L’aviron Dijonnaise

Bonjour à tous!

I thought I would dedicate this entry to all of my rowers out there. I have been thinking of crew a lot recently, especially because of the Head of the Charles Regatta this past weekend (way to go Colby!) and I simply miss rowing. I am one of the lucky ones, though, because I have had the wonderful opportunity of rowing right here in Dijon!

The first time I went to the Dijon boathouse, I could hardly contain my excitement. I met the “responsable,” one of the people in charge of the Dijon program and talked to him about my previous rowing experience. He paired me with an 18-year-old named Marine and we rowed in a double scull together that afternoon! Marine is clearly a very talented, experienced rower – much better at sculling than I am – so it was wonderful to row with her! I felt kind of embarrassed as we were rowing because I rarely row in sculls (using 2 oars); I am accustomed to sweeping (using 1 oar). While I told her that I didn’t have much experience sculling, I still felt stupid as I made a bunch of mistakes. We rowed up and down the lake (Lac Kir) a couple times – it’s a small lake – and I was thankfully making some improvements. The “responsable” as well as Marine gave me advice about rowing in sculls which was really helpful. It’s very interesting (to say the least) rowing in France because you have to understand everything in French, from the parts of the boat to the directions and advice you’re given. Learning all of the rowing vocabulary in English was challenging enough, and it was frustrating not knowing any of the words in French!

In case this interests any of you, I have compiled a short list of handy French rowing vocab:
To row = ramer
Crew = l’aviron
boat = bateau
oar = rame
blades = les palettes
stroke = le coup
wing nut = un papillon (same word for « butterfly » in French)
washer = une rondelle
single, double, four, eight = skiff, double, quatre, huit
going around/a turn about the lake = faire une tourne autour du lac
“Ready, row” = “Tous” (simply “all”)
the catch: la prise d’eau
the release = le dégagé
handle height = la hauteur des poignées
to steer/direct = se diriger
forward stroke = nager, avancer
backstroke = dénager, reculer
to catch a crab = faire une fausse pelle (learned this one quickly!)
the drive = la propulsion
the recovery = le retour
coxswain = un barreur
rower = un rameur (nm), une rameuse (nf)
novice = un débutant (nm), une débutante (nf)
regatta = une régate
head race = une tête de rivière
blister = une ampoule

Some of these words I learned myself; some I looked up (See www.avironfrance.asso.fr for more info). I’ve also gotten the chance to row in a 4-person scull without a coxswain, which was kind of a mess! Granted I was with other novices and we weren’t communicating well…I wanted a coxswain so badly! At one point one of the girls rowing in my boat used her scarf (yes she brought a scarf in the boat – we are in France people!) to wrap around her oar handles because her blisters were hurting her so badly. I did not dare say anything but thankfully she soon realized that her solution didn’t work so well. Overall, I was happy to get the experience of rowing in the 2x and 4x, since I wouldn’t normally do that back at Colby. From what I’ve gathered, the Dijon club hardly takes out 8’s and emphasizes learning how to scull. I appreciate the chance they have given me – at this point, I’ll row in anything to get on the water – but I can’t wait to get back in an 8 with my Colby women!

I spent my Sunday night on Skype with Kristin and we watched the Head of the Charles Regatta together via the live webcam on the HOCR website. It was SO fantastic seeing everyone row and you can bet that I cheered for Colby Crew as if they could hear me across the Atlantic Ocean!

To all of my fellow Colby rowers: I miss you terribly and I hope you’ve thoroughly enjoyed your fall season! Have fun with the Halloween regatta and have a good start to your winter training. I can’t wait to join you in January.

Bisous,
Caroline