Touring Safety

Here are various safety guidelines for touring rowers

British Rowing RowSafe (extract)

FISA Guide to Safe Pleasurable Touring

Weyfarers Tours Planned for 2012

All dates provisional at the moment (4th December 2011)

To take part in these events, fill in the Events sign-up form

British Rowing National Tour (organised by Weyfarers)

70 rowers took to the Lancaster Canal over the weekend of 2nd to 4th September 2011, taking part in the 18th annual British Rowing Tour.

Organised by Weyfarers Rowing Club, in association with Lancaster John O’Gaunt RC, the three-day tour covered the entire navigable length of the canal from Preston to Tewitfield.

Setting off from the University of Central Lancashire Sports Arena in Preston on Friday, 15 crews from 27 rowing clubs went on to traverse the 41-mile waterway, finishing in Tewitfield on Sunday. The majority of the boats were stable, coxed quads but there also were two Solent Galleys, a Dutch wherry and an Alden Double scull.

 The Canal boasts more than 130 bridges and eight aqueducts, and is also England’s longest stretch of canal with no locks.  The highlight is the 664 feet long Lune Aqueduct, whose graceful arches tower 60 feet over the river Lune.   Further on there are stunning views over Morecambe Bay.  ‘We were rowing while looking down into the valley below on our port side - a unique experience for most of us,’ said rower Steve Wragg. ‘We were told the Lancaster Canal was going to be special,’ he added, ‘and it didn't disappoint. ’‘The British Rowing Tour really shows the quality and variety of our waterways. We parted full of praise for the organisers, and happy memories of a really delightful canal.’

Various challenges awaited the rowers across the three-day tour.  To shoot the narrow bridges the oars had to be shipped at exactly the right time,  and some narrow sections of the route needed to be negotiated with canoe paddles. ‘Everyone coped very well,’ said tour organiser John Turnbull.  ‘It’s an extremely scenic canal and we believe that this was the first time that anyone has rowed the entire length in this type of boat.’

Richard Trevitt, Chairman of the Lancaster Canal Trust, presented each crew with a brass commemorative plaque at the end the tour lunch.’ We were delighted to see so many people enjoying our beautiful canal,’ he said.  The Trust is working towards reopening the remaining 14 miles of canal to Kendal which are currently unnavigable, and Mr Trevitt hoped the rowers would return to explore the Northern Reaches in the future. 

The organisers are grateful to British Waterways, the Lancaster Canal Trust and Iain Taylor from Lancaster John O’Gaunt RC for their support and advice.

Foreign Tours

FISA Tour

The FISA (International Rowing Federation) tour is held each year in a different country, with the aim of promoting touring rowing in countries where this form of the sport is in its infancy. The tour is organised by a host club or clubs, who supply the boats, accommodation and meals, though participants have to make their own travel arrangements. The cost is normally around £1,000 for the week. There are normally between 60 and 80 participants, with quotas for each country. Anyone can apply, but applications have to be signed by their Club Captain as evidence that they are competent rowers, and by British Rowing to confirm that they are members.

Further information can be found on the FISA Website

Two tours are planned for 2012: Belgium in May and Canada in August. Applications must be submitted by 31st December 2011.

France

40 tours, mostly 1 or 2 days, are advertised on the Aviron France website. It is normally possible to hire a seat in a boat.

Portugal

Next year, 2012, from 28 July to 4 August, there will be another wonderful DOURO ROWING TOUR. This time it will be organized by the rowing club Ginasio Club Figueirense in Figueira da Foz (in the centre of Portugal, near Coimbra). This rowing club has a lot of experience with rowing tours as you can see in http://portugalrowingtour.blogspot.com/.

If you feel like rowing in one of the most beautiful rivers in the whole world, with nice crews, good food and tasty wine, visit the website, fill the forms and send it as soon as possible. 40 seats are the maximum participants and they will probably be filled up very quickly.