Pre-1967 Corsair History

In 1965, the dominant manufacturer of racing shells in the US was Pocock in Washington state. Aaron “Fred” Pocock was the boat builder for prestigious Eton College in England, and he taught his sons, accomplished oarsmen George and Dick, his craft.  In 1911, the boys moved to Vancouver, BC to establish their own boat building enterprise.  At the time, the preferred wood for boat building was “Spanish Cedar”, a non-coniferous tropical hardwood also popular for making cigar humidors, humidor linings, high-end cabinetry, and drawer linings due to its pleasant aroma and insect resistance.  The Pococks began using the plentiful western red cedar, a true softwood coniferous tree good for outdoor siding, decking, and rot resistance.  In 1912, they were encouraged by coach Hiram Conibear to move to Seattle to build boats for the University of Washington, a relationship that would last for many years.  “Their first boat won the acclaimed Pacific Coast Championship in 1913. This win set the crew up for a statement-making third place finish at the national championship. Orders began to come in from regional colleges and clubs.  In 1923, the unknown Washington rowing team traveled east and won the national championship in a Pocock boat.  After that, demand skyrocketed from coast to coast.  For the next 50 years, with care and grace, George built racing shells for nearly every racing college in the country and several abroad. His reputation spread as he maintained the highest possible quality at a price that even small colleges or high schools could afford. His boats went on to win many national and Olympic championships.”  Of course, Washington and Pocock’s most celebrated achievement was Gold at the 1936 Olympics, immortalized by the book and film “The Boys in the Boat”.

 

From their beginnings in 1965, NU was using boats from several local builders, Helmut Schoenbrod in Connecticut and Joe Garafalo of Worcester Oar and Paddle Company.  These were mostly used for training and seat racing.  The pairs and the eights used in competition were, like those of most US colleges and prep schools, Pococks from Washington State.  Enter Frank Barrett, NU’s first assistant coach.  Frank graduated from BU in 1964 after rowing there for four years, always in Pococks.  Seeking a teaching position, he came up against a classic catch-22: every position for which he interviewed required two years previous experience.  While diligently pursuing opportunities, Frank was hired by Dick Higginson to manage the Union Boat Club, which he did from June 1964 until the fall of 1965 when he finally secured a teaching position in Ayer, MA.  This corresponded with the period when NU was beginning its rowing program based at UBC, and Frank was in constant contact with Ernie Arlett, with whom he developed a close relationship and shared many ideas about developing the fledgling program.  Ernie was impressed enough that he promised Frank the job of assistant coach as soon as the university’s budget would allow.  That occurred in the summer of 1966, resulting in Frank leaving Ayer after one academic year and reuniting with Ernie at NU.  After two seasons as Ernie’s assistant, Frank’s alma mater came calling with “an offer he couldn’t refuse”: the BU head coaching position.

 

​