In the past couple of weeks two events happened in my rowing life : One joyous and the other curious. Each has its path to convergence and then they connect in my mind and time and space. One is proof of our commitment to the culture which is changing. The other gave me pause for thought. This particular plug man created himself by desiring to better himself at his craft. I was there when his behavior became loud and joyful as he admired how the plug fit nice and tight, 'a rite fit" . Most of the plugs will not be visible under the rigger plate. This one act is the culture of preservation and our hope is in the plugs It is dedication to quality as we preserve a Pocock..It seems to me that this commitment is solid. Well what else is there...... rowing and more rowing and more rowing equipment maintenance. There is Training, Racing, Drills, Excursions, and Learn to Row (plugman's other identity is coach) . Jim Mason for many years did a great job maintaining all the boats and equipment and by doing so kept us on the water. Jim has now handed the work to others and they have help from Ron Moller. With measured joy and enthusiasm he found two modern Popcock quads, ordered new oars, restored our older oars, and helped us adapt to the new boats. Is his involvement a change in our culture, yes and no. Yes, he brought smarts, chutzpah, and his time to make rowing better and... no.... others before him have done the same. So is the culture changing, yes and no, but it sure feels good.
Plugman's ear wax is fortunately the wet kind so he is using a Q-Tip to coat the inside of the holes that he just drilled in the plugs for the bolts to attach the riggers of the "Almost Perfect"