G. Rodney Johnson (1928-2009)

Rod Johnson

The PRC mourns the passing of a wonderful rower, community member, and person.

After a long battle with cancer, Rod passed peacefully on December 20th. Rod was a wonderful and sweet personality at the PRC, rowing with the Ancient Mariners and bringing a caring energy along with his passion of rowing to our community.

Obituary from Seattle Times

G. Rodney JOHNSON Rod was born 8/1/1928 in Seattle and passed peacefully 12/20/2009 in Bellevue. He attended Laurelhurst Elementary, graduated Roosevelt HS, class of 1946. Rod graduated from the University of Washington in 1950, where he was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity and varsity crew. Also in 1950, he married Joyce Berglund, who became his loving partner for 59 years. He and Joyce were charter members of First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, where he sang in the choir for over 50 years. Rod was a well-respected general contractor throughout his career. Rowing was a significant part of Rod's life and he was inducted into UW Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1992 he became a member of Masters Rowing Association and the Ancient Mariners Rowing Club, which allowed him to compete and make friends around the world for the next 19 years, most recently in Vienna in September of this year. His love of people, music, art, friends and family made Rod a treasure to all who knew him. He leaves his wife, Joyce; sons Clark (Janet) of Campbell, CA and Stu (Patsi) of Sammamish, and daughter Katy Hawley (Tom) of North Bend. Grandchildren Cherstin, Erica, Krista, Brianne, Tricia, Ian, Nathan, Annalise, Maddie, Anna and Kimberly; Two great-grandchildren, Reidar and Anika.

from: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?n=g-rodney-johnson&pid=137829641

A Remembrance of Rod by longtime pair partner Bill Cameron

Perhaps there's lots to say about Rod Johnson's relationship to rowing, but I think it all adds up to one simple fact: He exemplified rowing excellence. Just his four-year varsity crew career at the University of Washington (1947-50) attests to that. He even caught Life magazine's eye in a several-page write-up. (June 20, 1949, when Life was BIG.). That was before Washington swept the IRA for the fourth time in 1950. Sometimes it takes a long time for Washington to recognize its heroes, but eventually Rod was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame.

A Viking throwback, he seldom wore a coat or even a sweater, and he was as strong as a small backhoe. He once helped me reset some five-inch-thick stone slab stairs. They didn't stand a chance of continuing their slump. Rod set them in place as if, indeed, he was a backhoe. Later it turned out that one of his projects required removal of some huge, rectangular-cut sandstone slabs, a size no longer mined in the Pacific Northwest. They arrived at my house just in time to complete an expanded side-yard court made possible by my neighbor and I constructing a boundary wall replacing a steep embankment. Again, Rod lifted, slid and pushed the slabs into perfect place. A narrow pathway became a broad stone court.

Like his father, who built many Seattle landmarks, Rod's calling was master builder. After his completion of Peggy's and my waterfront- home remodel, including construction of a second, matching, brick tower, our son Kevin decided to be married in our lakefront yard. That meant construction of a large dance floor on a sloping lawn. Given its size, the floor needed to be from near zero to five feet off the ground, a problem Rod resolved by designing a series of ground-to- floor trusses of successively increasing height. Rod started building immediately with only me as his awestruck helper. After its just-in- time completion, twenty-at-a-time stompers danced half the night on the ersatz stage to the neighborhood-awakening, amplified blasts of a live band called "Hit Explosion." There were no fatalities. The stage held firm.

Twenty years ago Stan Pocock described a source-to London Thames River row he and a friend had made in a double, each wearing white shirt, black tie and derby (in England, a "Bowler"). Rod and others decided to replicate the feat, the afternoon attire excepted. While inertia dampened my enthusiasm, Rod's was enough for both of us. We would, we decided, row the pair, perhaps thinking of Thomas Eakins' famous painting.

