A Coxswain By Any Other Name I begin writing

this article This proves to be an urban rowing myth. Crystal Palace in Madrid. An iron-red fi nish is The online edition of the OED does not even symbolic of the mining tradition of the area. completely cite Moby Dick as a text containing the word coxswain. Instead, I discover that the word Squinting toward the open water, I spy a black debuts in Manners and Household Expenses of mass appearing and disappearing amongst the offset. For England in 1841, wherein a payment is made cresting waves. A plume arcs from a bowhead to a “cokswaynne.” I am deeply unsettled. whale just discernible in the pitching waves; I decades I Nevertheless, it is with this fallacy fi rmly startle at a cacophony of urgent shouts, and feel implanted that I take my fi rst look at remo a press of motion toward the water. I leap aside vasco, the traditional fi xed-seat rowing of the as teams of men run to the harbor hauling high- believed Basque regions in Spain and France. sided boats with deep keels. It is a race to the whale, to its death. I stand on a dock in Sestao, Spain, along the Ria the word del Nervion o del Bilbao which plays home to The remeros [rowers] strain at the oars, their twelve remo vasco teams. Behind me, there is a feet braced on wooden cross bars, all of the work “coxswain,” newly renovated pedestrian plaza and a wide done by backs that literally lay down the power. walkway along the river. A modern brick and Currents from the Ria del Nervion and Ria del cement structure houses, along with a public Bilbao roil where they meet the harbor. Waves according to café, the Club Deportivo de Remo Kaiku (Kaiku rise to four, maybe fi ve feet in height beyond Rowing Sport Club). It’s December 27th and I’ve the protected beach. The wind comes off the the Oxford just climbed out of José Manuel Crespo’s sea and the tide begins to turn. And suddenly, launch after observing the fi rst practice of the what seems like a simple route to the day's prize season for a talented junior boy’s quad. José becomes a course for only the most seaworthy. English is the head coach of the Kaiku Rowing School The proel, or bowman, steadies a harpoon. The (juniors and masters). He returns to his quad and patron [coxswain] navigates the currents, the I await the start of the remo vasco practices. wind, and the waves urging his crew to propel Dictionary, the hull within striking distance. The boats I’ll ride next with Andoni Galván who coaches converge on the unfortunate ballena [whale]… made its the junior men and women in both Olympic and Basque-style rowing. As he sweeps his arm With a gentle tug, Andoni brings me back to the to encompass the protected harbor from which present. The chica and chico [junior women literary the junior program launches, I look beyond. and men] batels [entry-level boats with four The wide mouth of the river meets the sea, not rowers and a patron or patrona] are launching. debut in far from the Portsmouth, UK and Bilbao, Spain The patrons balance the oars on one shoulder maritime border. Just before the river and the and bring them to the dock. Each rower slides sea commingle, The Vzcaya Bridge or the Puente her estrobo, a handmade sisal "bracelet" that Herman Calgante to locals, ties Portugalete with the acts as a collar, onto her oar. She dips the oar in seaside town of Gexto. Built in 1893, it is the the water, soaking the estrobo. The estrobo will Melville's fi rst metal Transporter Bridge and its hanging slide over a plastic truncheon on the gunwale. gondola transports people and cars daily. The The truncheon and the estrobo partner to make architect, Alberto Palacio y Elissague, was an an oarlock, eff ectively affi xing the oar on the Moby Dick. apprentice of Gustave Eiff el and builder of the gunwale.

