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The Calcutta Rowing Club as its crest suggests, was founded by a small number of enthusiastic oarsmen in 1858. This makes it one year older than the club founded at Shanghai and probably, the oldest club in the east. Records show that the first boat the CRC owned was a six-oared boat purchased from a Mr. Gavin of Salka at a cost of Rs. 300. The first boat house with a thatched roof was on the bank of the Hooghly near Chandpal Ghat. This boat house was built in 1860 and lasted until 1864 when a disastrous cyclone swept it away-boats and all. The successor to this boat-house was built near Fort Point in 1865, but only after much argument with the inmates of the Fort who alleged that it would interfere with the field of fire of some of their guns should an anemy fleet sail up the the Hooghly. An Eight was imported in 1866 and to more in 1870. Unfortunately, no Eight remain in Kolkata today. Upto this time, all the boats had fixed seats, but, about 1872, one of the members of the Club brought back with him from England a sculling boat fitted with a sliding seat. The owner, one Charles Newman, had for some time been propounding his theories regarding this type of seat and he might lay some claim to having been its inventor...ReadMore »