The 40th Traversee de Paris
Caroline Turnbull describes all the action from Paris – more rowing festival than race!
It鈥檚 06:15 and still dark at the Parc Nautique de l鈥橧le de Monsieur in S猫vres on the western side of Paris, as 360 crews from 10 different countries line up to launch their coxed quad 鈥測olettes鈥 onto the River Seine. Thanks to the dozens of volunteer helpers, all the boats are on the water by the time the starter鈥檚 whistle blows at 07:15… and they鈥檙e off!
The Travers茅e de Paris isn鈥檛 a race but a rowing festival. But of course nobody wants to be last home, and you can hear the cheers as crews overtake each other. However, everyone will stop to take photographs of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, and other famous buildings as they progress past the Ile de la Cit茅. At the turning point, most crews perform a cox change in the middle of the river before rowing back the same way to S猫vres. The distance was a mere 28km, 14km in each direction, taking around three hours for the more competent crews, somewhat longer for novices, but everyone has to be away from the tourist area before the 鈥楤ateaux Mouches鈥 roar into life at 11:00.
There鈥檚 a huge queue to get back to the pontoon, but everyone is happy to wait their turn, chatting to neighbouring crews and taking even more photographs. Once again, the volunteers are on hand to help get the boats off the water, and within a surprisingly short time, they are all loaded onto their respective trailers.
Then, of course, being France, it鈥檚 lunch time. There were vast pans of paella to feed the 1800 hungry rowers, with a bottle (or two) of wine for each crew. By 13:00 it鈥檚 all over and, right on cue, it starts to rain. At least the sun shone while we were rowing, and we were able to enjoy a different view of the sights of Paris.
Well done to all the rowers, and congratulations and heartfelt thanks to the organisers and volunteers for an amazing job. C鈥櫭﹖ait magnifique!
