Fencing With Queen Victoria

The scene: A grand Victorian ball room.  Outside the large picture windows, Elisnore Castle looms in the distance.  Beneath the crystal chandeliers on the polished wood dance floor, two lines of white clad swordsmen confront each other and prepare to do battle.  Is this part of some swashbuckling epic starring Errol Flynn or Johnny Depp?  No, it is just a sea day during a Baltic cruise on Cunard’s Queen Victoria.

At one time, the sports facilities on passenger ships were essentially limited to shuffleboard and quoits.  However, in recent years the various cruise lines have raced to put more and more different kinds of sports facilities on their ships - - everything from such familiar staples as gyms, jogging tracks and basketball courts to rock climbing walls and boxing rings.  Cunard, in keeping with the atmosphere of sophistication and elegance that it seeks to create on its ships, has opted for fencing lessons on Queen Victoria.  “You can’t do it on any other ship.  Even within the Cunard fleet, Queen Victoria is the only ship at sea that has fencing,” points out Kennedy Borthwick, Sports Director on the new 90,000 ton Cunarder.

To the surprise of some passengers, the classes on Queen Victoria are actual beginner fencing lessons, using real metal swords and supervised by instructors qualified by the British Fencing Association, the governing body for the Olympic sport of fencing in Britain.  The equipment is made by Leon Paul, which has made fencing equipment not only for the BBC and for the James Bond films but for Olympic athletes.

The classes are not held in the ship’s gym but rather in the Queens Room, a two-deck high public room which features the largest wooden dance floor afloat.  “It is a beautiful room, designed on Queen Victoria’s holiday home on the Isle of Wight.  [The pillars and walls are decorated] to look like marble because that was the style of the time.  This is a Victorian style room.  In the Victorian times, they were doing foil fencing so [the classes, which focus on foil fencing, are] quite in keeping with the atmosphere.”
“The Queens Room is actually the perfect spot for us to do it.  It is a nice open space on the ship.  It is quiet, you are not going to get people walking onto the dance floor.  But, you have the balcony as well where people can watch.  One of the reasons I use a microphone is so they can understand what is going on.” 
Do not let the elegant surroundings lull you into thinking this is not a real sport.  As one quickly learns, fencing is strenuous.  “It is a great way to keep fit. You are taking small steps all the time so it is exercising your leg muscles.  It is good for your posture and it is a good mental workout as well.  [Also] fencing is a good social sport - - it is a great way to meet new friends.” 
  In order to provide more individualized instruction, classes are limited to 12 passengers.  They attract both men and women of a variety of ages and sizes.  As in judo, a big person does not necessarily have the advantage.  “If your opponent is making a lunge, all you have to do is make a small parry-riposte and you are using your opponent’s strength against him.”
 The course of instruction consists of two classes.  In order to ensure that the participants have the proper foundation, passengers cannot take the second class without taking the first.  To this end, the time and date of the first lesson appears in the Daily Program but the second lesson is by invitation.

In the first class, the passengers begin by learning about the equipment - - the mask, padding, glove and the foil.  Then, they are taught the necessary footwork including the initial stance, how to move forward and back, and how to lunge.  Towards the end of the class, a few minutes are given over to competitions.
The second lesson teaches how to parry a lunge, how to follow a parry with an attack (a riposte), and how to counter a riposte.  After that, the passengers pair-up and test their new found skills

It is somewhat daunting at first to have someone approach you with a drawn sword even one that has a protective button on the end.  However, one quickly becomes comfortable with it.  According to the British Fencing Association: “Fencing is one of the safest of sports and, provided the correct equipment is used, even minor injuries are uncommon. NOTE: Fencing should never be tried unless supervised by a qualified teacher and the correct clothing is worn and the correct equipment is used.”  Nonetheless, passengers must sign a legal release before beginning the course.
 The competitions during the classes I attended were both vigorous and enthusiastic.  I run regularly but the quick, stop and start, short steps and the necessary arm movements were a much more intense workout that left my pulse racing.   At the end of the 40 minute classes, everyone seemed exhausted but exhilarated.  “They do enjoy doing it,” commented Borthwich.
  
 
*Richard Wagner is a writer and photographer specializing in cruise ships.  His cruise ship profiles appear at www.beyondships.com 
         

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