32 COXING MAGAZINE SEP 2017 SEP 2017 COXING MAGAZINE 33 Jone García de Andoin Pozo is the patrona and her stroke. of the junior girls batel and a three-time junior They shove. And almost all similarities champion of Bizkaia’s (provincial) League of cease. Bateles. If she wins this season, she will have four consecutive titles. As a tenth grader, her Jone pushes her estrobo over her pin, locking victories have only just begun. in her oar. Wait–she’s got an oar? Kneeling on some foam, she uses it as a long rudder. Did Her brother Pello is a rower and a patron for I just say kneeling? With one hand, she takes the boy’s team, a common practice in the sport. some quick strokes while her ports also row, He stroked the quad in the earlier practice, swinging the heavy hull out into the harbor. utilizing his patron leadership skills as he spoke She calls out a few commands and the girls for the boat. A senior in high school, he is a begin to row in the fi xed-seat style of remo four-time provincial champion and a Spanish vasco. Their knees bend slightly as their torsos National Junior Championships silver medalist and arms swing to stern. They drive their legs in the trainerilla –the next largest boat class (six down and then literally lay down, keeping their rowers and a patron). Before coming to Spain, I arms straight until their bodies have almost watched a video of him during one of the biggest disappeared below the gunwale. Then, their regattas of the season. He and the crew enter a arms squeeze the handle to their necks and turn in sixth (last) place, open water down, and feather the blade. The patrona keeps constant exit the turn in fi rst, open water up. More on this pressure on her rudder oar. in a minute. In short order, I realize that not only does Jone Maialen Mielgo Rodero is the stroke seat of have to keep her balance, but she also has to the girls' batel. At 15, she has been rowing for maintain her blade square in the water. Unlike two years. She has raced the Spanish National a standard oarlock, the estrobo only holds the Championship Junior Girls single scull race oar against the truncheon. It doesn't prevent the twice in her career, fi nishing second in 2015 and oar from changing its pitch. In fact, remo vasco claiming the title in 2016. Later this evening she requires that the oar enter the water slightly will be recognized as the most promising female over-rotated––a technical detail I failed to junior athlete in the city. master in the tank just moments earlier. But, the patrona's oar must remain on the square or else she won't be able to steer. Maialen struggles to move the wooden bar against which she will brace her feet. Jone, kneeling in the boat, reaches forward to help her Andoni, my translator, Professor Richard out. They are giggling, and smiling. There might Salter of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, be smack talk but my rudimentary Spanish is not and I motor alongside in a leaky launch. It is up to the task. less leaky than the one that dropped me off , but leaky just the same. At both this newer It all seems very familiar. boathouse and the older converted warehouse José Manuel Crespo A patrona and her remera... a coxswain further up river, I’ve noticed that the rowers and

