row2k Features
How To Get On the Stake Boat
April 6, 2020
Adam Bruce and Ed Hewitt, row2k.com

At row2k we spend a lot of time on start platforms. Over the years we have seen a lot of regatta delays, and outside of bad weather, the culprit is usually a team or teams who struggle to get into and attached to the start platform or stake boats.

To help with this process, we have broken down how to queue up, get onto the course, get into your lane, and back into a stake boat.

Get There on Time - Which Means 2' Before Race Time
Before getting into the details, we want to state one important issue: nearly all regatta rules require you to be on the start - that is, with your stern in the stakeperson's hand - at least two minutes before the start. Expectations at that point will vary depending on the regatta - you might still be able to dump your gear and water bottles, get your point, get your uniforms in order, etc. - but make sure you are "locked on" at two minutes before your official start time.

This also means knowing 'regatta time' so that you know when that two-minute mark occurs.

If the event of a delay, you can try to ask on-water officials what your actual start time might be, but be prepared not to receive a definitive answer, as they may be trying to get the regatta back on schedule, so the answer might be along the lines of 'as soon as possible.' Once a regatta gets behind, we are all part of the solution, so just roll with it.

How to Enter a Course From the Side
In the warm up area, find the other competitors in your event if a start martial isn’t present. Assemble near the start area and wait until the start referee invites you on to the course.

Once invited on to the course, enter in bow number order if you can, with the crews in lanes on the far side of the course entering first, assuming everyone is there on time and ready to go; if not, make sure your crew is in the gates on time. Be mindful of your fellow competitors as you all may take similar lines and if you aren’t paying attention, tangles and collisions can happen.

When entering the course from the side, stay relatively close to the start platform so you don't have to back up a long distance to get to the start platform - which may take time (that you may not have). When your shell has crossed into the lane you are racing in, hold water/check it down with your oars on the side opposite of the platform to swing the stern toward the dock.

Continue to turn your shell until you are more or less straight in your lane. Pay attention to other boats crossing the course at this time as well.

How to Enter a Course From Behind the Course
Some venues (the Schuylkill, Lake Lanier, others) have individual stake boats for each lane instead of a dock, and may require that you assemble behind the start line behind your respective lane. When called on to the course, you will row slowly between the stake boats to enter the course, stop, and back into the stake.

Make sure to communicate with your fellow competitors so that you do not try to travel through the same open at the same time.

When called to enter the course, row slowly between the stake boats - and watch your oars so you don't clip the stakeboat, or even the stakeboat person. I rarely go a year without seeing at least one stake boat holder getting knocked into the water by an oar, and at every regatta crews get stuck on a stake boat with their oars because they crossed too close to the stake boat. When crossing between the stake boats, try to point your bow slightly towards the lane you are trying to go to.

Expert Tip: While you want to move slowly past the stake boats, there may not be a lot of room to maneuver or take strokes as you thread through. Make sure you have a good line before you get to the stake boat, and get just enough so you can drift past the stake boat without needing your rowers to take any strokes - because if you have to ship in or sky your oars to get past the stakeboat, taking strokes becomes exponentially more difficult.

Once your stern has cleared the stake boat, hold water/check it down with your oars to stop your progress down the course. Do it quickly, because you don’t want to drift too far down the course, especially if you are on a river with flow, or in a big tailwind.

If you need to head down the course a little further to get into your lane that is ok, just don’t travel too far.

Getting Into Your Lane
When turning or backing up your shell in your lane, try hard to stay in your lane to avoid getting tangled with other crews also trying to get into the blocks. Before you do anything else, start turning the shell by holding water. If you have momentum entering the course from the side or behind, use that momentum to start your turn. As noted above, if you enter a course from the side, hold water on the side opposite the start platform. That will swing your bow down the course and your stern towards the start platform.

If threading between stake boats, once you are clear of the stake boat and you have rowed somewhat into your lane, hold water in a way that also helps you get your point.

So if your bow is pointed to the port side of your lane, hold on starboard side. If your bow is pointed to the starboard side of the lane hold on port side. If you are more or less straight, have everyone hold water.

Turning In Your Lane
Now that your shell has stopped moving (hopefully in the correct lane), you need to fix your point. The best way to do this is to have one side rowing, and the other backing, so that you turn in place. We see novice crews using only one side at a time caterpillaring their way further and further down the course; if you are not right in your lane, sometimes you do want to have only one side of the boat rowing - but the goal is to try to turn in place.

Warming Up in Your Lane
At this point, check the time. If you have time and the referee allows it, you may be able to practice in your lane - but remember that you must be on the stakeboat with the stakeboat person holding onto your shell two minutes before your race.

If you do plan to practice in your lane, we'll assume here that you know what you are doing so won't go into the whole process of going out and back again in your lane - although we have seen plenty of crews that looked like they knew what they were doing only to go get lost down the racecourse, try to back it down 300 meters, etc.

Backing Into the Stake Boat
GO SLOW backing into the stake boat! If it’s between a stake boat holder’s hand and your boat, the stake boat holder is going to let your shell smash into the start platform every time (well, almost every time; we have seen a lot of smashed hands over the years for sure). The referees will even tell the stake boat holders during their morning briefing to let the shell hit the stake boat if the boat comes in too fast.

