Pocock Racing Shells was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1911 and has been an integral part of 100 years of American rowing. The roots of the company began in England – the birthplace of shell building and racing – back in the 1800s. Founder George Pocock grew up in England, where his father was the head boat builder for prestigious Eton College at Windsor around the turn of the century. As a young man, George raced single shells on the famed River Thames. At one of these races he won £50, and with the money purchased passage for himself and his brother, Dick, on a cattle boat bound for Canada. In 1911, on George’s 20th birthday, they arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, with $20 in their pockets and a dream of building fine racing boats. They were commissioned to build two single sculling boats for the Vancouver Rowing Club’s boathouse, without moorage, and found that at low tide they rested precariously on the mud flats. During the ensuing year, they nearly starved.