34 COXING MAGAZINE SEP 2017 SEP 2017 COXING MAGAZINE 35 coaches have parsed the sport down to its most When the coaches show me the boats, the vital parts: boats, oars, athletes. Everything else story changes and there’s a palpable contrast. is functional, not luxurious and for some reason, Where I saw a hermit’s asceticism, I now see a this feels really good–really authentic–to me. craftsman’s affl uence–almost a hedonism. The boats are beyond huge. Standing beneath the trainera on the rack, it’s like looking into the Rowers use what appears to be foam salvaged on the rack, it’s like looking into the heart of a redwood. This fourteen-person boat from couches to protect their bottoms from the heart of a redwood. This fourteen-person boat holds six rowing pairs, the patron and the proel. unforgiving wooden beams that serve as seats. holds six rowing pairs, the patron and the proel. The port and starboard rowers that make up Jone García de Andoin Pozo and They fi ll scuff ed and dented disposable liter The port and starboard rowers that make up each pair sit adjacent to each other, the distance Maialen Mielgo Rodero bottles with water from a hose and load them each pair sit adjacent to each other, the distance between gunwales measuring almost a meter. At into a re-purposed milk crate. The coach puts between gunwales measuring almost a meter. At twelve meters long, the entire hull weighs 200 that in the bow of his launch for ballast. I wonder twelve meters long, the entire hull weighs 200 kilos. The proel has two oars, one on each side, briefl y what he does when all the water is gone kilos. The proel has two oars, one on each side, and sits alone in the narrower bow. but then realize that the nose of the launch will and sits alone in the narrower bow. rise, and that’s probably better for draining out There’s so much room that the crew can the water that’s coming in. Earlier, he made a take an extra oar with them on the water. joke about the Titanic holding water better than his launch (but he was actually right). When the It lays down the center of the boat, disturbing rowers put their hull on land for a few minutes, nothing, nestled with an extra estrobo or two. they rest it on two old tires–no slings, no T’s. The patron and I, as I will come to learn later, Even the boat racks are handmade. Inside the can share his space without even touching. I try boathouse, there literally is nothing to sit on to calculate how much carbon fi ber and kevlar or put personal belongings on. The message is was used to make this powerful hull. Even the clear: we row, we train and all of it is hard. splash guards are carbon fi ber. Reminiscent of a constant pressure to their oars. They push and As the batels approach the end of the harbor, the whale’s mouth, they come in two sizes to protect pull to counteract the currents, tide and wind. patron adds in, perfectly in time with the boat the boat and rowers against the mighty waves nside the boathouses, the training space They use their cores to balance on their knees, and with the same technique as the other rowers. in which they regularly compete and train. They calls out to my tinkerer’s heart. There’s a both absorbing check and fi ghting to stay stable. The boat pirouettes without slowing down, the snap on in an instant, attaching to pins on the tiny fl eet of older ergs. Pieces of two by Without a cox box, their commands are effi cient, ciaboga a seamless part of the workout. Like a bow gunwale. fours are jammed between the seat and the technical and clear. Unlike Olympic rowing, crew establishing its swing, pieces begin to click Ifoot stretcher to create a fi xed-seat erg. Foam, there is little time for complicated motivational together for me—forming questions that I think similar to the pieces that went out in the boats, But here, in the harbor, with the infantiles phrases. In trainera racing, the patrons provide I know the answers to. I put my translator to are piled up haphazardly on the seats. There’s a (junior) remeros, there are no waves. Andoni a rhythmic call that carries down the long boat work. complicated, jury-rigged, fi xed-seat contraption explains that the harbor, long ago a hub for and over the noise of the ocean: Ohhhh—ah, in the center of the room–easily outdating the whaling, is the perfect place to teach rowing ohhhh—ah. They reinforce good work with a ohhhh—ah. They reinforce good work with a By the end of practice, I’ve confi rmed a few swingulator by a decade. In the corner, someone and the art of being a patron. The water is terse but energetic eso es, [“that’s the idea”]. terse but energetic , [“that’s the idea”]. things. Patrons, like coxswains, are small. As has hooked a sit-up board onto a wall ladder. completely fl at and void of traffi c. The girls and the novices begin their rowing careers, the The foot end is about six feet in the air, the head boys in their separate boats begin making short I am eager for the boats to turn around. I’ve entrenadores [coaches] are looking for students set at a dizzyingly steep angle to the fl oor. I don’t passes back and forth in the harbor. Jone and seen the patrons manage a ciaboga [stake turn] with smaller builds. All patrons begin as rowers dare try it; I doubt very much that I have the the other patrons are precise in their language on video, and I expect it to be more dynamic in so the coaches can see whether they are also core to do one sit-up let alone the hundreds that and even more precise in their steering. It is a person. What I am not prepared for is its grace. athletic and so that the patrons can learn the José told me the rowers do regularly. whole body aff air. The patrons’ left arms apply

