A trainera is a traditional boat of the

Cantabrian sea The Cantabrian Sea; french: Mer Cantabrique, gl, Mar Cantábrico, ast, Mar Cantábricu, eu, Kantauri. is the term used mostly in Spain to describe the coastal sea of the Atlantic Ocean that borders the northern coast of Spain and the southwe ...

coast at the southern end of the Bay of Biscay, propelled by

oar An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...

s, and formerly

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

. It is a boat of fine lines with raised

prow The bow () is the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern. Prow may be used as a synonym for bow or it may mean the forward-most part ...

and rounded stern, to resist the waves of the Cantabrian sea. Traineras were originally used by fishermen to bring in the day’s catch of

anchovie An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

s and

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the It ...

s from sea to market, usually competing to sell their caught fish before others came in. Today, this historical tradition has become a major sport of coastal boat racing.

Other languages and etymology

The name trainera (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

), traineru (also treineru, treñero or triñero in

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

), traînière ( French) and traiñeira or traíña ( Galician) is derived from the word ''traína'', a closely woven

net Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

used in the fishing of sardines and anchovies, itself derived from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''tragināre'', from ''trahĕre'' "to pull, drag".

Distribution

The historic trainera regattas, ''estropadak'' in Basque, are a popular sport held all along the Bay of Biscay, all the way through the coast of Basque Country,

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

and Galicia between July and October. Numerous competitions are held each year such as the oldest regatta '' Bandera de Santander'' or the most famous '' Kontxako Bandera'',Regatas Bandera de la Concha - Estropadak Donostia San Sebastián
/ref> and there are various trainera leagues such as the premier league Liga San Miguel or the second divisions Liga Asociación de Remo del Cantábrico and Liga Galega de Traiñeiras.

Boats and rules

Today the boats are manned by a crew of 13 oarsmen sitting in pairs (except for the thirteenth, who sits alone in the bows) and a

cox Cox may refer to: * Cox (surname), including people with the name Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** ...

standing up facing them in the stern. The bowman or bow-woman also has a 15th oar which is used for helping with the steering in tight turns. 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. Traditional materials were entirely cedar and beech

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

, with the construction process taking at least a month or month and a half. The boats themselves are 12m long, 1.72m wide (at midship), 95 cm. bow, 75 cm stern and 60.5 cm in depth. The total weight of the boat including baton, bench, and hitters have to be 210–230 kg but may not weigh less than 200 kg (excluding oars and equipment). Nowadays, traineras are made of

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

and

kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

with techniques similar to those in aeronautical construction (such as for Airbus wings.Las traineras se construyen con avanzadas técnicas de la aeronáutica
''

El Diario Montañés ''El Diario Montañés'' is a Spanish language daily regional newspaper published in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1902 it is one of the oldest publications in the country. History and profile ''El Diario Montañés'' was first published on 1 Au ...

'' (in Spanish). Boats are fitted amongst other things with

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

systems, creating better boats but also pushing up prices. The lifespan of a boat at a top club is usually two or three years. In the 1970s a ''trainera'' cost around 45,000 pesetas; 2008 prices start at around

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

25,000. A race normally covers a distance of 5.5 km with either a single trip to a buoy and back or 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. Apart from the prize money for each race, the winning team is awarded a ''bandera'' (flag) of the town or

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

. The winning team traditionally holds all oars vertically into the air, the so-called ''remos arriba'' or ''arraunak gora'', "oars up".

Women and traineras

Although most rowing teams were male, evidence from the historical

bertso Bertsolaritza or bertsolarism is the art of singing extemporaneously composed songs in Basque according to various melodies and rhyming patterns. Bertsos can be composed at a variety of occasions but are performed generally by one or various ' ...

s tells us that female rowers existed, referred to as ''batelerak'' in Basque. 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 trainera regattas proper.

