Annotation: "From looking at the postcard and using rowing knowledge, it can be inferred what the men in the boat were..."

From collection Sumida-gawa [Sumida River]

From looking at the postcard and using rowing knowledge, it can be inferred what the men in the boat were doing in the image. It appears that the men are turning the boat in a clockwise direction. There are eight rowers and one coxswain in the boat and if they are counted up one to eight from left to right, it appears that three and five seat are taking strokes while seat one and two are balancing the boat, and seat four is holding his blade down perpendicular in the water. Unfortunately, the blades of the other rowers can’t be seen, but if one side rows and the other side hold their blades in the water, the boat will turn. If the boat was indeed turning in this image, the boat would row out of the image and away from the steam ships and rougher water.