Well, we made it, all 140 miles and forty-two locks in ten days of scorching heat (Undoubtedly, England's best summer ever). As forewarned, narrow locks require a shipping of oars, a frightful move in a pair. Our ingenious "solution," tying balloons to the rigger posts, only proved our standing as complete novices, if not idiots. As an alternative, we turned to waiting for a boat to hold onto while entering and leaving each lock.

With our Thames experience behind us, Rod and I decided to take on the world, starting with the FISA Worlds in Cologne. Bumpkins in that environment, we were set to go at the start line, adrenalin in full rush, eyes on the starter's flag held high, when, suddenly, our peripheral senses revealed that all the other boats were off and running. "Parte'," the speaker finally sounded, the starter only then smartly lowering his flag. At that, Rod and I were off and running in our East German rental, a well crafted but heavy boat, fully a length and a half behind our nearest competitor. Bewildered by the blatant cheating, and the fact that it was allowed, we set our minds to doing our best, which turned out to be second place and closing on the leader.

Resigned, we committed ourselves to being wiser the next time. And we were. The next year we won at Vienna and kept on winning FISA races and at "Nationals," save for Rod's few interludes with medical conditions.

Rowing with Rod was a great joy. We were similarly trained at the U of W, so we rowed without any discordant movement. We agreed fully on technique, that element of efficiency, about which many disagree, that so often accounts for winning or losing. With Rod, the pair (and later, also the double) was always rock solid stable. All I had to do was row. Rod, the perfect steersman, kept us in safe waters. (Albeit, we did, occasionally, say "Hello" to the local buoys, a houseboat or two and once in England a tree that was happy to hold our boat well out of the water).

My friendship with Rod was, and will always be, astonishing. For twenty years we rowed the pair or double three times a week (in addition to triweekly Mariner workouts) and traveled the world from Adelaide to Budapest and from Lithuania to Spain. Never once did we exchange a cross word. Can anyone say that of his relationship to a parent, sibling or spouse, or for that matter, even to a close friend seen daily?

There exist aphorisms such as "a lawyers' lawyer." Transposed to Rod, he was a nice guys' nice guy. I will never forget him.

Bill Cameron

Rodney Johnson remembered by Guy Harper (UW/AMRC)

As we all now know, we recently lost one of our most valued oarsmen and Ancient Mariners, Rodney Johnson. Rod holds the distinction of only a few by winning four Big W's during his years rowing for the University of Washington. At the 1947 Sprint Regatta held on Lake Washington, he rowed as a UW Freshman, competing with Frank Cunningham who represented Harvard.

Rod was one of the finest oarsmen produced from the Pacific Northwest, rowing for the UW and featured in LIFE magazine with pictures in 1949. He was on the initial Pocock Foundation Board being instrumental with the organization as well as becoming involved in the construction of current rowing center.

Rod and Bill Cameron recently completed their 18th year of Masters International competition covering some 18 different countries. Their houses are filled with Gold medals--winning most of the races they entered. In 1993, he and Bill also rowed 139 miles thru 42 locks down the Thames River taking the same journey as did Stan Pocock and Allan Lobb in 1966. The Ancient Mariners were honored to have him as a charter member, representing AMRC since 1986 throughout the world.

Rod's passing gives one to pause to wonder if he is up there now with George Pocock, Al Ulbrickson, Charley McIntyre and others still discussing rowing and the advantages of the Pocock stroke as we did here for so many hours.

Rod is the perfect model for the young oarsmen and oarswomen of today to follow to achieve successes in many areas.

Guy Harper
UW/AMRC

Remembrance of Rod Johnson by David Pratt

I first learned about rowing from the 1949 edition of Life Magazine which featured Rod on the cover. I was in the 9th grade, living in the land-locked dry part of southeast Idaho. A fascination with the sea and open water, gained from reading C.S. Forester's Hornblower stories, was further fueled by the rowing article in Life. I filed that in my memory, and when 3 years later, after having chosen to attend the University of Washington, the first place I visited when I arrived on campus was the Conibear Shellhouse. There I was readily recruited on the spot by Stan Pocock. I fell in love with rowing that autumn of 1952, and still am to this day.

