Medal at the international Silver Skiff Turin

The Silver Skiff Turin Head Race

The Silver Skiff Turin is a unique and prestigious rowing race in Italy, first held in 1992. It challenges single scullers on an 11 km course along the scenic Po River. From just ten rowers in its inaugural race, it has grown into an internationally renowned event, attracting over 600 competitors from 20 countries in 2024. Legendary rowers like Mahe Drysdale, Emma Twigg and Ekaterina Karsten have competed, cementing its reputation as one of the world’s top long-distance sculling regattas.

The logistics

Most rowers prefer using their own boats, ensuring they’re tailored to their style. I was fortunate to have mine transported, along with half dozen other clubs, by Newark Rowing Club. Their member, and race participant, drove an impressive 1,530 km with a trailer of over 20 single sculls. Managing the logistics of such a journey, including packing boats, oars and trestles, was no small feat.

About Turin

Without wishing to sound like a Tripadvisor testimonial, here’s some info about Turin (Torino). It’s the elegant capital of Italy’s gastronomic Piedmont region; a city rich in history, culture and charm. Nestled at the foot of the Alps and crossed by the River Po, it boasts grand piazzas, baroque architecture and scenic views. Known for its culinary delights, including gianduja chocolate and fine wines, Turin is also a hub for art, cinema and sports, with renowned museums like the Egyptian Museum and the National Cinema Museum.

Its vibrant yet relaxed atmosphere, coupled with its proximity to nature, makes it a perfect blend of sophistication and outdoor appeal. I had the added bonus of my younger son studying at a university there to be my host and tour guide. And although I spent time walking alone, I always felt safe. BUT the train system was a nightmare to navigate, even to somewhere as obvious as the airport. I speak Italian and even the locals were confused as to how to direct me to the correct stations/trainlines.

The Paddle

I arrived Thursday night, with the race taking place on Sunday morning. Late Friday morning I headed to our boating site to re-rig and paddle the course to orientate myself with different landmarks, tidal speed and the curves of the river. The weather was sunny and crisp – you can see the snow-capped alps in the distance, so even in early November, it feels colder than London.

The paddle was an incident-free one, in what was a calm and empty river. I didn’t put myself under too much pressure to pull a fast time but I still wanted gauge my likely optimum rate and cardio ability for the 11km race. I managed it in under an hour, including a few stops to work out where I want to be on the river and to look at the many Kingfishers flying past!

To be honest, the biggest hurdle I found that day was getting my furthest oar in the gate and climbing into and out of my boat without falling in – I loathe boating pontoons!!

The Race Start

The race start was a mess due to foggy conditions. At first we had a 30 min delay, which became one hour. At some point the race officials made a decision to shorten the 15 second start gap between boats to 10 seconds. And did not advertise this decision on the main website! A sharp-eyed member of our Whatsapp group spotted it on the race start spreadsheet. So my start times changed from the original 11:32.45 to 12:02.15 to 12:32.45 back to 11:48.30. You can imagine the number of scullers who adjusted for the delay by just adding an hour onto their original start time, which can lead you to imagine the chaos at the start line. I, at number 575, was surrounded by boats in the early 400’s, as well as my some of my peers.

The Race

It didn’t get much better during the race either. The shorter 10 second gaps between boats increased the chances of early bottle necks. Although I gained a podium place, I was setting off 22nd out of the 25 competitors in my category. Which meant there were a lot of slower rowers in front of me. I’d only rowed 500 metres when I had to stop the first time as I almost collided with a rower explicably crossing in front of my boat due to poor steering. The second was a tight bottleneck before a bridge where one rower got her boat stuck on the buoys, a second rower got stuck into the first boat’s rigger, a third got stuck trying to pass them both and I was left sitting there listening to them arguing. That cost me at least one minute.

I then came to my third standstill trying to pass the a boat involved in the previous multi-boat pile up as she hogged the middle of the river leaving me no space to pass. I did use my knowledge of Italian to full effect as she tried to blame me for our blades colliding! At this point I thought my chances of obtaining a decent time had well and truly dissipated. I continued as best I could, colliding a fourth time with a boat at the turning buoy.

A Coypu Encounter

One amusing moment during the race was seeing a coypu, a large aquatic rodent, swimming determinedly straight across the river, narrowly avoiding the blades of a rower behind me. A little wildlife humour amidst the intensity!

Turin Silver Skiff race — #575 crosses the finish line

A Memorable Finish

On the way back, rowing with the tide, I found I had the energy and strength to up my rate and managed to overtake quite a few boats. However I was sadly surprised by the number of rowers who wouldn’t give way the race line, or would block, I like to think unintentionally, those who are faster. I crossed the finish in under an hour but it was only two minutes less than Friday’s paddle time, even though my average stroke rate was 29 versus 27.

However when I arrived back at the pontoon, my son was waiting to help me with my boat and nervously hopping around before mentioning that he wasn’t sure if he should tell me something because it was only provisional. His news was that I was currently third!! I will admit to a feeling of disbelief that I managed to do that well given the collisions.

The Podium

Something they do really well at the Silver Skiff race is how they congratulate every 1st, 2nd and 3rd place medal winner. We each have our moment of glory. And given the winner had travelled from the US, and 2nd place from Canada; I understood the calibre of my opposition and felt immensely proud to be standing alongside these two very experienced and highly respected athletes.

The final part of the whole escapade was to pack up, reload and head home to reflect on an incredible experience.