Rowing

[Newbieone]

Has anyone here any experience of rowing? I have put my name down to give it a go, however I’m not a strong swimmer.

I can float and swim a bit if I end up in the water but hoping that’s not going to happen but have no idea really. I see that you don’t usually wear a life jacket as it snags?

When our young started rowing at school they had to pass a swimming test first.

Surely for your own peace of mind you’d want to improve your swimming before embarking on rowing?

You do need to be able to swim, most clubs will make you pass a yearly swimming & capsize test. However you don't need to be a super strong swimmer.

I agree, you need to be able to swim a bit, but not be that strong. You are very likely to capsize, every crew does at some point. Chances are that you will be able to stand up depending on the river you are in.

Please also be aware that it is a big shock, suddenly going into cold water.
Rivers, especially after rain, will have quite a strong current running too.

Can you swim 50 metres? If not, you should work on improving your swimming before you start rowing.

Definitely no life jackets allowed apart for the cox.

I'm a former rower and learnt to row on the Thames in east London. The water is fast, choppy, deep with strong hidden currents and in the winter if you go in, you'll be dead within 15 mins from the cold (unless you've drowned first of course). Safety is key and the last thing anyone wants is someone who's nervous in the boat as that will affect your rowing which will affect everyone else and increase the likelihood of the boat capsizing. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you do some work on your swimming so you're competent in the water. In my years of rowing, I never capsized but I know plenty of people who did. We had extensive training on water safety and how to deal with hazards (such as wash from other river traffic, moored barges etc). I appreciate that where I learnt to row is probably one of the most challenging places to row (friends from the west London clubs were horrified at the conditions we thought were normal to good, and said their clubs wouldn't let them out on the water when conditions were "that bad" 😂) so my experience is a little more extreme perhaps but I cannot say enough how seriously you have to take your safety. It would be irresponsible to go out knowing you can "float and swim a bit". Get some swimming coaching and improve your swimming and then look at learning to row.