Next generation high on Vaudin’s list of priorities

Ben Vaudin has succeeded Sam de Kooker as club captain just as light begins to shine from the end of the Covid tunnel, with plenty of developments awaiting the popular sport on the not-too-distant horizon.

A planned union with the Guernsey Yacht Club could give the sport a new hub at Castle Emplacement, while there will be an ongoing drive to increase both the quality and quantity of rowers involved in the vibrant offshore outfit.

They are also busy preparing for next year’s half-centenary celebrations – the GRC as we know it started in 1973.

All this means that Vaudin is rather looking forward to building on what de Kooker has achieved.

‘Firstly, I’m really proud to be able to take the role on,’ he said after upgrading from a previous vice-captain position.

‘It’s a club that I’ve been involved in for a long time and it’s really close to my heart. I have to say thank you to Sam – you know, the club’s in a great shape thanks to the hard work that he’s put in over the last three years.

‘I’m really looking forward to taking it on to see what we can do while I’m in charge, however many years that will be.’

Competitively, the club seems to be in rude health.

Covid impacted the 2021 season significantly and yet the annual Sark to Jersey still unfolded in some format, with the gruelling annual highlight leading the return to live inter-insular sport.

Landing restrictions – Guernsey was still effectively in an island bubble – scuppered the Sarnian entry, yet they still won the combined-class Le Poidevin Trophy against a larger Jersey offering.

‘I think that speaks for itself. We’ve had a good run of results in the Le Poidevin and I think we’ve got some really incredible athletes that are members of the club.

‘But we shouldn’t get complacent – Jersey have started competing in the British Championships and they’re doing a lot of work with their coaching programme. The gap, I would say, has definitely closed in recent years.

‘We’re hopeful that our on-island coaching programme will help us keep ahead of them and we’ll be looking forward to another good battle with them for the Sark to Jersey this year.

‘It’s definitely nice to have our friends over the water there to measure ourselves against – as long as they don’t get too close, that’s fine.’

Beyond being a familiar presence competitively as half of the Cherry Godfrey double, Vaudin is one of Guernsey’s several coaches at Level Two or above aiming to develop domestic talent.

But it is not all about Sark to Jersey class winners or local champions, for as the new captain makes very clear, rowing is a sport for all levels.

Vaudin has been around the club as long as he can remember.

His dad was heavily involved in guard-boating for years, which tempted a young Ben to get involved and gain exposure to big races like the Sark to Jersey and Gorey to Carteret.

It is around a decade ago that the current captain finally began making competitive strokes.

He started competing in men’s quads at 18 and, that season, featured in the top youth quad in the Sark to Jersey.

Vaudin has since run the gamut of classes – including mixed quads, doubles and singles – and relished the experience of racing outside Bailiwick waters, not only the inter-insular showpiece but the Gorey to Carteret and the Cherbourg Regatta.

Yet this coming season will be his fourth rowing his current double with Chris McClean.

The men’s doubles are currently full to the brim with quality crews, and while not winners as such, the duo contribute significantly to the strength in depth of the class.

In keeping with the sport’s social nature, Vaudin allied with his current rowing partner – nicknamed ‘Kippy’ – while unwinding after a regatta.

‘After one of the social events, we just got chatting and I fancied giving doubles a go. We got on well and just decided that we’d just give it a go.’

Giving it a go – that is an approach echoed in a popular club initiative.

The GRC are now hosting more frequent Have A Go Row events, which cater for complete beginners by providing free tasters.

Previously held several times a year, these HAGRs have become more of a monthly affair.

‘Generally, they’ve been really well received.

‘I think I would encourage [people] to give it a go, as rowing is a sport that is obviously brilliant for your physical health, but getting outside and doing any sport is great for mental health and wellbeing as well.

‘We’re always happy to see anybody who wants to give it a try.

‘We’re really lucky as a club that we’ve got an incredibly diverse membership, both in terms of age and gender, which I think is relatively unique to some sporting clubs in Guernsey. We have a good social scene.’

In a typical race, the rowers are kept in great company.

A cox forms an integral part of any quad and this could be an interested novice, an injured rower, a veteran who wishes to remain involved, or someone who enjoys the discipline in its own right – or a mix.

It goes beyond that, for there will be plenty of support in the water from a host of dedicated guard boats.

Some of these guard-boaters are former rowers – but not all of them. They also get involved for many different reasons.

‘Others are those from the local boating community who have just got involved one way or the other, through word of mouth, and we try and keep them as involved as we can in social aspects of the club.

‘I guess they get some enjoyment in going out and using their boats and having a purpose to do so.

‘We need to say a massive thank you to all of our guard-boaters, because without them, really the club would not exist in its current form.

‘But that’s another way to get involved in a local sports club and help out – guard boating and learning the waters, or being around the club generally, is a good opportunity.’

And then there is the planned union with Guernsey Yacht Club.

Deliberations are ongoing, but a successful union would promote the sharing of facilities and resources.

‘It’s a benefit, certainly for us, in that it allows access for our members to use the showers and the bar outside of race days.

‘It gives us a more established base that we’re hoping to use to grow rowing on the island, and ultimately we hope it becomes more attractive to members.’

Indeed, helping bring the clubs together successfully is one of Vaudin’s main goals as captain.

So what else does he hope to see achieved during his reign?

‘I would like to see us increasing our members a little bit. I’d also like to try and bring some more younger rowers into the club – see the next generation coming in – and I’d like to see, by the end of my tenure as captain, us having a really structured process for coaching and developing both experienced and new rowers.’

That process would ideally involve the delivery of a ‘learn to row’ programme providing regular sessions to novice members.

Vaudin has not left his own competitive ambitions on the sidelines either.

An exciting season awaits, notably including the prospect of an unrestricted Sark to Jersey and the Gorey to Carteret returning from a forced absence.

Meanwhile, Vaudin and McClean have worked tirelessly to build a new boat and get it ready in time – will it help them go faster?

‘I certainly hope so, but that will be more down to us than the boat.

‘It should be good.’

n The next Have A Go Row is set for Sunday 20 February and details can be found on Facebook.