You've done the race. What happened? How to decide what could be improved. And what to do about it.
03:00 What we can do to improve our head race performance, Race review - what happened in the race. Look beyond just the race course. Consider the 24 hours beforehand, what you did well to prepare for the race. 10 things you did really well so you can repeat that in another competition. What could have been better?
05:00 Review photos and video of your crew and race - ask friends and family to share. How did you steer every corner? What made you anxious or frightened? When we came close to another crew people turned their heads to look, someone yelled, we lost our rhythm and balance.
Good race results come from many small gains.
Get the free ebook about aspects of Head Racing ebook.
When someone not so good happens ask yourself - Could I have anticipated this? - What you could have done to change it - What are the unexpected things that happened to your crew? - Have a response that you've thought about for these situations.
10:00 Write down the things you did well and the things you need to improve.
Think through scenarios - Marlene's sculler lost his oars because someone took them by mistake.
Being well-rested helps your concentration and focus. You will make better decisions and maintain your focus if you're rested. Focus is key.
Hear what happened to them, what they did to respond to situations. Learn from their experience. Use pens on a table to illustrate where crews were positioned and how they moved as the situation developed. This helps give you a visual memory of the situation.
14:00 Mentally you can practice putting bad strokes behind you and not worrying about them. Focus on the upcoming strokes, not what has passed. Train yourself to stop thinking about what was bad.
Couching something in negative terms "don't do this" gives worse outcomes than using positive terminology "do this".
As you become a better competitor you learn how to recover from bad strokes better. Know what you need to do in order to refocus and get your head back in the boat.
The final parts of your head race preparation including essential pre-planning in advance of race day. Tapering, travel and using borrowed boats.
02:00 Tapering
The training program volume is reduced so you are rested and ready to race. Faster Masters Rowing programs always include the taper. It may feel weird because you're doing much less training and you are less active than normal. Take precautions to not catch viruses.
04:00 Book on tapering
The timing of your rest day is the critical factor for creating a peak. The opportunity exists to over-rate in your practice because you are rested. This mimics the adrenaline boost you will get on race day. 07:00 Rebecca's best peak ever.
08:15 Travel - do this either early or late for timezone changes.
Your bodyclock adjustment is one hour per day. Arrive and race within 48 hours of arrival or wait 8 days to get into the timezone before your big event. Seek comfort during the travel - reduce stress from the environment around you. NSAID - a herbal remedy to aide sleep.
Rebecca likes to check the boat ties; all nuts are tight on the boat, the riggers and footstretchers. Use electrical tape for anything you think needs protecting. Tape riggers together and place blades tip down into the trailer so they nest together with the ends pushed against the hard edge of the trailer box to avoid wear patterns. Her single has a padded cover which is also made of UV resistant fabric. Tie on your boat yourself so if something goes wrong it's on you not someone else.
15:00 Using borrowed boats Be prepared when you arrive to adjust that boat. Take measurements off your boat at home. Span, spread (top and bottom of pin), height from seat top to bottom of shoe heel, oarlock sill to seat top. Measure to the same place (seat high or low point - be consistent). Know your pitch on the oarlocks, the oar length and inboard. When hiring boats the type of adjustments allowed are footstretchers and oarlock heights. Take your own tools (metric and imperial), pitch gauge, an adjustable wrench (spanner) and a height stick. Expect to have to change a few things.
18:00 In emergencies an oar can be used as an alternative to a height stick.
The Spacer Placer tool for height spacer washers can be bought Velcro shoe straps to wrap around the outside (home made) for when the shoes are too large.
Free head racing ebook
Pre-race nerves diary week 5 Casey McKenna
Head race taper versus rest article
Travel, tapering and using borrowed boats podcast
It's head racing season. Staying focused on the power and technique during a race. What are the best race plan calls to manage fade.
Everyone needs this focus - you will get tired during a race. Working with crews who haven't practiced together (throw-together crews). Discussed in Coach Mastermind Group Understand the language - have a common understanding and agree what calls mean and how to do the changes.
How to deliver power in the rowing stroke. Marlene likes a really steady pressure on the blade or good leg drive acceleration to build momentum and swing. Swing is a good call. Rebecca likes to stay longer on the legs and delay the back swing so you can keep the blade in the water a bit longer and make the swing more dynamic.
