This is a special guest post from former senior Beehive official, 1976 Montreal Olympics rowing eights bronze medallist (and my former landlord) Alec McLean, on the 1975 World Rowing Championships in Nottingham. Reposted here, lightly edited, from Facebook with Alec's permission:
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Fifty years ago yesterday! The 1975 World Rowing Champs, Nottingham. It was a funny old trip. From memory, Rowing NZ had very ambitious plans for that tour. In preparation for the Montreal Olympic Games, a lengthy North American tour was planned, even some talk of the team getting jobs while away (all amateurs in those days). The squad assembled in Christchurch quite early, anticipating a departure for North America before going on to the UK.As it turned out NZ Rowing had absolutely no funds - the North American plans fell by the wayside, we would continue training in Christchurch, and fly straight to UK for a very short build up to the World Champs at Nottingham.
So began a very long training period through a Christchurch winter (NZ Rowing didn't move to Karapiro until 1976). We would occasionally turn up for training at 3pm, frost still on the ground, and very occasionally you would see snow building up on the ears of the guy in front of you as we plied the river at Kerrs Reach.
We also had some health issues with the guys, one having to pull out, plus some crew changes, making it hard to get some consistency going. After flying to the UK we settled in, accommodated at Pangbourne Nautical College in Berkshire.
We again had some crew changes through illness. The stretch of water on the Thames by the Pangbourne College sheds was not long enough for eights training, so the eight moved up the river to Hobb's boat-yard. It proved to be a great venue, and I have since been back to Hobb's boat-yard twice on visits to England. Despite all our setbacks, we had an amazing black Empacher carbon fibre boat, extremely fast, and great looking. It also hummed! Some sort of harmonic resonating in the aluminium riggers maybe. It was a bit surreal rowing up the Thames on a beautiful English summers day, just the sound of the oars going kachunk, kachunk, then at a certain speed the boat would start humming - unique. But we were running out of time. Rusty had said a couple of times, 'I think there is a better way of rowing this boat', but time was against us, and we were into the Champs at Nottingham in no time.
We had a perfect row in winning the heat, going straight through to the final. I don't really recall the final - I see from the clippings that stroke Grant McCauley says we got a slightly shaky start, but we ended up with a bronze behind East Germany and Russia. Second bronze for me! I should emphasise that our three crews had travelled from NZ just four weeks before the finals, with three weeks training in the UK, and having had not a single race until the heats.
I must mention our (unofficial) training shirts. A colleague of mine in Customs had done a bit of a cartoon for me (pinched from one those old Ozzie weekly magazines - it was a cricketer). So I had some t-shirts made up for the guys. Well, what a hit - as soon as the boys saw them I had to get another big batch made up. They were also a hit when it came to swapping shirts at the end of the Champs (an age-old custom). Some crafty bargainers were even getting a three for one swap, or a track suit for a scrappy NZ t-shirt. I managed to trade mine for an East German racing singlet (the East Germans were forbidden from trading their rowing gear). I offered him my racing singlet, but he said 'No, I want the one with the club'. So that was 1975!
Final crew - David Simmons cox, Grant McCauley, me, Dave Rodger, Athol Earl, Lindsay Wilson, Ross Collinge, Trevor Coker (dec), Pete Dignan (dec).
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| AM: 'Departing Pangbourne College for training. No money that year - a clapped out Ford Transit with two wooden benches along each side in the back. Lindsay Wilson, me, Pete Dignan (sadly passed away from cancer and few years ago)' |
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