Rowing Terms

Believe it or not, there's a lot connected to the art of rowing. After all it's been around since there were boats. More recently it's become an Olympic event. This is one of those things which looks really easy when you see it done on TV. In truth, it takes time and lots of practice to get good at it. So, just for laughs, I thought I would post some of the terms in common usage. 

I admit I'm pretty much of a newbie, but I'm not going to let that stop me! Just going over the terms makes me more aware of what I'm doing out on the water, and of course, it improves my own technique. 

  General Terms

Blades: the flat sections of the oars. The part that grabs the water and propels the boat.

 blade

Hatchets: Also known as "big blades," or "cleavers," or "choppers," this is a relatively new blade design used for competitive rowing especially now in the Olympics.

Scull: A general term which can refer to the boat, the oars, or the rowing art itself. "scull" is used for mostly for the sport. The rest of us just "row."

Shell: A long, narrow racing boat with a shallow draft and a minimum of windage, usually made from carbon fiber or some other exotic material. Shells look great. I keep thinking about owning one, except they are really only designed to move in a straight line at the highest possible speed. 

Oarlock: a metal pin with a "u" shaped saddle meant to hold an oar in place.

 oarlock

Button: a ring around the oar shaft which is designed to hold the oar in place in the oarlock.

button and oar sleeve

Pitch: the angle between an oar and the water.

Gunwale, saxboard, or gunnel: the top rail along the sides of a boat where the oarlocks are often mounted.

gunwale

Keel: the structural backbone of a boat running along the bottom of the hull on the centerline. These days many boats do not have a keel.

keel

Skeg: boats which do not have keels usually have a shortened board on the outside of the hull toward the stern. The skeg works a little like the tail of an airplane, stabilizing the direction of movement.

Terms for the Rowing Cycle

Release: a sharp, downward hand motion which lifts the oar out of the water at the end of the rowing cycle.

Feathering: the act of turning the oar blade horizontal as the oar leaves the water. Feathering is meant to reduce air resistance in racing, but also useful for anyone rowing on windy days.

Squaring: the process of returning the oar blades to a perpendicular position just before entering the water.

Catch: the process of putting the oars into the water so that the blades can dig in.

Drive: this is the portion of the rowing cycle when the oar blade is immersed in the water and the boat is propelled forward. The drive begins with a lot of leg power and usually ends with the back doing most of the pulling.

Finish: the last part of the drive when the back and the arms complete the rowing motion,

Layback: the very last part of the cycle where the rower leans as far backward as possible.

Ratio: the ratio of the drive time to the recover time. The recover time should be longer than the drive time.


Rating: the number of strokes per minute.


Crab: a problem encountered by the rower usually at the catch or release part of the cycle.


Missing water, or also "rowing into the catch:" a problem which occurs when the rower does not catch water before the drive cycle begins.

Washing out: a  fault which happens when the oars leave the water before the drive is completed.

Lake Hiawatha

The shoreline offers up a view almost completely unspoiled by it's urban surroundings

This is a beautiful little lake located just north of Lake Nokomis off of Minnehaha Parkway, Hiawatha's shoreline has been carefully restored with a nice variety of indigenous aquatic flora. And, with the exception of a few man made features, anyone on the water can't help but notice that you can truly be "away from it all," even in the middle of the city.

There is no launch ramp here. Forget about putting in your day sailer or your fourteen foot Alumacraft and trolling motor. Whatever you have, you have to carry it down to the little beach on the east side. It's a bit of a hike, too, a good seventy five yards from the street IF you can find a parking spot close by. This is a lake for light watercraft.

A launcher is often handy, but  absolutely necessary for Hiawatha and other lakes where you must walk down to the shore

A roof rack or a pickup truck saves the need for a trailer and makes parking easier. Note the ramp under the launcher.

It was good to see three kayaks and a canoe on the water. At this time of the year, I seldom see more than one or two on the same lake at the same time. I was the only row boat, of course, and as usual, I was stopped by a few people asking questions and offering up some nice compliments. I took one well wisher for a ride.

 Minnehaha Creek flows from Lake Nokomis into Hiawatha then on to Minnehaha Falls

Hiawatha is part of a water shed connected by Minnehaha creek which enters and exits on the south end. Other features include a golf course on the Northwest side and a small playground and recreation center. 

An interesting sculpture titled, "the Listening Vessel" by creator Craig Davis is located at the center. It is a concave parabola carved into sizable piece of granite which was designed to amplify the natural sounds of the wind and waves and shorebirds.
 

 A little bit of the golf course can be seen on the north side 

Originally the area was a 52 acre swamp until the city purchased it, dredged it into a thirty three foot deep lake, and stocked it with fish. Look for black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin, carp, golden shiner, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkin seed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead and yellow perch. Some fish consumption guidelines have been placed on the bluegill and northern pike. Check with the DNR for details.

I did not notice any signage about invasive species, but I would expect that since Hiawatha is connected to Nokomis which has eurasian milfoil and mussels, the warning should be present. I cleaned my boat anyway.

Lake Nokomis

The main beach on the west side

At 210 acres, Lake Nokomis is large enough to be one of three sailing lakes in the city of Minneapolis. The beach fronts and surrounding parks add up to another 195 acres which makes for scenic shoreline and plenty of space to picnic, hike, or just relax.

The Cedar Street Bridge

Nokomis is a major part of the area water system. Minnehaha Creek, enters on the north end and  also exits nearby on its way to Lake Hiawatha, then to Minnehaha Falls, ultimately into the Mississippi. The Cedar Street bridge, found on the southwestern end, creates an artificial boundary with a corner called West Lake Nokomis.

I put in on a day with twelve mile per hour headwinds gusting up to fifteen or twenty.  Time for a little math: Most people can row a light craft at a speed of somewhere between seven and twelve miles per hour. Given the wind speed, I spent a lot of my time rowing hard and standing still! Somehow or another, I got about halfway across the lake and decided to call it a day. 

I had a good time, of course. I will return some time soon, probably when the weather is better.

Sailboats are moored at the launch ramp and pier several hundred yards south of the beach

You can launch on the concrete slab at the west side where the sailboats are moored, just off of Cedar Street. If you're like me and don't like concrete, the adjacent shoreline is sandy. The main beach, just a few hundred yards north, offers canoe rentals. You could probably launch your own boat there too. 

History

Originally named Lake Amelia after Captain George Gooding's daughter in 1819, the property was purchased by the city and converted to a park in 1907. At that time, it was only five feet deep and mostly marshland until it was dredged and renamed in 1910. Nokomis was the grandmother of the Indian hero in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha. With Minnehaha Falls and Lake Hiawatha connecting, the new name seemed more appropriate. Today the shoreline has been partially restored to it's native flora and the lake ecology seems to be pretty much balanced.

Fishing

Expect a good range of the usual Minnesota species, and in good numbers: bluegill, black crappie, bass, bowfin, carp, golden shiner, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed, tiger muskie, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, black bullhead, and yellow perch. Some restrictions have been placed on consumption. Check with the DNR for details.

Invasive Species Warning

You must wash your boat and trailer to remove Eurasian Milfoil and mussels before you drive away.