Rowing at Skiffie Worlds 2022

By Andrew Rainville, Rowing Club Member, Coxswain, and Youth Rowing Coach

We recently shared a story about some of our rowers crossing “the pond” to compete in Skiffie Worlds 2022, held in the Netherlands. We have a full recap and photos here for you!

The festivities began on Sunday, June 26 at the waterfront in Kortgene, the Netherlands with an opening ceremony that included a representative from the Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, and a parade of the competing vessels, each carrying the flag of its crew’s country. The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum team, flying a United States flag, rowed NL004 (“Oda”) which was their competition boat for the week, borrowed from Sloeproeiers Groningen, a northern Netherlands team.

Our team, including a broad spectrum of members from Vermont and coastal New England, totaled 21 rowers, just over two thirds of the 30 American competitors. The other competing Americans came from the Boston Area Skiff Club and Bowdoinham Rowing. In alphabetical order, our Museum team included: Mandy Brinkman, Shining Chang, Sarah Cowan, Tim Cowan, Becky D’Avignon, Peggy Dillon, Pete Feeney, Mary Hennessy, Evelyn Hladik, Aiden Lavigne, Ben Mayock, Keith Mintz, Linnea Oosterman, Gardner Pickering, Andrew Rainville, Corinthia Richards, Carol Roberts, Dave Santillo, Lynn Stewart-Parker, Emily Weber, and Holly Weber.

Together, the Museum’s rowers mustered 14 unique crews filling out categories from Men Over 60 to Women Under 40. In some cases, our rowers were borrowed from other teams to complete a crew and, likewise, some Museum team members were guest rowers for other teams. For example, we did not compete in the Men Under 40 category but Lavigne joined the Eskmuthe team (Musselburgh, Scotland) where they qualified for the finals and placed 8th overall. The next day, Roberts rowed with the North Berwick team (North Berwick, Scotland) in their Mixed 280+ (average rower age of 70 or more) crew, taking 2nd in their heat and 3rd in the final. Her bronze would be the only medal for one of our rowers throughout the event. All our results can be viewed below, along with our photos from this global event.

Conditions varied widely from day to day, creating a unique experience with each row. Strong winds (15-20mph sustained) in the latter part of the week were contrasted with comparatively calm water earlier in the week. At times, this meant that the out-and-back course would be fraught with dynamic challenges that changed throughout each race. “It was a week full of observing and making adjustments,” noted D’Avignon, who rowed at her first SkiffieWorlds. She continued, “the Open Women’s race on Friday was a tough one with a strong head wind after the turn to the finish line. We dug down, pulled hard and, as a team, we finished strong.” 

While our crews might not have managed to make the finals – a tall order in the field of 54 teams, many well-trained and rowing their own boat – we did find success in building relationships with rowing clubs an ocean away. Since departing Kortgene, rowers came away with invites to visit European clubs, shared training and boat ideas, and even some newly tradedapparel! Brinkman, another first-time SkiffieWorlds rower, commented, “I was blown away by just how welcoming the community is. It’s a great bunch of folks that I’m looking forward to seeing again in the future.”

Like D’Avignon and Brinkman, many of the rowers are already excited to return for SkiffieWorlds 2025 at a location that has yet to be announced. Until then, regional races will take our center stage!

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum results at Skiffie Worlds 2022

Key: M= Men, W = Women, X = Mixed, O = Open Age, + = Above Age, – = Below Age

Monday:

• W60+: 16:14.1 (5 of 5)
  Crew: Hennessy, Roberts, Hladik, Stewart-Parker, Mayock
• X50+: 14:53.3 (7 of 9)
  Crew: Santillo, Pickering, S. Cowan, Dillon, Mayock

Tuesday:

• W50+: 16:53.6 (8 of 8)
  Crew: Chang, H. Weber, S. Cowan, Dillon, Rainville
• X40-: 14:17.8 (7 of 7)
  Crew: Rainville, Lavigne, Oosterman, E. Weber, Mayock
• M50+: 13:43.3 (7 of 8)
  Crew: Pickering, Mintz, Santillo, T. Cowan, E. Weber

Wednesday:

• X40+: 13:36.8 (6 of 10)
  Crew: Feeney, Pickering, Richards, Chang, Mayock
• M60+: 13:50.6 (7 of 7)
  Crew: Santillo, Cowan, Mintz, Phil Ricci (Boston), E. Weber
• W40-: 14:22.8 (7 of 8)
  Crew: E. Weber, Millie Lowe (North Berwick), Ainhoa Mastwijk Gonzalez (WSV Woudrichem), Ellen Stellingwerf (RUW), Rainville

Thursday:

• X60+: 13:50.6 (7 of 7)
  Crew: T. Cowan, Mintz, Hennessey, Roberts, E. Weber
• W40+: 16:05.9 (8 of 8)
  Crew: D’Avignon, Brinkman, Richards, Chang, Mayock
• M40+: 13:13.1 (5 of 7)
  Crew: Mayock, Feeney, Santillo, Pickering, E. Weber

Friday: 

• OW: 18:22.9 (7 of 7)
  Crew: D’Avignon, Richards, Brinkman, Hladik, Rainville
• OM: 14:33.8 (6 of 6)
  Crew: Lavigne, Rainville, Mintz, T. Cowan, Mayock

Saturday:

• OX: 14:09.5 (6 of 8)
  Crew: Rainville, D’Avignon, Oosterman, Lavigne, Mayock