This year we’re doing something special on Off Center Harbor Movie Night. Along with our regular curated playlist of a few of our favorite Off Center Harbor videos from around the world, this year we’re adding a theme of “The Boys in the Boat” after the famous book of the same name.
If you haven’t read the book, or watched the new movie directed by George Clooney, both are well worth your time – the (former) competitive rowers on our crew say: “Both set the high watermark for realistic representation of rowing, both physically and mentally. They are, respectively, the best rowing book and movie ever made.”
Movies include an excellent PBS documentary about the boys and their quest for gold medals, an OCH video with Steve Chapin who builds and restores racing shells that are true to George Pocock’s original boats. These will go live on Feb. 21st and remain open to attendees through the end of the Show.
You can leave comments and questions at the bottom of the page.
The Boys of ’36 PBS Documentary
This PBS documentary gives us a glimpse into history about the UW Rowing team that took home an Olympic Gold Medal in 1936. You may recognize the story from the book, The Boys in the Boat, also recently made into a feature length film by George Clooney. Buy a copy of of the book at your local bookshop or online HERE. The new Hollywood movie of The Boys in the Boat is available for streaming online (for a rental fee as it is still in theaters).
Pocock Classic Racing Shells with Steve Chapin
What do you get when you cross a violin maker with a boatbuilder? We imagine it might look something akin to what happens at the Point Hudson Boat Shop in Port Townsend, Washington. We visited Steve Chapin who has taken over producing the Pocock Cedar Racing Single after the Pocock Co. made it’s last wooden shell in 2003. Pocock Racing Shells set the standard for most of the 20th Century in collegiate and Olympic rowing. With equipment and cedar stock from Pocock and his own boatbuilding skills, Steve Chapin is carrying the Pocock Classic Cedar Single tradition into the 21st century.
Learn more about Pocock Classic Racing Shells on Steve Chapin’s website.
This library of links from Steve is a wealth of knowledge.
We Believe – Platte Canyon High School & the Seventy48
Bailey, Colorado would seem like an unlikely place for boat building or water sports, never mind a yacht club. But that didn’t stop the 13 tough young women and men of Platte Canyon High School who make up the yacht club, built a 40 foot triple hulled canoe, and then hauled it from the mountains of Colorado to Tacoma Washington, in order to compete in the Seventy48, a seventy mile, human powered boat race up Puget Sound. Ya gotta see it to believe it.
Rowing with Maynard Bray
Rowing can be a real art form. Maynard Bray takes us for a row and describes techniques that can help you become more graceful as well as more effective behind a pair of oars. When it comes to maneuvering a small boat under oars, Maynard is a true master. This is one video not to be missed.
Love these videos? Click here to get access throughout the year as an Off Center Harbor member.
Tom Robinson’s Row Across the Pacific, Part 5–Catch of the Day
Here’s the first chance we’ve had to actually get aboard MAIWAR with Tom to see what it’s actually like rowing across the Pacific Ocean. First up, the fishing.
Tom will join us LIVE on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7pm EST to share stories from his journey across the Pacific after leaving Tongareva. You won’t want to miss this presentation!
Sliding Seat Rowing In A Wherry
Achieving the power and speed possible with sliding seat rowing need not be limited to needle-like shells that are half-a-cheek too narrow for the normal sized rear end. This video explores sculling a kit-built wherry that’s light, handsome, speedy and a far more seaworthy boat than most high performance shells.
How to Make A Flat Blade Oar, with Wesley Reddick of Rower’s Oars
At his shop at Rower’s Oars, Wesley Reddick shows us how to make a flat blade oar from a few pieces of spruce.
Love these videos? Click here to get access throughout the year as an Off Center Harbor member.
Slideshow of Powerboats from the 1930s
These are the kinds of boats that might have lined the rowing course in the days of The Boys In The Boat…
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