RowinG aCTUaLLY
going CoAStAL
trendy and convenient
in its inaugural year as a cham pionship event, the world Rowing Coastal Championships for Clubs attracted 560 rowers from
16 nations to the Cannes-mandelieu beach resort on the french Riviera, this past october of 2007. Rowers of a different kind
showed how varied rowing can be around the world. a new trend has begun.
15
The men’s coxed fours and
quads race their heat off the
coast of the French Riviera on
the first day of racing at the
2007 World Rowing Coastal
Championships for Clubs in
Mandelieu, near Cannes (FRA).
The championships were hosted by the local
Rowing Club Cannes-Mandelieu (RCCM),
located along the Siagne Canal, 500 metres
inland. Laurent Garnier, a member of RCCM,
was actively involved in the organisation of
the World Rowing Coastal Championships
for Clubs. “I began coastal rowing when I was
eight, as a cox. Usually I’d row on the river but
at times we would go out and row on the
sea. Since 2000, I’ve done nothing but coastal
rowing. It’s more exciting, it’s fun, it’s beautiful.
It’s a new discipline that needs development,
but it will develop,” he explains. Asked about
the quality of the championships, Laurent
replies: “Those competing are not the best
rowers, but there are good flat-water rowers
who have begun coastal rowing. One day, I
hope, there will be bona fide coastal rowers
who have the instinct of seamen, who know
how to row over waves and around buoys
and find their bearings. One day good
coastal rowers will know how to face tough
sea conditions.”
Coastal rowing used to only represent 10
per cent to 15 per cent of the RCCM’s leisure
outings, and only in perfectly calm conditions.
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© Igor Meijer
