Rowing the Netherlands on FISA's Tour

2005 FISA Tour in the Netherlands

FISA’s rowing tour this year explored 160 km of Dutch waterways from Rotterdam to Amsterdam and along the way the rowers got more than they bargained for, on and off the water. The participants encountered five locks, discovered the true taste of Heineken beer and experienced the real view of life below sea level.

Fifteen traditional Dutch pleasure boats – wherries – designed to carry two scullers, one cox and a navigator, left Rotterdam last week after a formal farewell by the Mayor of the City of Rotterdam and a flag parade featuring all of the 15 nationalities involved.

Each day crews rowed about 30 km swapping positions in the boat every half an hour to take turns as the sculler, the navigator or the cox. Tour organiser Hanneke Hermans emphasised the importance of having a navigator as well as a cox on these busy Dutch waterways.

“The navigator is able to see how to cross the lake, especially as the crossings are made more difficult when everything appears green from the reflection of the water,” says Hermans who admitted some crews got lost, but always found their way back.

The navigator sat alongside the coxswain in the boat and had to be constantly on the alert to keep on course as following the waterways meant crisscrossing the cities, making many turns and navigating narrow passageways. The cox would often have to do more than steering as they also had to help by pushing off walls and guiding the boat underneath bridges so narrow that the rowers had to draw their oars in to get through.

“The hardest part was crossing Amsterdam, the Rijnkanaal,” says Hermans. “It’s a big canal with lots of traffic and big boats. Really you’re scared.” A patrol boat waited at one side and would tell the crews when to cross the river. “Some rowers put on lifejackets,” says Hermans who described the feeling of being in a tiny wherry alongside a huge ship.

Navigating the locks added to the variety. Sometimes the locks would be open and rowers could carry on directly through, while at other times the rowers would wait for a lock-keeper. Depending on the size of the lock sometimes all 15 boats could go through together while other locks had just enough room for five boats at a time.

Off the water the rowers got to experience many of the local sights. The porcelain factory in Delft was explored in depth, the Heineken brewery near Leiden did not prevent the rowers getting back on the water for their afternoon row and eating the local specialty of raw herring proved popular. “We had them for lunch one day,” says Hermans. “The rowers were shown how to eat them (hold the tail, take three bites). I was surprised. Almost all were gone.”

Towards the end of the Tour the rowers passed through farmland where the farmers had to open up small, low bridges. The lowness meant that rowers had to look up to see the cows and sheep.

“That’s when you really understand the Netherlands is under sea level,” says Hermans.

The 2006 FISA Tour will be in Switzerland from 2 – 10 September and is planned to start near Lucerne and then move to Biel.

The World Rowing team values feedback.

Related Links
FISA Rowing Tours – practical info
FISA’s Rowing for All Commission & pleasure touring info