Part 9

When these first steps have been gained, the sweeping semicircular motion of the arms is shown. This is practised slowly, without motion forwards, until attained with precision. After this, a slight inclination of the body from the upright position occasions its advancing. The motion of striking with the legs is added in the same measured manner; so that the pupil is not perplexed by the acquisition of more than one thing at a time. In this method, the motions of both arms and legs differ from those we have so carefully described, only in so far as they are modified by a more upright position. It is optional, therefore, with the reader, to practise either method. The general principles of both are now before him.

The upright position a little inclined backwards, (which, like every other change of posture, must be done deliberately, by the corresponding movement of the head,) reversing in this case the motion of the arms, and striking the flat part of the foot down and a little forward, gives the motion backward, which is performed with greater ease than when the body is laid horizontally on the back. According to this system, Bernardi says, a swimmer ought at every stroke to urge himself forward a distance equal to the length of his body. A good swimmer ought to make about three miles an hour. A good day’s journey may thus be achieved, if the strength be used with due discretion, and the swimmer be familiar with the various means by which it may be recruited.

Of Bernardi’s successful practice, he says, “Having been appointed to instruct the youths of the Royal Naval Academy of Naples in the art of swimming, a trial of the proficiency of the pupils took place, under the inspection of a number of people assembled on the shore for that purpose, on the tenth day of their instruction. A twelve-oared boat attended the progress of the pupils, from motives of precaution. They swam so far out in the bay, that at length the heads of the young men could with difficulty be discerned with the naked eye; and the Major General of Marine, Forteguerri, for whose inspection the exhibition was intended, expressed serious apprehensions for their safety. Upon their return to the shore, the young men, however, assured him that they felt so little exhausted as to be willing immediately to repeat the exertion.” An official report on the subject has also been drawn up by commission (appointed by the Neapolitan government), after devoting a month to the investigation of Bernardi’s plan; and it states as follows:

“1st. It has been established by the experience of more than a hundred persons of different bodily constitutions, that the human body is lighter than water, and consequently will float by nature; but that the art of swimming must be acquired, to render that privilege useful.

“2dly. That Bernardi’s system is new, in so far as it is founded on the principle of husbanding the strength, and rendering the power of recruiting it easy. The speed, according to the new method, is no doubt diminished; but security is much more important than speed; and the new plan is not exclusive of the old, when occasions require great effort.

“3dly. That the new method is sooner learnt than the old, to the extent of advancing a pupil in one day as far as a month’s instruction on the old plan.”

_Treading Water._

This differs little from the system just described. As in it, the position is upright; but progression is obtained by the action of the legs alone. There is little power in this method of swimming: but it may be very useful in rescuing drowning persons.

The arms should be folded across, below the breast, or compressed against the hips, and the legs employed as in front swimming, except as to time and extent. They should perform their action in half the usual time, or two strokes should be taken in the time of one; because, acting perpendicularly, each stroke would otherwise raise the swimmer too much, and he would sink too low between the strokes, were they not quickly to follow each other. They should also work in about two-thirds of the usual space, preserving the upper or stronger, and omitting the lower or weaker, part of the stroke.

There is, however, another mode of treading water, in which the thighs are separated, and the legs slightly bent, or curved together, as in a half-sitting posture. Here the legs are used alternately, so that, while one remains more contracted, the other, less so, describes a circle. By this method, the swimmer does not seem to hop in the water, but remains nearly at the same height. Pl XXIII. f. 3 represents both these methods, and shows their peculiar adaptation to relieve drowning persons.

BACK SWIMMING.

In swimming on the back, the action of the thoracic member is weaker, because the swimmer can support himself on the water without their assistance. The muscular contractions take place principally in the muscles of the abdominal members, and in those of the anterior part of the neck. Though little calculated for progression, it is the easiest of all methods, because, much of the head being immersed, little effort is required for support. For this purpose, the swimmer must lie down gently upon the water; the body extended; the head kept in a line with it, so that the back and much of the upper part of the head may be immersed; the head and breast must remain perfectly unagitated by the action of the legs; the hand laid on the thighs (Plate XXIV. fig. 1), and the legs employed as in front swimming, care being taken that the knees do not rise out of the water.--(Plate XXIV. fig. 2.) The arms may, however, be used in various ways in swimming on the back.

In the method called winging, the arms are extended till in a line with each other; they must then be struck down to the thighs, with the palms turned in that direction, and the thumbs inclining downward to increase the buoyancy, (Plate XXIV. fig. 3); the palms must then be moved edgewise, and the arms elevated as before (Plate XXIV. fig. 4); and so on, repeating the same actions. The legs should throughout make one stroke as the arms are struck down, and another as they are elevated. The other mode, called finning, differs from this only in the stroke of the arms being shorter, and made in the same time as that of the legs.

