Do you know which lanes are “better” and which are “worse” with regards to the bend in the course on the Schuylkill?
Philly coxswains, feel free to weigh in and/or correct me on this since I haven’t spent a ton of time on Schuylkill and am not as familiar with its quirks. There’s a staggered start to account for the bend so there’s not really a “good” lane or a “bad” lane to be in as far as I know. Pretty much what makes one lane better or worse than another is gonna be more related to the condition of the water than anything else. If you/your coxswain is competent at steering you can easily gain a few seats coming through the bend but at the same time you can also lose some too if you mess it up. Waiting too long to turn will cause you to swing wide and if you cut it and swing early you’ll end up crossing over into another lane as you come under the Strawberry Mansion bridge.
Related: Navigating the Schuylkill River
I thought I had some video of the coxswains taking the turn through the bridge but if I do I can’t find it. A good example of how to do it though is to watch this video (also included on the “coxswain recordings” page) starting around 1:37. The way he called it was pretty solid, as was the line he took.
From my experience and what my coaches tell me. you want to be in three or four. Least desirable would be the lane all the way closest to the far side of the river because of the current you get in front of the island. We’ve had quite a few boats (not from our school) get swept away behind that island at the Manny Flicks because the current was too strong, even a varsity boat.
Whoa, that’s crazy! Good to know though, thanks for sharing! 🙂
3 and 4 are the best but 5 and 6 can be good for 2k’s and in windy conditions, less of a turn and in windy conditions the island blovks out most of the wind for a nice sprint
I row on the Schuylkill, and people generally seem to favor lane 3. I think this has something to do with the current produced from the lanes on either side of it… whatever the reason, though, even officials seem to think lane 3 is preferable, since in finals or any kind of race that comes after a qualifier, lane 3 always goes to the fastest qualifier. Hope this helps!
That’d make sense since lanes three and four on any course are usually the most preferred lanes (hence why the fastest crews get put there when advancing out of heats and semis). Thanks! 🙂