Archive for April, 2011
Portsoy Festival Skiff Racing
Posted by Alec in Uncategorized on 29 April 2011
Once again Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, Portsoy is offering racing for St Ayles skiffs at their fantastic festival weekend on 2 and 3 July. There will be races for Men and Women in Open, Over 35 and Over 55 categories. There will also be racing for mixed crews at Open and Over 35. Races will be long course of about 2 km, mass start with buoyed turns.
A pontoon is being constructed for crew changeover, which will allow us to increase the number of boats from the six who attended last year to twelve this year. We are conscious that we may have more skiffs than this wishing to attend and therefore have decided that priority will be given as follows:
1. Northern Boats: i.e. any of those based north of the Highland Line – a straight line from Stonehaven to Helensburgh.
2. One Boat from other clubs.
3. A second boat from any club.
We are therefore asking that members of the Association send an email to Portsoy11@jordanboats.co.uk by 6pm on Friday 6th May, expressing a desire to attend Portsoy with their skiff, and advising if they would wish to bring a second skiff if space permits. Your email will be acknowledged if it has been received. If we get expressions of interest for more than twelve skiffs we will hold a random draw from a bucket at whichever level of priority we are going to run out of spaces. Only clubs/organisations that are paid up members of Scottish Coastal Rowing Association will be entered into the draw. Clubs will be advised of the outcome of the draw on 7th May 2011, and the result will also be published on the SCRA website. All entries will be drawn in order so that if any successful club has to withdraw their entry, it can immediately be offered to the next club in the draw.
Clubs still building may enter the draw if they have a reasonable expectation of completion before the 1st of June. If successful in the draw, their skiff must be launched in a fully rowable condition before the 1st of June or their place will be offered to the next club in the draw.
Once we know which boats are going to be there, we will ask for entries for the specific racing categories set out above.
The finer points of detail relating to the racing will be posted on the SCRA website after the Anstruther Regatta. A new page for this regatta has been set up under the Events Tab. All Information regarding the regatta will be posted there.
We are being allocated our own campsite beside Loch Soy, so will be in the middle of the activities in the village. This will have shower and toilet facilities.
Robbie Wightman
Alec Jordan
Where is it….?
One of an occassional series:
Photo by Derek Braid
Minutes of EGM on 24th October 2010
Please find below the Minutes of the above meeting. These will need to be proposed and seconded at the forthcoming 2011 AGM of the association.
DRAFT
Minutes of an Extraordinary General Meeting of
The Scottish Coastal Rowing Association (SCRA)
Sunday 24th October 2010 The Loan, South Queensferry at 2 p.m.
Present: A list of those present is attached with email addresses and telephone numbers.
Apologies: There were no apologies.
Opening: Robbie Wightman, Convener, opened the meeting formally by thanking Peter Locke from SouthQueensferry for having arranged the meeting place. He introduced the members of the Committee and welcomed Adam Graham from Royal West of Scotland who had been co-opted onto the Committee with responsibility for Coaching and Development.
1. Proposal to change of month of AGM.
It had been proposed the month of the AGM should be changed from June to November with effect from November 2011. This would allow a full year of business to take place for 2010/2011 early in the year, and so a full set of accounts could be produced for any purpose.
Following discussion, it was agreed that Clubs who had paid their subscription for 2010/2011 will not be required to pay again for the period June to September 2011.
Proposed by Adam Graham, Seconded by Ian Clark. This proposal will be put to the AGM in June 2011 for ratification.
2. Proposal to change Draft Rules of Racing:
It had been proposed that the Draft Rules of Racing 2.3 (c) should be changed to read:
(c) Personal Flotation Devices for each crew member. These must be worn by all crew members at all times.
Proposed by Topher Dawson, seconded by ?????
There was discussion of the proposal and the proposal was agreed.
3. Discussion of proposal to have a mandatory Safety Kit:
There was considerable discussion on the content of the Kit, which would include; mobile phone or VHF in waterproof bag; anchor with chain and 30m line, minimum weight 10kg.; throwing rope bag; flares; space blanket for hypothermia, first aid kit, smoke floats, wooly hat two means of bailing boats, PFD for each crew member 8 m of 14mm rope for towing boat.