36 COXING MAGAZINE SEP 2017 SEP 2017 COXING MAGAZINE 37 They make recommendations to the patron, for or wind.” Unlike rowing development in the example, about when to begin their turns, but it United States, remo vasco follows a graduated is up to the patron to make a good decision and size and speed development which is standard then to execute it correctly. Ironically, the radios across the rowing schools. Juniors begin in are one-way and the patrons cannot talk back. the smallest boats and only when they show competence are they allowed to move to a larger hull. With increased size comes increased For this reason, the coaches explain that the larger hull. With increased size comes increased speed and with increased speed comes a larger relationship between the coach and the patron at speed and with increased speed comes a larger physical demand from the patron–it takes more any level is of maximum confi dence. The patron physical demand from the patron–it takes more strength to handle the larger steering oar as well must be able to understand, diagnose and aff ect strength to handle the larger steering oar as well as execution of the ciabogas. When I ask Andoni technical changes in an instant. Pello adds that as execution of the ciabogas. When I ask Andoni how long before a patron has suffi cient skills he he must also be able to communicate accurately how long before a patron has suffi cient skills he fi rst responds “nunca”–never–but later, he and the boat’s mistakes and successes to the coach fi rst responds “nunca”–never–but later, he and The author as la patrona, with Iker Gimeno José explain that there is no set timetable for at the end of practice. “The [coach and patron] José explain that there is no set timetable for improvement. A patron’s physical development must agree with each other,” he emphasizes, “for improvement. A patron’s physical development needs to dovetail with his mental and nautical the good of the team.” needs to dovetail with his mental and nautical stroke. While patrons do have to stay smaller technique will fail. A patron without seamanship development. Those that master the skills and in order to continue in that role, they must also will also fail. Though the sea is calm today and have physical growth at the same pace can be very athletic. The professional patron, Iker these young rowers will not leave the harbor, Like a coxswain, the patron must also have, move up easily and swiftly. Those that lag in the Gimeno, whom I meet later in the week, is built races take place on the sea. Waves, current, tide as these coaches call it, “a fi rm psychological strength area might spend more time in a smaller like a modern gymnast. He has huge quads and and wind are technical components of the race. maturity.” They often drive rowers of mixed boat before moving into the trainera. Remember strong arms. He trains, he must train, not only Riding the crest of an incoming wave or getting ages—sometimes the crew is twice the age this–it will be important later. to be strong enough to handle the oar that steers stuck in its trough can spell victory or disaster. A of the patron–and they must command the the trainera but also to execute the fastest, most wave can also push a boat onto the turn buoy or respect of the crew. Pello, for example, is While the rowers return their equipment to the effi cient turn he can. The patron of a trainera push it wide away from the turn–again, victory working on developing his authority. His racks, I return to my daydream. The whaling stands instead of kneeling. His quads are in or disaster. The tides can change during a race– coaches believe that this is the last piece he boats, almost identical in size to the trainerillas, constant fl exion to maintain his balance and victory or disaster. needs to make the step to the next level of surge toward the bowhead. One patron has leverage on the oar. When the boat is at speed, competition. He describes a successful patron artfully ridden a breaker close to the doomed he looks like he is riding the back of a whale. personality as serious and fi rm and makes the A few minutes later, I become jealous of my animal. The proel throws his harpoon and after astute observation that “off the water, you are animal. The proel throws his harpoon and after Basque coaching counterparts. I discover a violent battle and several more harpoons, the everyone’s friend but on the water you are a violent battle and several more harpoons, the The patron progresses from the batel to the that they connect to their patrons by headset. bowhead, like its over-fi shed relative, the right nobody’s friend.” bowhead, like its over-fi shed relative, the right trainerilla and then to the trainera. Watching the Literally–they are the voice in their patrons’ whale, fl oats to the surface. The catch, a massive young patrons learn how to balance, I can see heads. As a coach who relies on mental messages quantity of meat and blubber, belongs to the how the progression makes a lot of sense. But I during racing and rarely gets through, this is a oth Pello and Jone believe that steering patron that got there fi rst. His crew and his know there is more to the art than just a patron dumbfounding fact. the boat in windy, wavy seas is one whaling company will take all the spoils. who doesn’t fall down during practice. José sets of the greatest challenges of their me straight. Like the Director of a professional positions. The sheer physicality of it is If my visit had concluded here, it would have cycling team feeding the riders' Bdaunting. “You must carry the oar very fi rmly If my visit had concluded here, it would have been amazing. But, it continues and I cannot information from the coaching vehicle, in case a wave or a gust of wind changes your been amazing. But, it continues and I cannot Trainera races are three nautical miles long and believe the extent of hospitality that Jon the entrenadores provide a massive direction,” explains Pello, “You must always believe the extent of hospitality that include one ciaboga. Races are won and lost Basabe amount of information about the racing fi nd the course where there are fewer waves , the president of Club Deportivo de in this turn. A patron without good rowing conditions. Remo Kaiku extends to me. He informs me that

