Estropadak is the Basque term for a kind of rowing regatta held all along the coast of the Basque Country between July and October. The word estropadak is the plural form of estropada which simply means "boat race".
In Spanish this sport is called traineras and in French trainières, both after the boats used. The Spanish and French names are derived from traina a closely woven net used in the fishing of sardines and anchovies.
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Today, this sport is popular all along the Bay of Biscay, all the way through Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia. Numerous competitions are held each year such as the Bandera de Santander and there are various trainera leagues such as the Liga San Miguel or the Liga Asociación de Remo del Cantábrico.
Today they are manned by a crew of 13 oarsmen sitting in pairs of two (except for the thirteenth, who sits closes to the cox and alone) and a cox facing them in the stern. As is common in other such events, the cox is responsible for steering the boat and keeping up the morale of the team. Each boat flies a particular flag and wears a team strip and often the boat is painted in the team's colours as well.
The boats themselves are 12m long, 1.72m wide (at midship) and weigh between 210–230 kg but may not weigh less than 200 kg (excluding oars and equipment). Today modern materials are used to build the traineru - amongst other things they are fitted with GPS systems - creating better boats but also pushing up the prices for them. In the 1970s a traineru cost around 45,000 pesetas, today prices start at around €10,000.
A race normally covers a distance of 5.5 km with either a single trip to a buoy and back two return trips. Each boat has its own lane and may not cross into another boat's lane and the oars (and boats) of different boats may not touch. A race is normally restarted if something irregular happens within the first 20 seconds of a race. The winning team is awarded a bandera (flag) of the town. The winning team traditionally holds all oars vertically into the air, the so called arraunak gora or "oars up".
Although most rowing teams were male, evidence from the historical bertsos tells us that female rowers existed, referred to as batelerak. The name derives from batel, a name for a smaller type of boat with 4 rowers and a cox. Evidence can also be seen in the traditional batelera dantza (batelera dance) which is performed by women with oars.
More recently, female teams have also begun to take plains in the estropadak proper.
The origins of the various kinds of estropada lie in fishing and whaling, both highly important sources of income in earlier periods. Traditionally, the first boat back at the quay got the best price for their fish. As the boat and all equipment was usually owned by the skipper and the crew hired by oral contract, the skipper would first deduct the boat and net share (25%) from the earnings, then deduct any further expenses for bait and provisions. Only then would the remained be shared in equal parts so it was in everybody's interest to get back as fast as possible to get the best price possible.
Similarly, when whaling was at its height in along the Bay of Biscay teams would race to be the first to reach a sighted whale.
The boats used in the estropadak were originally working fishing boats, the frame made from oak and the hull from pine.. There were three main categories:
In 1916 a man from Mutriku called Bizente Ormazabal built a new, sleek type of boat for a group from Getaria called Golondrina (Spanish for 'swallow'). At the same time motors were introduced to the fishing industry so the commercial use of rowing boats quickly disappeared and more and more were used for the estropadak. Over time the design changed, building more for speed than fishing, reducing the weight and the width.
The first documented estropada which was held as a sporting event was in 1871 between the people of Hondarribia and Pasaia, involving a bet about who could reach San Sebastián first setting our from Hondarribia. The Pasaia team won the 13 mile race and estropadak have been held as sporting event ever since. Originally the teams would race from one particular seaside town to another but today most races are held locally.
As rowing turned from a profession into a sport, fewer and fewer fishermen competed and more and more teams were put together from non-seafaring backgrounds as they could train more regularly than fishermen.
The most famous of all estropadak today is the Kontxako Estropadak or Kontxako Bandera, Kontxa being the name of the main bay of Donostia. It was first organised by the city's council in 1890 and is said to have drawn a crowd of some 12,000 spectators.
Famous modern Basque teams:
Famous modern Cantabrian teams:
Famous modern Galician teams:
The founding dates can be somewhat misleading as many clubs existed long before they were formally founded as clubs.
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