INTERNATIONAL ROWING TURNS PROFESSIONAL serious fault, and that is the comparative shortness of swing fore and aft. All other essentials are there.”2767 Cambridge coach W.A.L. Fletcher analyzed the Belgian equipment2768 and found many differences with British rigging: Blade width 18.5 cm 15 cm Oar length 367 cm Inboard Outboard Spread 108 cm 259 cm 81 cm Belgian British 376 cm 113 cm 263 cm 79 cm Due to collar placement, Ghent’s shorter oars actually yielded a heavier load ratio, 2.17 versus 2.09, and this would have been exacerbated by the wider blades which tended to move the center of blade area closer to the tip. This makes the Belgians’ more limited body swing understandable. However, these limits were relative to English Orthodoxy. The photo on the previous page clearly shows the majority of rowers laying back in excess of -30˚! running, When Ghent won the Grand two years this shook the British establishment. “The Belgians, wearing black beards and purple sock-suspenders and smoking cigars, won the Grand in 1906 and 1907. Something had to be done.”2769 Only when Ghent was finally beaten at the 1908 Olympics by the Leander “Old Crocks” was full British confidence in their traditional technique restored.2770 Netherlands Rowing Next door to Belgium in the Netherlands, “close ties between the [Dutch] royal family and rowing dated back to 1845 2767 Lehmann, Complete, p. 142 2768 Sir William Gladstone, The Christ Church Style, unpublished manuscript. 2769 Ibid. 2770 See Chapter 24. de perfecte haal Prince Consort Hendrik At the Koninklijke Holland Beker during the 1920s University rowing developed strong rivalries throughout the country, while “civilian” rowing centered mostly around 2771 in English, the Royal Netherlands Sail and Rowing Club. 2772 For Americans, sounds like “hope.” 2773 For Americans, the “j” sounds like “y.” 2774 For Americans, sounds a bit like “A-here” with a tiny catch in the throat during the “h.” 2775 For Americans, the “i” sounds like “ee.” 2776 Co Rentmeester, de perfecte haal when Prince Hendrik, son of King Willem II, initiated the idea of De Koninklijke Nederlandsche Zeil- en Roeivereniging2771 or “the Royal” (Koninklijke), as most Dutch call it, ‘so that everyone in all of the Netherlands can work together to reap the benefits of this useful institution.’ “Clubs like De Maas in Rotterdam, De Hoop2772 and De Amstel in Amsterdam and university boat clubs such as Njord2773 [in Leiden], Laga [in Delft], Aegir2774 [in Groningen] and Triton2775 [in Utrecht] followed suit. “[In the early 20th Century], another Prince Hendrik, the Prince Consort of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, honored the regattas he visited by donning his uniform as Admiral in the Dutch Navy.”2776 767
