In one month World Rowing goes coastal

In its inaugural year as a championship event, the World Rowing Coastal Championships were staged in 2007 in Cannes-Mandelieu, France. The regatta then attracted entries from 16 nations. Last year in Thessaloniki, Greece, 21 nations were represented.

For the first time in 2015, the championships will be organised outside of Europe. Heading to South America, the capital city of Peru, Lima, will be welcoming adventurous rowers from around the world from 13 to 15 November 2015. The entries deadline is approaching fast: on 26 October  thrill-seeking rowers will be given their final chance to sign up.

Temperatures at this time of year are expected to be in the low 20°C as Peru heads into spring time. Precipitation should be minimal. Club de Regatas Lima, Peru’s biggest rowing club, will host the event in the downtown Chorillos District.

In the lead-up to the championships, some Peruvian rowers made a trip to Europe to race at the  World Rowing Masters Regatta in Hazewinkel, Belgium.

Participants included Marco Sanguineti, a rower and part of the organising committee for the coastal championships. Sanguineti first started rowing when he was 13 years old.

“We learned to row in big wooden boats with wooden oars called yolla,” he says. “They are not proper coastal boasts like those we use now.” Sanguineti remembers going out for rows with friends in quads and doubles. It was a part of the school culture in Lima.

“I did it for two to three years, but we broke a lot of boats,” he laughs. “It was the 1990s so we didn’t have very secure conditions. If we went out and the waves were too big, we didn’t care, we just broke boats and had to swim back if it happened.”

The times have changed since Sanguineti first started rowing. Now the clubs are stocked with coastal boats and people of all ages regularly train and compete in Lima. There are two different areas for training. Chorio, where the coastal championships will take place, boasts great beaches and large waves, perfect conditions for coastal rowing. The other, La Punta is calm and flat, providing perfect conditions for Olympic-style rowing. Sanguineti does both.

“I am a sculler. I am smaller, so it was always difficult for me to find a crew,” SAnguineti says. “Coastal rowing is hard for me because the boat is so heavy. That is why I still participate in the masters regatta.” Sanguineti also jokes that the 4km coastal races is much too long for him – he prefers the 1km masters race.

Sanguineti confirms that the preparations for the coastal championships next month are well underway. A training regatta in October will help to check the course and all the regatta points.

The growth in coastal rowing in the region over the past few years has helped it to gain popularity and interest. “I like the way coastal rowing is developing,” says Sanguineti. “It is a very interesting sport and in the last few years it has been getting more popular amongst 13-14 year olds.”

The 2015 World Rowing Coastal Championships will also provide an opportunity for masters rowers to race the day before the event starts. For more information on the event and registration, click here: http://www.worldrowing.com/events/2015-world-rowing-coastal-championships/event-information