Royal Sport Nautique de Bruxelles 1865

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Mira Hozakova

Issue 67 September 4th, 2008

Dear Members of the Royal Family,

Sad news
In Memoriam
René Vingerhout
August 27, 1912 – September 3, 2008

René passed away last night. Just two months ago he was honoured as a Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Couronne, as reported in the last Newsletter. More information will be posted on the Club website over the next day or two.

Apart from that… Hope you’ve all had a Happy Holiday, and that those of you who have been conspicuously absent from the Royal have been Somewhere Nice, and enjoyed better weather than we did.

Anyway, what have you missed? Several of us have taken part in a number of tours, up and down the Nete Canal (12 degrees in late July? You think I’m kidding?), Up and down the ‘Golden’ River Leie from Ghent, and down the Meuse through the majesty of the Ardennes and the monotony of all those locks.

We’ve re-lived the Royal contribution to the Vogalonga in Venice with a slide show (lots of old buildings, not much rowing) and an Italian dinner. This was also the occasion for the christening of François’ newly-overhauled boat, in honour of Mrs François, ‘Nicole B’. Photos of the occasion can be found here.

We’ve had lots of new members and prospective new members – if this is your first Proclamation, welcome. You’ll see that there are a couple of upcoming events which are key dates in the RSNB rowing calendar, and great opportunities to meet and get to know the whole of the Royal family.

Read on …

The Royal at Hazewinkel – three days of Sun, Sat and Fri

Once again we are in the run-up to the annual extravaganza which is our regatta at Hazewinkel on Sat/Sun 27th and 28th September, which includes the 4s and 8s events of the Belgian championships. It’s a showcase for the Royal, a chance to show what we can do and a handy source of funds. It’s also an event that other clubs cast a covetous eye on, so it requires a maximum of effort on our part to ensure that the occasion runs smoothly.

It’s also the opportunity for the whole Club to make the most of two and a half days in unique surroundings, and as well as tackling the tasks that need to be tackled there will be other activities to pursue. No-one need ever be bored on planet RSNB,

Volunteers are welcome to spend as much or as little time as they can manage – all contributions are welcome – but for the enthusiasts there is once again the possibility to stay in the chalets at the course for a laughably low price of around €30 for the two nights, including breakfast (if you want to do one night, it should be possible to find someone to share).

Marc has put together a tempting programme: on Friday, after setting up the installations during the afternoon, there will be a chance of a supervised outing on the course, or for anyone interested I could lead a ramble (±2km each way) through the nature reserve to the ‘t’Fonteyntje’ country pub. Afterwards there will be a communal dinner and ‘rowing-related activities and relaxation’, which may or may not include putting a million biscuits in a thousand goodie bags.

On Saturday, after the end of the racing programme, there will be another outing on the water, or I invite anyone with access to a bicycle to discover – in just an hour’s easy ride – four rivers, two canals and a WW2 monument that’s just a bit special. Then for something completely different we’ll be treated to a concert by the eight-piece band Bloc-Notes (‘un peu de swing, un peu du King’) which includes the Royal’s very own Philippe. Weather permitting, we’ll have a barbecue, and more of that ‘activities and relaxation’ stuff.

On Sunday, as well as the racing, there will be a vintage car rally – guaranteed nostalgia-fest for us old blokes – and after the installations have been packed away there will be a farewell drink for any Royal members left standing.

As usual, there is a sign-up list in the boathouse, or you can contact Marc directly to offer your services and reserve your accommodation.

See you there, if not before.

Francophone League Regatta – 5th October

I’m rather out of the loop on this one – I don’t know if it’s our intention to go or not. It seems to me that each year, fewer clubs take part and this year one of the eleven, Tournai, have organised a randonnée on the same day.

Anyway, if we do want to go, it’s in Wépion (Namur) this year and the format will be as usual – side-by-side races are over 500m against the clock and each club can enter a crew in 1x, 2x, 2-, 4x and 4+ for men and women, and an eight which may be mixed. Plus there are novice singles and doubles for men and women, in which two crews may be entered (novice equals first or second year of licence and no previous wins). Doubling- and tripling-up is encouraged.

Points are awarded for finishing position and number of rowers – you even get something for coming last – and are added up at the end of the day to arrive at an overall league position.

If you are interested in taking part, you should contact someone without too much delay. I’m not sure who – Marc or Pedro at the boathouse, I guess, or by email to rowing@royal1865.be, where it will be read by all the great & good.

Club regatta

This year’s Club Regatta will be held on Saturday, October 11th. Format will be the same as last year, with scratch coxed quads (yolettes) and eights racing over a 500m course in a tournament format (heat, semi-final, final).

All are welcome. The idea is that crews will be made up with a mixture of more and less experienced rowers, men & women, older and younger, so everyone has a chance to be in the winning crews.

Last year we boated eight fours and three eights, which made for a hectic racing programme. This year hopefully we’ll have even more so to fit it all in we’ll start an hour earlier, at 13h00 – that’s one o’clock for Brits beyond a certain age.

Participants will be asked for a small contribution of no more than €10 to cover the cost of prizes.

Sign-up lists and further details will be posted in the boathouse over the next week or two – please get your name down nice and early so as to give us a feel for numbers.

Ergo league

Another idea from my fertile (febrile?) imagination.

OK, here goes. From October 1st until March 31st, anyone who wants to can pull a 2000m ergo and record their time in the Royal Winter Ergo League. The league will be based on a ‘handicap’ system and scores will be indexed against individual targets which take account of sex, age and (where appropriate) weight, so a lightweight can beat a heavyweight, a woman can beat a man, and a 55 year old can beat a 25 year old.

But it’s not all about competition and being the best. Anyone who has sat on an ergo and pulled the handle in earnest will know that you are competing just against yourself (and some would say that you always lose).

To join the league will cost €10 and you can improve on your best score as often as you like. Just send me your results and I’ll maintain the lists. You can do your ergo at the Club, at the gym, at home (we know who you are…) or in competition. Scores don’t need to be verified. I’ll post progress reports in the Newsletter and we’ll put up complete standings from time to time on the boathouse noticeboard.

At the end of March we’ll have a party for all participants and award each other prizes (hence the €10), with the quality of the prize not necessarily linked to the position in the ranking – to avoid things getting too competitive.

If it’s September it must be…

Subscription time. Yes folks, if you haven’t paid your subscription for 2008-9 you’re already in arrears, and can expect to be nagged about it with increasing severity. The good news is that in these days of roaring inflation the fees are unchanged from last year, so an economist will tell you that rowing at the Royal is actually getting cheaper ‘in real terms’. All I need now is a personal trainer who can tell me I’m rowing faster ‘in real terms’.

So – if you’re over 18 it’s €175, and €85 for juniors. If you want to combine with tennis, basketball or table-tennis there’s a complicated tariff structure but it doesn’t add much. If you just want to cox, come and talk to us – I’m sure we can do a deal.

And some kit for the winter?

Solange is officially Kit Monitor (I didn’t know that). Of the five club items, she has a small stock in various sizes, at prices ranging from €40 for the long-sleeved tee-shirt to €80 for the splash jacket.

All enquiries, then, to Solange, who will also be making up a new order.