Cape Ann rowers take on Skiffieworlds

The prospect of traveling to an international competition can be daunting for even the most seasoned athlete. Doing so for the first time – as a group of women from the North Shore recently learned -- can add a whole new set of complexities.

Or maybe not.

Debra Christofi and Christy Millhouse of Rockport, and Ann Cortissoz and Peggy Dillon of Gloucester, members of the Gloucester Gig Rowers, competed in the St. Ayles Skiff World Championships – or ‘Skiffieworlds’ as they’re called -- in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, in July. The group competed under the umbrella of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) club from Vermont. They competed with about 1,000 rowers on teams from around the world, including the United States, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia.

Skiffieworlds refers to the type of boat used in the competition. The St. Ayles Skiff is a four-oared boat recently popularized by the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project and with a rising status among rowing communities around the world.

The quartet of rowers competed in different events, dictated by age groups. Averaging the results of all the Skiffieworld races for each team, LCCM placed 25th among 42 boats.

“It was fantastic,” said Dillon, 56, an associate professor of communications at Salem State University. “We each raced at least three times on a course that was two kilometers long (about 1.25 miles).”

Dillon is the only rower in the group who had competed internationally before, when the event was held in Ullapool, Scotland, in 2013.

“I did not know what to expect,” said Millhouse, 60, who recently retired from her position as a superintendent for a municipal water treatment facility.

“The first race that I rowed was the elimination heat for women over 60,” said Millhouse, who has been rowing for about 10 years and rows about five or five or six times a week. “I was selected to be the stroke, which means that I set the pace and the rest follow me. It is a big responsibility. And I was nervous! We placed in the top five (out of 10) which moved us on to the finals. I was thrilled as was the rest of the crew. We placed seventh in the finals so we can now lay claim to being the seventh-fastest boat in the world of over-60 women. I put everything I had into that race as did the rest of the crew!”

Their finish was well above their modest aspirations entering the competition.

“I would like the plane to land safely,” Cortissoz said -- only half-joking -- before embarking on the trip. “I would like to get there and get back and everything else is pretty much gravy.”

“Our team's overall performance exceeded my expectations,” Dillon said. “Three years ago we came in 24th out of 31 teams. This time, we were 25th out of more than 40 teams -- so we beat more teams this time.”

But, Skiffieworlds is not just about the competition.

“Honestly, I really do consider this summer camp for grownups,” said Dillon. “It’s really fun. We’ve practiced for these races. I (was) rowing all summer, but it is such a social event, really friendly people. There’s lots to do when you’re not rowing.”

When they weren’t rowing competitors could tour the local area, visit a tall ship, learn how to paddleboard, sample an artisan food ‘fayre’ or a barbecue at a local yacht club, enjoy live music and ‘craic,’ listen to traditional music at local pubs, or watch boat-building demonstrations.

For each of the women, rowing is about more than just the athletic endeavor.

“For me, rowing is two things,” said Dillon, who began rowing in 2011. “It’s really good exercise but it’s also very good for you from a community standpoint. You’re social, you’re with other people. The age in our club is clustered in the 40s to 60s so it sort of neutralizes aging in a way, because everybody's active.”

“Rowing is one of the main things that helps to keep me in shape. It’s a really good workout,” said Christofi, 65, who recently retired after 45 years as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital.

She rows three or more times a week.

“I got into the sport probably about 12 years ago when I first moved to Gloucester,” she said. “I wanted to get involved in something in the community. I got the local Gloucester Times and on the back page was a very tiny ad saying ‘rowers wanted.’

“For me, over the years it’s become almost like a Zen-like experience when we’re out doing the recreational row. You just get into the rhythm of the row and nobody’s talking very much, just listening to just the sound of the boat and oars all going in at the same time and going forward and coming up and moving back across the water and going back in again. It’s like a water ballet.”

Cortissoz, who has been rowing for three years, became so thoroughly hooked on the sport, she relocated for it.

“I lived in the Boston area,” she says, “but I would come up and visit (a friend) and she was always talking about rowing. I finally thought maybe I can do this on the weekends, and it turned out that I could. So I started driving up from Medford on the weekends three years ago to row and I just loved it so much that I moved to Gloucester.”

Cortissoz, 54, a freelance writer/editor, rows about six or seven times a week.

“It is really incredibly soothing,” she says. “It’s an experience that once you learn to keep in time with everyone, if you’re in a boat where everybody is in synch, it is really an incredible feeling of peacefulness and serenity. It’s very -- I hesitate to say it’s Zen -- but it’s definitely beautiful and calming and peaceful and all of these things. And it’s really the only sport that I’ve ever tried that I keep wanting to do.”

“I urge people to join the club all the time,” Dillon says. “It’s a great way to meet people and make friends, to know people in your community. It’s really good exercise, it’s building self-discipline and teamwork. It’s great to be part of something bigger than you are. And it’s really cheap. Our boats usually go in the water in late March or April and we usually row until the New Year. It’s a really long season and you don’t have to own a boat to do it.”

For those thinking of taking up the sport?

“Get out and try it,” says Millhouse. “Our club offers an orientation program where people can try it without actually having to join the club and making the investment. In our boats we have an extra seat we call the pilot seat and we allow people to come along as guests so they can get a feel for it. Our club and a lot of the clubs tend to have a lot of older members, so it’s a sport that lends well to any age.”

And, in case you want to start getting ready, the next Skiffiewolrds will be held in the summer of 2019.

“I’ve already marked it on my mental calendar,” Dillon said.