Dartmouth on the Thames
EARLY this year the Dartmouth Rowing Club received an invitation to attend the Henley Rowing Regatta. At first we were stunned by the imposing letterhead and important-looking seal. Why did we get this honor when we weren't even considered big time? Our first thoughts were that we couldn't go, and that there had probably been a mistake. However, after some checking we found that the invitation was sincere, and that we might be able to raise the money.
Raising the money was the hardest part. Everyone was anxious to go, but not everyone had the money. However, to use the old maxim, 'Where there's a will there's a way," and soon money began to appear. The trip came nearer and nearer to realization as interested friends and alumni gave financial assistance. By the middle of February we had the money, and through the efforts of Fritz Jewett, head manager, we got passage on a boat at the desired time.
After the trip became financially possible we began to make inquiries in order to find out exactly what we were getting into. We knew it was big time stuff, but not how big. Our coach Jim Smith (a former professional oarsman in England) had been working behind the scenes, we found out, and had gotten the invitation through Mr. Bushnell of the A.A.U. and knew all about it. After the cat was out of the bag, many questions were fired at Jim, and we learned that the Henley Rowing Regatta is the "World Series" of amateur rowing, and is held annually on the Thames River at Henley, England. He also told us that the Henley Regatta originated in 1839 and was designed for amateur "gentlemen" and college men of the non-laboring class.
The regatta is held in the early part of July, and this year it will take place from July 5 to the 8th. There are four events open to oarsmen who have not had the advantage of any professional coaching for thirty days prior to the regatta. The four events are the eight-oared race for the Grand Challenge Cup, the four-oared race for the Steward's Cup, the pair-oared race for the Silver Goblets, and the single-scull race for the Diamond Sculls. The four events are run over the narrow course, which is no feet wide and 1 mile, 550 yards long, in heats of two to determine the final contestants. These preliminary heats last for three days and on the afternoon of the last day the finals in each event are held. So far as we can determine, Dartmouth will send the only American collegiate crew over to the Henley Rowing Regatta this year. Dartmouth is entering the eight-oared race for the Grand Challenge Cup and the pair-oared race for the Silver Goblets.
The crew which Coach Jim Smith has picked to row the eight-oared shell is: Captain Paul Rouillard '50, Saratoga, N. Y., bow; Marr Mullen '51, Seattle, Wash., No. 2; Jack Unkles '52, Short Hills, N. J., No. 3; Andy Timmerman '51, Ramsey, N. J., No. 4; Frank Heineman '52, Cape Cottage, Me., No. 5; Jim Toffey '52, Summit, N. J., No. 6; Pete Krehbiel '51, Scarsdale, N. Y., No. 7; Egon Kramer '54, Greenwich, Conn., stroke; and Brock Lewis '52, Nantucket, Mass., coxswain. Guido Rahr '5l, Manitowoc, Wis., and Bill Ford '52, Sioux City, lowa, will be alternates and will row in the pair-oared race. However, according to Coach Smith, there will probably be some changes in the lineup before sailing time.
In past years Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, and private boat clubs in the United States have sent crews over to England for the Henley Regatta, but none of them has been too successful. Harvard's second varsity won in 1914 and Yale in 1936-
Coach Jim Smith is having a hard time choosing his varsity crew this year, because the times of both boats have been about equal, and the competition for seats in the boats is strong. Many shifts have been made between the two, but they have managed to stay fairly even. Coach Smith is optimistic because Dartmouth has never before put up such a strong showing as that made on the southern trip during the spring vacation. The indications of a powerful crew raise our hopes for both the Dad Vail Regatta and the Henley Rowing Regatta. Since the war the club has grown so much that our limited equipment is severely overtaxed. We only hope that this will not prove too much of a handicap.
