Denmark's Moelvig Turns Traditional

Moelvig (in white) doing it like the Faroe Islanders

What do you do to top an Olympic gold medal? Three seat of Denmark’s lightweight four, Stephan Moelvig went north. Way north.

Moving to the Faroe Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean, not far from Iceland, Moelvig has spent the last three months working, competing ? and recently winning ? the Faroe World Championships in Rowing.

This competition, however, is different from your average rowing regatta. For a start Moelvig’s racing boat of eight men plus coxswain, was a long way from the ultra-light, narrow racing boat with the sliding seat that he was used to. Instead, Moelvig competed in the traditional Faroe Island fishing and whaling boat.

Weighing the equivalent of three eights combined and sitting on a fixed seat, the rowers use primarily back and arm muscles. The race is spread over nine weeks with the competitors racing 1,500 metres, seven times.

Moelvig’s crew celebrates winning

The rules are the same as in normal rowing and as Moelvig says, ?it’s just the same feeling to row and win.?

Moelvig was the only member of his team who had not rowed these boats previously and Moelvig says that although they won all seven races, in the beginning it was by a very narrow margin. ?But in the end the margin was more than two boat lengths,? says Moelvig whose crew improved as they became more used to rowing together.

The whole event had a total of 68 crews with events for seven, nine and 11 people. This is no small feat when the local population is only just over 40,000 people.

This race originally grew out of the competitive spirit of local whalers and fishermen wanting to know who had the fastest boat. Dating back about 200 years, crews were invited to compete to see who was the fastest. Dancing and drinking then followed. About 30 years ago the event became serious with live radio broadcasts and spectators devotedly supporting their local team.

Now the old boats, when not being used for racing, are used as motorboats with an engine attached.

Moelvig moved to the Faroe Islands for more than just the competition. Working as a rowing coach and a gardener, Moelvig joined the local rowing club as a way of making friends with the local people. ?Now I live as they do,? says Moelvig, ?in contact with nature and without concern for time. Here the weather decides if you go fishing or if you have to go to the mountains to catch sheep (for wool cutting), or if you go hiking in the beautiful mountains.?

After Olympic gold, Moelvig adds a Faroe Championship medal to his collection and a taste for Faroe Island living.

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