Ask the crew - is there a word which clicks for them the "mantra" word that works. The words you choose need (initially) to explain how to do the movement. This is useful for novices and crews who aren't used to rowing together or are from different countries where conventions vary. A short call allows you to make a quick change within a few strokes.
08:00 Power push
When it ends focus on rhythm to maintain power - avoid extreme changes in power. Efficiency is a nice call - back off 1% on power and focus on your movements with no extraneous movements.
11:45 Technique calls to keep as steady a pace as possible. It helps if you have some things you have practiced together. One technical call is - stay tall at the finish to keep blades buried, or a good balance and set can be called alternating with power calls. Marlene finds a focus on clean releases helps the rest of technique to stay together and good.
14:30 How to do this in a single scull.
Practice to develop your plan and your key focus points.
Elite rowers continuously observe how you are rowing; how the boat is running relative to weather/wind and then you "pull a trick out of your bag" to respond to what's happening. Then observe again and adjust. Be flexible and adaptable to the situation. Front of mind compared to back of mind thinking.
20:30 Calls to manage fade - learn personal pace judgement. People are often too conservative and it's rare for people to blow up. The simpler your calls, the better as you get tired.
Learn how to be hard on yourself - in the first half of the race you probably won't be tired until the second half. And you get more energy as you sprint to the line. Manage the "sag" in energy so it's as little as possible. Our Faster Masters programs teach this with repeats of distance/time because these teach pace judgement.
23:00 Expect the fade to happen and to feel uncomfortable - train yourself to handle discomfort and hold it together. Your fitness training is important. A technique focus on bladework is good as it disturbs rhythm if it's not good. Have self-talk ready to keep your focus.
What motivates you? Club rivalry, improved time. I couldn't have pulled one stroke harder without losing my power / bladework / stroke rate.
26:00 What's your goal for this race? I did the best on the day is your ideal outcome. Some days you race better and more consistently than others. If you race without a taper this may happen. Over time you will race better.
When you are tired you're not very objective. Rebecca loathes hearing "I can see the finish line" it's not encouraging. Marlene hates "looking good" - that's not enough. Cox should tell then what we are doing well right now. There's always something you can improve. Most crews want to respond and perform for their cox. Ten strokes to the finish line when mis-counted it's awful to hear "four more". Always over-estimate. This leads the crew to get frustrated.
Times when you can lie to the crew - when the crew cannot see what you can see. They can't verify your words. "Half a length to catch another crew" - a good example. An excellent cox can identify what every person needs and their focus. Get specific, it does not need to always be whole crew calls. Rebecca likes bow pair to get catches in early because the rest of the crew can feel this and add to the change.
Free head racing ebook - 8 articles of interest for you.
A special podcast episode by Jim Dietz.
Watch expert coach and serial HOCR winner, Jim Dietz explain how to position your boat for every turn, bridge and hazard on the Charles River course.
Watch Jim Dietz speaking one the needs of older athletes in the winter months at our Older Athlete and Aging conference (pre-recorded).
One percent gains for racing (pre-recorded) - an expert webinar led by Greg Benning, serial HOCR winner, on how he assesses all aspects of his rowing to make small gains in multiple areas.
Watch Jim Dietz speaking one the needs of older athletes in the winter months at our Older Athlete and Aging conference (pre-recorded).
One percent gains for racing (pre-recorded) - an expert webinar led by Greg Benning, serial HOCR winner, on how he assesses all aspects of his rowing to make small gains in multiple areas.
Head race challenges - how to deal with things like turning buoys, wind and waves, and staying warm at the start marshalling. Something unexpected always happens in head races - caused by you or external factors.
01:00 Your experience base is what will serve you well in dealing with challenges.
02:00 Challenges -expect the unexpected. anything can happen. Get accustomed to rowing with many other athletes and boats around. Know your response to a range of different situations so you know what to do when a challenge arises.
Marcus Buckingham research into why some long distance lorry (truck) drivers had fewer accidents is helpful for us rowers.
06:00 Staying warm in the marshalling area. Wear clothing you can keep on until the last moment. Marlene likes a lightweight wind jacket because it's easy to take off. Can you row in small circles to stay warm? Do the push/pull drill - rowing in place. Keep your muscles moving as much as you can. Are you able to get out of the boat and stay warm on the bank by jogging on the spot?
Keep your hands under your armpits as that's the warmest part of your body. And wear a warm fleece hat.
