Saint Pierre and Miquelon: Harbor Dory Rowing Practice

Harbor Dory Rowing Practice, Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Context

On this small French archipelago off Newfoundland, work and water have always been intertwined, and for consistency we use the French official form “Saint‑Pierre‑et‑Miquelon,” the demonym “Saint‑Pierrais,” and “dory (fr. doris)” on first mention. For centuries, crews here fished the Grand Banks from low, flat‑bottomed wooden boats called doris; they were easy to launch from pebbled shores and steady in chop when handled in sync. Though modern vessels replaced them, Saint‑Pierrais volunteers organized to keep the craft, and its cooperative rhythm, alive. In November 2024, France’s Ministry of Culture recorded the “Dory of Saint‑Pierre‑et‑Miquelon” in the national inventory of intangible cultural heritage, a status confirmed by the Ministry’s inventory notice and local coverage, recognizing both the boat and the know‑how that surrounds it. *

That living heritage isn’t a museum piece. From late spring through early fall, locals and visitors can book guided dory outings right in Saint‑Pierre’s harbor, learning to row in cadence while a coxswain steers. The tourist office lists weekly tours (as listed for 2024/25, typically June 15–September 15), with groups of up to 12 typically divided across several doris to maintain standard crew sizes and steering roles, which is perfect for small teams seeking a vivid, place‑rooted experience. * On some evenings, association members launch boats for short harbor rows, and organizers report that being on the water helps people unwind after work. *

Meet the Company/Cultural Tradition

The keepers of this practice call themselves Les Zigotos, a Saint‑Pierre association founded more than three decades ago. They restore and row a flotilla of doris from colorful waterfront sheds known as salines (traditional salt‑shed boathouses; pronounced sa‑LEEN); in winter they service hulls at the association workshop, and in fair weather they take people out to learn the stroke and hear the stories that cling to these boats. France’s national travel portal profiles them as “guardians of the doris,” and any organizational use of their image or stories should credit Les Zigotos, follow their preferred naming, and proceed with the association’s consent. *

Their public offer is simple: a 90‑minute harbor tour (or a longer half‑day option) guided by experienced volunteers, with a published season, price, and capacity managed via the official tourism board, enabling a clear all‑in per‑person estimate (vendor fee plus loaded time) and naming an accountable owner and facilitator in your plan. The group also partners with “private, associative, or institutional” events, useful shorthand in France that signals they can host company groups alongside cultural festivals and civic programs. * * Their restored doris form a small fleet and a floating classroom; 2024’s heritage listing formalized what islanders already knew: the doris is a living emblem of teamwork here. *

The Ritual

Minute	Scene	Purpose
0–10	A dockside brief is held at Saline No. 20, lifejackets are put on, and roles are assigned using local terms where possible (chef de nage/stroke, middle rowers, bow rowers, barreur/coxswain).	This stage establishes safety, clarity, and equal footing from the start and corresponds to ritual separation.
10–15	Dry‑land “catch–drive–finish” drill with oars, then launch.	Build a shared rhythm before the water adds variables.
15–35	Harbor row at an easy pace with the barreur/coxswain steering and the chef de nage setting the stroke while pairs match the rhythm.	This stage builds synchrony without competition so everyone feels the boat move as one and shares a brief communitas‑like focus.
35–45	Seat swap so each pair experiences a different position.	Rotating perspective, mutual empathy.
45–55	Return to dock; haul out; coil lines and rinse oars together.	Shared maintenance reinforces collective responsibility.
55–60	Quick debrief—what felt smooth, what we adjusted—then, only if participants opt in, a group photo by the salines with clear purpose and retention communicated.	This stage provides incorporation in ritual terms—closure and memory‑making—without turning it into a meeting.

Notes

Partner: Association Les Zigotos (seasonal group tours listed by the official tourism office; up to 12 participants; minimum age 12; French/English available; no swimming required; adaptive lifejackets and boarding aids on request; offer a land‑based synchrony alternative for those who opt out). *
Format emphasizes calm harbor rowing and coordination; it is not a race or open‑sea outing, and safety gear and protocols apply (PFDs required, sober boats, VHF and first‑aid carried by the operator, and weather/wind cutoffs agreed in advance). *

Why It Works

Two ingredients do the heavy lifting—synchrony and story—leading from shared cadence, rotating roles, and shared cleanup to proximal outcomes like calm affect, perceived cohesion, and role clarity that can support downstream coordination at work. Small lab and field studies with rowing crews suggest that coordinated exertion may elevate endorphin‑related pain tolerance compared with solo effort, a response consistent with—but not proof of—heightened bonding and tolerance for discomfort. In controlled studies with small samples, rowers training together showed larger increases in pain‑threshold than those training alone, a common but indirect proxy for endorphin activity. * *

