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“I came in in January, instead of the normal September, and it was really cold and really high wakes on Lake Union and we managed to sink an eight,” said Bram Schwarz, the stroke oar on the UW’s varsity eight boat.

“I really did not give it much thought other than it being another saga for PLU crew,” said Curt Pearson, the stroke oar in the Knights varsity.

Weber- the heaviest of the four at about 160 pounds and, at 34, the oldest -is the stroke oar, setting the pace from his seat in the stern.

He or she must precisely match both the timing and the degree of power set by the rower in the number eight seat, the “stroke oar,” and must transmit that information efficiently back into the boat’s engine room.

Theoretically the stroke oar always rows at the rate and with the degree of power called for by the coxswain, but in the end it is the stroke who ultimately controls these things.