10:00 Avoid sitting still and not doing anything as it is harder to get up to speed in the race if you are cold. Rebecca likes to hang back when the crews move up the marshalling line towards the start line so she can row hard pressure strokes to catch up the crew in front.
At the Scullers Head Rebecca worked out how long after the race began that her bow number would be starting the race. She chose to park her boat and go to a nearby pub to stay warm and drink coffee while waiting and watching the numbers pass by. You can take a thermos of hot water in the boat if that helps you stay warm.
The Ultimate Guide to Head Racing free ebook download
13:30 Wind and Waves - things you cannot control but you can row them well. Look at a map of the course and a weather app and work out where the wind will be head / side or tail winds. Where will gusts likely happen?
In a headwind, the waves are highest at the start of a straight when you are rowing into the wind. Can you adapt your technique to reflect the wind and waves conditions to reflect the conditions?
Read our podcast on rough water rowing
Seek out some rough water training to practice stabilising, and adjust how high you carry the oars off the water. Cross winds push your boat down on one side. On the high side apply pressure into that rigger with your thumb to keep the boat level.
16:00 Keep your stroke length into the head wind as it will tend to rob you of your length. Don't let the wind rush you. Control the oars with deliberate movements so the wind doesn't snatch the blade out of your hand. The wind may catch your blade as you square and blow it high above the water. Counter this by moving your handles upwards deliberately. If you get a gust of wind, as the gust comes, control your oars and as the gust fades, do a push to get back onto your pattern after the gust interruption.
As a cox or steersperson warn the crew if you see a wind gust coming. Push through the gust.
21:00 Relax and "rock and roll" laughing made Rebecca relax in a head race with bad waves and she got a good result. Ask locals where cross winds happen on the river.
Marlene did the Maine summer head race series on Moosehead Lake with a 5k triangular course. It started getting rough and she thought it was "rock and roll". She focused on one stroke at a time and by the end her footstretchers were under water.
Sight the buoy first and aim to steer directly at it. Hold water on the inside oar close to the buoy then bring it around with the other oar. Check water with as little force as you need to. After turning do a flying (rolling) start to get going again.
Be aware your arm can feel tired after a hard turn as if it's got a cramp. Wiggle your fingers to relax that arm on the recovery as it gets back to feeling normal. Practice turning before the race at full race pace speed. So you know what to expect at speed.
It can be tempting when going around the buoy to row off before checking you have the direction right for the next section of the race. Check over both shoulders and aim straight for the buoy - unless there's a strong current you can do a small steering correction to get around it - it's easier to see big buoys from a distance and to steer towards it.
Rebecca's preference is to go into the buoy parabola curve on a wide approach and to come out of the turn narrow and close to the buoy.
Race plans - overtaking and being overtaken.
00:30 Coach masterclass discussion zoom was about running masters learn to row classes. We learned the diversity of situation and how people problem-solve for their own clubs
02:30 Race plans Free ebook - the Ultimate Guide to Head Racing sign up to get your copy https://fastermastersrowing.ck.page/693a02e0a1
Goal of a race plan is to row the best race you can, technically the best you can as you fatigue through the race. What to focus on as you move through the stages of the race to retain good technique and efficiency. Don't question the competitive desire.
As the stages of the race progress how to maintain your technique is key. Be as consistent as possible and as aggressive as possible.
How much time will the race take? This affects stroke rate choices.
05:00 During your practice work out your most efficient stroke rate with good technique. A race lasting 4.5 to 5k meters is over 600 strokes. Marlene likes to think of this as 600 one-stroke races!
What calls do you include in the race plan? Set a common understanding of words you use.
It doesn't need to be complicated to be effective. What is the focus in this part of the race? You can focus on time or distance for your race plan. Include a plan for mishaps.
The race plan calls are about keeping your performance as consistent as possible through the race.
Slide control in the recovery - Rebecca's crew decided to experiment with how to get the best outcome from our calls. Did it work better with power called first and then slide control called second? Or the other way around? This showcased what was effective for this crew - the coxswain could spot when we needed to be refocused back onto the pattern of movement.
Experiment with what works in practice then discuss whether it should be part of the race plan.
11:30 Trials are important - try different strategies in your practice outings. What is your focus? Do you go out strong or conservatively?
The Faster Masters training workout programs include test workouts which help you to zoom in on what works for you and what you can do in a race.