In back swimming, the body should be extended after each stroke, and long pauses made between these. The act of passing from front to back, or back to front swimming, must always be performed immediately after throwing out the feet. To turn from the breast to the back, the legs must be raised forward, and the head thrown backward, until the body is in a right position. To turn from the back to the breast, the legs must be dropped, and the body thrown forward on the breast.

FLOATING.

Floating is properly a transition from swimming on the back. To effect it, it is necessary, while the legs are gently exercising, to extend the arms as far as possible beyond the head, equidistant from, and parallel with its sides, but never rising above the surface; to immerse the head rather deeply, and elevate the chin more than the forehead; to inflate the chest while taking this position, and so to keep it as much as possible; and to cease the action of the legs, and put the feet together. (Plate XXV. fig. 1.) The swimmer will thus be able to float, rising a little with every inspiration, and falling with every expiration. Should the feet descend, the loins may be hollowed.

SIDE SWIMMING.

For this purpose, the body may be turned either upon the right or left side: the feet must perform their usual motions: the arms also require peculiar guidance. In lowering the left, and elevating the right side, the swimmer must strike forward with the left hand, and sidewise with the right; the back of the latter being front instead of upward, and the thumb side of the hand downward to serve as an oar. In turning on the right side, the swimmer must strike out with the right hand, and use the left as an oar. In both cases, the lower arm stretches itself out quickly, at the same time that the feet are striking; and the upper arm strikes at the same time that the feet are impelling, the hand of the latter arm beginning its stroke on a level with the head. While this hand is again brought forward, and the feet are contracted, the lower hand is drawn back towards the breast, rather to sustain than to impel, (Plate XXV. fig. 2.) As side swimming presents to the water a smaller surface than front swimming, it is preferable when rapidity is necessary. But, though generally adopted when it is required to pass over a short distance with rapidity, it is much more fatiguing than the preceding methods.

PLUNGING.

In the leap to plunge, the legs must be kept together, the arms close, and the plunge made either with the feet or the head foremost. With the feet foremost they must be kept together, and the body inclined backwards. With the head foremost, the methods vary.

In the deep plunge, which is used where it is known that there is depth of water, the swimmer has his arms outstretched, his knees bent, and his body leant forwards (Plate XXVI. fig. 1,) till the head descends nearly to the feet, when the spine and knees are extended. This plunge may be made without the slightest noise. When the swimmer rises to the surface, he must not open his mouth before previously repelling the water.

In the flat plunge, which is used in shallow water, or where the depth is unknown, and which can be made only from a small height, the swimmer must fling himself forwards, in order to extend the line of the plunge as much as possible under the surface of the water; and, as soon as he touches it, he must keep his head up, his back hollow, and his hands stretched forward, flat and inclined upward. He will thus dart forwards a considerable way close under the surface, so that his head will reach it before the impulse ceases to operate. (Plate XXVI. fig. 2.)

DIVING.

The swimmer may prepare for diving by taking a slow and full inspiration, letting himself sink gently into the water, and expelling the breath by degrees, when the heart begins to beat strongly. In order to descend in diving, the head must be bent forward upon the breast; the back made round; and the legs thrown out with greater vigour than usual; but the arms and hands, instead of being struck forward as in swimming, must move rather backward, or come out lower, and pass more behind. (Plate XXVII. fig. 1.) The eyes should, meanwhile, be kept open, as, if the water be clear, it enables the diver to ascertain its depth, and see whatever lies at the bottom; and, when he has obtained a perpendicular position, he should extend his hands like feelers.

To move forward, the head must be raised, and the back straightened a little. Still, in swimming between top and bottom, the head must be kept a little downward, and the feet be thrown out a little higher than when swimming on the surface (Plate XXVII. fig. 2); and if the swimmer thinks that he approaches too near the surface, he must press the palms upwards. To ascend, the chin must be held up, the back made concave, the hands struck out high, and brought briskly down. (Plate XXVII. fig. 3.)

THRUSTING.

This is a transition from front swimming, in which the attitude and motions of the feet are still the same, but those of the hands very different. One arm, the right for instance, is lifted entirely out of the water, thrust forward as much as possible, and, when at the utmost stretch, let fall, with the hand hollowed, into the water, which it grasps or pulls towards the swimmer in its return transversely towards the opposite arm-pit. While the right arm is thus stretched forth, the left, with the hand expanded, describes a small circle to sustain the body (Plate XXVIII. fig. 1); and, while the right arm pulls towards the swimmer, the left, in a widely-described circle, is carried rapidly under the breast, towards the hip. (Plate XXVIII. fig. 2.)

