A Middleburg-centric Crew Unlike Any Other

A Middleburg-centric Crew Unlike Any Other

By William H. (Mike) du Pont

Back in the 1950s, several Middleburg teenagers, including Sandy Young and my brother, Victor, went off to boarding school at the Pomfret School in Eastern Connecticut, a fine institution with a very active sports program. Pomfret was particularly known for its’ crew teams, which often won the New England secondary school rowing championship. They rowed four-oared shells like most of the secondary schools, but the colleges and universities rowed eights. In their fifth form year (11 th grade) Sandy and Vic both went out for crew, Vic as an oarsman, Sandy as a coxswain. Vic was a big, coordinated, muscular lad, first string varsity football. Sandy was more diminutive, but a first-class fellow, well-liked by all and known back then as “the Gnat.”

As crew season came, they were both placed in the same shell, designated No. 2 on the crew team, with the No. 1 shell all seniors. However, as the practice season approached the competition season, it became very apparent that Sandy’s crew had the superior shell on the water.

His crew consisted of William Marris ( known as “Limey”), as No. 1 oar, Pete Roudabush No. 2, Vic du Pont No. 3, Sandy Bricken No. 4 or stroke and, of course, Sandy Young as coxswain.

Marris was an English boy who had come over for one year in an American school. Some would think “Limey” was a pejorative nickname for an Englishman, but I think not. In the 18 th century, the English discovered that limes (vitamin C) cured scurvy, the scourge of sailors long at sea. Well done “Limeys!”

Sandy’s team was out as Pomfret’s No. 1 shell through the competitions that season. The races were held every Saturday and consisted of shells from several different schools. They won all their races except one, finishing a close second to Brown and Nichols.

The crew season culminated in the Great Worcester Regatta held on Lake Quinsigamon near Worcester, Massachusetts. The competition consisted of two three-quarter mile sprints for each ranking: Nos. 1, 2 and 3 shells. These were extremely tough competitions; an oarsman had to be very fit because they rowed the body of the race at about 32 strokes a minute and finished at 40-plus.

Wyatt Garfield, coach of the crew team, felt that the seniors should have the honor of representing Pomfret as the No . 1 boat and Sandy Young and his boat would be No. 2, much to their chagrin. The races went on, and, predictably, the seniors lost their race. Sandy and Vic’s boat not only won, they set the fastest time overall on Lake Quinsigamon that day.

The job of the coxswain is much more important than appears. He not only steers the shell and beats time for the oars to row to, he’s the leader of the shell. He must keep the oarsmen’s spirits up, together, controlled and focused.

With a shell full of 17- and 18-year-old boys just starting to feel their oats, this was a big job. And with Bricken and du Pont in your shell, this was really a big job! They sometimes lost a firm grip on their control and focus but definitely had the strength and drive.

And Sandy Young, now a long-time Middleburg resident, held it all together and produced what many consider to be the finest crew in the history of Pomfret School.

William H. (Mike) du Pont is a long-time Middleburg resident and former MFH of the Orange County Hounds.