12:50 Rowing boats take a long time to overtake each other - overtaking it is not a quick thing. You are unlikely to be able to overtake in just 10 strokes. You likely take 10 cm each stroke further than the other crew - overtaking one person in a crew may take 15 or 20 strokes.
Practice scenarios of overtaking on a straight versus a corner turn. Will you approach a turn differently if you are overtaking? Adjust to suit your physiology.
15:00 Distance per stroke is the core metric.
You can do this with more power through the water or by rating higher. More strokes per minute - your boat should move one boat length per stroke. This takes energy - you need to be able to row efficiently in this new mode (power or rate).
16:30 Once you start overtaking keep it going - don't drop back after you have finished overtaking. Maintain your length in the water and increased boat speed. Be as tough as nails and stay at it. So many races come down to narrow margins. Don't be comfortable just getting past a crew.
It's different from side by side races. In head races you can't know how fast other crews are going because they may not be near your boat.
If they are faster than you, you should make it hard for them to get past. Keep your stroke length, power and rhythm. Take the straightest possible line without impeding their advance - make them work hard for it. Play within the rules.
Rebecca was at HOCR and was getting yelled at by a faster crew calling for her crew to "yield". They didn't steer well and took a longer route, but Rebecca's crew kept pushing on and it took nearly a kilometer for them to overtake. Take your motivation from the fight with the other crew. It was a fun battle that got Rebecca's crew the best possible result that they could have got and trying to deny a good result for the other crew.
21:30 There may be situations where more than one boat is overtaking at the same time. Avoid getting penalised. You can judge if you are interfering with the other crew and so if you can get a better course than they do, that's your advantage.
Buy the Carlo Zezza Book - Winning Head Races
How to select the right races for your head racing season. Ways to build up to the big race event. Improving race plans and race execution.
01:00 The big event is your focus. It's easy to choose the big event. But the season starts with smaller events.
If you are new to head racing choose local events you can do in a day trip. Choose those with uncomplicated courses and reliable water. More experienced racers choose races to help me perform better in your peak event.
3 things to consider when choosing your head races
04:00 Check the rowing regatta calendar to find events,
David Biddulph's rowing calendars, Regatta Central, Row2k, Rowit.nz, are other calendars for different countries.
Few people are good enough at racing to just do one big event - most of us need preparatory events to test ourselves out. Get a reminder about fitness, steering, race craft skills all need practice.
Work back from the date of your big event and get a race, a race simulation or private match every 2-3 weeks leading up to the big event.
Have something every 2-3 weeks. Marlene thinks every weekend is too much for her preference. Consider the time it takes to travel, load boats, get equipment to the event - it all takes planning. You can do simulated races too - doing a time trial at home is different from a regular practice outing.
Your recovery and age are also considerations if you choose to race every weekend.
09:30 Marlene chose low-key Maine races during summer for her comeback season. She raced 6 times just to get ready to go back to HOCR in the fall.
Make a list of what to do - improve the list as you practice different regattas in order to refine it. Create a trusted system that works for you. This takes a lot of stress off you because you have a reliable timetable.
Carlo Zezza Winning Head Races book
14:30 Create a simulated race at your home water.
Do a warm up, check over the boat. See if you can get another club to come and race against you.
Next time we talk about race plans. Think about your race, what are your strengths and improvement points? Build skills into your workouts - this is what the Faster Masters training programs include. Each workout has technique as well as workout recommendations.
Get confident steering your coxless boat for long distance racing.
Timestamps
This is the first lesson because if you can't go straight it really affects your steering. Consider your strength imbalances if you have been a long term sweep rower moving to sculling. Equalise your arcs by watching and listening for these three things
If your strength is unequal - don't over-power one side compared to the other, row the same arc.
05:00 steering off a point. Watch your wake - see if it is going straight, keep an eye - your stern. Learn how to set your point off a landmark on the bank like a tree or building. Row away from the point and watch your wake to see if it's going straight. Learn to make small corrections before you are way off course.
06:00 Where the boat pivots is approximately in the middle of the boat.
Not all bridges are created equal. First choose which arch you want to go through in the race. For HOCR at Weeks Footbridge you have to both steer the bridge and make a sharp turn after passing under the bridge. Decide where under the bridge you want to pass - is it in the middle or more to one side or the other? This depends on what you need to do after the bridge. Ideally row the course before the race to learn the course. Line yourself up under the bridge so you can see what your points are as you go through the bridge so you know what to steer off.