38 COXING MAGAZINE SEP 2017 JUL/AUGSEP 2017 COXING MAGAZINE 3739 I should return on Saturday, to interview José for fi fteen years. Like several other professional They catch the Luis Korta, head coach of Kaiku’s professional patrons, Iker has been under Korta’s tutelage heavy bottles senior team. And, Jon adds, I will get to drive the since he was a child and made his debut in the one handed and trainera fi lled with professionals. I am tickled… trainera with Korta as his coach. He has followed hydrate. Korta and terrifi ed. Korta to his recent appointment at Kaiku. They seems to think this are a quintessential example of the entrenador- might be a sign patron relationship, reading each other’s minds of weakness, that and knowing what the other expects from the they need water. crew. Iker manages all the fi ne detail coaching But, he tosses them orta is Spain’s fi rst professional rowing while Korta gives the broad technical changes he out just the same. coach. A pioneer in the fi eld, he began wants to see. In this case, the attack at the front Later I learn that coaching in the 70s and is on the end is weak. He tells them that they must shave he usually is more frontline of coaches to this day. He also two seconds off their drive by engaging the critical of the crew Kholds the Flag of the Shell which recognizes him attack as soon as the oar is in the water. Iker and but that he has as the most distinguished sportsman in history. the men get down to business. curbed his vulgar With 40 years of experience as a patron, trainera insults partly remero, and Olympic-style rower, he has won The route to Bilbao is dotted with the crews of because it is the more than 20 national titles as a competitor or The route to Bilbao is dotted with the crews of other competitor clubs. A few of the men shout fi rst day but mostly coach and participated in the 1980 Olympics in other competitor clubs. A few of the men shout insults to their friends on other teams. Some because there is a Moscow in the single scull. Oh, and he’s a reality insults to their friends on other teams. Some of the boats are fi xed-seat, others are Olympic lady in the launch. TV star on the show Conquistador of the End of of the boats are fi xed-seat, others are Olympic style. Immediately, I can see a drastic diff erence the World which is similar to our Survivor. style. Immediately, I can see a drastic diff erence between the Kaiku professionals and the other Korta got his less skilled clubs. Just under 100 years old, Kaiku rowing education When I meet him on Saturday, he is fi lling those is perennially in the top fi ve clubs in the region. in his fi shing battered water bottles with the hose. He takes They fl y three Flags of La Concha–the highest hometown. As one look at my footwear and disapproves. He achievement in remo vasco–in the boathouse for a boy, there strides off and returns with rubber boots that Kaiku’s three titles. Korta says his secret is that wasn’t money are several sizes too big but which are better, he rows twice a day and the other clubs only for anything, in his opinion, than my sneakers. At some once. Then he laughs. not even soccer unseen signal, the men carry down the trainera. balls–the country’s Everyone piles in–it reminds me of a clown car signature sport. Described by the media as a controversial signature sport. but all the clowns are actually long, lanky and He and his friends showman, Korta is not shy about sharing his He and his friends wearing dri-fi t. would take their doing hard steady state. I am hypnotized by judgments on his sport and the rowers in front would take their parents’ fi shing boats out for play. Every day the fl awless synchronicity of the thirteen men. of him. parents’ fi shing boats out for play. Every day We head up-river toward the Guggenheim they raced each other, these tiny boys in giant The number of oars, side-by-side pairs and Museum in the heart of Bilbao. The river projects "They are just crazy," he says, "that is why boats, learning all aspects of the sport. I ask him asymmetry in the bow distract my typically its liquid light onto the building’s surface. they win all the time. They are very crazy. whether he prefers Olympic rowing or fi xed-seat disciplined eye. How can anyone be unifi ed with Korta, the showman, maneuvers the men and The crazier you are, the better you row." rowing. He is quick to say Olympic–remo vasco all this visual chaos? But, I have learned that the our launch so my pictures will capture his art is too much like his childhood. Basque are very precise people: on our way to and Guggenheim’s together. The Patron, Iker Meanwhile, Iker sits down to rest. Korta stands the city from the airport, the bus left exactly on and starts throwing water bottles at the crew. time, despite the fact that my husband was only Gimeno, and Korta have been working together By this time the men are warmed up and