Depending on how fast your boat is traveling, it can help the stake boat holder out if you hold water just before the stern gets to them. This way you protect the stake boat holder and your shell.

Once ready to back into the stake, use whatever combination of rowers you prefer to back your shell into the stake boat (typically stern pair). In coxed boats with skilled rowers, it can be easiest to deputize a couple of rowers to take charge of backing the shell into the stake boat.

This is especially true in a bow coxed 4, where the stern pair can see where the boat is going easier than a coxswain can. The rowers backing can work together to adjust pressure to keep the boat straight as they approach the stake boat.

In coxless boats, this job pretty obviously falls to the crew members, so it can be done by most rowers.

How to Deal with Different Stakeboat Setups
If you are backing into a platform that hangs over the water, you can back straight in. With some setups, your shell may need to be on one side or the other of the stake boat.

If you are going to end up alongside the stakeboat, try to pick the side that is either a) closer to the middle of the lane (not all stakeboats are exactly in the middle of the lane), or b) considers effects of the wind on your shell.

Expert Tip: If your stern goes too far port just before you get to the stake boat holder, have someone in bow on starboard side take a stoke. This will not only slow your boat’s momentum to stern it will push your bow to port and will pull your stern to starboard and hopefully to the stake boat holder. Do the opposite if your stern is too far to starboard.

The heart of this is to use your stern pair (or four if in current or wind) to move the boat backwards, and use the boat pair to tweak your point as you back in.

Expert Tip 2 for the pair backing into the stake boat: When you are only a couple feet away, for small corrections, instead of backing harder, think about holding water or taking strokes hold water on the side of the boat you need your stern to move towards. Backing harder could send your boat into the stake boat faster, potentially damaging your boat (or the stake boat holder) if you hit something.

How to Deal with Instructions from Outside the Boat
Frequently officials and other personnel in the start area may offer instructions to a crew that is late, struggling, out of position, etc. If you have the situation under control (even if it does not look like it from the outside), acknowledge the input and stay focused, being careful not to appear that you are ignoring commands from the officials.

If you do not have the situation under control, you may want to heed the advice, but be careful not to make your own situation even worse.

Dealing with Weather and Winds
In flat conditions, backing a shell into the start can be a cakewalk, but in difficult conditions it can be a nightmare. If you find yourself in tricky conditions, going all the way back up to the beginning of this article, factor in for those conditions.

Fast currents might require:

  • Backing up (or pulling forward) with more than two people
  • If getting into lane from behind the stake in a tail current, go slowly and prioritize not hitting stuff
  • Crossing onto the course on an angle so you don't get swept down course (or into stakes if a head current)
  • a lot of small adjustments

Strong winds might require:

  • Some of all of above, plus
  • In a crosswind, starting and staying close to the upwind lane line as you back in so that you don't get blown all the way across your lane by the time you reach the stake

If You Miss the Stakeboat
No one is perfect, and we see skilled crews missing stakeboats all the time. If you are backing your shell into the start platform and find yourself so far out of your position that you can’t save it, row forward, get back in your lane, and try again.

Finally, if you aren’t perfectly centered in your lane while back into the stake boat that is ok. As long as you’re not going to hit another boat and your stern can make it to the stake boat holder, keep going. You can fix your point once your stake boat holder has your stern.

Photo by Joel Furtek
Photo by Joel Furtek

More Tips

  • When making calls, be on your game; a lot of starting line problems are caused by incorrect commands such as calling out the wrong side of the boat, the wrong seats, saying to row when you mean back, etc.
  • This also goes for anyone else yelling instructions; get it right or stand down!
  • Don't get flustered by yelling, especially in conditions; officials, marshalls, and others often have to raise their voices to be heard, are under time pressure, have already experienced a few dozen messy alignments, etc. They're doing their job, you do yours.
  • If you feel that you were treated unfairly during the run-up to the start in a way that affects your racing or results in an official warning - if marshalling was difficult or non-existent, if commands were not clear, if you were late because another crew impeded your progress to your lane, or other issues occur - make a mental note, as these could be important if you get DQ'd for being late to the line and need to explain yourself.
Now that you are locked on to the start platform, it’s time to get your point - we will cover this process in the upcoming article, "How to Get Your Point."

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Comments

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mcdonald.lloyd@gmail.com
04/08/2020  12:52:44 PM
1 people like this
Excellent article. I would add just a couple of points - at a venue like Lake Harsha where you travel to the start on the course do not begin your turn to back to the platform until you are within no more than 1 boat length from the platform. This is true entering from the side, too. Be not more than 1 boat length away before you turn. Coxswains can help themselves by understanding the conditions and working into the wind rather than getting blown around. Depending on how you’re warming up you can learn a lot from the race ahead of you. Remember once you start the race and cross 100 meters by Rule you have accepted the fairness of the start. If you have a concern or question talk to the start Referees. The Referees are there to make sure YOUR race is safe and fair.



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