What’s the best way to steer through a wake?
Just do it. That sounds dismissive but it’s really that simple. I think wake affects the rowers a lot more than it does the coxswains which is why it’s important to tell them that it’s coming and to stay relaxed. It’s almost always coming at you slightly perpendicular to the boat so unless it’s so rough that you’re getting aggressively knocked off keel then you should just be able to row right through it with minimal adjustments to your steering.
If it’s really rough and you’re getting knocked around then just weigh enough until the water is calm and you can pick it back up. Outside of that, the only steering adjustments I make tend to be steering into the wake for a stroke if it’s particularly strong so that my bow stays pointed where I want it to be (since wake coming from your port side can push you towards shore if you follow a normal traffic pattern). Otherwise I just tell the rowers when it’s about to hit us and on what side (“on this next stroke there’ll be a little bit of wake off of port”) so they can adjust accordingly.
Here in Switzerland, on the Rhine there are quite some big wakes.
Last year we broke a new eight while rowing through a wake. It was spli into two pieces sind the bow and stern where in the air.
It didn’t sink but the crew had to swimm to the bank.
So please be carefull when steering through a wake.