40 COXING MAGAZINE SEP 2017 SEP 2017 COXING MAGAZINE 41 halfway boarded. A video on the art of making Nonplussed, Iker reclines in the stern as though the estrobo is textbook Basque as well–each sisal we are out for some kind of ride in the country, fi ber painstakingly and patiently wrapped into and calls out to the crew. I’m glad one of us is place, in one try. The precision comes to life in comfortable. We start moving. I know that it’s front of me, the trainera a massive machine and not that bad but I’m convinced I’m riding an its personnel the gears that fi t together to the untamed mustang. I have two hands on the oar, millimeter. I have nothing but admiration and struggling for balance. Iker swats away my right respect for this sport, its coaches and athletes. hand. My feet are moving inside my borrowed After a while, Iker performs the ciaboga and boots. I feel like I’m going to fall over so I take we head back downriver. He calls out eso es as a step back with my right foot for stability. Iker the boat leaps along and punctuates the strokes kicks my foot back into position. At this moment, with his carrying cry of ohhhh-ah, ohhhh-ah! He I’m not sure how much I’m going to like him. looks like he is dancing on the water. he one rower who speaks English As we near the convergence of the two rivers, explains that the steering is just like an Korta calls the men to a halt and tells me it is eight. “Push to go starboard and pull my turn. I am a very confi dent and competent to go port.” Yeah–umm–it’s really coxswain but from everything I have seen and theT opposite. Not that it really matters because learned about the skills of the patron, this is a I don’t have time to process it. I experiment and very, very bad idea. every two strokes Iker has to grab the oar and make a drastic steering correction, which yep– you guessed it–aff ects the set. Finally he realizes I began learning Spanish fi ve months ago using you guessed it–aff ects the set. Finally he realizes that he just has to hang onto the oar all the time. Duolingo, an on-line learning app. that he just has to hang onto the oar all the time. I can’t tell if what I am doing with the oar is I’m pretty good at telling you that my cat correct because it seems like it doesn’t matter drinks milk and my elephant does not. whether I’m pushing or pulling, the boat goes But, I have no words to express my terror. in the same direction. I’m being pushed by the swirl of the converging currents which I can’t I don’t even know the word for fear. I do the read. Korta feels the wind shift and pick up. He only thing I can–fake it ‘til I make it… or fall into says “oh no, no, no” to the translator but there’s the river. nothing to be done. My left arm burns and my quads are useless and within fi ve minutes I want Iker shows me how to stand in the patron’s out. Is there a bell I can ring? Some way I can tap compartment. I am in a strong, athletic stance– out? feet shoulder width apart, knees fl exed. It doesn’t seem too bad. Then he puts my hands on It’s at least 20k back to the boathouse, or at least the giant wooden oar to my port. I am thinking that’s what my mind and body believe. It’s really I can use it for balance. This, I quickly discover, only about fi fteen minutes but I was done long is not true at all. It moves around too much and ago. Since my Spanish has devolved to sí and I am responsible for supplying the oar with José Luis Korta vigorous nodding, when the English-speaking stability—not the other way around. rower tells me that they are going to go más

42 COXING MAGAZINE SEP 2017 SEP 2017 COXING MAGAZINE 43 rápido and I will drive solamente, I am out of options. Just moments earlier, I had lost my balance and fallen down. Luckily the patron ankakas [stern pair] fi nd this amusing. Más rápido? Like Korta said: crazy. Iker builds the pressure and the cadence.

I know I’m fl opping around like a fi sh. I know I’m a hot mess. I know that the rowers are probably going to have some really good laughs over their cervezas. But I also know how Katie Couric felt when she coxed the US Men’s eight right before they left for Barcelona in 1992. This… is… fantástico.

As we near the boathouse, Iker steers toward the dock. Korta barks angrily–they have fi ve more minutes of practice. The men yell back about an appointment they have to keep. Korta barks again. Then they yell the truth: la patrona! They do not want me to execute the ciaboga. I am in complete agreement. First of all, there’s a bridge we could crash into. Second of all, I have no idea what I’m doing. And third of all, did I mention that bridge?

Iker instructs the proel who casually switches oars. Iker stands behind me, and, hands covering mine, he pushes the oar in rhythm with his rowers. We back the stern to starboard as the bow gracefully comes around. I feel a unique physical connection to the remeros and my contribution is oddly rewarding. At last, I can speakj oar. The Vzcaya Bridge

44 COXING MAGAZINE SEP 2017 SEP 2017 COXING MAGAZINE 45