Open Water Rowing vs. Coastal Rowing

What’s the difference?

Open water rowing and coastal rowing are very similar. In both sports, the rowers are likely to encounter rough water that would swamp or flip a traditional flat-water racing shell. But there are some differences. Here is a quick summary:

A great example of open water rowing. Michael Manner in a Maas Aero in rough water near the Golden Gate Bridge. The boat is wider than a flat-water racing shell, but is still pretty narrow & fast.

The wider shape of a coastal boat with the self-draining dish cockpit can be seen here with world and national coastal champion, Chris Bak, punching through a fun wave.

Open Water Rowing Coastal Rowing
Competition There is no organized racing class for open water rowing. Most open water rowers do it for fun, fitness, adventure and the love of nature and the water. That said, OWRC does host one competitive open water and coastal regatta per year. Coastal Rowing is all about racing. Organized at the World Rowing and US Rowing levels, there are two categories: beach sprints, and endurance races (4-6 km). Excitingly, Coastal Rowing was just added to the lineup at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Learn more at World Rowing.
The Boats Similar to flat-water racing shells, but designed for stability in rough water at the expense of top-end speed. The boats tend to be a little shorter, wider and they have more volume. But they are still pretty fast! The boats are much heavier, wider and more stable. The designs are dicated by the Beach Sprint class in which the boats need to survive the surf and hard beach landings. To guarantee enough strength, minimum boat weights are defined in the rules.
Best for Me? Open water shells are faster and lighter. With exceptions, you can probably carry one yourself. If you want to go long distances quickly in variable water conditions, but won't be going in and out through the surf zone, these boats offer a lot of freedom. Coastal boats are much more stable due to their width and hull design, and therefore are great for rowers new to rough water. Because they are heavier, they are great training shells since the rower has to move more mass with each stroke - what a great workout! These are also the only real option for the surfzone.
OWRC Support It's in our name! OWRC was founded over 40 years ago for open water rowing. We have a long-standing relationship with Maas Rowing Shells, and now Pocock Racing Shells (the new owners of Maas). OWRC is super excited to welcome the Coastal Rowing community, and we invite our existing members to explore coastal rowing. We already have four coastal boats available to rent, and we just became a dealer for one of coastal rowing's most exciting brands: NELO. Look for more coastal boats in the shellhouse soon!