A Swedish Henley Regatta?

On 17 May, I had an entry about the first Gant Rowing Race which was going to be held on 22 May on Djurgårdsbrunnsviken in Stockholm. The race, which was actually six races, between Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (SSHL) and Lundsbergs skola seems to have been a great success. Under sunny skies, SSHL won the men’s single and double, and the women’s single and double, while Lundsberg handled the bigger boats better, with two victories in the men’s coxed four and the women’s coxed four.

I have just watched the ‘race video’, which is posted on the clothing company’s web site, and one can clearly see that it was a well-attended event, almost a little like Henley, when it comes to the well-dressed gents and toffs, the ladies’ hats, the drinks (however, no Pimm’s!), but without the same rowing standard of the crews. In this case, the latter really does not matter, as long as the crews and the spectators were having fun.

Of course, this being the Gant Rowing Race, the race video is more of a commercial for the company’s cloths than an actual race video.

Breathing Life Back Into An Old Tradition

Gant, the international company of clothing and accessories, has gone into the rowing business.

On Saturday 22 May, the first Gant Rowing Race is to be held on the waters of Djurgårdsbrunnsviken in Stockholm between Sweden’s most prominent boarding schools, Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket and Lundsbergs skola. Although, these schools have their roots from a model of English boarding schools, in a press release from Gant’s office in Stockholm, the Gant Rowing Race is inspired by the annual boat race between the two Ivy League universities on the American east coast, Yale and Harvard. This, of course, is due to Gant being a brand of American heritage, launched in New Haven, Connecticut in 1949.

Beginning at 1:00 p.m. there will be three races for men and women in single scull, double scull, and quadruple scull, or coxless fours (the press release was a little vague on the latter boat types). The course on the bay of Djurgårdsbrunnsviken is around 800 metres from the Nobel Park to the waters outside the maritime museum, Sjöhistoriska museet. In 1912, the Olympic rowing regatta was held on Djurgårdsbrunnsviken, but the course was then 2,000 metres.

As Gant is now organizing this event, the company’s web site states that “a limited edition collection of rowing-inspired clothes will be launched in conjunction with the race.” The press release also says “Historically, Gant has always drawn its inspiration and gained influences from the old classic Ivy League sports. By celebrating one of the world’s most graceful and classic sports in this way, we are breathing life back into the old traditions.”

You will find interviews with the crews, training videos, and more information about the race by clicking here.

'To Charm The Ladies'

On 10 May 1879 there was a boat race between Stockholm’s Nation and Göteborg’s Nation (‘Nations’ here means student organizations at Uppsala University) on the river Fyris in Uppsala, north of Stockholm. Stockholm’s Nation’s Boat Club was founded in the autumn 1877 and the Göteborg’s Nation’s Boat Club was founded the following spring. Both clubs ordered their boats from England, two coxed out-rigged fours, 38 feet long, clinker-built with fixed seats. At the boat race in May 1879, both crews were rowing with white gloves “probably to charm the ladies on the shores,” one newspaper wrote. It is not known which boat won.