Things your COACH should never say/do
Kendra Borowski
This may be a touchy subject, because all good rowers know that the coach is
never wrong, or at least no one has the guts to acknowledge it out loud. But
with all the crap the coxswains are taking in the "things your cox should
never do" subject, I just couldn't help myself...
I heard a story once (not gonna mention names, teams for fear of death) about
a crew practicing out in the basin of the Charles when a nasty thunder storm
came up. The crew kept rowing and watching in horror as bolts of lightning
came down around the Boston skyline and got progressively louder and
closer. Someone finally had the guts to ask the coach if maybe they should
take it home, only for the coach to scream: "If you wanna waste this good
water, fine!"
GHP
Kendra Borowski wrote in message <6u133v$k7i$1...@news1.bu.edu>...
Well,
I remember one time (before I joined the Narragansett Boat Club, in
Providence) watching the Brown Crews practicing on the Seekonk. A storm
came up in a matter of minutes, the crews wasted no time turning around.
The men were the furthest away, so they were the last to come past me. They
came past at what looked like full speed, a beautiful sight to watch. Less
than a minute after they passed me, one of the biggest bolts of lightning
hit a buoy...no more that 2 hundred yards away. The sound of the thunder
shook my truck! I can say, that made one impression on me! Now that I row
at NBC, our boathouse is around 250 yards from the strike, I pay some close
attention to the weather!
Gary
CrewRob
just out of curiosity, does ANYONE know any rower who actually got hurt in
one of these storms? or any weather-related incidents?
--crewrob
hhh
sailor from the great lakes and in sailing there is little fear of lightning
strikes despite the obvious lightning rod characteristics of a sail boat. Sail
boats do get struck, but very seldom to people ever get hurt (at least from what
I have observed). The bolt usually travels straight down the mast and through
the boat into the water. Now I now that this is probably not technically
correct, but I always assumed this was because the boat was "grounded". So my
question is, do any of the same properties apply to rowing shells. There is
very little conducting medal in a shell (especially if you have one of those new
carbon fiber wing riggers) and the shell would seem to be somewhat of an
insulation from any strikes in the water near the boat. Does anyone with a more
technical back ground have evidence to support or refute my theory? Has anyone
ever heard of a shell being hit by lightning?
-Matt
LongboatCo
> hhh <h...@kjj.com wrote:>
much snippage...
> Does anyone with a more
>technical back ground have evidence to support or refute my theory? Has
>anyone
>ever heard of a shell being hit by lightning?
>
>-Matt
Not nearly as much as I've heard of golfers getting zapped, which is the excuse
I gave my wife when she yelled at me for rowing during a recent thunderboomer!
George
The Longboat Company
www.LongboatCo.com
Braca Sport Oars and Sculls
GHP
CrewRob wrote in message <3604c...@tornado.tcccom.net>...
>Guys...
>
>just out of curiosity, does ANYONE know any rower who actually got hurt in
>one of these storms? or any weather-related incidents?
I've never heard of a rower being struck by lightning...golfers get it all
the time. Maybe rowers and their coaches are cautious of weather
conditions. Odds are that even if those Brown rowers were only a short way
from where the lightning struck, they still would not of been struck. As
someone already said, there's not much to conduct lighting in a rowing
shell, but the buoy near by is heavy steel in direct contact with the water
so....
Gary
>
>--crewrob
>
>>Well,
>>
>>I remember one time (before I joined the Narragansett Boat Club, in
>>Providence) watching the Brown Crews practicing on the Seekonk. A storm
>>came up in a matter of minutes, the crews wasted no time turning around.
>>The men were the furthest away, so they were the last to come past me.
>They
>>came past at what looked like full speed, a beautiful sight to watch.
Less
>>than a minute after they passed me, one of the biggest bolts of lightning
>>hit a buoy...no more that 2 hundred yards away. The sound of the thunder
>>shook my truck! I can say, that made one impression on me! Now that I
row
>>at NBC, our boathouse is around 250 yards from the strike, I pay some
close
>>attention to the weather!
>>
>>Gary
>>
>>
>
>
POWER10
It is against all common sense and legal liability to row during a
lightning/thunder storm, especially if one is a coach for a youth crew. I was
once in a launch while coaching when a sudden thunderstorm came up--the
lightning crashed down around us...the hair on my head and neck literally stood
up, and the kids were terrified. I was able to calm them down, and we made it
back to the dock OK.
I vowed, after that, to ALWAYS, even on a sunny day, call the USWEATHER service
(eg via a weather radio or a local--by the hour--weather report, which we now
have in our area). I do not like surprises, and I never want to endanger the
kids I coach. So, I respectfully suggest that you do not row in a lightning
storm and that --if a coach--you certainly do not take those risks. Check with
USRA regatta rules and the USCOAST GUARD--for safety rules.
