The ‘Crocodile’, the catfish and perfecting catches in Courbevoie
What’s it like to row in Paris? Andy Hay visited one of the city’s most famous clubs
Paris has emptied out for the summer holidays. There’s no road traffic in Courbevoie. But the Seine is fizzing.
The masters have already hit the water and the heavyweights are locking up their bikes against the iron railing that overlooks the great river.
It’s Saturday morning and the temperature’s already heading for 30 degrees.
A couple of giant barges steam past, creating a heaving wash across the width of the river.
The even bigger Renoir cruise boat is about to cast off from its mooring just downstream from Societe Nautique de la Basse Seine, the second oldest rowing club in Paris.
I couldn’t miss the similarity in age to my own club on the North Shore, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and is the second oldest club in Auckland.
SNBS is not quite there yet, formed in 1882.
I’d come down to the club a couple of days earlier. All the doors were open to the boatshed and after calling out to see if anyone was around, I did a self-guided tour.
I stopped counting the brand new Filippis at 30. There were Empacher eights of varying vintage, from the mint wooden shell high up on the top rack that must have been the boat that carried SNBS to nine straight national championships in the 1960s to a brand-new carbon version that barely gets used.
A shedload of boats: Some of the plant at SNBS, including the many Filippis. Photo: Andy Hay
The rowing population on the Seine is huge. A couple of hundred metres upstream is Cercle Nautique de France and its 600 members.
Five kilometres downstream is the oldest club in Paris, Societe des Regates parisienne, with its 300+ members.
SNBS has more than 300 itself.
There are nine other clubs in the wider Seine catchment - all equally kitted out in the best gear you can buy, funded by high corporate and masters memberships that cost about $800 a year.
Gareth Williams is a Welshman who rowed at college in Cambridge where he read law.
He joined SNBS in 1987, after moving to Paris for work.
The Seine had got a bad rap during the Olympics for its water quality, but it was a lot better than when he arrived all those years ago.
“The river's brilliant now, compared to 35 years ago,” says Gareth. “Now you've got cormorants, you've got herons, kingfishers around the Ile de la Jatte [just downstream].”
Slightly more chillingly, there are reputed to be catfish in the water known for snatching small dogs that get too close to the river’s edge. Urban legend surely.
Like any club in New Zealand, SNBS does have a long list of real-life legendary characters.
Jean-Jules Lacoste was a champion rower and president of SNBS from 1919-1948. His son was Rene, the grand slam tennis champion of the 1920s and 30s who founded the famous Lacoste ‘Crocodile’ apparel brand.
Gareth can still remember meeting Jean Sepheriades. He was an Olympian in 1948 who won five national titles in ‘le skiff’ (the single sculls).
“He was a real gentleman, a great guy,” says Gareth. “He won the Diamond Sculls at Henley in 1946, and I remember him talking about it and what happened with the start...his competitor caught a crab so Jean stopped, rowed back to the start and they restarted the race, which Jean carried on to win.”
Jean Séphériadès, a French rower who competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He rowed for Societe Nautique de la Basse Seine in the single scull and was rowing champion of France from 1942 to 1946. In 1946, he became the first French winner of the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta.
Gareth's pairs/doubles sculls partner, Lotfi Chemloul, rowed as a lightweight for Algeria at the World Championships. He was at the Olympic regatta working as a volunteer.
Lotfi’s wife is Belarusian and a rower as well. Lofti’s highlight came on the final day in the Men’s Single, where Tom Mackintosh rowed the A-Final.
The Belarusian athlete Yauheni Zalaty won silver, knocking out a 1.36.60 final 500m after being well back for most of the race.
SNBS is a second home to Lotfi, he’ll often come down during the day to work at the club then go for a row.
SNBS masters Gareth Williams and Lotfi Chemloul. photo: Andy Hay
There were fewer premier athletes than usual heading out on the water, but I did catch the current women’s national fours champions. They were off to do a doing 12km boost downstream and back in a quad.
