Allen Rosenberg Dies

One of America's most remarkable figures in the sport of rowing has passed away which has been noticed in the U.S. rowing community and the U.S. media. Allen Rosenberg, coxswain, coach and training innovator, was born on 29 November 1931 and died on 7 December 2013. Above is a short interview by Mike Davenport which was posted on YouTube three years ago. In yesterday's New York Times Bruce Weber published a well-written obituary, read it here.

Frank Cunningham Dies

Sad news reaches the rowing world as we hear that Frank Cunningham, one of the grand old men of American rowing, but maybe particularly Seattle rowing, has died at age 91. He died on Sunday night. Read more about Frank Cunningham here.

Cross Pays Tribute to Nethercott

Photo: British Rowing

As has been mentioned earlier on HTBS, Acer Nethercott, successful GB Olympic and Oxford cox, died on Saturday, 26 January, 2013. Olympic gold medallist, fellow member of Molesey BC and rowing writer Martin Cross pay tribute to a truly remarkable man on Molesey BC’s website, here.

Acer Nethercott - GB Olympic Cox Dies Age 35

HTBS was reached with sad news from London this morning, where Tim Koch in a short e-mail writes about Olympic silver medal-winning cox and double Boat Race winner Acer Nethercott, who has died at the age of 35.

A spokesman for the Great Britain rowing team said: ‘Today we mourn his passing.’ Nethercott, who was from Essex, coxed the British men's eight to Olympic silver in Beijing in 2008.

Read more on BBC sport news here. You will also find his biography on British Rowing's website, here.

Update: Late in the day, Rachel Quarrell, the Daily Telegraph’s rowing correspondent, wrote that Nethercott died of an aggressive brain cancer ‘that he nevertheless fought off for several years.’ Read her article here.

The Passing of a Gentleman

On New Year’s Eve my family and I received some sad news. Our dear friend Fred Roffe had passed away on 29 December at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan after a brave battle with cancer.

I first met Fred in the summer of 2002 at Mystic Seaport. He happened to ask me if I knew any books still in print at that time about Harry Clasper, the English boatbuilder and professional oarsman. Instead of just giving him the title of David Clasper’s book Harry Clasper: Hero of North, which was published in 1990, I gave him an hour-long vocal essay on the professionals. Maybe it was to finally shut me up that he invited me and my wife and our 1-year-old daughter to his boat True Love which he had docked at the Museum. That same evening we showed up at True Love, we were invited aboard where Fred and his lovely wife, Fran, provided us with snacks and cocktails. And so started a beautiful friendship.

As a professional, Fred had been an engineer for Grumman Aerospace in Bethpage and he was the lieutenant commander and education officer for the Peconic Bay Chapter of the U.S. Power Squadron. Fred had not rowed at school, although he had done his share of messing about in boats ever since he was a kid, and he was a great friend of rowing history virtually by being a descendent of the famous Clasper family in England.

Each time the Roffes visited Mystic Seaport with True Love, which they motor-powered across Long Island Sound from Hampton Bays on Long Island (which happened once, twice or three times a year), we were invited on board their beautiful 40-foot boat. Barely had we step aboard, and I had a rum drink in my hand and with that, and Fred’s family background – I mean here you had in front of you a descendent of the famous boatbuilder who invented the outrigger – my family’s visits on board True Love always became a long happy affair. Our two children have cheerfully tumbled around on the deck of True Love ever since they were babies, sometimes with a playful Fred by their side.

But not only did Fred and Fran welcome you with open arms, they were tremendously generous in so many other ways.

Fred had in his home an incredible collection of rowing memorabilia which had belonged to Harry Clasper and his son, John Hawks Clasper, also a famous boatbuilder. After some drinks one night, Fred told me that he did not know what to do with his collection of rowing ‘stuff’. I suggested that he should donate it to the National Rowing Foundation, which Fred did a couple of weeks later. His unselfish and noble gesture meant that these historic artifacts could be shared with the public and available for rowing historians and scholars to study. Knowing Fred, I see this act as a true mark of a gentleman.

“The Fred Roffe Collection of Trophies, Medals and Memorabilia of Harry & John H. Clasper” can now be viewed in the exhibit of the Rowing Hall of Fame at Mystic Seaport. Take a look here.

Fred will be sadly missed by my family and me, but also by a large number of staff and volunteers of Mystic Seaport, whom he and Fran befriended during their many visits to the Museum. Our warm thoughts go to Fran, who has been Fred's wife for 51 happy years, and to their children and grandchildren.

