On 8 April 2017 a second “Sword in the Chain” presentation was made from the Class of 1957 to the Class of 2017

Charles (Chuck) Wilbur, USNA 1957, former heavyweight crew coxswain for Navy’s Rusty Callow coached crews, presented his sword to Navy MVL8 coxswain, Grace Albertson, USNA 2017. This presentation took place outside Hubbard Hall following a great Navy Day of rowing in which Navy crews prevailed in hard-fought races with Columbia on the Severn.

L-R: Chuck Wilbur ’57 and Grace Albertson ’17. Note the stripes on the left arm of Chuck’s letter sweater; perhaps adding stripes back to the sweaters would be a nice touch – a bit more blue & gold! (Photo Courtesy of Mary Haber)

Chuck related some interesting quotes from Coach Callow that are always worth remembering, two of which are:

It’s not the best eight rowers that row the best boat, it’s the eight rowers that row best together.

And…,

The race is won with the oars out of the water.

Truly two pearls of wisdom for rowers and scullers in every era.

Among the races in which Chuck coxed Navy crews – two are most memorable. In 1956 he coxed the Navy crew to a silver finish at the IRA Regatta on Onondaga Lake in Syracuse [for history buffs, Cornell won gold with a winning time of 16:22.4]. And, in 1957 Chuck coxed the crew that defeated Princeton in one of the closest dual races imaginable, in which Navy and Princeton rowed the entire three-mile course neck-and neck with Navy finally inching ahead to win by about four feet.

As for today, another Navy Crew story begins that will live on into 2067 when Grace continues the tradition of A Sword in the Chain!

L-R: Chuck Wilbur ’57 and Grace Albertson ’17 (Photo Courtesy of Mary Haber)

Let ‘er run!