Organize international rowing tours to support the club financially? Rowers from Paris will do the following: The Société Nautique du Perreux, a successful rowing club founded in 1903 near Paris on the Marne, overcomes the hurdle of a new building. And the members help. They organise under the name ‘Row and Visit France’ (https://www.row-and-visit-france.com/, external link) Tours in Paris and all over France to support the new construction of the clubhouse.
The tour description promised rowing, culture, French food and wines all inclusive. We were not disappointed.
It was a small rowing group from Canada (6 participants), Norway (2), Australia (2), two MRC participants and the French organizers Jacques, Corine and Joel.
The program included a visit to an abbey, several castles, two wine tastings and much more. Rowing took place on the Loire and the tributaries Vienne, Maine, and Erdre. The Cher did not have enough water, so we switched to Canadian boats with which we paddled through Chenonceaux Castle, which is built over the river. Even the Loire did not have that much water and once let us strand on a sandbank with the rowing boat (in the cover picture the Loire with Saumur in the background).
Overall, it was a tight program with about 850 km in the car, many cultural and culinary highlights, beautiful rides, excellent food (at least daily 3-course menu with aperitif, wine and coffee), and a great group.
To say goodbye to the tour, we also met the club presidents, Antoine and Elisabeth, who live near the club in Le Perreux and form the heart of the club. We keep our fingers crossed that everything will work out in the new building and hope that there will still be time for a visit to Starnberg.
Constance of Steinheimer-Breitkreutz
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