Ullapool CRC Regatta 2023
This weekend Ullapool Coastal Rowing Club welcomed 22 clubs to our 2023 regatta. The regatta opened on Friday evening after the ferry sailed, with 5 clubs contesting the 6 youth categories.
In blustery conditions the youth teams battled back across the loch against an Easterly wind, which later rose to the point where the course was shortened to 600m.
The short course makes a great spectacle as the competitors row the length of the beach, turn by radio order, and race back to the start/finish line. Northern Ireland club Strangford made the long journey to Ullapool with a large youth team, which is a feat of organisation as we well know. After keen racing between Coigach, Eastern, Strangford and Ullapool, the Youth Trophy was won jointly by Strangford and Ullapool. It should be noted that most of the U19 crews would in fact qualify for U17, and rowers as young as 12 competed. It is great to have young rowers in our clubs, and Ullapool is sending a youth team to Strangford for a training camp and Skiffiefest this summer.
Overnight the forecast 38mph gusts from the East took a toll of club gazebos and also rowers’ tents. Some clubs jokingly asked for time to be taken off their race times to compensate for lost sleep, a reasonable request but hard to administer on an equitable basis. Saturday morning was actually sunny and calm and rowers were soaking up the warmth and enjoying the scenery.
To cope with demand 17 lanes had been provided, but to cope with 22 entries, mixed categories had two heats and a final. In the afternoon a sudden change came in the weather, with biblically torrential rain and then thunder and lightning. Racing was halted for over an hour while the lightning passed over, which meant the loss of the Mens and Women’s Decades races. Due to the need to race only while the ferry is out of the harbour, it is not possible to extend racing into the late afternoon.
Nairn, Strathpeffer, Skye and Lochalsh, and Findhorn are fairly recently formed clubs who have had to contend with Covid early in their lives, and we were very happy to host them. Nairn had a successful regatta with two wins, a second and two thirds, so we look forward to their regatta in September. Stornoway brought their skiff Madadh Ruadh as a Rest of the World boat, and contested several races. Old foes North Berwick, Coigach, Eastern, RowPorty, St Ayles and Boatie Blest provided stiff opposition, as did Orkney who made the long journey south.
The weather cleared up in time for our regatta dance, the first dance ever in the new ferry terminal. It turned out to be a great venue with all the chairs cleared to the edges of the room. Local hero Ruiaridh Maclean was in sparkling form with intricate and dazzling displays of accordion music, but even he was slightly astonished by the rowers’ enthusiasm for ceilidh dancing which went on till midnight.
Sunday dawned wet and breezy, with a forecast for increasing wind. Crews battled across the loch and back, but eventually the course had to be shortened as the waves increased. It was very exciting to watch 16 or 17 finalists racing at close quarters, and some close finishes to cope with in the umpire tent.
Eastern won the overall trophy, with Highland clubs Golspie and Ullapool coming 2nd and 3rd. Nairn tied with North Berwick at 4th equal. Despite the weather it was a very enjoyable regatta, the first since Covid to have a dance, which was a welcome return to old times.
