3630 See Chapter 81. Ted Nash Collection “When I arrived, it was clear that I was the least experienced guy there. The group already had many Olympic and Pan American Gold Medalists. They were all wearing well-used USA sweatshirts! They would gather in little groups and try to put together boats with the guys they wanted to row with. I had naïvely thought it was going to be all about who could make the fastest learned from George and Stan Pocock, and he was not about brute force and strength. “He raised rowing to the level of a Zen master. For him, it was about getting totally in tune with the water, the feel of the boat, the unity of effort, the beauty of it all, while applying the horsepower! I remember Duvall saying, ‘Don’t hunker down and plow away. Sit up tall, and act as though you have the greatest disdain for the effort, while you lay it on.’ “Duvall called Stan and got me invited to Lake Washington. I was on special assignment for the Army at the time, and the Army wrote back saying they couldn’t find me! Eventually, they did locate me and ordered me to Seattle for training. 998
