For a man whose crew is going to be the number one target for all opposition this season, Varsity Coach Tom Bolles seems peculiarly unruffled these days as he works over this seven-odd boatloads of candidates for tradition-and-honor-steeped position in the first Varsity boat.

In fact, the lean manufacturer of a dozen straight victories over the Eli practically exudes confidence about his Olympic-year prospects, although the Charles River still flows invisibly under a cover of ice and his muscular charges still are doing their only rowing is boats that stay still while the water flows past--the Newell boathouse tank.

After last year's great season, many local followers feared that the graduation of stroke Frank Cunningham might leave a brawny boatload without the brains needed for perfect timing and steady generalship. There is still no stroke, but Bolles shows no signs of worry, for Don Felt, from last year's Jayvee eight, Jud Gale, who spent last season at number five for the Varsity, and Bill Curwen, who bids fair to follow in the path of his brother James "Bus" Curwen '42, termed by Bolles "the greatest stroke I ever coached," are all in hot competition for the post.

Present Lineup

The rest of the boat seems in no danger of being undermanned. Commencement robbed the Crimson of Captain Bob Stone and Stu Clark as well as Cunningham, and cox Al Petite. This leaves--reading from bow to stern--Mike Scully, Dick Emmet, Gale, Frank Strong, and Captain Paul Knaplund. There are gaps at the Two, four, stroke, and cox slots. The latter is not problem, for Jayvee taskmaster Sam King is due for promotion.

Yale Trains Year Round

Even Yale's year-round practice schedule fails to perturb Bolles. "It's all right by me if they train thirteen months a year," he observed drily. "If, they get a kick out of it, more power to them, but you can only train so long before you reach a physical peak, and after that the chances of going stale are that much greater."