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Seine Boat Racing is the highlight of the Fiesta sporting activities, dating back to the first
city-wide celebration ever held in Gloucester. It is a true test of strenth, endurance and team work.
Three boats, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria are manned by twelve member crews. Starting at Pavilion
Beach, each boat must row out a half mile, turn around a flag and then row back. The first to hit the
beach is declared the winner. Saturday is the elimination race. The top two finishers get to face the
defending champs on Sunday. There are also women and junior races.
Each crew is made up of ten
rowers, a helmsman and a coxwain. Each job is equally important. A small lapse in concentration can mean
the difference between first and third place. The rowers provide the strength that propels the boat.
Each stroke must be long and smooth. Rowers must be able to endure the grueling mile course without tiring.
The helmsman's responsibility is to stear the mighty craft. Many times a crew was the first to the turning
point but the helmsman could not negotiate the turn properly. Valuable seconds were lost and so was the
race. The coxwain's job is to make sure all the rowers stay in sync. If even one rower is out of sync
then the boat is not moving at optimum speed and which be costly.
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The Santa Maria Heads For Victory
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The seine boat was a common method used long ago by the fisherman to haul in fish that were
captured in their floating nets. The fish and seine boat were then loaded onto a larger vessel and when
the boat reached it capacity, it headed for port.
Since most of Gloucester's fishing fleet stayed
in port during the Fiesta, the seine boats were available for competitive racing. large enough to hold
most of the crew of a fishing boat, the seine boats were used to settle race challenges issued between
boat crews, each boasting the best and the strongest men in the fleet.
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Seine Boat Races Winning History
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1959 Beachcomer's
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964 Gondalias
1965 Gondalias
1966 Young
at Heart
1967
1968
1969
1970 Young Scrods
1971 Youngsters
1972 All Beefer's
1973
"No Winner"
1974 All Beerer's
1975 "No Winner"
1976 "No Winner"
1977 Kids
1978 Mean Machine
1979 Mean Machine/Renegades
1980 Kids
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1981 Kids
1982 Kids
1983 Desire1984 Desire
1984 Desire
1985 Desire
1986 Desire
1987
Raging Bulls
1988 Raging Bulls
1989 Raging Bulls
1990 Stoppers
1991 Allied Forces
1992
Allied Forces
1993 Over The Top
1994 Determination
1995 Determination
1996 Die Hard
1997
Die Hard
1998 Stayin Alive
1999 Perfect Storm
2000 KAOS
2001 Synergy
2002 KAOS
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