10:45 Bridge supports are where to focus your line of sight. Two ways to look around in a rowing boat - a glance over the shoulder and a complete turn to see your bow ball and what's directly in front of you. Look for the uprights of the bridge - these are easier to spot than the gap in between.
For a bridge you want to go through straight. Decide which upright you want to steer off - choose one (right or left), do a glance, then decide if you need to do a steering correction. If there is a stream (racing against the stream) you may choose to be closer to the bank so you minimise the effect. Take a second glance as you get closer and correct if you need.
14:00 For bridges you go through not in a straight line - know where you need to go after the bridge. Relative to the uprights, decide where you want to position your boat. Is the bridge wider (a highway or motorway)?
Rebecca prefers to steer before you go under the bridge so you come out straight for the next part of the course - push off the bridge as you exit it. Line up your stern so you know where you want to go through it. 16:00 High and long bridges like Interstates or motorway bridges. Keep an eye out for posts or markers near the abutments. Bridges often have underwater structures wider than the abutment above the water - these create eddies which swirl the water.
A sharp corner cannot be navigated with pressure. It takes too long to do. Turning to port - use your starboard oar take a short stroke from catch to cross-over, use fast short strokes. Do as few strokes as possible when steering a corner. This is slowing the boat down so minimise the strokes you take.
20:00 Looking and steering corners. Turn your head to look around without disrupting your balance and rhythm. Practice in training, turning your head (it weighs 15 lbs) without upsetting your balance. Alternate looking around then do pressure steering. Don't steer until after you have taken a look around. The exception is if a crew is closing fast behind you but you can see them coming so don't need to look around. Know where the corner begins for a long gentle corner. Start the turn with a few gentle turning strokes. Then look and go straight for a few strokes, take another look. Then make steering adjustments and alternate looking and pressure steering. Expect to look around frequently. Count strokes to help you make a sharp turn in a practice outing so you know what to expect in the race.
24:00 Buoys
Know the race rules - are you penalised if you hit them? Some you can scull over the top of like albano system marker buoy. Or will you be penalised if you hit them? Improve your bladework so you know if you can feather high over the buoys? Turning buoys - if you bump into one they may not turn over and get out of your way. You may need to hold water. as you turn. Come into a turning buoy at an angle. Use a mini restart after a turn to get back up to speed rapidly.
28:30 Carlo Zezza Book Winning Head Races includes course maps and advice for popular rowing races like HOCR, Silver Skiff and London Tideway Head Races.
Racing equivalence for masters depends on using time handicaps.
Does this work well? Can it be improved? What would you change?
02:00 What are handicaps?
Welcome our guest, Christopher Anton, a World Rowing multi-lane umpire.
Handicaps were introduced 1980-1990s to try and level the playing field for crews of different age. There are tables which are standard times - based on regatta distance and the masters age groups which then indicate the handicaps by age group.
The younger crew starts after the older crew and if everything works perfectly, they will dead heat on the finish line. The regatta organisers publish a set of standard times before the regatta starts. Now in the UK they race over 2 or 3 categories of adjacent age groups. Scotland has a different set of tables than England.
05:30 The timetables have been derived empirically over the years. US Rowing has a formula depending on the average age of the crews which deducts time at the end of the race. There are advantages and disadvantages of both methods. It's an art more than a science. In England the older crew wins about half the races.
08:50 Head races use the tables but this was introduced more recently. The tables were extrapolated out to 50 minute long races. The handicap gets deducted from the elapsed time at the finish.
Christopher thinks generally they are good. They provide racing opportunities where they wouldn't before when insufficient entries are received in a single age group. Handicaps were not designed to enable a 27 year old to race an 80 year old. In UK they tend to use 10 year age bands. They shouldn't be used as a way to get out of giving prizes - Head Races use them to give one prize for masters.
13:30 British Rowing Championships introduced a "Club" race which uses 3 age groups together along with ranking points. This is A, B and C; then D, E and F as a separate group. These show better correlation than age. This is for non-championship events. So they do not use handicaps.
British Rowing ranking points explained for seeding each heat in the event. These roughly correlate with speed. With a tailwind the "standard time" for the course would reduce to account for the wind.
18:00 British Rowing are reviewing their handicaps - they haven't changed since they were first set up. The older age categories were extrapolated from the younger ones. Should handicaps, be the same for men, women and mixed? If an F sculler has a 15 second handicap should this be the same for women? Menopause affects women so their times degrade more steeply than men.