Synchrony also meshes with what social neuroscientists observe about cooperation: moving in time primes us to align with one another. Experiments on interpersonal coordination report that synchrony can help people match rhythms and reduce variability when following a leader, while oxytocin findings—often from pharmacological studies—are suggestive mechanisms with limited external validity for workplace settings. * * The dory simply localizes those dynamics in a uniquely Saint‑Pierrais frame: a small crew in one hull on calm water with a cadence caller (chef de nage) and a steering barreur/coxswain. Add the island’s own heritage, recognized by France’s culture ministry and narrated by the volunteers who keep it afloat, and you have a ritual that blends physiology with place‑based pride. * *

Outcomes & Impact

This ritual is expected to help through a simple chain—safety brief, shared cadence, role rotation, shared cleanup, and local storytelling—leading to calm affect, perceived cohesion, and role clarity that can support smoother handoffs back at work. For participants, the harbor’s quiet and the metronome of the stroke deliver a reliable reset; in a 2021 local report, organizers said that being on the water helps people relax after a day of work, a mood shift teams can feel even in a single session. * For groups, synchronized effort and role rotation can build perceived cohesion, reflecting lab findings that shared movement enhances bonding, and you can track a simple proxy such as handoff defects per sprint against a waitlisted control team. *

For employers, the ritual’s credibility comes from cultural legitimacy and professional organization: tours are published by the territory’s tourist office with set windows (as listed for 2024/25, typically June 15–September 15), pricing, and capacity, making procurement and safety sign‑off straightforward while allowing scheduling around customer‑critical windows and night shifts. * Because Les Zigotos also collaborate on private and institutional events, HR teams can slot a dory row alongside workshops or site visits without inventing formats from scratch, booking off‑peak times and capping group size to avoid displacing community users and to ensure benefits flow to the association. * Finally, the 2024 intangible‑heritage listing turns a pleasant outing into meaning‑making: employees leave with a story about their host community that sticks. *

Lessons for Global Team Leaders

Principle	Why It Matters	How to Translate
Heritage as a stage	Authentic, place‑specific rituals deepen belonging and respect for hosts.	Choose a local craft or practice with community stewards (e.g., dory rowing with Les Zigotos), credit them explicitly in materials, and obtain consent for names, images, and stories.
Synchrony over competition	Coordinated movement bonds faster than scorekeeping.	Pick cooperative formats (shared cadence) rather than races.
Rotate roles	Experiencing stroke, middle, and bow builds empathy and systems awareness.	Swap positions mid‑session; let someone else call cadence.
Partner with pros	Safety and logistics are already solved.	Use established groups listed by official tourism boards, book through official channels, avoid copying uniforms or names, and share benefits fairly (fees and optional donations) with the local stewards.
Small, frequent doses	Repetition beats a once‑a‑year off‑site.	Offer an optional seasonal cadence during paid hours with multiple time slots, with a socially safe opt‑out and an equivalent land‑based synchrony alternative reviewed by HR/Legal, and offer a remote‑parity option for distributed teammates.

Implementation Playbook

Confirm season and capacity with the tourist office listing; request a private group slot with Les Zigotos (as listed for 2024/25, typically June 15–September 15; up to 12), and publish an opt‑in sign‑up with a no‑repercussion opt‑out and an equivalent land‑based synchrony option. *
Share a one‑pager reviewed by Legal/HR that explains why this fits current priorities, states explicit opt‑in/opt‑out, covers what to expect (meeting point at Saline No. 20, attire, lifejacket provided, no‑race ethos), and outlines anonymous feedback with a retention window. *
Assign rotating roles (chef de nage/stroke, middle, bow, barreur/coxswain) before launch and swap at halfway to level experience; for a 60–75 minute MVP, prioritize dockside drill plus a short harbor row with one swap to reduce cost.
Keep the pace conversational at a perceived exertion of 3–4 for about 20 minutes, with the Zigotos barreur/coxswain leading on‑water and the manager limiting airtime, emphasizing coordination first and effort second to support bonding. * *
Close with a two‑minute “what felt smooth” check and, only if participants opt in, a photo by the salines captured for internal recap with 12‑month retention and no tagging; send a brief anonymous survey within 48 hours and delete responses within 60 days.
If weather cancels, rebook promptly and use agreed wind/temperature cutoffs; run a 6–8 week pilot with 2–3 sessions for 2–4 teams, set success thresholds (+0.3 belonging, ≥70% opt‑in, −15% handoff defects) and stop rules (<40% opt‑in, any safety incident, negative safety pulse).

Common Pitfalls

Treating it like a regatta; chasing speed undercuts coordination and inclusion.
Overlooking rotation; keeping the same people at stroke or cox creates status cues that the boat doesn’t need.
Skipping the local partner; DIY on water and heritage is a recipe for anxiety—book through the official channel, schedule off‑peak, cap group sizes, and ensure fees or donations benefit the association. *

Reflection & Call to Action

Not every island has doris, but every place has a cadence. In Saint‑Pierre, a small crew dipping oars together can turn a workgroup into a crew and an evening into shared memory. If your team lands here in summer, give them the gift of that rhythm: a calm harbor, a practiced coxswain, and the small miracle of twenty minutes when everyone pulls exactly together. Then, carry the lesson home: design rituals that ask people to match pace, not outpace each other.