"You cant do this, Im a queen!" Poldara protested, her limbs already sore from all the rowing but she feared the whip and kept up the motions. Fully shackled to her seat, metal sandals kept her feet planted, she had no choice but to keep the boat moving!
(The irony of course is that shes the Oracle of Water, so she could literally command the ocean to move the boat if she could use her spells)