Have a good (and safe) row!!
Gordon L. Pizor
Head Coach
Associate Director
Wilmington Youth Rowing Association
Gordon L. Pizor
power10
Clete Graham
hit by lightning than the rowers in a plastic or wooden shell. No big loss.
Has anyone ever heard of a rower getting hit by lightning???? Of course not. The
chances of that are like, well, like ... like getting struck by lightning!!!
:)
Clete
POWER10 wrote:
>
> It is against all common sense and legal liability to row during a
> lightning/thunder storm, especially if one is a coach for a youth crew. I was
> once in a launch while coaching when a sudden thunderstorm came up--the
> lightning crashed down around us...the hair on my head and neck literally stood
> up,
Gordon has very little hair left on his head (or is that a result of a lightning hit?)
Walter Martindale
Has
> >anyone
> >ever heard of a shell being hit by lightning?
> >
>
Not while on the water, but a friend was rigging an 8+ when lightning hit
about 40 m away, and he was zapped through his contact with the boat.
Tossed him back a metre or so.
Another instance was at a regatta when a lady was tying her boat to a rack
- there was a strike in the boat park and she was zapped by contact with
the boat rack - uncontrollable shaking - taken to hospital for observation.
Walter Martindale
Gerry Ashton
I understand they normally have a ground plate or metal keel in
contact with the water, which is connected to the metal mast with
lots of metal. So the mast-ground plate system form a good path
to the water, and the top of the mast is far above the heads of
the people. The lignting flows through that path and leaves
the people alone. Unfortunately, a shell has no such path so
the people are at risk.
Gerry Ashton
Jim Mitchell
chance of somone getting struck since people take up most of the area of the boat.
Good enough reason for me to stay away from lightning.
hhh wrote:
> The below thread brings up a question I have always had. I am originally a
> sailor from the great lakes and in sailing there is little fear of lightning
> strikes despite the obvious lightning rod characteristics of a sail boat. Sail
> boats do get struck, but very seldom to people ever get hurt (at least from what
> I have observed). The bolt usually travels straight down the mast and through
> the boat into the water. Now I now that this is probably not technically
> correct, but I always assumed this was because the boat was "grounded". So my
> question is, do any of the same properties apply to rowing shells. There is
> very little conducting medal in a shell (especially if you have one of those new
> carbon fiber wing riggers) and the shell would seem to be somewhat of an
> insulation from any strikes in the water near the boat. Does anyone with a more
> technical back ground have evidence to support or refute my theory? Has anyone
> ever heard of a shell being hit by lightning?
>
> -Matt
elsts
>
> CrewRob wrote in message <3604c...@tornado.tcccom.net>...
> >Guys...
> >
> >just out of curiosity, does ANYONE know any rower who actually got hurt in
> >one of these storms? or any weather-related incidents?
>
> I've never heard of a rower being struck by lightning...golfers get it all
> the time. Maybe rowers and their coaches are cautious of weather
> conditions. Odds are that even if those Brown rowers were only a short way
> from where the lightning struck, they still would not of been struck. As
> someone already said, there's not much to conduct lighting in a rowing
> shell, but the buoy near by is heavy steel in direct contact with the water
> so....
>
> Gary
>
> >
> >--crewrob
> >
> >>
> >>I remember one time (before I joined the Narragansett Boat Club, in
> >>Providence) watching the Brown Crews practicing on the Seekonk. A storm
> >>came up in a matter of minutes, the crews wasted no time turning around.
> >>The men were the furthest away, so they were the last to come past me.
> >They
> >>came past at what looked like full speed, a beautiful sight to watch.
> Less
> >>than a minute after they passed me, one of the biggest bolts of lightning
> >>hit a buoy...no more that 2 hundred yards away. The sound of the thunder
> >>shook my truck! I can say, that made one impression on me! Now that I
> row
> >>at NBC, our boathouse is around 250 yards from the strike, I pay some
> close
> >>attention to the weather!
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
Then why do they tell you not to touch electrical lines with your
carbon-fibre oars? Must have the ability to conduct something,
especially when they're wet (maybe)!?!?