Ines Boccanfuso and Justine Oudet have been at the club for half their lives, since they joined as 12-year-olds.
The back story to Ines’ introduction to the sport will be familiar.
Her father rowed at SNBS, so did her older brother, and because they live just 10 minutes away, Ines got involved too.
She won a bronze in the Lightweight Women’s Quad at the U23 World Championships in 2022.
She’s in it for life.
(L-R) Ines Boccanfuso, Justine Oudet, Maxine Marguin and Penelope Mercier. Ines, Justine and Penelope were in the SNBS four that won the national title last season. Photo: Andy Hay
Gareth’s the same. It’s that moment of capturing elusive perfection that keeps him coming back.
“It's the water, it's magic. When it works, it's just a wonderful sensation. When I was at Cambridge, I rowed for a whole year. We were in six days a week, and I can remember three strokes that we actually got together, and it's just magic.”
For Inez and Justin, the magic is the same, but they find it hard to express in English.
Justine just points to the hull at the stern of their Empacher, “the bubbles!”
Another men’s pair comes into the deluxe dock, which was built for the club as part of Paris’ bid for the 2012 Olympics.
Dorian Bouchy and Florian Quenneville have put on a demo for me. They’re aiming to win the pair at the nationals next May.
The water’s flowing at 350 cubic metres per second, about the same as the Waikato River. In winter, the river’s virtually unrowable with the flow rate nearly double that.
But right now, it’s flowing at a perfect rate, says Florian. Good for catches whether you’re going downstream or back into the current.
They’re rowing truths whether you’re training on the Seine or Saltwater Creek in Timaru.
And at SNBS it’s a sport for everyone, from tiny classical dancer-turned-sculler Anna Meadeb, to the heavyweight boys who waved me goodbye as they were putting their boat away.
“Hopefully we’ll see you at LA 2028 when where rowing the Men’s Pair for France.”
Florian Quenneville and Dorian Bouchy, the men's pair from SNBS out training for nationals. Photo: Andy Hay
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and rowing coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
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The ‘Crocodile’, the catfish and perfecting catches in Courbevoie
What’s it like to row in Paris? Andy Hay visited one of the city’s most famous clubs
Paris has emptied out for the summer holidays. There’s no road traffic in Courbevoie. But the Seine is fizzing.
The masters have already hit the water and the heavyweights are locking up their bikes against the iron railing that overlooks the great river.
It’s Saturday morning and the temperature’s already heading for 30 degrees.
A couple of giant barges steam past, creating a heaving wash across the width of the river.
The even bigger Renoir cruise boat is about to cast off from its mooring just downstream from Societe Nautique de la Basse Seine, the second oldest rowing club in Paris.
I couldn’t miss the similarity in age to my own club on the North Shore, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and is the second oldest club in Auckland.
SNBS is not quite there yet, formed in 1882.
I’d come down to the club a couple of days earlier. All the doors were open to the boatshed and after calling out to see if anyone was around, I did a self-guided tour.
I stopped counting the brand new Filippis at 30. There were Empacher eights of varying vintage, from the mint wooden shell high up on the top rack that must have been the boat that carried SNBS to nine straight national championships in the 1960s to a brand-new carbon version that barely gets used.
A shedload of boats: Some of the plant at SNBS, including the many Filippis. Photo: Andy Hay
The rowing population on the Seine is huge. A couple of hundred metres upstream is Cercle Nautique de France and its 600 members.
Five kilometres downstream is the oldest club in Paris, Societe des Regates parisienne, with its 300+ members.
SNBS has more than 300 itself.
There are nine other clubs in the wider Seine catchment - all equally kitted out in the best gear you can buy, funded by high corporate and masters memberships that cost about $800 a year.
Gareth Williams is a Welshman who rowed at college in Cambridge where he read law.
He joined SNBS in 1987, after moving to Paris for work.
The Seine had got a bad rap during the Olympics for its water quality, but it was a lot better than when he arrived all those years ago.
