Minor crisis this week – after taking extensive advice from Howard Croker and Peter Hogden re how long my oars should be, turns out they’re about 20cm too short to reach the water. And this despite extensive sessions with measuring tape and spirit level. Still not quite sure where it all went wrong (probably something to do with me being about a foot shorter than the average rower) but the main thing now is to make it all come right.
Somebody suggested that it wasn’t that my oars were too short, but that the Atlantic was too low. Luckily the Americans seem to be doing their best to rectify that situation… :-). But pending greater effects from global warming, it seemed a good time to put in a call to the oar manufacturer.
I overestimated the time difference between here and Oz so when I rang Mr Croker it was 5.30am his time. To his credit he was remarkably helpful despite being awoken from his slumbers by an unhappy customer, and rapidly suggested a solution. This morning I’ll be faxing over precise measurements and he’ll knock up some replacement oar handles that will extend the oars by the required length.
He’ll stick them in the post and with a bit of luck I’ll have some functional oars in time for my sea trials starting next Thursday – seat-of-the-pants stuff, but that’s becoming quite normal.