Sorry for the lack of posts. Between rowing and preparing for what Oxford calls a 'transfer of status' (meaning I will go from being a probationary DPhil to a full DPhil) Hilary term has been really crazy and not a lot of time or curling up on the couch. After the transfer stuff is taken care of life should be a little less hectic.
Anywho, several of you have asked me to explain what 'catching a crab' means. It is a rowing term which according to Wikipedia:
'A rowing error where the rower is unable to timely remove or release the oar blade from the water and the oar blade acts as a brake on the boat until it is removed from the water. This results in slowing the boat down. A severe crab can even eject a rower out of the shell or make the boat capsize (unlikely except in small boats). Occasionally, in a severe crab, the oar handle will knock the rower flat and end up behind him/her, in which case it is referred to as an 'over-the-head crab.'
Basically its a mistake which can happen to any person in the boat, the rower who improperly placed their blade tends to be knocked flat and can occasionally literally eject the rower out of the boat. So on the first day of Torpids in Mansfield W1 seat number 4, the person in front of me caught a crab. Here are some pictures to demonstrate.
This first picture is all of us rowing
The next picture is nicely labeled :). Notice how seat 4's blade is not going into the water straight!
Now you see 4 getting throw back by her own blade! :(
Anyone in the boat can catch a crab and when that happens the person behind the 'crabbed' rower (in this particular case it was me) must also drop out. First, so that they can help the other rower get their blade back into position and secondly, because the balance and steering of the boat are thrown off when one rower drops out! I hope you have enjoyed learning a little bit about rowing!
Cheers!
