Ella Forbes
I was introduced to the sport of rowing in middle school, watching the Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge/Boston MA. After that I played around in a skull a few times, but I didn’t really get into the sport until college. At Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) I walked onto the Women’s Rowing team because I was familiar with the sport and wanted to row. However, I quickly realized I was at a significant height disadvantage (being only 5’ tall) because the average height of the boat was over 6 inches taller than me. After being a rower for a month, I inquired about being a coxswain.
A coxswain is the 8th or 5th member of the boat depending on what boat you’re rowing. They sit in the stern of the 8+ and either the bow or stern of the 4+. Although it seems like the rowers must haul around an extra person, the coxswain is a critical part of the crew. The coxswain is typically of smaller stature than the rowers, and in competitive rowing they must be a certain weight. A coxswain steers, keeps the rowers in sync, and is the coach/motivator within the boat. Trust in each other is essential; rowers trust their coxswain and the coxswain trusts their rowers.
During the winter season I switched to cox for the Men’s team at WPI. Rowing is one of the only co-ed sports at a highly competitive level. The best experiences I had on the team were the spring training trips we had in Florida during the school’s spring break. It was perfectly timed after months of indoor rowing, erging, and winter weather. The 24hr bus ride ended with the first step off the bus into the sun and salty smell of Cocoa Beach Florida. Both Men’s and Women’s teams spent the week rowing twice a day and getting to spend the rest of our time on the beach. These trips were the best bonding experiences for the team; we got to work out and spend time with each other without homework, projects, and assignments hanging over our heads.
My freshman year I didn’t realize that we were launching and landing without dock (called a wet launch). I was standing on land thinking about how high the water would be on me as the rowers walked the boat out into the water to their waist height. As I was getting ready to follow them out into the water, one of the rowers came back to where I was and picked me up without hesitation. Surprised, I dropped the 8 water bottles I was holding and almost slipped out of his arms as I tried to grab them, but I remained dry. On our last afternoon row, I was being carried back to the land when the rower carrying me tripped on a rock and we both went down. Laughing we both resurfaced, and the rest of the 8 rowers dived into the water as well. We all came back with the boat soaking and laughing.
Almost 5 years later I have continued to enjoy coxing. I’m fortunate enough to have a rowing club 5 minutes from where I live so waking up for practice at 5am is not too terrible. I am still figuring out and adjusting to Master’s rowing (rowing post college to any age). Although it’s early, I always look forward to the early morning rows, the salty ocean smell, and feeling the wind on my face.