World Coastal Rowing Championships for Clubs

Two weeks after Poznan, I competed in the World Coastal Rowing Championships for Clubs held in Plymouth, England. The event was hosted by the Mayflower Offshore Rowing Club and was attended by some 500 athletes representing 22 different nations.

Coastal rowing is different from regular rowing in that in place of calm, still water, we were rowing out in the ocean and in waves. There are three boat classes: quad with coxswain (the boat I was racing), double and single. The boats themselves are about three times as wide as an eight-oared shell, thus providing a bit of stability in the waves. Also, the bow is very tall, to better cut through the waves, and the stern is open to allow water that has come into the boat to flow out the back as we row forward. There is also an on-board water pump which is connected to all of the foot-wells. These are all very necessary characteristics as there was a lot of water. When we were sitting at the finish with our legs flat, they were literally underwater because there was so much water in the boat.

We practiced on Thursday (October 22) giving me my first coastal rowing experience. When we rowed out past the breakwater, we were literally rowing “uphill”. When we were in the troughs between waves, we couldn’t see the land, nor anything else other than walls of water. But we got the idea of the waves and raced in the heat on Friday. 15 boats started in an 8 kilometer race with 12 advancing to the final. We finished 5^th after a somewhat leisurely finish; the boats were strung out along such a great distance we weren’t worried about anyone catching us. The next day, weather conditions and extreme winds forced race organizers to shorten the course to a 5K distance. When we started in the 24 boat final, a wave broke on my back and knocked our stroke seat off of his seat. The rest of the race was just a battle through walls of water. As we came over the top of a wave, the boat would suddenly drop from underneath us and our butts would come off the seats. It was like being on a roller coaster, a somewhat cold one! We finished 7^th overall, which wasn’t bad as there is definitely a technique to rowing in the waves, something to which none of us were accustomed to.

Following the Saturday final, we were not leaving Plymouth until Tuesday morning, so we had two days to explore and be tourists. On Sunday I decided to visit Mt. Edgecombe, a historical house whose lands have been kept open to the public to enjoy. There were gardens, a small labyrinth and a vast expanse of just green pastures and forests. My group and I climbed a hill from which we could see the racecourse where we raced the day before and had a picnic. It was very enjoyable. Monday was raining so we just visited some local shops. It was a great trip!

(First photo: view of the course from Mt. Edgecombe. That is a large Military supply vessel in the middle of the bay)

(Second photo: our quad launching for practice. I am sitting 2 seat in the white hat. Also please notice the life jackets)

Click here to view the World Coastal Rowing Page (includes photos from the regatta).

Click here to view a website about Mt. Edgecombe.