BJE
Mandie
suspicion that the coaches in their metal speedboats were the main risk.. I don't
think there is a big risk of being electorcuted... except if the water gets
electrified i gueess.. oh i dunno!
hhh wrote:
> The below thread brings up a question I have always had. I am originally a
> sailor from the great lakes and in sailing there is little fear of lightning
> strikes despite the obvious lightning rod characteristics of a sail boat. Sail
> boats do get struck, but very seldom to people ever get hurt (at least from what
> I have observed). The bolt usually travels straight down the mast and through
> the boat into the water. Now I now that this is probably not technically
> correct, but I always assumed this was because the boat was "grounded". So my
> question is, do any of the same properties apply to rowing shells. There is
> very little conducting medal in a shell (especially if you have one of those new
> carbon fiber wing riggers) and the shell would seem to be somewhat of an
> insulation from any strikes in the water near the boat. Does anyone with a more
> technical back ground have evidence to support or refute my theory? Has anyone
> ever heard of a shell being hit by lightning?
>
> -Matt
>
> GHP wrote:
>
row...@bu.edu
A couple summers ago we were preparing for the WC's and as we showed up for our evening practice the rain was really coming down. Lightning was cracking every few moments. Ted is famous for being immune to the weather conditions and told us to warm up to the top (about 3 miles) and meet him there. I thought he was kidding, but the PACRA vets told me he was very serious. We were the only crews on the river as the electrical storm was becoming pretty fierce. Ted said that the weather would cooperate by the time we got to the top, and that would give us a three mile lead on the Romulans (his name for the Romanians). Well the rain/lightning got much worse. It was really dark and downpouring and flashes of lightning every few seconds. Now for people who don't know Ted, he is quite a presence. He has a deep booming voice. He doesn't need a megaphone, but uses one anyway making his coaching commands sound like they are coming down from Olympus or Valhalla. Anyway, we were supposed to be doing some 2k pieces at "96% intensity", but because of the weather we were going to do some 4.5 minute pieces on the way home. He has an unusual way to start the pieces, instead of "On this one!" or "Ready all...ROW!" etc, Ted says "We're breathing, we're breathing, And...AWAY....WE....GO!!!" which was always confusing to me as some of the guys would go on "Away" and some on "WE" and I was waiting for "GO!!!!" (the motto of most Philly guys is "If you aint cheatin, you aint tryin"). Well we were trying to get back to the dock as fast as possible so Ted was abbreviating his start commands. He was starting us by relative speed so we would all be close at the end. "Light women's single.....GO!!!" pause "Women's Double.....GO!!" pause "Women's four.....GO!!!!" puase. Then it was just us and I was looking right at him as he said "Men's pair......HAAAAAAHHHH!!!" and as he yelled it he punched the air above him and made a fist, and at that exact moment a bolt of lightning struck the shore behind him making a deafening CRACK!!! This was about the most memorable rowing experience I have ever experienced -the day Ted Nash threw lightning bolts at me.
Tetsushi OZAWA
POWER10 <pow...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19980922162739...@ng62.aol.com>...
> It is against all common sense and legal liability to row during a
> lightning/thunder storm, especially if one is a coach for a youth crew.
I agree.
> the hair on my head and neck literally stood up,
I experienced the same situation, ten or more years ago.
While rowing, the hair on our heads stood up like "the cat tail" encounters
dogs.
I have never heard any lightning accidents on rowing in Japan.
But I have ever heard similar accidents;
The thunder hit some swimmers heads on the water (not on the beach).
Of course rowers head on the boat is higher than swimmers head on the
water.
I do not want to be "the First Crew getting struck by lightning in the
world".
But maybe the Guinness Book will pick up the news?
No thank you!
Charles Huthmaker
Well, a couple years ago at the SIRA Championships, the Women's 4+ race
was postponed by a bad thunder boomer. We were chased off the water at
the starting line. Apparently a couple crews up the river could feel the
tingle of electricity through the boat when the lightning started hitting
nearby. Sounds a little close for comfort.
Charles
Lynne McKeon
the tallest point so they are effectively the lightening rod; especially
when they're nice and sweaty. Don't think that having a carbon fiber
wing rigger is going to protect you; as I understand it carbon fiber is
a pretty decent conducter.
Pat McKeon
rr...@mindspring.com
clouds and ground, which is in turn due to high electric fields
caused by the accumulation of enormous amounts of static charge in
storms clouds, which charge is mirrored on the ground. If the
electric field is strong enough to ionize air over a distance of
hundreds, or even thousands of feet, the difference in insulation
resistance between a plastic vs. a metal boat, over a few inches is
insignificant.
Things that do make a difference, are high, isolated, sharply pointed
features on the ground. Lone trees in the middle of open fields,
golfers holding up clubs on a golf course, high masted boats on flat
water, and tall antenna towers are all points where the static
electric fields of a thunderstorm will be strongest. These are
locations where breakdown of the air's insulation will likely occur
first, and therefore where the lightning discharge may likely occur.