History

The origins of the various kinds of trainera regatta lie in

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

, 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 regattas were originally working

fishing boat A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was ...

s, the frame made from

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and the hull from

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

. There were three main categories: * The ''trainera'' which has and elevated prow and rounded stern, ideally suited for navigating the choppy waters off the coast at speed needed to catch

anchovy An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

and

s. The crew consists of 13 rowers and one cox. The rowers are divided into two rows of six, plus the bow rower, who is alone on his bench. * The ''trainerilla'' (

for 'little trainera') has a crew of 6 rowers and one cox, all sitting in a row. * The ''batel'' is a smaller boat used close to the coast for a variety of fish, with 4 rowers and a cox. Since the year 1850, there was evidence of challenges in the Cantabrian village of Castro Urdiales between local crews and sometimes with the

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

ans who were manning the Coast Guard cutters. The first documented regatta which was held as a sporting event was in 1859 in the

Bay of Santander The Bay of Santander is both a ''comarca'' of Cantabria and the largest estuary on the North coast of Spain, with an extension of 22.42 km (9 km long and 5 km wide). Due to the influence of Santander, Cantabria, Santander and its ...

between the people of Castro Urdiales and some Biscayan crews. The Castro Urdiales team won the race and regattas have been held as sporting event ever since. Much more important was the race held in

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

two years later, in 1861, in the presence of

Queen Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

on official visit to the capital of Cantabria. The

ns beat back to the Biscayans and the local press echoed the news and even a famous folk song known as the ''Jota del Regateo'' was composed. The ''Flag of Santander'' is still held today, making it the oldest rowing competition that is still celebrated in Spain. The first documented ''estropada'' in Basque Country was twelve years later, in 1871, between the people of

Hondarribia es, fuenterribense , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Basque, Spanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , ti ...

and

Pasaia Pasaia ( es, Pasajes) is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community of northern Spain. It is a fishing community, commercial port and the birthplace of the famous admiral Blas de Lezo. Pasaia ...

, involving a bet about who could reach San Sebastián first setting our from Hondarribia. The Pasaia team won the 13 mile race. Originally the teams would race from one particular seaside town to another but today most races are held locally. In 1916 a man from

Mutriku Mutriku ( es, Motrico) is a coastal town located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country in northern Spain. It has a population of around 5000 and provides access to the Bay of Biscay. It is the site of the worl ...

called Bizente Ormazabal built a new, sleek type of boat for a group from Getaria called ''Golondrina'' (

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. 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 trainera regattas today is the ''Kontxako Estropadak'', '' Kontxako Bandera'' o ''Bandera de la Concha'', ''Kontxako Badia / Bahía de la Concha'' being the name of the main bay of Donostia. It was first organised by the city's council in 1879 and is said to have drawn a crowd of some 12,000 spectators.

Notable clubs

; Basque Country * Aita Mari Arraun Taldea (

Zumaia , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Iñaki Ostolaza Esnal ( EH Bildu) , area_code = +34 (Spain) + 943 (Gipuzkoa) , website zumaia.eus Zumaia (, es, link=no, Zumaya) is a small town i ...

), officially founded in 1975 * Arkote Arraun Taldea (

Plentzia Plentzia ( es, Plencia) is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country. The town has 4,331 inhabitants (2019). Plentz ...

), officially founded in 1957 * Deustu Arraun Taldea ( Deustu), officially founded in 1981 * Getariako Arraun Elkartea ( Getaria), officially founded in 1976 * Hondarribia Arraun Elkartea (

), going back to 1862 * Itsasoko Ama (

Santurtzi Santurtzi ( es, Santurce; eu, Santurtzi ) is a port town in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, Spain. It is located in the Bilbao Abra bay, near the mouth of the Nervión river, on its left bank, 14 km dow ...

), officially founded in 1967 * Isuntza Arraun Elkartea (

Lekeitio Lekeitio (; es, Lequeitio) is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northeast from Bilbao. The municipality has 7,307 inhabitants (2019) and is one of the most importa ...

), officially founded in 1977 * Kaiku Arraunaren Kirol Elkartea (

Sestao Sestao is a town and municipality of 27,296 inhabitants located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is in the left bank of the Estuary of Bilbao and part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. ...

), officially founded in 1923 with a ''traineru'' called ''Bizkaitarra'' * Orio Arraun Elkartea ( Orio), going back to 1879 and to date is the team which has won the Kontxako Bandera the most times * Sanpedrotarra Arraun Elkartea (

), going back to 1880 * San Nicolás Arraun Taldea (

Portugalete Portugalete is a town lying to the west of Bilbao in the province of Biscay in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The town has 45,766 inhabitants (2019 census) and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. It is located a ...

), officially founded in 1892 * Urdaibai Arraun ( Urdaibai area), officially founded in 1992 by clubs from

Bermeo Bermeo is a town and municipality in the ''comarca'' of Busturialdea. It is in the province of Biscay, which is part of the autonomous region of the Basque Country in northern Spain. With a population of 16,765, it is the most important fishing ...

