Stranraer Regatta Report 16^th & 17^th September 2017

Stranraer were proud to hold its first St. Ayles Skiff regatta. A small but special group of clubs made their way to the furthest south west corner of Scotland to the beautiful Loch Ryan as part of the South West challenge 2017. The regatta coincided with the inaugural Stranraer Oyster Festival which provided the opportunity for some interesting dance techniques to be observed at “the Bash” on Saturday night alongside 500 other locals and visitors.

Annan kindly brought 2 boats to enable extreme novice crews from Stranraer to “have a go”. Whilst the camaraderie and friendly intense rivalry was noted amongst the odd bit of crew sharing and minor category stretching to get more boats out for each race. Over 60 categories rapidly morphed down over 50, and youth to novice with consultation of the visiting teams.

Saturday was a pleasant relief from the gales of the days before but with still some short chop conditions (and least likely conditions to occur on Loch Ryan with our regular sheltered breezes from any other direction) of a due northerly 12 knot cool breeze. However, after bacon rolls, cups of tea at the Coxes briefing and some Boat House envy, Colin the local coast guard and beach assistant waded into the seas to help all the boats launch for the first race.

The first race started to set the scene with Boatie Blest (with help from St Ayles ladies) showing Killyleagh and Carrick the way and Sketrick just warming to the task in the races to come. By the time race 2 got under way clearly Sketrick had recovered from their long journey and were starting to get going with a close race for first with Boatie Blest coming a second only 5 seconds behind and Carrick in third and Killyleagh fourth. Sketrick and Carrick sat out the third race with not enough of the right kind of crew to convince the umpires they could take part, by now it became obvious that Stuart from Boatie Blest lives on the boat, when he wasn’t rowing he was coxing. Also, the deep technical discussions had started (which to the newbies of Stranraer was both fascinating and enlightening), “rowlocks or pins”, “blade length adjustment and gearing”, (Perhaps this coastal rowing thing has a bit more to it than just building a boat and going for a row ed? – so as Stranraer start to build their first skiff in their new boathouse next month lots of close-up photos started being taken!) Race four was a humdinger as the over 50 men took to the water and a ringer was spotted (Topher) in the Sketrick boat. The race was close and finally Sketrick held off the Boatie Blest challenge by only 5 seconds and the fastest time of the day at 13 minutes and 50 seconds.

Race five brought great excitement, you could nearly hear the whole of Stranraer stop to cheer their hapless brave Novice crew onto the water. The Stranraer Novice crew took to the water and were very proud to fight off Annan Novices to come a creditable 3^rd, Alan Thompson had kindly coxed the Stranraer crew and repeated the favour the following day. It should be noted that Boatie Blest had finished so far in front that this was a moment when Stuart was seen on the shore, tea in hand watching the Stranraer team cross the line! (We have a lot to learn).

North from the beach to Ailsa Craig

Lunch break was well deserved and the chop was building and the drizzle decided to try and dampen the motivation of the crews, but to no avail. The final three races were going to be critical to who would lift the trophy. First the Men’s Open with Sketrick, Boatie Blest, Carrick and Killyleagh in that order, which tightened the top of the table going into the Women’s Open. But again, Boatie Blest put on a big performance followed by Carrick, Sketrick in third and Killyleagh fourth. As the last race loomed it was clear the calculators were out (although later perhaps not all coxes had read the race instructions fully to realise it was the best 5 to count!), Boatie looked like they had it in the bag and nobody could pass them but could Killyleagh catch Sketrick. It was again close racing but Boatie Blest stamped their authority again, Killyleagh did beat Sketrick on the water, but not enough to pull them up to second overall.

As the boats came off the water and the crews crawled on hand and knee up the beach, they could smell the burgers and sausages on Hugh Parkers BBQ, unsurprisingly many them found some alcohol too. Those staying conveniently on Roy’s clipper in the harbour rushed off for showers to cool down (really ed?) The prize giving came and went with discussions of the day, what had been and what could have been if only.

Boatie Blest with their prize

The Bash at the Castle hotel was the main event for the Oyster festival and many crews joined us for the party and were still seen dancing at midnight. Clearly the impending Sunday 5k “fun” duck race was but a training row for these well-tuned athletes.

Colin helping the boats with their Le Mans Starts on Sunday

Sunday dawned to light winds and a calm sea. The course was laid. The fun race started, each crew 2 minutes apart in reverse order of club results from the previous day. (“I like a good chase” was heard from a small Irish voice). The clock started on land with a crew member running 100yds down the front to a paddling pool full of plastic ducks. Once one had been collected they returned to their boat le Mans style starting from the beach and off to the furthest mark turning to Port. On to a second mark making a triangle turning also to Port. Finally, as they neared the shore again there was the “Super Duck” mark with a bag of Mars bars attached. Each crew stopped and collected a mars bar and finally returned to the shore and ran to the start with a duck and wrapper. To add some spice some special prizes were also on offer, “Best Duck Impressions”, “Most Notable Cox” and “Most Notable Teamwork”.

