Today we are going to look at several different videos teaching how to get back into a rowing boat after having fallen in.
British Rowing official capsize drill
- The first minute shows a capsize using a camera on the boat
- Note the athlete is fully submerged and then pulls her feet out of the shoes under water
- There’s good advice about ‘simulating’ capsize in a swimming pool – remove backstays
- At 1:15 she gets back onto the stern canvas and using her arms only paddles the boat towards shore. A good technique if you aren’t strong enough to get in over the side
- The video explains clearly how a coach can teach capsize drills
- The “Straddle and Paddle” technique recommended for masters who cannot get back into the boat is at 7 minutes 12 seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcPE8-gENLo
Daniel Gorriaran from Narangasett Boat Club
This has good instruction from the bank – worth copying
- Feather your oars on the surface of the water before trying to get back in
- Getting in from both sides – worth practicing
- Recommends swimming underneath to get the far oar lined up perpendicular to the boat
- Note if you are over 50 years old you have “3 tries” to get back in the boat and then you are likely too tired to succeed
https://www.youtube.com/embed/HkMcpAMmEhk
Calm Waters Rowing
- Elbow on top of the oars as you line them up parallel to the boat
- Bounce in the water three times before getting hips onto the top of the boat
- Once you have tummy across the boat, then twist around to a sitting position
https://www.youtube.com/embed/nhtv53MOrqA
This one shows a beginner (not a coach)
It is instructional because you can see what she does right and wrong
- She tips out of the boat easily and the boat stays upright because she was relaxed as she fell and had let go of the oars
- When getting back in, she stays lying on her tummy
- And then instead of attempting to sit up, she straddles the boat cockpit with her legs dangling in the water – one on each side
- From there, she succeeds in sitting up. Note she keeps the oar handles low in the boat while doing this, which doesn’t help stability
- Once sitting she moves the handles upwards so each spoon is resting on the water and the boat is level
- Then the athlete makes a rookie error and lets go of one of the oars…. and falls in again
https://www.youtube.com/embed/I7sBJiK-ixs
This last video shows a large number of beginner adult / masters scullers doing the capsize and recovery drill
- Note the widely differing ways of falling in
- At 2:25 a lady fails to raise her handles after getting back onto the boat and tips over again
- And notice how quickly athletes get tired after being in the water – they rapidly lose strength to lift themselves out of the water
https://www.youtube.com/embed/T4iZN2WjbMA
Tips from the trenches
- Women – wrap a PFD (personal flotation device) the yellow long strap type around your body under your breasts – having this lower on your torso lifts you out higher above the water so you have less distance to reach upwards to get into the boat
- With bow mounted wing riggers, turn the boat the right way up then stand on the rigger to help get yourself into the boat
- To get more elevation and vertical acceleration as you kick your legs in the water to get upwards – try filling your lungs with air and dipping below the water surface before kicking hard. The extra air will help to lift your torso upwards.