Bob Negaard: Inventor of the Wing-rigger Dies

This past Sunday, I saw an obituary in the local newspaper that Robert ‘Bob’ Negaard, 89, the inventor of the wing-rigger, had passed away on 26 November in Jacksonville, Florida. I met Bob Negaard a couple of times during the time I was involved in the local rowing community. He came up from Florida to visit his daughter, Kristen, in Noank, and he always made sure that he would look over the local rowing club’s equipment to see if he could help out repairing any broken material.

He was a very modest and quiet gentleman. Read more about his many accomplishment in the sport of rowing here.

John Fairfax Dies

Yesterday, newspapers reported that John Fairfax, who was the first person to solo row across the Atlantic, had passed away at an age of 74. As a child he had read an article about the two Norwegians, George Harbo and Frank Samuelsen, who in 1896 crossed the ocean in a small rowboat. He had in 1966 tried to raise money for his solo voyage, but then he was unable to get any financial backers. After John Ridgway and Chay Blyth had rowed the Atlantic in 1966, Fairfax “felt a sudden sense of urgency.” He continued: “I realised if I didn’t solo it soon, it was going to be done by somebody else.”

In January, 1969, at the age of almost 32, Fairfax, who in his passport under ‘Occupation’ had put down ‘Adventurer’, left the Canary Islands in his Britannia, which was designed by Uffa Fox. After battling the sea for 180 days, Fairfax reached Florida where he was met by his girlfriend, Sylvia Cook, and the media of the world. He also received congratulations from Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin were just getting ready to take their first steps on the Moon.

In 1971, Fairfax and Cook, who could not swim, were the first persons to row across the Pacific, from San Francisco to Hayman Island in Australia, a 361-day voyage. About their passage Fairfax said: “It was a miserable journey. I don’t care if I never touch another oar.” A quite understandable statement. Read The Daily Telegraph’s obituary here. (The British paper writes that John Fairfax died on 8 January, while some other papers write that he passed away on 8 February.) Read more about Fairfax on The Ocean Rowing Society website. On 19 February The New York Times published an obituary where Ms. Cook was interviewed from London.

See also HTBS 22 February, John Fairfax Never Dies...

David Lunn-Rockliffe Dies At 86

Yesterday, the Guardian published an obituary of former ARA Executive Secretary David Lunn-Rockliffe, who died on 23 August, at an age of 86. The obituary was written by rowing historian Christopher Dodd, whom together with Lunn-Rockliffe laid down the plans for what came to be the Henley River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames. Read Chris Dodd’s article here.

In Memoriam: Hart Perry 1933-2011

As has been mentioned before on HTBS, Hart Perry, Executive Director of the National Rowing Foundation and a Henley Steward, died on 3 February, 2011.

With the passing of Hart Perry an era has come to an end. Without exaggeration it can be said, that never in any sport have so many athletes had so much to thank one single man for. Thousands and thousands of rowers and others involved in our much-loved sport would not be where they are today if it had not been for Hart Perry, both when it comes to rowing, but also for what kind of persons they would become after their rowing career was over. I am one of them.

In August 2000, I moved to Mystic, Connecticut, from Sweden without knowing any people in town, except my wife and one or two of her friends. I had rowed in Sweden, but never distinguished myself at the oar. But I was interested in the history of rowing, and someone suggested that I talk to “Mr. Perry” to get some guidance on how to get involved in the sport “over here”. I met him for the first time during a short break at the Coastweeks Regatta on the Mystic River in September. It took Hart a couple of minutes to convince me that I should volunteer for the National Rowing Foundation and I started out by cataloguing some regatta programmes. Hart also called me now and then to ask if I could help him with some odd ends here and there. And through Hart I met other people who had the same interest as I – the history of rowing.

Then late fall 2007, I happened to bump into him after he just had had a meeting with Mystic Seaport’s president. I understood that something exciting had occurred as Hart had fire in his eyes. “We got it,” he said, and smiled. “We got the space for the Rowing Hall of Fame!” Slightly more than three months later, March 2008, the National Rowing Foundation’s National Rowing Hall of Fame opened in the G.W. Blunt White Building at the north end of Mystic Seaport. More than hundred volunteers had repaired, painted and done odd works to make it happen. It was a proud moment for Hart, and his wife, Gill, who was always there to help him, but also for the rest of us in the rowing community in and around Mystic. We had seen history in the making, and if it had not been for Hart, working in all directions to create a permanent home for the Rowing Hall of Fame and the grand rowing exhibit “Let Her Run”, it would never have come into existence.

Two years later, in March 2010, I saw the same fire in Hart's eyes. 18 new members were inducted into the “Hall”, and more than 250 people had gathered to celebrate the inductees – this was another proud moment for Hart. It was a grand party, and it felt that everyone in “Rowing America” was there. We all felt that day, that we had Hart to thank for it all. Again, Hart was humble, and said it was the rowers that should be honoured. A good example of his modesty were his comments upon receiving the Distinguished Service to Rowing Award, to USRowing, on 20 January: “My feeling is, yes, maybe I’ve done a few things for rowing, but rowing has shaped a life for me that I will forever be grateful for.”