When the left arm has completed these movements, it, in its turn, is lifted from the water, stretched forward, and pulled back,--the right arm describing first the smaller, then the larger circle. The feet make their movements during the describing of the larger circle. The thrust requires much practice; but, when well acquired, it not only relieves the swimmer, but enables him to make great advance in the water, and is applicable to cases where rapidity is required for a short distance.

SPRINGING.

Some swimmers, at every stroke, raise not only their neck and shoulders, but breast and body, out of the water. This, when habitual, exhausts without any useful purpose. As an occasional effort, however, it maybe useful in seizing objects above; and it may then best be performed by the swimmer drawing his feet as close as possible under his body, stretching his hands forward, and, with both feet and hands, striking the water strongly, so as to throw himself out of it as high as the hips.

ONE-ARM SWIMMING.

Here the swimmer must be more erect than usual, hold his head more backward, and use the legs and arm more quickly and powerfully. The arm, at its full extent, must be struck out rather across the body, and brought down before, and the breast kept inflated. This mode of swimming is best adapted for assisting persons who are drowning, and should be frequently practised--the learner carrying first under, then over the water, a weight of a few pounds.

In assisting drowning persons, however, great care should be taken to avoid being caught hold of by them. They should be approached from behind, and driven before, or drawn after the swimmer to the shore, by the intervention, if possible, of anything that may be at hand, and if nothing be at hand, by means of their hair; and they should, if possible, be got on their backs. Should they attempt to seize the swimmer, he must cast them loose immediately; and, if seized, drop them to the bottom, when they will endeavour to rise to the surface.

Two swimmers treading water may assist a drowning person by seizing him, one under each arm, and carrying him along with his head above water, and his body and limbs stretched out and motionless.

FEATS IN SWIMMING.

Men have been known to swim in their clothes a distance of 4000 feet.

Others have performed 2200 feet in twenty-nine minutes.

Some learn to dive and bring out of the water burdens as heavy as a man.

[This art, however, has made little if any progress from the earliest records that we possess of it. Leander’s feat of passing from Abydos to Sestos was the crack performance of antiquity; and it was the ultra achievement of Lord Byron, probably one of the best swimmers of our day.--ED. Fifth Edition.]

ROWING.

RIVER ROWING,[9] WITH TWO SCULLS.

[9] This should have the preference here, because the art is best learned on the smooth water, and in the lighter boats, of rivers.

THE BOAT.

It may be laid down as a general rule, that, in calm weather, a light and sharp boat is preferable; and, in rough weather, a heavier and broader one. The learner, however, should not at first begin in too light a boat, nor should he practise in rough weather, until he gets acquainted with its management.

TO LEAVE THE LANDING-PLACE.

To leave the shore, the rower should, with the boat-hook, shove the boat off, head upon tide, or opposite to the current. To leave stairs, the rower must either shove the boat off with the boat-hook, or place the blade of the scull forward, and perform what the London watermen call belaying the boat’s head out from the shore, accordingly as there is deep or shallow water.

This being done, the rower sits down to his sculls. These he puts in the rullocks, and turns the concave front, or filling of the scull, towards the stern of the boat.

THE SEAT.

The rower must sit a-midships on the thwart or seat of the boat, else she will heel to the side on which he is sitting, and much of his labour will be lost. He should sit with ease to himself, having his feet on the middle of the stretcher, and his legs not quite extended; but his knees, as he rows, should be brought down, and his legs stretched.

THE PULL.

The rower should make long strokes in a heavy boat, and shorter and quicker strokes in a light boat. At the beginning of the pull, he must, in general, bend his body till his head is over his knees, and extend his arms as far aft as convenient, that the blades of the sculls may be thrown correspondingly forward. Plate XXIX. f. 1. With regard to the back in particular, some think that, if a short distance is to be rowed, it should be bent; and that, if a long distance, it is less fatiguing to keep it straight. When the arms are extended as far aft, and the blades of the sculls as far forward as convenient--which must never be so far as to jam in the rullocks--(Plate XXIX. f. 1) the rower must dip the sculls into the water, and pull towards him, by at once bending the arms and the body.