, Elantxobe and

Mundaka Mundaka ( es, Mundaca) is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. On the coast, Mundaka is internation ...

to promote the sport in the area * Zarauzko Arraun Elkartea (

Zarautz Zarautz (, es, Zarauz) is a coastal town located in central Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, in Spain. It is bordered by Aia to the east and the south and Getaria to the west, located about west of San Sebastián. It has four enclaves limiting the ...

), officially founded in 1983 ;

* Sociedad deportiva de remo Astillero ( El Astillero), officially founded in 1966 * Club de remo Camargo (

Maliaño Maliaño is a village in the municipality of Camargo (Cantabria, Spain). The town is located near the Bay of Santander, 5 km from the regional capital. It is the location of the regionally significant Santander Airport. The population in the ...

), officially founded in 1979 * Sociedad deportiva de remo Castro-Urdiales (

Castro-Urdiales Castro Urdiales is a seaport of northern Spain, in the autonomous community of Cantabria, situated on the Bay of Biscay. Castro Urdiales is a modern town, although its castle and the Gothic-style parish church of Santa María de la Asunción, date ...

), going back to 1879 * Club de remo Colindres (

Colindres Colindres is a town in the northern Spanish province and autonomous community of Cantabria. Located between the cities of Santander and Bilbao, Colindres has a population of 8,453 (INE 2018). Overview In Colindres, the Asón River flows into the ...

), officially founded in 1988 * Club de remo La Maruca (

), officially founded in 1975 * Laredo Remo Club ( Laredo), officially founded in 1975 * Sociedad deportiva de remo Pedreña (

Pedreña Pedreña is a village in the municipality of Marina de Cudeyo, Cantabria, northern Spain. As of 2010, its population was 1,454. Although located from Santander by road, it lies on a peninsula only about across the bay from Santander, separated ...

), going back to 1895 * Club de remo Pontejos ( Pontejos), officially founded in 1964 * Club de remo Ciudad de Santander (

), officially founded in 1988 * Club de remo Santander (

), officially founded in 1971 * Santoña Club de remo (

Santoña Santoña is a town in the eastern coast of the autonomous community of Cantabria, on the north coast of Spain. It is situated by the bay of the same name. It is from the capital Santander. Santoña is divided into two zones, an urban plain, and ...

), officially founded in 1979 ; Galicia * Club de remo Cabo de Cruz (

Boiro Boiro is a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It is located in the comarca of Barbanza. Boiro has an area of 86.58 km2. Boiro was where the controversial assisted suicide o ...

), officially founded in 1979 * Club de remo Mecos (

O Grove O Grove (alternative spelling: ''Ogrobe'') is a municipality belonging to the province of Pontevedra, in Galicia, Spain. A peninsula that faces the Atlantic Ocean and the shores of O Salnés valley, enclosed by the southern Galician estuaries, ...

), officially founded in 1980 * Sociedade deportiva Samertolameu (

Meira Meira is a municipality in the Galicia (Spain), Galician province of Lugo. It is in the northwest of the province, including the Terra Chá and the Serras Orientais to the west of the Serra de Meira. The most popular festivals are those of the c ...

), officially founded in 1979 * Sociedade deportiva Tirán (

Moaña Moaña is a municipality of 18,709 inhabitants located in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. It is one of the five municipalities with Bueu, Cangas do Morrazo, Marin and Vilaboa that forms the peninsula of O Morrazo. This peninsula sep ...

), officially founded in 1993 The founding dates can be somewhat misleading as many clubs existed long before they were formally founded as clubs.

References

Department of Culture
(in Basque and Spanish) *Etxegoien, J. ''Orhipean'', Xamar 1996 *Kurlansky, M. ''The Basque History of the World'', Vintage 2000

External links

Liga ACT de Traineras
(in English, Basque, Spanish, Galician and French)
Liga ARC de Traineras
Website for ARC1 and ARC2 leagues (in Basque and Spanish)
Euskotren liga
Euskotren women's league website (in English, Basque, Spanish, Galician and French)
ETE liga
ETE women's league website (in Basque and Spanish)
Estropadak.eus
Results and calendars for different trainera leagues in Basque Country (Basque) {{Oared racing boats Basque culture Cantabrian culture Galician culture Basque sport Sport in Cantabria Sport in Galicia (Spain) Sport in Asturias Rowing competitions Rowing racing boats