If Hart was not out of the country, as a Henley Steward (he of course went to England a lot), almost every week he and I would be in contact, either over the phone, via e-mail, or in person. He liked to keep me in the loop as he called it what was going on with the rowing exhibit at Mystic Seaport. It could be donations that were on their way in, or "rowing stuff" that had just arrived to his home. If it was larger things, I helped him carry them to the back rooms of the exhibit, or I would do research about a famous rowing race, or an old rower who had his glory days more than hundred years ago. A good example of the latter is Benjamin Hunting Howell, an American who is nowadays forgotten due to having his entire rowing career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and the Thames RC in London. A beautiful photo album was donated by Fred Elliott, one of Hart's boys from Kent School, and Hart and I were both amazed by the treasure trove we had in front of us. Each time I found some more information about Hunting, I would fire off an e-mail to Hart just to tell him about my new finding. He would always come back with a cheerful note congratulating me for my discovery, and urging me on for more. It was most gratifying to have him as the recipient of good news, he was like a professor encouraging a student doing research. I am sorry that he will not be around to see the finished result.

In him I saw a mentor and a friend. As mentioned before there are many rowers out there who have Hart to thank for the lives they live today. Of course, they have their stories about Hart. He was a real people-person who could tell stories about rowers and races from decades ago. He knew and remembered the men and women by name, their brothers and sisters, and parents, and wives and husbands, and probably their children. All of us owe it to Hart to now continue his legacy. I know his dear wife, Gill, will keep the torch burning and we should be there to help her. My heart goes out to her and his family.

A good and fine gentleman has passed. Rest in peace, dear Hart!

* * *

William Hartwell ‘Hart’ Perry Jr., who was born 23 August 1933, began rowing at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, after his baseball coach suggested that he maybe should “consider another sport”. Perry successfully took up rowing, and continued to pull an oar at Dartmouth, but was soon banned from sports until he had improved his grades. However, he rowed his sophomore year, but by his junior year he had been, as Perry himself would say, “growing the wrong way,” that is “too heavy for lightweight rowing and too short for heavyweights.”Instead he became the freshman lightweight coach in his junior year and the varsity lightweight coach his senior year. Perry took his crew to Henley Royal Regatta, the first lightweight crew from Dartmouth to go to Henley.

After Dartmouth, Hart Perry enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and while he was stationed in Hawaii, he coached at the Iolanni School. When he left the Coast Guard, he returned to Dartmouth to coach for two more years. In the beginning of the 1960s, he came to Kent School as a teacher and an assistant rowing coach to ‘Tote’ Walker. In 1964, Perry was appointed head coach at Kent School. In Rick Rinehart’s eminent book Men of Kent (2010), Perry has a prominent place as the coach for ten young men’s success when they were victorious at Henley, winning the 1972 Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. “That is a highlight that will always be up there for me,” Perry told USRowing in a recent interview. In 1974, Perry was the first non-British Commonwealth citizen to be elected a Henley Steward, and he would become instrumental in bringing American crews to Henley.

Over more than 50 years, Perry lived a life in rowing: he rowed, coached, and served as an official in both national and international events, in two Olympic Games, 18 World Rowing Junior Championships, and 10 World Rowing Championships, and for decades he was working with Juniors within FISA, the international rowing federation. He was the president of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen, the predecessor organization to USRowing, and after he stepped down from that position, he became the driving force to raise money for U.S. athletes to compete in international regattas. During the years, he received several awards, i.e. in 2009, he and his beloved wife, Gillian, his right hand, were awarded the USRowing Medal, and on 20 January this year, he was awarded the World Rowing Distinguished Service to Rowing Award at the World Rowing Coaches Conference Gala at the River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, England.

Hart Perry was inducted into four rowing halls of fame, including the National Rowing Hall of Fame in 1990. Already from the start he was involved with the National Rowing Hall of Fame in 1956, and for decades he was working hard to establish a physical place for “the Hall”, especially since he was elected the Executive Director of the National Rowing Foundation (NRF), which is the organization in charge of inducting members into the Rowing Hall of Fame. In 2008, Perry finally saw a dream come true when the NRF’s National Rowing Hall of Fame opened in the G.W. Blunt White Building at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut.

Hart Perry died on 3 February 2011 after a short illness. He is survived by his wife Gillian; his five children; and 12 grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Hart’s name to the National Rowing Foundation.

Anyone who is interested in writing a tribute to Hart Perry and have it posted on HTBS is welcome to do so by sending your contribution to gbuckhorn[at sign]gmail.com