World’s longest rowing boat to visit Yale

Here’s the perfect opportunity to row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row, row your boat.

The group Swiss Students and Affiliates at Yale (SSAY), in collaboration with Yale Graduate Crew and the New Haven Rowing Club, is inviting novice rowers to take a turn at the oar on the 24-person Stämpfli 24 Express, the world’s longest rowing boat. The free event is scheduled for 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 and 6 at the New Haven Rowing Club facility, 407 Roosevelt Drive, in Oxford, Connecticut.

Transportation will be provided for registered participants. Buses will leave at 4 p.m. from 195 Prospect St. on campus. You may register for one of the outings at http://longestrowingboat.eventbrite.com — but be advised that seating is limited.

No rowing experience is required to participate. Members of Yale Graduate Crew will be on hand to assist. Because of the possibility of inclement weather next week, organizers ask that participants check the event registration page to make sure the excursion has not be cancelled.

Also on Oct. 5, there will be a lunch seminar featuring Melchior Bürgin, a former Swiss Olympic rower, winner of the 1966 World Rowing Championships in the double scull, and former head of the Swiss rowing boat manufacturing company, Stämpfli. The seminar will be from noon to 1 p.m. at the School of Management.

“This is about bringing people together to have a fun experience and celebrate Swiss engineering and design,” said Yale College senior Christian Rhally, a member of SSAY. “This will be a good teamwork experience, too.”

Rhally said the first hour of each day’s event will include assembling the boat. Built in 2001, the vessel is 144 feet long. Its appearance locally is made possible by swissnex Boston, part of a network of science and technology hubs that connect Switzerland with centers of innovation around the world.