Category Archives: Uncategorized

In late May as part of their buildup to the Rallye, Liz and Tina took part in the Row for Ray, a three day charity fund raising 141 km row down the Waikato River from Cambridge (near the home of … Continue reading →

Almost as soon as the Rallye finished (or before in Chris B’s case) we scattered to the four winds and it was a while before everyone returned to New Zealand.  Naturally, a reunion was in order for a thorough de-brief … Continue reading →

Liz and Tina started rowing together in 2009 in preparation for the World Masters Games to be held in Sydney that year. In the New Zealand National Masters Championships at Lake Karapiro they won gold medals in a double and … Continue reading →

Naturally, the Black Strokes remain world famous in Germany, well Stuttgart and Breisacher at least. Stuttgart is about 150 km from Frankfurt-am-Main where the international book fair is taking place from Wednesday (10th) until this Sunday (October 14th). Why are … Continue reading →

Quite apart from keeping fit and rowing fast, a key component of success in the Rallye was manoeuvring the boat in and out of the water. It took us a little while to get the hang of this, rather perversely … Continue reading →

Rather like the TV series M.A.S.H., the creation of this blog has taken longer than the events it portrays but now our journey is almost over. After prize-giving Chris M headed off to Glasgow (?!) whilst the majority of the … Continue reading →

After the main prize-giving was over we made a special presentation of one of our T-shirts to André as a thank you for his generous hospitality and the marvellous organisation of the Rallye.   Liz swears that André had a tear … Continue reading →

“This is not a race to perfect your rowing skill. It is a regatta to celebrate the camaraderie of rowers.” Not for the first time, Pascal from Marne & Joinville nicely summed up the ethos behind the Rallye. Everyone might … Continue reading →

The Rallye was over but we weren’t done with the rowing just yet.  Traditionally, on the Saturday after the Rallye finish the crews take part in a mini-regatta on the River Orb by the clubhouse of the Aviron Club Biterrois … Continue reading →

“An army marches on its stomach” some famous Frenchman is alleged to have once said (although it does seem an awfully slow way of getting around).  Rowers have a pretty legendary appetite and cyclists are not far behind. Fortunately, the … Continue reading →