A happy Stranraer Crew after the 5k Duck Race

The results speak for themselves, again the friendship and camaraderie shone through as the Stranraer crew, a combination of the local coastguards and staff from Jewsons (who are supplying much of what Stranraer need to build their boats) could not start with the rest of the boats and was in fact ready to go after all the other boats were ashore. Not wanting to leave the novices out at sea by themselves several clubs reselected a second crew to re-do the whole race again!

Stranraer greatly enjoyed hosting the regatta and are now even more (was that possible?) excited about getting their own boats built ready to be competitive in 2018 and beyond. A huge thankyou to the skiff community for being so friendly and easy to host. An equally large thankyou to our large team of keen volunteers to made it all possible.

Findhorn Coastal Rowing Club Regatta 9^th September 2017

This was Findhorn Coastal Rowing Club’s first regatta with 10 teams entering from all round the Moray Firth.  As our sport continues to grow, we celebrate when clubs start running new events for their neighbouring clubs to enjoy.  We are grateful to the club for promptly sending in the following report:

Findhorn were joined by Portsoy, Avoch, Findochty, Burghead, Collieston, Cullen, Cromarty, Golspie and Chanonry. Many of the clubs got into the spirit of the day and wore fancy dress as well as some great dressed boats.

The conditions for racing in Findhorn bay were challenging with a very unforgiving incoming tide for the shorter races at the beginning of the day. There were a few caught up in a less than quick slick starboard turn rowing into the oncoming tide. Lessons were learnt in very different sea conditions compared to the open waters of The Moray Firth. However it was great to see the tradition of the regatta returning to Findhorn and many of the local spectators reminisced about the by gone days of the regatta, using the piers as a traditional start line. With the draw made up of head to head races between the clubs this made for interesting viewing.

As high tide approached the racing moved into longer events. I say “longer” than what was advertised to been 1.3km races. This proved to be a slight under estimation so we could avoid too much chaos with a single buoy turn for all 10 boats to race around. It was a grand sight to see such an armada of skiffs racing down the bay. Once the women’s and men’s open had completed, the mixed race and scramble race had a much more realistic 1.3km distance to fight it out over and gladly the single buoy turn was not the carnage we had envisaged.

With racing complete the overall placings were 1^st Avoch, 2^nd Golspie, 3^rd  Burghead, 4^thFindhorn, 5^th = Cromarty & Collieston, 6^th Portsoy, 7^th Chanonry, 8^th Cullen, 9^th Findochty. With all Clubs receiving a commemorative trophy and bottle of Local Gin.

The event went on into the evening with a drumming workshop  proving especially popular for those who wish to improve their timing, and live music from the fabulous Boat Shed Band.

Many Thanks to all for entering into the spirit of the day and making it such a fun event. We are already looking forward to next year.

(photos by Annie Cheese and Iain Rollo)

Congratulations to Dutch St Ayles skiff club WSV Woudrichem, who had a very successful day at the Great River Race.  There were five Dutch St Ayles rowing at the event, four from Woudrichem and one from Heusden.  Woudrichem’s “Groot & Grut 3”, rowed by “Martin’s Dream Team” came in second in the Men 40+ category,  in a time of 2:36:16.

However in the mixed category Woudrichem went one better in “Groot & Grut 2” with team “Rowmotion” coming in as best mixed crew at the Great River Race on handicap in a time of 2:40:50.

We will post a link to the full results of the Great River Race 2017 as soon as it becomes available, and will advise which crew has been given the trophy for fastest St Ayles, which is awarded on age and gender handicap.

We have another busy weekend of rowing events ahead, including the Exciseman’s chase on Saturday and the Nith Navigation Race on Sunday.  There is still space to join the Nith, and all crews taking part should note the details in the:

Nith Navigation Race 10th September 2017-  Notice of Race

The Great River Race is a fantastic spectacle, with hunners of fixed seat rowing boats riding the tide from the Docks up to Richmond on the River Thames in London.  Every year there are some St Ayles skiffs taking part, and Jordan Boats has presented a trophy for them to race for.  The trophy is given to the fastest St Ayles on handicap,  rather than simply being the fastest over the course, so that neither age not gender will be a barrier to a crew winning it.

The Trophy is currently in the hands of Dutch club WSV Woudrichem, who have every intention or retaining it.  The club is sending three crews, one made up of juniors, one of men and one mixed crew.   A second Dutch Club, Heusden will also be sending a skiff. The two skiffs based at Langstone in Hampshire, Bella and Bonnie, will also be there as will Lynn Rewet and Ouse Rewet from Kings Lynn in Norfolk.

Fife is sending down three crews, two from St Andrews Coastal Rowing Club and one from St Ayles Rowing Club of Anstruther.  Given the links with the rowing the waves project, SCRA have received a letter of support for St Andrews Coastal Rowing Club from the Director of the Royal Geographical Society, Dr Rita Gardner!  She wishes St Andrews well for the race, and goes on to give advice that all crews should follow:

“The Society has a long tradition of supporting expeditions that enhance our understanding of our physical and human environments.  I would like to encourage all the participants to share the geographical stories of the riverscapes they pass through, while rowing the thirty one mile stretch of the River Thames from Millwall to Teddington, when they return, tired, but with a greater sense of wonder for this magnificent river and the city it meanders through.”

We will publish a link to the Great River Race Results 2017 as soon as they are available.