The 40th Traversee de Paris

Caroline Turnbull describes all the action from Paris – more rowing festival than race!

It’s 06:15 and still dark at the Parc Nautique de l’Ile de Monsieur in Sèvres on the western side of Paris, as 360 crews from 10 different countries line up to launch their coxed quad “yolettes” onto the River Seine. Thanks to the dozens of volunteer helpers, all the boats are on the water by the time the starter’s whistle blows at 07:15… and they’re off!

The Traversée de Paris isn’t 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 Cité. At the turning point, most crews perform a cox change in the middle of the river before rowing back the same way to Sèvres. 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 ‘Bateaux Mouches’ roar into life at 11:00.

There’s 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’s 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’s 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’était magnifique!