The Kontxako Bandera or "Flag of the Kontxa" is one of the oldest and most famous estropada race along the Bay of Biscay, held annually in the Kontxa, the main bay of San Sebastián. It takes place on the first two weekends in September and regularly draws crowds of more than 100,000 people and around 20 rowing teams. It was first held in 1879 and has been held most years since with the main exception of the war years.
In Spanish it is called Bandera de La Concha, in Galician Bandeira da Cuncha and Drapeau de La Concha in French.
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Estropadak is a very popular form of rowing competition common all along the coast of the Northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
A crew is made up of thirteen oarsmen and the cox, who faces them at the stern. The boats are called traineru (trainera in Spanish, trainière in French) and are derived from 19th century fishing boats.
This is the most important competition in the Bay of Biscay and takes place the first two Sundays in September, within the framework of the Basque Week, with the best teams from all along the Northern coast competing against each other.
The teams must row three nautical miles to a buoy, turn around and return to the starting line. So instead of the normal four lengths, teams only do two lengths in this race.
The final always consists of two races between the eight finalists. To qualify, all teams bar one must take part in a race against the clock on the first weekend, the seven best of which go forward to the finals the following weekend. The eighth team is always from the host town and does not have to qualify. In the finals, the eight teams race in two groups of four across the same distance again.
For example, in the 2007 race there were 21 teams taking part:
Team | Time to buoy | Time to finish |
Hondarribia | 11:12 | 20:56 |
Urdaibai | 11:15 | 20:58 |
Zarautz | 11:15 | 21:00 |
Orio | 11:04 | 21:02 |
Castro | 11:18 | 21:09 |
Pedreña | 11:15 | 21:09 |
Tirán | 11:16 | 21:10 |
Pasai San Pedro | 11:25 | 21:19 |
Zumaia | 11:31 | 21:20 |
Laredo | 11:16 | 21:26 |
Getaria | 11:32 | 21:43 |
Pasai Donibane | 11:40 | 21:50 |
Arkote | 11:34 | 21:54 |
Isuntza | 11:42 | 21:54 |
Mecos | 11:43 | 21:55 |
Cabo da Cruz | 11:43 | 21:56 |
Sestao | 11:43 | 21:57 |
Ondarroa | 11:56 | 22:08 |
Camargo | 11:51 | 22:17 |
Hernani | 12:46 | 23:44 |
Urki | 12:48 | 23:49 |
Of these, the top seven went into to the final which Orio won with a time of 19:16.68.
Listed here after their town with the name of the team given in brackets: