Picture the scene. Three flat-water Olympian rowers, fresh from their silverware exploits of the summer, travel to Portugal to take on the World Rowing Coastal Championships – a proposition markedly different to any race they’d previously partaken in. You’d expect the transferable skill set from flat-water rowing into coastal rowing to be broad and deep. You’d expect three seasoned veterans to be comfortable in competing, dominating, winning in an index of the sport they’d only recently attained Olympian status for. Coastal rowing? How hard can it be?
When we spoke with Jack Beaumont, Matt Rossiter and James Fox, they were still recovering from the exploits of a frantic weekend in early October. Don’t mistake ‘recovery’ for weary limbs and tired minds though – the trio were ebullient in their praise for a fresh, inventive take on the sport they loved. “It’s a different type of hard,” explained Jack. “It’s heavier – I found it didn’t hit my lungs as hard but impacted my muscles more”.
“Just trying to get your blade in and out was challenge enough for me,” conceded James, a recently minted double Paralympic champion in the mixed coxed four. “You’re dealing with one-meter swells with the boat slamming up and down. As someone who doesn’t usually scull, that made it tough”.
The group had been invited to the event by Richard Clarke, a former UL oarsman and Henley Royal Regatta winner, in a trip that would be sponsored by Row Tours. The transition that flat-water athletes are making into coastal rowing continues apace and the boys were keen to jump on the bandwagon and experience something different after the rush of Tokyo. “I didn’t really think it through, I just said yes” admitted Jack.
Arriving in Portugal, the group did not know what to expect but were taken aback by the community spirit and impressive cohesion of the event. “I love being involved in the rowing community,” said Jack, who first began his career at Maidenhead Rowing Club and has stayed close to the club ever since. “Coastal rowing was something I’d heard a lot about but never experienced. What we quickly realised was that there is essentially a whole group of people who essentially call what we do flat water rowing whereas we just call it rowing. Meeting these groups and hearing more about their clubs gives you a whole new perspective on the sport”.
Supported gamely by Swift Racing, who provided boats, advice and manpower in shifting the equipment to where it needed to be, the group competed in the CM4x+ (Men’s Coxed Quadruple Sculls) and finished third behind Ukraine and the Czech Republic. This represented the UK’s first medal at these championships, a historic achievement in spite of the fact that the crew were largely beginners to coastal racing.
“The race itself is crazy,” admitted James. “Off the start, you’ve basically got 20 boats all trying to get around this buoy at the same time. I’ve described it to people since as gladiatorial – there are hundreds of spectators in pleasure craft, all watching and loving the race”.
“In rowing that we’re used to, you have very strict rules around lanes and interfering with other crews,” added Jack. “In this event, it’s total carnage. You’ve got people crashing into you left, right and centre. We had a pile-up on one corner with four other boats – their blades inside our shell, our blades inside theirs. It was ridiculous but really, really fun”.
Such was the enthusiasm post-event that the group are now firm believers that coastal rowing can and will play a bigger part in our understanding and interaction with the sport. “What I really loved was that pretty much everyone shared the boats,” said Jack. “It would be a good way to potentially work moving forwards – it’s more environmentally friendly but also makes the sport more accessible as not everyone needs to buy their own boats”.
“A lot of sports are trying to appeal to a younger age bracket,” said Matt who, like James, majored in sweep rowing before taking up two oars in Portugal. “If we were to look at this discipline from an Olympic standpoint, a host city wouldn’t need to build a 2000m lake for racing – all you need is a little bit of the ocean. It’s so beautifully simple”.
Beyond the technicalities, there is an increasingly strong cultural argument that flat-water rowing can learn from its coastal sibling. “We were carrying our boat down to the sea for one of the races and there were random people just helping and supporting, which you don’t tend to get in our type of rowing. I think coastal racing just takes itself less seriously” explained Matt.
If coastal rowing does grow in popularity – and there can be no stronger endorsement than three of the sport’s premier athletes partaking and enjoying – then Swift Racing stand ready to support. “They were the main boat supplier in Portugal and the shells were really well-built,” said James. “They lent us blades, a boat and loads of support throughout our trip.”
“They also advised on us how to operate given they’d been around coastal rowing for a much longer time,” added Jack. “During the first race, we had a crash which resulted in a bit of damage to our shell. They fixed it that afternoon and had us ready to race in the final the following day”.
So, can we expect the group to be competing for more coastal honors in years to come? “We’re still collectively assessing our next steps in the sport,” explained Jack (although at the time of recording, Matt had just returned to the National Training Centre at Caversham). “What I would say is that coastal rowing feels more inviting and welcoming on first blush. Another thing I really liked was that all the umpires were in casual attire instead of ties and blazers. When you’re a beginner rower, depending on what background you’re from, the formal dress can make the sport seem less accessible. In coastal rowing, it all felt like more of a party”.
The future of rowing continues to hang in the balance. What can be said with some assurance though is that coastal rowing will continue to grow, prosper and attract people from all sectors of our sport – even those with shiny Olympic silverware.
Swift Racing and Row Tours are official partners to JRN.
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