What can a rower possibly learn from Legoland?

Last week our family traveled to Legoland in Southern California. We had a blast.

On the drive back to the hotel from the park I was trying to gather why I had such a great time. I’ve been to many different theme parks (a few of the top 10) and this was different. It was really enjoyable . . . fun . . . honest-to-goodness-fun. And typical me, I was trying to figure it out when it dawned on me that not only was Legoland a lot like rowing, but rowers could learn several things from the brick oriented theme park.

Now if you’ve never spent hours playing with the plastic bricks (or have stepped on one in the middle of the night) you might find that statement a stretch. And it might be—but the similarities between Legoland and rowing are striking. So with that thought thrown out here are a few things (secrets mind you) that a rower might possibly learn from Legoland.

Buck The Trend
Most theme parks today are built around one concept—making money. Nothing bad there but Legoland bucks that trend.  As I walked around, and watched the expression on the faces of kids and parents I saw time again the look of, “Man, I am here. This is THE PLACE.”

People weren’t flipping out over one hyped-up roller coaster, or some wild water slide. They were jazzed because they were at the LAND. The place of Legos. Yes, Mickey is cool, but there is something about the relationship a kid can have with Legos—hours of thoughtful pursuit of building something.

Another way they buck the trend is you allowing you to bring food into the park. What?

Yes, you bring your food in, and if you need more we have it. But we are not going to starve you and then make you spend an obscene amount to money just to eat.

This was really critical to us since our youngest has food allergies. Yup, bring that food right in. Unheard of at some of the major parks.

One other trend breaker was that they actually have rides that require people to work. Riders often had to pump or pedal or push to get a ride to move. We got done the Fire Academy race and I was huffing. I saw kids get off the Kid Power Races totally winded. And Splash Battle, where you can soak others, is cool, but you have to work really hard to get the water cannons to spray. No work, no spray.

• So What Secret Can A Rower Learn: Be different, buck the trend. It can be cool.

You Have Permission
When we walked (or run as our kids did) into Legoland there was an unspoken rule that just floated out there. It went like this,“You Have Our Permission To Be Passionate.”  Legos are a passion. They are not just a toy, to many they are the toy. The escape. The imagination fire-upper. I see that look so often in rowers. Ask 100 rowers why they row and a great number respond “I don’t know why, but I just love it” That is how so many kids are with Legos.

LegoLand is built around that passion. There are tables where anyone can sit down and build. At least half the builders I saw were adults. And they were not just fumbling, they were building.

I saw an American mom lean over and help an elderly Japanese tourist finish a car. They didn’t speak the same language, but they had the same passion. I saw parents who you could tell did not have the Lego Bug give their child all the time she wanted to hang out with the life size Lego stature of Darth Vader. In Legoland it was truly okay to be hog-wild crazy over something.

• So What Secret Can A Rower Learn: If you love rowing—love it. Be passionate. Others may not understand it, but many will respect it.

Watch What Happens When Like-Minded Brains Get Together
Opening in 1999, Legoland is not one of the most popular theme parks in the country (by pure attendance numbers) but it certainly is one of the most creative. Look no further that Miniland for proof. It includes reproductions of seven areas in the US, built with over 40 million bricks (in 1:20 scale). The cities come alive with moving boats and vehicles. The reproduction of San Francisco is crazy. And pre-Katrina New Orleans is great.

• So What Secret Can A Rower Learn: You have the power to make something really cool out of what you’ve got.

You Are Involved In Something Big

The lowdown—Disneyland is big. The surprise—Legoland is bigger. I’m taking acreage here.

• 128 acres for Legoland compared to 85 acres Disney

But still, bigger is bigger. What about your rowing? If you aren’t the fastest, is there something else you are the best at. Speed (like attendance) really isn’t everything.

Fun

Finally, Legoland is fun. Everywhere we turned people were having fun. And not just the tourist like us. The majority of the workers were meet were smiling, engaged, and really seem to be enjoying themselves. Not the typical burned-out theme park worker.

I talked to a few workers and they were very positive about what they were doing, and why. One gal even noted that she just loved seeing the glint in the kids eyes. It was hard work, but they were having fun.

• So What Secret Can A Rower Learn: Simple—Have fun. It makes it all worthwhile.

