Jackets and vests may be warm and comfortable, show your team pride, shield you from the wind and rain, and give you shelter from the storm. If they’re highly visible, they may also protect you from other boaters crashing into you.
In the late fall, as rowers were trying to get in a little more rowing before ice would close off Cayuga Lake, a university eight bore down on a smaller boat crossing the water. It was dusk and the single was a carbon fiber boat: black. The cox of the eight was focused intently on the stroke rate and never saw the smaller boat as it pulled heavily and narrowly averted a collision.
Following a few (polite) words between the sculler and coach, the smaller, black, boat was painted white the next day and lights were added to the boat.
The incident prompted a discussion of the value of light vs. dark hulls for rowing shells. For boats with more than a foot of freeboard it seems that the value of white hulls provides a significant margin of safety in their visibility on the water. For rowing shells the principal value of light colored hulls may be in locating overturned shells or rowing at night — in which case they should have lights on, fore and aft.
The outcome of these discussions pointed to the value of high visibility vests and jackets for any rowers in shells. With hulls that only rise a few inches above the water the color of the shell makes very little difference in its visibility to other rowers or motorized boats. Rowers siting in the shells, with their torsos a foot or two above the water, should be clearly visible to other boaters on the water at any time.
Greens, grays and blues may blend in nicely with the the natural surroundings. Muted school colors may be good for showing team spirit. High visibility vests, jackets, and hats make rowing safer — particularly in the early morning and late hours of the day.