Getting the competitors ready
Regatta Fashion
Regatta Foot Wear
Two seater
Bow of a rowing competitor vessel
Four seaters racing to the finish line with Vittoriosa city walls in the back ground
Prinsendam had to dock in the Grand Harbour of Valetta, Malta before 10:00 a.m. After that - all bets were off, as the harbour had to be prepared for the race course of the most popular annual rowing regatta with about 10 races for various classes of rowing vessel.
The design of these dates back to traditional Maltese working boats called frejgatini, kajjikki, dghajjes tal pass and talmidalji.
If these classifications sound a little strange, one needs to remember that Malta maintains it's own language, which is a medley of Arabic and a few other languages, which were left by various occupants over the millennia. It is replete with 'xx' and double consonants, almost impossible to read and really impossible to remember from one moment to the next.
Luckily English is the 'main' language and one can communicate with the local population without difficulty.
Different coloured boats define different racing crews based in surrounding towns and villages. The row boats themselves have and odd mode of propulsion. Depending on the size of boat, either two or four people row, sitting down or standing up, facing forward and/or aft, with oars asymmetrically fixed to the gunwales. The unequal position of thelong oars makes it quite difficult to achieve perfect stroke co-ordination between the crew members.
The shape of bows and sterns remind one of Venetian Gondolas.
The races took place right under Prinsendam's nose, passengers had a prime view of the course. The shores of Valetta and VIttoriosa (the town on the opposite side of the harbour) were crowded with fans. Despite not being a single beer to be bought at numerous hot dog stands etc, the dockside spctators all indulged generously in the local brew. Looked like onlookers of any regatta back in lovely Canada. Female fans delighted the all male rowing crews with enticing outfits. Platform shoes with 10 inch heels defied the cobbly and rugged pavements surrounding the docks.
Obviously modern times have influenced the regatta character; sponsors have their logos prominently displayed on row boats - even Loewenbraeu made it into the race...