When in the middle of the pull, if the sculls are not short enough, or even if the head and body are slightly turned, one of the hands will go higher than the other; and, as the right is generally the stronger, it may go above, and the left below. It is often found difficult to keep one hand clear of the other in pulling a pair of sculls. This is so much the case, indeed, that the inexperienced frequently suffer more from the knocking and rubbing of the backs and sides of the hands against each other, than from the friction of the handles of the oars in the palms of the hands. This may be easily obviated by attending to the following advice:--

Having seated yourself in the centre of the thwart, with your feet close together against the centre of the stretcher, ship your sculls, but, before pulling a stroke, move your body three or four inches to the right hand, and still retain your feet in the centre: thus you will be sitting rather obliquely; this will throw your right shoulder more forward, and consequently the right hand; and thus the hands will work perfectly clear of each other. This rule, however, must be modified by the circumstances of river-rowing. A waterman writes us as follows:--“As to carrying one hand above the other, my way is, that if, for instance, I go from Greenwich to Blackwall against tide, I keep down on the Greenwich side, in general look toward the shore, and having my face over the left shoulder, my right hand is then above. If I go from Greenwich to London, my face is turned over the right shoulder, and the left hand is then uppermost.”

(The usual position in the middle of the pull is shown in Plate XXIX. fig. 2.)

The end of the pull must not take place till the elbows have approached the tops of the hips, the hands are brought towards the chest, and the body is thrown well back. There would be a loss of power, however, if the hands were brought too near the chest; and the body should not be thrown further back than it may easily and quickly recover its first position for the next stroke.--(Plate XXX.) As the water is being delivered from the sculls, the elbows sink, the wrists are bent up, and the backs of the hands are turned towards the fore-arms, in order to feather the sculls.--(Plate XXX. fig. 1.)

In the return of the sculls, the hands must remain turned up until the sculls are put into the water.--(Plate XXX. f. 2.) In the middle of the return, if the sculls are not short, or if the head and body be turned, one of the hands also goes higher than the other.

As to the degree of the immersion of the sculls.--In the middle of the pull, the blades must be covered by the water. The learner in general dips them very deep; but that ought to be avoided, especially in calm weather. In the whole of the return, the tips should, in calm weather, be two or three inches above the water; and, in rough weather, they should be higher, in order to clear it, as represented in the preceding Plates. The head ought throughout to be very moveable--first to one side, then to the other, but generally turned towards the shore when against the tide. The same movements have only to be repeated, throughout the course.

THE TIDE OR CURRENT.

In river-rowing, when the tide or current is with the rower, a learner should in general take the middle of the stream. In rowing with the tide, however, watermen generally cut off the points, in order to keep a straight course. When the tide or current is against the rower, he should take the sides, preferring that side on which, owing to the course of the river, the current is least. As there is an eddy under the points, watermen generally, when rounding them, shoot the water to the next point, and so on.

TO TURN.

Back water with one scull, by putting the one on the side you wish to turn to into the water, with its concave front or filling towards you, and pushing against it; and at the same time pull strongly with the other scull, until the boat’s head is turned round.

MEETING OR PASSING.

In meeting, the boat which comes with the tide must get out of the way. In this case, both boats, if close, lay the blades of their sculls flat on the water, lift them out of the rullocks, and let them drift alongside. Each replaces them when the other has passed. In passing a boat, the rower who passes must take the outside, unless there is ample room within, and must also keep clear of the other’s sculls or oars. If one boat is crossing the water, and another coming with the tide, the one coming with tide must keep astern of the other, and have a good look-out ahead.

TO LAND.

Give the boat its proper direction, and keep its head inclining towards the tide, and its stern will turn up or down, as the tide runs; unship the sculls by the manœuvre directed above; but, instead of letting them drift alongside, lay them in the boat, the blades forward and the looms aft; seize the headfast; jump ashore; and take two half-hitches round the post or ring.

SEA-ROWING, OR ROWING IN A GALLEY ON THE RIVER.

In launching a boat from the sea-beach, when it is rough, and there is a heavy surf, the two bowmen must get into the boat with their oars run out; and the other rowers follow the boat quickly in her descent; but they should not jump in till she is quite afloat, lest their weight might fix her on the beach, and she might ship a sea.

It may happen, that immediately on the boat floating, a sea shall take the bow (before the rowers are sufficiently prepared with their oars to keep her head out), and place her broadside to the waves. In this situation, the boat is in danger of being swamped, and the lives of those on board are in peril. When thus situated, it is best for two of the rowers to go near the bow of the boat, and immediately force each his boat-hook or oar on the ground, on the shore side of the boat, as the most effectual, safe, and expeditious method of bringing her head again to the sea. Should there be more than a usual swell, both the rowers and the sitter, or steersman, cannot be too particular in keeping, throughout, the head of the boat to the swell, as lying broadside to a heavy sea is extremely dangerous.

In rowing, each man has in general a single oar, and sits on the opposite side of the galley from the rullock through which his oar passes. The oar must consequently cross the boat, and be held on its opposite side, so as to clear the back of the man before.