Whangarei Rowing - Canal du Midi - 2015

12/05/2023

Inseparable best friends ❤️

23/10/2015

23/10/2015

The crew maintained it's form throughout the entire length of the 200 km rallye - as these videos show. Great to share some action. Thanks Aaron.

08/09/2015

A candid shot of the team alongside the canal. Captured by one of our new German friends, Volkner, and shared by one of our French friends, Lucile Blot.

27/08/2015

With the experience of Canal du Midi still fresh in our minds, it was an unexpected treat to be given a tour of the Florence Rowing Club. Once we said we were from a NZ club, our group was welcomed with open arms. A member showed us the boat shed, training facilities, bar and restaurant which were tucked under the road beside the river, a short distance from the famous Ponti Vecchio bridge. The club has three retired masters rowers who maintain the boats - old and new (some date back to the1800s). There was also an indoor pool for sweep training and a stationary training pontoon for sculling.

18/08/2015

As promised ... a few more pics from the event.
Before the prize giving on the Saturday, event organisers were kind enough to bus the Kiwi and Aussie competitors to a bar where we could watch the trans Tasman clash. Armed with our NZ flags and a couple of Canadians - who sided with the Kiwis (before the game) we cheered the All Blacks on as they "cleaned up the opposition". Needless to say, the Australians were rather quiet in their corner. Guess who they are in one of te pics.
Prizegiving was followed by a seafood paella lunch and then a quick dash to the train station. Unfortuantely, Helen Moore and Graham Belsham had to catch a train earlier, but we filled the cup in their honour. The Whangarei and Waikato crews joined forces to sing Pokarikari Ana - the crowd loved it - even though we did get off to a slow start and were thankful to have the song playing on an ipod and speakers as support in the background.
Hope you enjoy these pics ... more will come as Wifi allows :-)

16/08/2015

It's difficult to believe the 200km Canal du Midi rowing rallye is over. For the six experienced rowers - Kevin and Louise O'Hagan, Andrew Wakelin, Helen Moore, Janarie Jongkens and Grant Clearwater - and their coxswain, Aaron Harold - it was a massive accomplishement. Five days of lifting the boat up banks, steering around canal boats and not to mention competing against some strong crews from around the world. The crew was placed fourth in the quads behind a young all-male Boston University crew, a very determined all-male collegiate German crew and a mixed French crew (coached by the legendary Pascall, who has completed the rallye at least nine times and regularly competes in NZ).
Overall, the Whangarei crew was placed 9th. Within the leading bunch were some inspiring, swift and super fit single skullers. These rowers are very fast transitioning the locks as their boats are light and easy to launch and retrieve. The Whangarei crew maintained its form to cross the line as the first NZ boat . It was ahead of masters crews from Canada, Australia (they also competed in 2013) and two crews from Waikato. Throughout the race, there was a friendly rivalry between these rowers and no doubt the friendships formed will continue as many of them intend competing at the 2017 World Masters in NZ.
As the finishing crew approached the line on Friday, the other rowers and supporters rode ahead to ensure they were there to cheer and clap loud and clear. Some of us even had a tear in our eye. The event was such an achievement. Everyone agrees that the bumps, blistered hands (some worse than others), bruises and sore bums (particularly for the bikers) have been worth it. But now that it's over and we have the trophy to prove it, we've headed off in different directions to explore Europe.
We've appreciated all the likes and comments of support. Keep them coming. Here are some more pics to add to our Canal du Midi adventure story :-) ...

12/08/2015

Day three of the Canal du Midi Rallye was another stunning day weatherwise - at least 35 degrees. Rowingwise, the crew is holding its own against some younger very competitive rowers. This morning's leg of 24.1km had five locks to negotiate and this afternoon was an untimed leg of 12.7km - giving the novice rowers Aaron, Graham, Simonette and Karen a chance to take a seat in the boat. Our experienced rowers - Andrew, Grant, Kevin, Louise, Helen and Janarie continue to do the Whangarei Club proud - putting the boat into the canal is a challenge at times - the photos will show this. Everyone is enjoying meeting other rowing enthusiasts from around the world. The canal du Midi is a challenging but fun event. Lunch is something worth waiting for - fantastic food and wine from the local region. The kilometres so far total 112.7km - so approx 88km to go. Hope the photos tell a story. More to come ...

09/08/2015

The race begins tomorrow so today the boat had to be selected and rigged ready for an 8 am start. Two crews from Hamilton were also in early to select their boats and there was some friendly/competitive banter back and forward. Teams actually have to be at the canal by 7am, so an early start. The "experienced" rowers amongst us, feel the boat looks better than expected. The bikes are probably a different story altogether. We got in early to choose 5 bikes that looked the better of what was on offer.
The weather in Toulouse today was quite chilly compared to Paris and there were a few heavy showers. Day One of the race is supposed to be about 27 degrees - much warmer. More rain is forecast for later in the week. Hopefully we can get some action photos throughout the day and will post as often as WiFi allows ...

07/08/2015

After a training session, climbing many steps to Montmartre, we had to try a selfie.