If you’re driving a van or car with a shell strapped to the roof the only change you need to make to your driving is to be a little more careful than normal. But driving a shell trailer is a completely different story.

At their best shell trailers—and shell trucks—are difficult to drive. A trailer loaded with un-sectioned eights is as long, if not longer than a tractor-trailer. At their worst they can be a hazard on the highway to yourself and others.

It’s crucial when driving a shell trailer you plan your route ahead before beginning your journey. There are many things to be concerned about. A few notable ones are:

• Rush-hour and construction traffic
• Dangerous turns
• Low overhead
• Bag weather
• Driving at night

The three most common causes of accidents involving shell trailers are poor driving skills, lack of good visibility, and improper tying of shells.

All of these items are important when transporting equipment, however, in this short post I wanted to touch quickly on a four items.

Overheads

To help avoid problems with low overheads measure the total height of the trailer, or vehicle, after the shells are loaded. Make your measurements from the ground to the tip of the rudder or skeg—most trailers with shells on the top rack will be around ten feet high. I usually add four inches to the number as a safety margin.

Then write this information down and tape it to the dash-board. This could save you a lot of embarrassment at such places as low bridges, gas stations, and drive-thrus.

Who Drives

When choosing who drives don’t put inexperienced people behind the wheel. In fact, most insurance companies demand that the driver of the vehicle be experienced and at least twenty-one years of age, which prohibits many students from driving. Drivers should carry their licenses, registration(s) and insurance information with them.

And I strongly suggest a minimum of two drivers in the vehicle. An extra “set of eyes” will make driving the shells safer, especially on long trips when one driver gets tired.

Being Vigilant

When you finally hit the road constantly be looking, listening and feeling for anything unusual with the vehicle or load. If you notice anything pull over as soon as it is safe and check for the cause. And speaking of checking, get in the habit of checking the trailer and load every time you stop—on long trips I suggest you stop every 100 miles. Check the tie downs, flags, equipment, lights, hitch and tires for any problems.

Many trailering accidents happen because people try to drive a shell trailer like a car. The acceleration of a trailer is much slower than a car and the stopping distance is much greater. You must allow more time for simple automobile tasks like pulling out into traffic, changing lanes and passing. Extra caution will especially be needed for backing up, cornering and pulling into service areas. Make absolutely sure that a lane is clear before changing, and use your turn signals.

Overhang

The two most difficult parts of driving a shell trailer are cornering and handling the overhang of the shells. Trailers turn inside the track of the tow vehicle meaning you need to take corners wider than normal. But the overhang is what gives most trailer drivers problems. Remember— you may be driving one of the longest vehicles on the highway, with thousands of dollars of shells just hanging out. If you’re not comfortable with this thought—or with your driving skills—load up the trailer one Sunday and go to a parking lot and practice. It’s a good investment of your time, especially considering the alternative may be waiting three months for a boat that’s in the repair shop.

When you finally arrive where you are going plan…Plan…PLAN…ahead where you will park. There’s nothing more annoying then getting blocked in at a regatta and having to wait hours to leave because you’re stuck.

If, after all your best preparations, you are unfortunate enough to have an accident there are several things you should do.

• Activate the emergency flashers and place emergency signals to warn approaching traffic.
• Give appropriate first aid if needed and make sure that everyone is in a safe place.
• Notify law enforcement and your supervisor promptly.
• When things get under control record as much information as possible: names, address, phone numbers, and driver’s license numbers.
• Get information from witnesses. Try to document the scene as well as possible and if you have your camera with you take pictures.

photo by rjseg1

Recently James, from New Zealand, submitted this question:

I am interested in finding out the best way to set a crew up in the boat. I have for a long time measured back from the line of work a set distance and had all the crew set their back axel to this - to help with different length of legs etc. But now I am reading more and more about the need for a large catch angle. So, what is the best way to set the archs so everyone is rowing the same? Should I set an angle at the catch, but will this mean different finish lengths? Set it at the back and coach the catch length? What effect does Cord Length have?

First, thanks James for your question. It is a good one, that certainly should be of interest to anyone who wants to generate maximum hull speed for their boat, regardless of sweep or sculling.

Second, it would probably help to define some of terms, to make sure that we are talking about the same things (as you know, terms in rowing can be rather, er, strange.) You can find more rowing terms here.