Many years later, after a 25-year hiatus from Seattle, I joined the Ancient Mariners Rowing Club in 1989 or 90, and met face-to-face, in the flesh, Rod Johnson, the great oarsman I'd first seen on the 1949 Life cover.

There are many stories about how idols of childhood are later in life found to have feet of clay, but in Rod's case, just the opposite was true. When contentions arose in the AMRC membership, Rod was always the calm voice of reason and resolution. Everyone respected him, and more than that, we all loved him. He was truly an outstanding friend and human being, in addition to which he was one hell of an oarsman.

David T. Pratt

Evolution of the Conibear Stroke by Michael Callahan

From the UW Crew Newsletter: An article looking at the Conibear Stroke looking at comparing Rod Johnson to current UW Rowers

Rod Johnson, Captain 1950, stopped by the Conibear Shellhouse last winter and gave me a Life magazine article from June 20, 1949, that illustrated the "Conibear Stroke" and discussed the influence Washington had on the intercollegiate rowing world. While the article was interesting to me last winter, its connection to the current team became even more compelling when I revisited it this autumn. The Life article stated: "Nine of the 12 colleges entered at Poughkeepsie this year have coaches who went to Washington, and who now use a modified version of the 'Conibear stroke', which was developed at Washington by the late great Hiram Conibear, the Knute Rockne of collegiate rowing ... The Conibear Stroke consists of a quick even drive with practically no layback. 'It's a lot easier to row sitting up than lying down,' Ulbrickson says. " Rod and I discussed how his coach Al Ulbricksontaught the rowing stroke in his day. While it is a commonly held belief among our alumni that the stroke is much different today than it was 60 years ago, the photos in the Life article provide a visual illustration of how the Conibear stroke is still strikingly similar to the technique we use today. "When the nation's best eight-oared crews line up on June 25 (1949) for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association's annual regatta at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., the defending champions from the University of Washington will again be the favorites. In five out of the past eight regattas Washington's Huskies have won the varsity championship. Last year, for the third time since 1936, Washington "swept the Hudson" by winning all three Poughkeepsie races varsity, junior varsity and freshman." Sweeping the IRA regatta is an enormous accomplishment that demonstrates top-end speed, overall team depth and race day execution at the very highest level. In the many decades that the IRA regatta has taken place, a sweep has only occurred 15 times. Of those 15 times, the University of Washington is responsible for six of those incredible performances.		Our 2009 IRA performance was a great achievement but we are most proud of the fact that we have continued the tradition of excellence in oarsmanship at Washington. I found this Life article particularly compelling because of the parallels between Rod's team and ours. 60 years ago we had just swept the IRA, 60 years ago we were rowing the Conibear stroke and 60 years ago our alumni watched eagerly as a new group of Huskies took to the water to defend our title and uphold our tradition of excellence. It was true then and it is true today. Our connection to our history is strong and it is built upon the same tenets as always: hard work, excellence of oarsmanship and the Conibear stroke. In the next few pages I will compare the 1949 photos of Rod Johnson to the 2009 photos of current senior Max Lang. I will not suggest that one is better than the other. While equipment and technology have had an affect on the stroke, you will discover that the essence of the Conibear or "Washington Stroke" is the same. Rod Johnson '50 (left) and Max Lang '09 (right)
"On Lake Washington, adjoining University campus, shells go through practice session. Stroke of crew in foreground is violating a fundamental rule (eyes in the boat) by looking at the coaches launch (background)" (LIFE)

"Conibear stroke begins as Rod Johnson dips oar in the water. It must "catch" in vertical position; slanted, it will go deep and forward motion will be lost" (LIFE). Longer seat tracks in modern boats allow rowers to achieve greater leg compression instead of gaining length from lower back and shoulders.

Compared to today, the 1949 blade shape requires more skill to catch water. Modern oar shapes load somewhat faster.