This is the theory behind lightning rods. They attempt to dissipated
static charge to the air before the lightnign occurs, but failing
that, they actually attract the lightning to the sharply pointed spike
of the lightning rod, and carry the discharge through a metal cable to
ground - thus protecting the structure on which they are mounted.
Any boat on an open flat lake is a singularity where static electric
fields caused by thunderstorms may be concentrated. It is not
advisable to row during thunderstorm activity.
If you are in a thunderstorm, and you notice your hair standing on
end, you are in a region of concentrated static charge. Seek shelter
immediately, or lay as flat on the ground as possible - try not to be
the tallest object in your immediatede vicinity, and stay away from
the tallest object in your immediate vicinity.
Remove "nospam." from email address for reply.
ehr...@widomaker.com
But it seems from your story that Ted Nash failed to stop the storm as he
had predicted. We all know, of course, that only Harry Parker can do
that. Harry is god.
I've tried to learn Harry's secret. Alas, I can only turn away about 1/3
of all storms.
Of course, anyone who has trained on the Isis in Oxford in the last few
years knows that, really, Anu is god.
CEE
W&M
--
_____
=======||==================< |
`----
GHP
Lynne McKeon wrote in message <360952...@earthlink.net>...
OOPS!
Yesterday, when I turned on one of the machines in my shop, I realized that,
oh my yes, carbon does conduct electricity quite well...it's used for the
brushes to conduct the current in some electric motors! Humans don't really
conduct lightning all that well, which is the main reason why so many people
live through lightning strikes. I for one like two things very much, 1,
Living and 2, Rowing, so I've over careful of the weather.
Gary
Koster J.A.
> We all know that Ted Nash actually controls the weather
> and here is a story demonstrating that truism.
<snip story>
This is a great story! I'm definately archiving this one,
thanks.
A3aan.
--
Don't attempt thinking for others before you can think for yourself.
http://www.cs.vu.nl/~a3aan/
Kurt
in Johannesburg, South Africa a few years ago.
Clete Graham wrote in message <360848...@netaxs.com>...
Cwestmark
Actually, if you are in the path of the current, it's better to be a conductor
than a non-conductor. Because if you are a non-conductor, you are a resistor,
and when current passes through a resistor, it generates heat ("resistive
heating"). I beleive this is what causes damage to people.
I have some knowledge of lightning strikes gained from working on the issue re:
aircraft and space launch vehicles. First of all, what attracts lighning is
anything thgat disturbs the electric field. A tall object sticking up higher
than the rest of the surroundings would be one example (examples: a rower in
the middle of a large body of water...and airplane flying through a charged
cloud). It's not relevant whether the disturbing object is conductive or not
in terms of actually getting struck, but it is relevant in terms of where all
that electrical energy goes. It tends to follow the path of least resistance,
which would be conductive materials like metals. TO protect aircraft from
lightning strike damage, aircraft designers strategically place conductive
materials in a continuous path along the airplane, so the strike will "bleed
off" the aircraft by traveling from the point of attachement (often the leading
edge of an airfoil like a wing) to the trailing edge of the vehicle component.
Special care is taken to protect any entrance points to fuel compartments (VERY
important!) This is one big problem with using composites instead of aluminum
in aircraft structures.
A graphite fiber boat would not be very conductive, because even though
graphite is conductive, the resin surrounding it is not. I have seen what
happens to a graphite epoxy aircraft component when it is struck by lightning.
A hole the size of a basketball gets blown into it, and the resin gets
vaporized. This is due to both resistive heating and the shock wave produced
by the rapid heating of the air and the material itself. If, somehow, a
fiberglass or carbon fiber boat was struck by lightning, that is what I predict
would happen. The coach's metal launch would conduct the current down to the
water and be relatively undamaged, but the strike would probably pass through
the coach's body along the way (unfortunate for the coach).
But the boat itself would not likely be the attachment point of the lightning
because it is fairly low to the water...a rower likely would. And people are
actually fairly conductive, since we are made of mostly water...but we have
other more insulative materials like bones and muscles as well which get
damaged by the current passing through them via rapid resistive heating and
shock wave effects.
So.. bottom line...if you got struck while rowing, it would be very bad...the
boat would not protect you from a direct strike unless you rowed with a
lightning rod on your boat (provided a path for the current as well as an
attractive attachment point that was not a human body)
If, however, the strike hit an object nearby and traveled through the water to
your boat, now the boat would actually protect you by its insulative properties
because the current would be dissipated by the boat.
That's my theory anyway. I think rowing during a lightning storm is a very bad
idea.
Carolyn