11/11/2015
Success at Pensacola: Fun for All at First U.S. International Coastal Event
by Sarah Marshall, [email protected] | Nov 10, 2015
PRINCETON, N.J. –A month before the first international coastal event on Pensacola Beach, Ben Booth was training in a hurricane. Literally.
As much of the northeast coast prepared for Hurricane Joaquin, Booth was enjoying some of the best surf he had seen in ages as he prepared for the upcoming Pensacola International Coastal Regatta.
“It ended up being perfect because we didn’t get the wind,” said Booth. “But we did have these perfect swells and the weather was perfect. It was me, training in my single and then a bunch of surfers. We were all having the best time.”
As the sun set on the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday evening, the first international coastal rowing regatta held in the United States came to a close in Pensacola, Fla.
Booth would go on to take the top finish in the Elite Senior Men’s Invitational double with a time of 17:39.53 with fellow American competitor James Dietz and claim silver in the elite single in a time of 17:16.11.
"Overall – this was a terrific event,” said John Wik, USRowing's Director of Referee Programs. “The athletes, organizers, and officials all commented on how well the event was organized and managed. It was exciting to watch the enthusiasm for coastal rowing develop as the athletes took to the course and began racing. Regardless of where the athlete placed, the smiles at the end of each race told the story that a new dimension of our sport has clearly been established."
First time competitors Sinead Fitzgibbon and Jen Gatz from East End Rowing Institute on Long Island experienced their first rowing race in the most unique way one could imagine.
When the duo went head-to-head in the Elite Senior Women’s invitational, Fitzgibbon narrowly edged ahead of Gatz to win with a time of 19:19.65.
In total, Wik and his team of world-class umpires ran 13 events down the course as 18 clubs from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico competed in this world-class event.
Competitors like Booth get only a short time to relax as he prepares for his first international scale event this coming weekend.
For the first time ever, the World Rowing Coastal Championships will be held outside of the European Continent as Peru prepares to host its first, international event in Lima, November 13-15.
For Booth, a coastal rower for over 25 years, this will be his first time competing internationally. While he may have extensive knowledge of what will be successful in the boat, the rest of the trip will be completely new to him.
“I literally have no expectations and no concept of what competing at worlds will be like,” said Booth. “But I am eager to travel into this vast unknown and experience all these new things.”
Hosted by the Peruvian Rowing Federation, the event will be held at Chorrillos Bay with the Pacific Ocean set as the stage for an intense and challenging coastal row.
For more information on the 2015 World Rowing Coastal Championships, click here.
For a complete list of the results from this past weekend's coastal events, click here.