"Blade is anchored and oar bends slightly as Johnson's back shows strain. Body angle is now set although he will slide back in shell 12 inches as his legs straighten out." (LIFE). Both oarsman are now in the strong position building power in the stroke. (Keep your eyes in the boat, Max!! Some things never change!!)

1949 oar materials were softer, with less blade surface area. Arms bend earlier to keep rower connected ("anchored") to the water. On modern blades, the shaft is stiffer and supports a larger blade surface area. Instead of earlier arm bend, Lang is using more body swing with straight arms to achieve the same connection.

"Body angle is constant, without layback, a whirlpool marking the run of the boat as Johnson lifts blade from water (above) and recovers oar for next stroke (below)" (LIFE).

Johnson uses his shoulders to rebound into the next stroke. Both Johnson and Lang use hand speed out of bow to gain preparation for next stroke. In both cases, their heads lead their hips, helping them to keep connected to the boat through the footstretcher.

Johnson's and Lang's knees soften and start to bend. The recovery is the part of the stroke where the rower wants to let the boat work for him.

The rower prepares to take another stroke. Johnson's blade is closer to the water due to its symmetric shape. Lang's blade is further off the water to make room to square the asymmetrical hatchet blade.

Drive Phase of the Stroke

The graph above describes the drive phase of the rowing stroke. This graph recorded the stroke of an elite rower. The Vertical (Y) axis is the force the rower applies to the oar in Newtons. The horizontal (X) axis is the length of stroke on how long (in centimeters) the rower keeps force on the oar. The area under the curve represents the total energy imparted to the oar by the rower. The larger the curve, the more powerful the stroke for the given boat speed. The smooth force curve shows that power is always going "out," meaning that useable power is always being produced. To produce maximum power, the rower needs to be both connected to the boat and the water, AND his stroke must be coordinated.		1. The force curve starts at (1) with the blade anchoring, or connecting, to the water. The "catch" is immediate. 2. Rower loads the oar and builds power in this part of the drive. 3. The rower passes through the maximum peak force of the drive 4 and 5. Past the force peak, the rower maintains his connection with the water. A rower who has good coordination and connection at the beginning of the stroke is better able to maintain his power towards the end of the stroke. 6. Oar releases the water. Rower is now in the recovery phase of the stroke cycle, which is represented on the graph on the next page.

Observation of One Full Stroke

These sample curves illustrate another elite rower's stroke. The green line represents the oar angle at the oar lock through a full stroke cycle. We will follow the angle from release to catch, the recovery phase, since we have already discussed the drive phase of the stroke. 1. The rower's hands leave the finish position towards the stern of the boat. 2. The rower's arms fully extended, shoulders follow hands towards stern. 3. The rower's knees soften and start bending, body angle will soon be set for catch position. 4. The rower's knees rise and thighs approach chest, beginning to square the oar for the catch. 5. The rower's oar is completely square, rower is now matching oar blade speed with boat speed. 6. Rower allows oar to enter water with minimum splash and no check. This is an efficient hatchet oar catch.		These curves show the high level of skill and strength required to make the boat go fast. Equipment and technique must be closely matched for optimum boat speed. Throughout UW's rowing history coaches and student athletes have strived to optimize the complex interaction of equipment, training, and technique and our rowing history tells the story. The Conibear stroke remains a key component of our technique, but some subtle changes have occurred. Differences in the recovery, catch and drive are mainly due to equipment changes and modern materials but the critical, accelerating connection to the water remains the same. Although today's rowing environment brings its own challenges, including the size of the program and cost per athlete, we still continue to apply Washington's core values and the genius of the Conibear Stroke everyday. And with it we strive to bring the very same effort, intensity, and success that were the hallmark of the teams represented by Rod Johnson and his teammates sixty years ago.
It is with sadness that we announce that Rod Johnson passed away on December 20th, 2009, while this issue of our newsletter went to press. Rod was a dedicated oarsman and a dedicated Husky, and the entire Husky Rowing Family will miss him, as we extend our condolences to his family and teammates. More about Rod and the legacy left by the '48 - '50 teams can be found here - www.huskycrew.org.