The catch angle is the angle of the oar, at the catch, to a perpendicular line that runs down the middle of the shell. Catch length is a simple way to measure the catch angle, and is often used to really describe the same thing, from a non-angular perspective. The arch, or arc that you mentioned describes the theoretical track that the oar makes through the water. (I say theoretical because the blade really doesn’t move more than a small distance through the water, unlike the butt of the oarhandle which does make an arc.

The last term, cord length, is one seldom used here in the US. Basically it is the distance from the end of one point of the arc to another. It is not relevant to outside arc (how the blade travels through the water—because it doesn’t). Instead it is more relevant to the inside arc—specifically the distance of the inside arc. You might find this post on Oarsport helpful.

Why Should You Care

For beginners coaches and Riggers (first and second Dimensional) this may all seem like hoopla. What difference does this make? A reasonable question. And a reasonable answer would be . . .”Speed.” It is all about speed.

Beginners, don’t worry about all the technically stuff here. It really boils down to this—where should I set my footstretchers? With that noted, zip to the end, and I’ll cover it there.

For you folks with more rigging under your belt, the reason you should care is still speed, but knowing how this works and all fits together will give you the tools to get more speed. The old ‘Teach a person to fish” saying applies here.

So how is all this information going to help you become a better Rigger? My rigging greatly improved when I realized most of the major adjustments I did when I rigged had an effect on the arcs. As soon as I grasped this concept, everything about rigging seemed to fall into place and I made the step from Second-Dimensional to Third-Dimensional Rigger.

Things Have Changed

There is not much change that has happened in rowing, or rigging, over the years but one place of some change has been track length. Used to be that rowers were concerned about running out of track, and hitting one or both ends. No more, in the last few years boat builders have been putting longer tracks into the boats, much longer than most rowers would ever use.
Another change I’ve noticed in the US is that the focus seems to be placed on the catch, and not as much on the finish. I know most of my peers rig to empahsize the catch, and the finish is a secondary thought. Don’t know if it is better or not, but that is what we seem to be doing.

So What Should I Do?

If the focus is all about speed what to do? I suggest:

• focus on the catch angle
• measure the catch angle by using catch length‚Äîor footstretcher placement
• pay attention to the inside arc
• pay no attention to the outside arc
• accept a compromise between catch length vs finish length

How Do You Measure Catch Length/Angle
In a future post I will show how to measure the catch length and angle. Or you can read about  it in my book, Nuts and Bolts Guide to Rigging. In the meantime, if you are looking for a solution, you can get number suggestions here. Then set your tracks. And then set your footstretchers so that the seat wheels almost touch the front stops at the catch.

I hope that this is a productive start. Readers, send your thoughts along for James.

Several years ago I wrote an article about how to strap your boat, for Row2k.com. At that time there was a serious discussion about strapping, accidents, and how to prevent them. I stuck my neck out and offered my opinion.

Not everyone liked what I had to say.

As most coaches/rowers/Riggers I try to learn as time goes by, and when I am wrong I will be the first to admit it . . . however, in this case I think that time has shown that my suggestions on strapping a boat are catching on, and hopefully helping.

You can read the entirety of that article, and I stand by the concepts there. However, I want to emphasize a particular method of strapping a boat—that of double-strapping—that I feel I didn’t emphasize strongly enough. Continue Reading »

Boy do we ever travel a lot in the sport of rowing. Regattas, erg races, recruiting trips, conventions and meetings. Sometimes it seems like we spend more time on the road than at home—especially during racing season. Planning ahead can greatly reduce the hassles, problems and risks of traveling. Here are six steps to success:

STEP 1: ONE-YEAR TO THREE-MONTHS AHEAD

Get information. Rowing events tend to be seasonal with notable differences in the events with each season: head races in fall, erg races in winter, sprint races in the spring. Work ahead at least one whole season to get information on upcoming events. This may seem like planning too far ahead but it’s not; in fact some athletic programs work two to three years ahead.
Pick the event. With information in hand, now is the time to select where you want to go and what you want to do. Decide what event is right for you or for your program. Call the organizers with any questions.

Budget your expenses. Now the big question is, “Can you afford to go?” Get all the cost information about the event: transportation, registration, housing, etc. Then look at your budget and figure out if you can swing the trip. Continue Reading »