On Saturday, December 3rd, a group of dedicated Jacobs rowers rolled out of their beds at 7 am in the morning, while some of their friends were just coming back from partying. A three-hour busride brought us to Kettwig, near Essen, where we were to participate in the traditional St.-Nikolaus-Regatta on Sunday. Saturday was spent exploring the course we would have to race the following day. The plan had been to visit the Christmas market in Kettwig in the evening, but upon arrival at the scene it had been at two years earlier, we were told that the market had not started yet. Determined to have an enjoyable evening regardless, we quickly improvised, bought Glühwein from a nearby supermarket, and had ourselves a private St. Nikolaus celebration.

After what may have been a less than ideal amount of sleep, some additional members of the team joined the rest, completing our team on early Sunday morning. After a breakfast at the boathouse, everyone was excited for the regatta to start. It turned out to be very successful for the Jacobns University Rowing Team which participated in two boats, Löscher and Wümme, over five different categories. The first to row was a beginners’ mixed four Crew, which not only beat six competitors, but also the second Jacobs team, the mixed four that included the team’s coach, by several seconds. Lars and the crew in Wümme placed second in the category. After the first race, the regatta became quite an adventure: Two mixed eight crews rowed in Löscher, which broke a rib and two seats during the races. The second crew also included the team’s newest member who, without any rowing experience, filled in for a sick teammate and got a crash course in rowing while on the water, picking up on the technique during the 20-minute race. In Wümme’s last race, the beginners’ men were hit by another boat while turning, and had to finish the race without a rudder – remarkably they still placed first, almost two minutes faster than the runner-up in their category. After derigging the boats and loading them onto the trailer, We all headed back up north to the University, quite satisfied with our achievements, and looking forward to our return to Kettwig next year, in 2012.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

On the 6^th of november, the Jacobs University Rowing Team took part in the Fari-Cup in Hamburg, Our second regatta of the season. This year, two men’s eight, a women’s eight and a women’s four were able to participate in the race.  The Fari-Cup is an endurance race, the distance that had to be endured by the crew’s of the eights was 7.5 km, the distance of the four was 4.3 km. The regatta took place on the canals of the river Alster in Hamburg.

Early in the morning, at 6 am the team set out for the local train station, to make their way to Hamburg. The time on the train was mainly used for catching up on sleep, or breakfast. When we arrived in Hamburg, it was astonishing to discover how foggy it was. After making it to the start of the regatta in front of the “Ruder-Club Favorite Hammonia”, which also hosted this regatta, the boats were prepared by the crews. We were running on a tight schedule and after some confusion, about which dock to take in order to put the boats into the water, the senior men’s crew discovered that they only had 6 oars instead of 8. Luckily we were able to borrow two oars from the local rowing club and the crew could still row.

Finally on the water, it was still very foggy, making it even harder for the coxswains to navigate the boats through all the bridges and past the other boats to the start, at the Sengelmannstraße (for the eights, Winterhude for the four).

The first of our crews to start was the girls four (Lesmona). In Lesmona, experienced girls and girls who just started rowing rowed together, and did a very good job over 4.3km

The first eight to start was the girl’s eight, Frieda, a crew of mostly experienced girls. Two boats, and a minute after them, the senior men’s eight, El Ganador started into the race. Since the girls in Frieda faced some trouble passing through a bridge, these two eights arrived at the finish at the same time.

Additionally another eight, Löscher, with a crew of Freshi rowers that had only started rowing this semester, competed against an HSBA eight in the regatta.

All oarsmen and women put  their full strength and determination into every stroke, and although not every race went perfectly well, we all left with much more experience and memories of an awesome time. We are now are looking forward to the future competitions.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

1234567►

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

123456►

On the 23.10.2011 a traditional German rowing event called Abrudern took the Vegesacker Ruder Verein (VRV) and us, the Jacobs University Rowing Team, on a pleasant trip from our own boathouse to the Segelverein Niedersachsen Burg e.V, An old German boathouse and restaurant where we ate Erbsensuppe mit Würstchen – pea soup with sausage – a traditional German dish. After having a delicious lunch, we went back into our boats and slowly rowed back home.

