Rowing must have been a wild sport back in the day if this newspaper report on a race from 1891 is anything to go by:
EXCITEMENT IN WAGER BOAT RACE
R. J. Brown and C. Dutch engaged in
a wager boat race on the Parramatta
River in March ’91. A collision took
place near Uhr’s Point and Brown fell
overboard, but was fortunately on the
rock upon which the beacon was placed.
Dutch jumped into the river and, wading
over to Brown, struck him on the nose.
Brown quickly got into the boat and
resumed the race, but had not gone a
great distance before his boat sank and
Dutch, who was much slower to get
into his boat, pulled leisurely along and
won.
Daily Examiner, Friday October 19, 1934 (Trove)
Perhaps it was a case of slow and steady wins the race.