FLUID DYNAMICS
WORDS CARL DOUGLAS CEng MIChemE MSc
The Fluid Dynamics of Rowing or Several Ways to Save a Second
F 94
luid dynamics governs almost every aspect of rower and shell perfor- mance. Knowing how air and water respond to moving and loaded objects provides tools
with which to optimize shells both above and below the water, to improve oar designs and to help rowers and coaches to find better techniques. It can improve understanding of shell control and steering, and thus make the difference between winning and losing. In addition, the same laws of fluid dynamics also determine our work capacity by limiting how fast blood and air flow through our circulatory and respiratory systems. We don’t row for intellectual stim- ulus, so I won’t blind anyone with science or maths. Without appreciating the principles of fluid dynamics we might think that how we row and the equipment we use are already as good as possible, that they are perfectly un- derstood, and that we’ll only go faster by pulling still harder. Were that true, rowing’s evolution would be over. Yes, some do imagine or wish this were so, but they are quite wrong. We are far from hitting such a limit and there is
What is fluid
dynamics and why should rowers care about it?
real scope for improving rowing tech- nique, equipment and performance. Although there’s a limit to the power
we can generate, evident in the levelling off of records in every sport, winning rowing races is not just for the strong- est and fittest, and scoring high on ergs does not make you a winner. We can all recall races where a stronger rower lost to one with “better” technique, but what was the technical secret? Too often rowers have tried to emulate a supposedly better technique, or buy the same boat as the winner, and go slower, or no faster, than before. Good rowing is not about how it looks but what about flow processes, ergonom- ics and exchanges of energy between rower, blades, boat and water – rarely understood, often invisible.
Fluid dynamic insights can help us to
discern what is really happening, which popular assumptions about technique
make sense, and which are mere waffle. Then we can find several ways to save a second in every race. Advances in fluid dynamics in recent
years provide insights and tools un- known to previous generations. If we mean to win, now we can apply brains to the task. Fine athletes use both intellect and supreme physical effort to win and rowing is now ready for the application of intellect. On retirement, Greg Searle hoped
that British Rowing would adopt British Cycling’s policy of Aggregation of Marginal Gains. The cyclists’ success owes much to analyzing every aspect of preparation, technique and equip- ment. They ignore hype and rigorously weigh hard evidence for a net contribu- tion to overall performance. Only what gives measurable benefit, individually or in combination, is retained; the rest is discarded. This requires expertise in the relevant sciences and their single-mind- ed application to improving competitor and equipment performance. It’s always about real, hard content, never the aes- thetics of style. Rowing loves simplistic explana- tions unrelated to any real science. A century ago rowing was an art, safe in a science-free backwater awash with
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