It was agreed that Topher Dawson and Adam Graham would finalise details of the Kit and that this would be put on the website shortly.
Reports:
There were a number of short reports and updates
4. Child Protection.
The Convenor advised members that under current legislation it is necessary for each Club to have a Welfare Officer to take responsibility for Child Protection Matters which apply to children and young people up to the age of 18 years and vulnerable adults. He would provide further guidance via the website as soon as possible.
5. Affiliation to Scottish Rowing Association:
The Secretary explained that an invitation to become affiliated had been received from the Scottish Rowing Association. The Committee recommended that any decision to affiliate to Scottish Rowing should be left to a later date, when the SCRA had become more mature and stabilised.
6. Subscriptions:
The Treasurer reported that subscriptions had been received from Royal West, Ullapool, Anstruther, Portobello, Dunbar, North Berwick, Port Seaton, Eyemouth and St. Abbs.
7. Calendar of Regattas for 2011:
Adam Graham had produced a Calendar of Regattas for 2011 open to Clubs which had paid their subscriptions.
Any Club not included at this time should contact Adam.
8. Building and Measurement Rules for the St Ayles Skiff:
The committee had invited member organisations and interested parties to make their input on this topic. The main concern at the time was the materials used for fittings. The Rules state: 5 Fittings; materials 5.2 Other fittings such as Kabes, Thole pins shall be constructed from hardwoods suitable to the pupose.
Following discussion it was agreed that for use in racing of St Ayles Skiffs, there could be no deviation from this rule.
9. Any Other Competent Business
There being no further business, the Convenor brought the meeting to a close by thanking all for their attendance, and South Queensferry for their hospitality.
“Loki” – Loch Broom’s 3rd St Ayles
Posted by Alec in Uncategorized on 24 April 2011
Sunshine & Spray on Loch Broom
Saturday 23rd April saw “Loki” launched from the slip at Ullapool, and greeted on the water by “Ulla”.
She has taken a little longer to build than than Ulla and Coigach Lass, but now she is there, we can expect even more competition on Loch Broom.
Figurehead
With Ulla - where was Coigach Lass?
Thank you to Chris Perkins for the pictures. Lots more at Ullapool Coastal Rowing
Alec Jordan
Generous offer from Dalriada Festival organisers
The regatta organisers have been in touch with me to offer some free accommodation for the weekend and free food on the Saturday night for anyone attending from SCRA clubs. They have offered 25 beds in a bunkhouse on the estate, of which Royal West will probably be using 12. P&O are covering the cost of the ferry for any car towing a boat, also any passengers taking part in the regatta.
Please contact me as soon as possible if you want to take advantage of this very generous offer.
Adam Graham
adam_graham@hotmail.com
Skiff 17 to Splash Loch Broom Saturday 23 April 2011
Posted by robbiew in Uncategorized on 19 April 2011
Loch Broom Sailing Club are launching and naming their St Ayles skiff on Saturday 23rd April at the Sailing Club, Ullapool.
‘Walking the boat to the water’ the party will leave the Braes at 1:30 to arrive at the wee pier by 2:00pm for the Launch. Honorary guest will be Mrs Jessie Osborne.
Built over the last two winters, this will be the third St Ayles skiff launched in Wester Ross and the second in Ullapool (with another being built at the High School not far behind). For a short while Loch Broom may have four times as many skiffs as the Clyde, discerning population that they are.
Everyone is welcome and if weather is OK there will hopefully be a chance for locals and visitors to try their hand at rowing.
For more info –
phone Paul Copestake 01854 612323
“Chris o’Kanaird” returns to the waves
Posted by Alec in Uncategorized on 19 April 2011
First race between the Anstruther skiffs
Slightly belatedly after Sunday’s launchings, we have some pictures of the prototype skiff’s return to Anstruther Harbour on Saturday 16 April.
The cracked planks
She was damaged in the same storm that so nearly wrote off Ulla last autumn, but nothing like as badly. Two planks were badly cracked, requiring replacement sections. The bow stem was slightly cracked, replaced with the offcut from when she was built (I always knew I would find a use for that!), but the stern stem required the re-laminating of a major section – not quite so easy on the boat.