21:00 The Concept2 world ranking is a big data source for erg race times as they are globally comparable. More women in 50-60s train more frequently nowadays so we better understand diet and strength training post-menopause which affects race times. There are higher levels of competition into age 70s.
Marlene has seen men who stay in good fitness through their 50s and 60s don't get erg times dropping off a lot until they are over 70.
24:00 Are the handicaps appropriate for those new to the sport in their 40s?
Pathway for the adult beginner. The San Diego Crew Classic introduced a new rower / intermediate category for masters in their first 5 years of rowing based on Faster Masters Rowing's recommendation. Skill is a bigger determinant than age for beginners.
British Rowing no longer has a novice category. But river regattas are offering races for masters new to the sport. New Zealand rowing offers a. novice year for your first year after you have entered your first race. Masters practice less frequently than juniors and so Rebecca is encouraging regattas to offer events for those new to the sport (3, 4 or 5 years). Christopher thinks British Rowing could look at having intermediate level event races.
30:00 FISA Masters Champs has a big entry for popular events e.g. E1x and FIx. can have 50-60 entries. They put you in heats in order of age - you may be against F age or older. It ensures fairness by age and you can end up in the oldest heat when nobody in the race is actually an F age.
FISA has no appetite for change because they have enough entries in every category. By comparison, the World Masters Games has heats, semis and finals so you know who the overall winner is. The skill levels are very different at older age categories. The Euro masters had heats racing together at the end after day for small boats in order to try to find the overall champion. In Australia they have a 10 lane supreme sculler handicap race at the end of the regatta for all the single scull age group winners.
Rowing your first 2- or 1x race, side by side in a regatta. What to expect and how to do better next time.
00:30 Why do people learn to row? At the start, few want to race.
02:00 Your first race. You may feel "on stage" at a race and there are eyes on you. The outcome doesn't matter. It's personal.
04:00 Learning in small boats 1x and 2- .
The boat is your coach it gives you feedback - you will learn steering, balance, run on the recovery. Learn delicate steps which you take into large boats. It's the foundation to build your skills.
06:30 What to expect at your first race.
Start by planning the race day. Get from the boat park to your race and back to the boat park. Write it down on paper. Start with getting the boat to the regatta, rigging it, checking your oars, have you got water bottle, how to get to the dock?
Getting into the boat on the dock; know the circulation plan, where the warmup area is. How much time do you need to allow to ensure you are at the start 5 minutes before your race? Backing into the start, turning the boat, what is your start sequence, do you need pushes, what are the marker points down the race course, what happens after the race, can you get back to the dock and how will you get the boat and yourself back to the boat park? Use this list to prepare yourself.
08:30 Do you know the course? Can you practice the day before? Take time without pressure to practice on the water. Is there current or stream? Take ownership of the water.
10:45 Make checklists of things you need from packing, things to take in the boat, Timings for starting your preparation, for your boating (getting on the water), warmup. Having a supporter to help you is good. You may have to wait in a queue for a while before you can get onto the water.
13:15 Type two fun - really hard while you do it and it's great to talk about afterwards. Do you bring your family to come along?
15:15 What will actually happen?
You may be lucky and it all goes to plan. Plan for the unexpected. Because steering errors will probably happen. What about the person next to you - the crew next to you may interfere with your steering. Have a plan for what to do after interference. Try a rolling start to get boat speed back up after a mishap.
18:30 Marlene's first race. She came off her seat.
Mike Teti said "It's only a mistake if you do it twice."
Enjoy it. Pick a local, familiar course which is manageable. Speak to someone who is more experienced - what could I have done in this situation? Learn from your experiences.
22:00 Trial practices to help you learn.
3x 1,000 meter pieces with three crews side by side run on Wednesday nights. The fastest person would go up one wave, if you were second you stayed in that wave for the next race; if you were third you dropped down to the next wave. Each wave gradually gets closer together in speed. Head race trial races done internally in your club. Learn how to race when around other boats. Get used to them being near to you. Learn how to call out to them for steering warnings. Practice steering small adjustments.
23:30 In a single scull you are your coxswain - make sure they have seen you if they steer close to you. Call early "Take a look". They can make the steering adjustment. If you think you know what you want them to do say "Steer away" or "Steer to port". You offer them a solution and they may just do it. Collision avoidance.
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