“The river's brilliant now, compared to 35 years ago,” says Gareth. “Now you've got cormorants, you've got herons, kingfishers around the Ile de la Jatte [just downstream].”
Slightly more chillingly, there are reputed to be catfish in the water known for snatching small dogs that get too close to the river’s edge. Urban legend surely.
Like any club in New Zealand, SNBS does have a long list of real-life legendary characters.
Jean-Jules Lacoste was a champion rower and president of SNBS from 1919-1948. His son was Rene, the grand slam tennis champion of the 1920s and 30s who founded the famous Lacoste ‘Crocodile’ apparel brand.
Gareth can still remember meeting Jean Sepheriades. He was an Olympian in 1948 who won five national titles in ‘le skiff’ (the single sculls).
“He was a real gentleman, a great guy,” says Gareth. “He won the Diamond Sculls at Henley in 1946, and I remember him talking about it and what happened with the start...his competitor caught a crab so Jean stopped, rowed back to the start and they restarted the race, which Jean carried on to win.”
Jean Séphériadès, a French rower who competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He rowed for Societe Nautique de la Basse Seine in the single scull and was rowing champion of France from 1942 to 1946. In 1946, he became the first French winner of the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta.
Gareth's pairs/doubles sculls partner, Lotfi Chemloul, rowed as a lightweight for Algeria at the World Championships. He was at the Olympic regatta working as a volunteer.
Lotfi’s wife is Belarusian and a rower as well. Lofti’s highlight came on the final day in the Men’s Single, where Tom Mackintosh rowed the A-Final.
The Belarusian athlete Yauheni Zalaty won silver, knocking out a 1.36.60 final 500m after being well back for most of the race.
SNBS is a second home to Lotfi, he’ll often come down during the day to work at the club then go for a row.
SNBS masters Gareth Williams and Lotfi Chemloul. photo: Andy Hay
There were fewer premier athletes than usual heading out on the water, but I did catch the current women’s national fours champions. They were off to do a doing 12km boost downstream and back in a quad.
Ines Boccanfuso and Justine Oudet have been at the club for half their lives, since they joined as 12-year-olds.
The back story to Ines’ introduction to the sport will be familiar.
Her father rowed at SNBS, so did her older brother, and because they live just 10 minutes away, Ines got involved too.
She won a bronze in the Lightweight Women’s Quad at the U23 World Championships in 2022.
She’s in it for life.
(L-R) Ines Boccanfuso, Justine Oudet, Maxine Marguin and Penelope Mercier. Ines, Justine and Penelope were in the SNBS four that won the national title last season. Photo: Andy Hay
Gareth’s the same. It’s that moment of capturing elusive perfection that keeps him coming back.
“It's the water, it's magic. When it works, it's just a wonderful sensation. When I was at Cambridge, I rowed for a whole year. We were in six days a week, and I can remember three strokes that we actually got together, and it's just magic.”
For Inez and Justin, the magic is the same, but they find it hard to express in English.
Justine just points to the hull at the stern of their Empacher, “the bubbles!”
Another men’s pair comes into the deluxe dock, which was built for the club as part of Paris’ bid for the 2012 Olympics.
Dorian Bouchy and Florian Quenneville have put on a demo for me. They’re aiming to win the pair at the nationals next May.
The water’s flowing at 350 cubic metres per second, about the same as the Waikato River. In winter, the river’s virtually unrowable with the flow rate nearly double that.
But right now, it’s flowing at a perfect rate, says Florian. Good for catches whether you’re going downstream or back into the current.
They’re rowing truths whether you’re training on the Seine or Saltwater Creek in Timaru.
And at SNBS it’s a sport for everyone, from tiny classical dancer-turned-sculler Anna Meadeb, to the heavyweight boys who waved me goodbye as they were putting their boat away.
“Hopefully we’ll see you at LA 2028 when where rowing the Men’s Pair for France.”
Florian Quenneville and Dorian Bouchy, the men's pair from SNBS out training for nationals. Photo: Andy Hay
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and rowing coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