Aft Stem damage
After the main repairs were done, she was returned to Anstruther where the rest of the St Ayles RC members got stuck into rubbing her down and giving her a new coat of paint. A new Museum Logo to match St Ayles, and she was ready to lauch to be filmed by MacTV for their program on the skiff. There was a lot of the gaelic being bandied about at Anstruther Beach!
The re-launch of Chris followed by the trip to South Queensfery on Sunday has given St Ayles RC a huge boost, and we will look forward to seeing the harbour filled with skiffs at our Regatta in May!
Alec Jordan
Back to her former condition
Fantastic weekend for SCRA
As well as the launch of Jenny Skylark and Ferry Lass this weekend, which is a fantastic achievement for both clubs, RowPorty also had a Jollyboat was on the water for the first time since 1986.
A less well pubicised event was also going on over the weekend on the West coast. Three of the five SCRA club coaches who attended a British Rowing run course in Wales last September were undergoing thier final practical assessments. Adam Graham and Ian Clark of Royal West, and Topher Dawson of the Ulla Syndicate, successfully completed the UK Coaching Council Level 2 Rowing Coach Award for Fixed Seat Rowing.
The assessor sent by British Rowing was amazed with what the SCRA and its clubs have achieved in the last 12-18 months and has offered his support in the future if we run courses, workshops or simply want advise.
Adam, Ian and Topher would like to thank Sarah Hayward at Welsh Rowing, who ran the course and David Thompson at Welsh Sea Rowing, who helped us prepare for the assessment that he travelled up from SW Wales to undertake. We would also like to thank all those at British Rowing and Scottish Rowing who played any part in making the course happen. We also owe thanks to the willing recipients of our coaching as we practiced for the final assessments.
All of this positive activity amongst SCRA clubs on a single weekend in April can only be an inspiration for the season ahead.
Portobello Launch “Jenny Skylark”
Posted by robbiew in Uncategorized on 18 April 2011
In a busy weekend, as well as the south Queensferry launch, Portobello added to their growing rowing boat fleet with the launch of their second St Ayles skiff, “Jenny Skylark”. The name was chosen from many suggestions from the community after a request for a name in the local paper. the Skylark was apleasure boat operating out of Portobello in the days when it still had a pier. The Jenny makes her unique. Hopefully a great deal of interest will be generated in the resort.
There is a report on the STV website. Some photos will go up on the SCR Flickr page.
Meanwhile here is one of Rowporty slipping Jenny Skylark out of their
workshop, and heading off to look for the sea.
Portobello also tried out the Jolly boat that they had obtained from Royal Tay Tay Yacht Club. Here they are learning the ropes:
Jenny Skylark and Ferry Lass bring us to 16 St Ayles skiffs on the Water. The Loch Broom Sailing Club skiff will now be launched on Saturday 23 April 2011. Soon to follow on the water will be Ullapool High School, and the first Galgael build, with Stornoway aiming to be on the water in time for the Coigach Regatta.
“Ferry Lass” Launched at Queensferry
Posted by robbiew in Uncategorized on 17 April 2011
Queensferry Rowers launched their St Ayles skiff on Sunday 17 April 2011.
The boat was named “Ferry Lass” by Holly Taylor, the Queensferry Fair Queen. A blessing was given by The Right Honourable George Grubb, Lord Lieutenant and Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and on behalf of the community the Club’s Patron the Earl of Hopetoun thanked all those who had worked hard to facilitate the building of the boat.
There is a long history for rowing in South Queensferry, and a photo of a crew from around 1900, posing with their trophies can be purchased here: http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-467-686-C . However there has been no organised rowing for half a century…. until today!
The name “Ferry Lass” comes from one of the Jolly Boats in use around South Queensferry up until the 1950s. Hopefully the future for rowing will be even longer and brighter.
The launch was watched by a sizeable crowd from the town, along with visitors from other clubs including Anstruther, Cockenzie and Port Seton, North Berwick and Royal West. Anstruther ladies had brought Chris O’Kannaird with them, and welcomed Ferry Lass onto the water and into the Scottish Coastal Rowing Fleet. The two boats then took several turns around the bay, with the Forth Bridge giving a fantasitc backdrop, as Queensferry towns folk were given a chance to try out the St Ayles.
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