21 March 2020

By Louis Petrin

Louis Petrin seems the numbers are sufficient enough to boat an HTBS Eight – another piece in The Dry Season Bottom-of-the-Barrel Series.

Bow – Chris Dodd: starting as a cox and then a stroke, his stabling influence in writing rowing history is perfect for bow seat as he tells some great stories during breaks from power tens.

2 – Tom Weil: rowed 2 seat, under coach Jim Joy at Yale, at Henley for Thames Challenge Cup; a powerhouse in collecting and curating rowing history.

3 – Louis Petrin: would love to follow Bill’s style in front of him.

4 – Bill Miller: rowed 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich as a member of U.S. coxless fours, but we can put him in the same seat his son William rowed in at the 2012 Olympics.

5 – Göran Buckhorn: captain of boats; need some Rus power from Svensk Rodd, and as editor of HTBS he has all the power.

6 – Greg Denieffe: coxed the Carlow crew in the coxed-pairs at Northwich Regatta (Cheshire) in the mid-80s; best paired with Göran, making them like the O’Donovan brothers.

7 – Tim Koch: steered the Auriol Kensington Club’s Thames Cup crew at Henley in 2001 and 2002, but he can help Peter guide the others behind.

Stroke: Peter Mallory – stroked the Lightweight Men’s Varsity Eight at the University of Pennsylvania in 1966; has made an intensive and extensive study of the stroke.

Cox – William O’Chee: aggressive cox for Brasenose before coxing the Oxford University Lightweight crew in 1987; he will ensure there is no mutiny in this selection!

Coach – Hélène Rémond, with a good eye for the arts, she will ensure the crew moves the boat so the bubbles under the hull are singing out.

Validis incumbite remis – Lean upon strong oars – Virgil’s Aeneid, Book 10.