The event began at 9am at the boathouse, where we were split into groups of different sizes, each group assigned to a boat suitable to their numbers. Although the sun was shining and the day was cloudless, a cold breeze and almost icy wind threatened with the possibility of ice on our oars by the time we took our first stroke. In order to remain warm, Jacobs rowers followed some of the VRV’s oldest traditions on maintaining body temperature – preparing and carrying heavy boats, as well as drinking decent amounts of beer before starting the outing. On the water the situation was equally friendly and body-warming as it was on the shore, several drinking breaks were necessary before we reached the restaurant, 4km downstream. However, the undisputed peak of this outing was at the Segelverein Niedersachsen Burg e.V, where we enjoyed the authentic atmosphere of the German restaurant, drinking local beer, singing songs, eating traditional food and talking with friends. With our stomachs full of delicious food, and of course beer, as well as some other drinks, the row back to our own boathouse seemed impossible. too tired to row, fortune was on our side in form of the turned tide, which returned us to the dock, though not on a straight course, quickly and without much effort nonetheless.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

12►

As the timer runs down towards the 2012 Hanse Boat Race in the spring of next year, both the Jacobs University Bremen and the Hamburg School of Bussiness and Administration have begun to increase their efforts to take home the victory in the fifth annual rowing competition on the Alster river in Hamburg. The first step towards this event will be the Fari Cup, an 8 kilometer long race that is held partly on the same course which will see the two universities face off in May. A first this year will be the competition between the Freshmen Gig-eights of both teams, held on the 5th of November 2011 at said event.

A recently published article in the newspaper of the HSBA shows that the Hamburg team is determined to defeat Bremen in the coming year, a goal which they hope to accomplish through several changes in the team structure, such as new Coaches and a new home within one of Hamburgs oldest and most prestegiuous rowing clubs:

„Together On A Road To Victory: The HSBA Finds A New Home At The Rowing Club ‘Allemania 1866′”

Rowing plays a major role at the Hamburg School of Bussiness and Administration (HSBA). The height of this athletic entusiasm is the yearly Hanse Boat race, a Regatta against the Jacobs University Bremen. After a total of 4 races, the current lead of 3:1 by the University from Bremen is therefore quite a thorn in the side of the Hamburg oarsmen. To bring an end to the current negative series, the HSBA has looked around, and now found, improvements and additions to their way of rowing: In the Rowing Club “Allemania 1866″, the HSBA has found a new Partner in Rowing, who will work together with them in the quest vor victory 2012.

The Allemania provides the HSBA with everything the rowing team needs: Modern rowing equipment, a demanding Workout plan tailored to the course scheduals of the HSBA Athletes, as well as the necessary tenacity and will to achieve victory. A special highlight for the team are the new and experienced rowing coaches Christian Dahlke and Tim Schönbergin who have joined the HSBA in the project „Victory Hanse Boat Race 2011“. They will train the 12 athletes in the coming months and decide upon the participants in the Hanse boat race according to the results of that training. The womens rowing-team with 5 members trains in the Allemania as well. The newly aquired racing boat „Südseeperle”, a marine-blue carbon boat with orangecolored stripes, build by the Bootsbau Berlin GmbH and sponsored by the Buss Group, has also found a new home within the boatshouse of Allemania 1866. The HSBA is proud of its new home, and is looking forward to the collaboration with Allemania in the future.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

123►

When I came to Australia for a 6 month internship as a part of my International Logistics Studies, I knew I wanted to keep rowing as a part of my life. Turns out, oarsmen and women along the east coast of Australia are very enthusiastic about the sport and so there is a thriving rowing community. Hence, I quickly found a place to row, namely the Commercial Rowing Club in Brisbane. It was established in 1877 and is Queensland’s oldest amateur sporting club and the Premier Queensland Rowing Club (source: commercialrowing.com).

I received a warm welcome and was soon invited to go for an outing in a single on the Brisbane River. Never having rowed in a single before made this quite an adventure, especially with the “City Cat” (a high speed catamaran for public transportation) passing by every twenty minutes, leaving me to cope with its heavy wash. Indeed I made not capsizing my priority, as one of my colleagues had told me about the sharks that like to come upriver from the ocean. Nonetheless I managed to have a good row and after a few more outings I was able to go out by myself. Now I use every opportunity I have to go out on the weekends and enjoy the beginning of Australian spring on the water. It’s fantastic to make this experience and it keeps me looking forward to get back to training with the Jacobs Rowing Team on the (shark free) Lesum.

Till then I wish the team a great fall season and “always a hand width of water under the keel”!

Max

Brisbane, October 2011

PS: By the way, there is actually an Australian Boat Race between the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney at the end of October. Feel free to check out their webpage: australianboatrace.com/

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]