The crew. Photo WSR Argo Rowing one hundred kilometres in the oldest and slowest boat in the Argo fleet. Not a very attractive prospect, yet it is a tradition for the student’s rowing association Argo board. With their efforts, they raise money for a charity.
Argonauts Luwe Groot and Wout Gerdes rowed the Ringvaart Regatta under helmsman Bas Sapthu on Wednesday 8 June in Tante Dien, a wooden boat with room for two plus a helmsman. So far, they have raised over 3800 euros for KWF Kankerbestrijding, the Dutch cancer charity. This sum could increase; donations are still possible until the end of this weekend.
‘Really tough’, Argo-chair Groot replied to the question of what the Ringvaart was like. ‘Rowing one hundred kilometres is a hellish endeavour in itself, and we did so in the slowest boat possible. Thus, we have restored an Argo-tradition to its former glory, as the Ringvaart was cancelled due to corona for the past two years. Last year, the board rowed one hundred kilometres, but in a different boat and on the Rhine.’
During the trip, Groot occasionally wondered why on earth this had been elevated to a tradition. ‘During the last stop, I told Wout: “this is the toughest thing I have ever done”. We experienced several dips. The first twenty kilometres were fine. After that, it became really hard. At some point, the rain came pouring down, not exactly contributing to a pleasant experience.’ Suffering, thus. ‘But a fantastic feeling when we made it. We were really proud of each other. We were one of the last boats to come in, but we made it. Great!’
Extra motivation
Once the decision had been made that Groot, Gerdes and Sapthu were to row the Ringvaart, they decided to seize the opportunity to raise money. Groot: ‘We all support the KWF Kankerfonds. No matter how hellish the trip, cancer is an even bigger hell. We were already raising money when my father was diagnosed with cancer a month ago. That really added to our motivation.’
