Harry Clasper

[citation needed] He was the first of three well-known Tyneside oarsmen, the other two being Robert Chambers and James Renforth.

After a while, Clasper decided that mining did not suit him and he became apprenticed as a ship's carpenter in Brown's Boatyard, Jarrow.

Clasper took over the tenancy of the Skiff Inn, Derwenthaugh, and in addition to being a pub landlord, he began to build boats on the same site.

The race was rowed over a five-mile (8 km) course from the Tyne Bridge to Lemington for a stake of £150 a side.

Clasper realised that he needed to design and build a much lighter boat for future races.

[3] In the next fifteen years, Clasper, with a variety of other crewmembers, won the Champion Fours at the Thames Regatta six further times.

His crewmembers included his eldest son, John Hawks Clasper and Robert Chambers, later to be World Sculling Champion.

He recommended rest, light and regular meals, walking and running, as well as two sessions on the water each day.

For his funeral, the coffin was transported from the Tunnel Inn, Ouseburn to St Mary's Church, Whickham.

At the time, boats were wide in the beam because the oar was attached to the gunwales, and the oarsman needed sufficient leverage.

This meant that the boat could be made as narrow as possible, thus reducing surface area, without affecting the leverage exerted by the oarsmen.

The sight of Claspers boats winning races helped to establish the use of outriggers as a standard in rowing.

Together with Matthew Taylor, another Tyneside boat-builder, he worked to reduce the surface area and drag.

John C. Babcock, of the Nassau Rowing Club of New York, is credited with inventing the sliding seat, which allowed oarsmen to add the power of their legs to the stroke.

Prior to that, Clasper's crews, and other Tyneside oarsmen had developed a technique of sliding on their fixed seats so as to make some use of their legs in producing a longer more powerful stroke.