Stroke (position)
In
port side of the boat, because sweep rowing
boats are usually rigged such that the stroke is on the port side of the boat.
Stroke seat
When the boat has
bow. Dudley Storey, double Olympic medallist for New Zealand and later the country's national coach, describes the required qualities of a stroke as follows:[1]
You'd like them to be a person who is half mad, who love to go, love to fight and love to be amongst it all the time and can instil some of their qualities into the people behind.
— Dudley Storey, Interview by David Leggat published in The New Zealand Herald, 24 August 2006
Stroke side
Stroke side refers to the
port side of the boat, which is on the left-hand side of a cox facing forwards, but on the right-hand side of a rower facing backwards. The usage derives from the tradition of having the stroke rower's oar be on the port side of the boat. However, the stroke seat oar in a sweep boat does not always emerge from port side, such as when the boat is starboard rigged.[2]
In Cornish pilot gigs, the stroke rower's oar is on the starboard (right) side and therefore stroke side refers to the starboard side of the boat.
References
- ^ Leggat, David (24 August 2006). "Rowing: Striving for that golden formula". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ Argonaut The Arts of Rowing and Training, Edwin Brickwood 1866 p21]