Around Guernsey back on the schedule
GUERNSEY has won the race against fleets around the globe to get competitive rowing back in the water.
Starting with a brisk opener this Saturday, the Guernsey Rowing Club has planned a condensed season consisting of 10 championship races and ending in the very tough Around Guernsey race.
The 40km epic has been sidelined for years but is set to make an exciting return on 19 September.
Ahead of a 5.2km opener, GRC captain Sam de Kooker welcomed developments.
‘I think everybody’s really excited and as far as I know, we’re the the first rowing club in the world that are going to be starting with racing,’ said de Kooker.
‘That is pretty exciting and also really great for Guernsey to be leading the way with regards to that.
‘People have been training back in the water for the last couple of weeks and are desperate to start racing.’
But with the best part of two months erased from the schedule, some sacrifices have been inevitable. The Herm weekend and the popular handicap series are the main losses for 2020.
‘We need at least three or four championship races to start picking the handicaps and I just felt we would keep it as simple as possible,’ added de Kooker. ‘We will start with a quick 5km and build up to 10-15km and then the Around Guernsey, which we have not run for a few years. It’s great to get that going again.’
