Coastal Rowing News

While many skiffies were up in Coigach,  Pittenweem rowers were delighted to have a dry, sunny  day for the launch of their first St Ayles skiff.  Rowers from North Queensferry, Crail, Anstruther  and Queensferry were able to join the locals to help them celebrate.

Jim Morrison and Pete Wilcox, leaders of Pittenweem Boat Building

Pittenweem’s own Fisher Lad and Fisher Lass, supported by two talented pipers, christened the  new community built skiff ”Fisher Lass”.  The boat was allowed some whisky from a quaich as part of the ceremony, and the event was also clebrated with a  fabulous skiff cake featuring a couple of builders as well as the hens who had shared the barn with the skiff in build. The cake was  a wonderful surprise organised by Bev Whittome.

The Lad and Lass and then  joined the local rowers for their inaugural row around the harbour.  Everybody who wanted got a birl.  The club would like to thank everybody for coming and making the day a great success.

The two nautical-looking chaps beside the skiff in one of the photos are Jim Morrison and Pete Wilcox, the main builders.

Photos by Jeff Wilcox and Anna Kucharska (cake).

OK people. Be assured that we Achiltibuie/Coigach folk do NOT take for granted the beautiful panorama of our everyday surroundings !

But it does make us look again when we hear the constant stream of appreciative comments about the beauty and peace of this amazing place from our rowing visitors, so thanks for that fellow skiffies…

Check out and join  ‘Achiltibuie Appreciation Society’ on facebook for lots more pictures and craic.

What a lot of grand folk came to our Regatta last weekend – the ‘Coigach Lass’ crew have been inundated with kind comments from other teams and loads of happy emails from crews when they got home and seemingly straight on to their computer!

We have rowers arranging accommodation for next year already, so put the weekend of 18/19th May into your 2013 skiff-racing schedules for more of this …

And some more of this …

And a little bit more of this …

and a wee tad more of this…

and we want a lot more of this…

and perhaps a smidgeon more of this…

and certainly plenty of this..!

and we’ll all finish with a dram of this!

Hardcore race results at www.achiltibuie.net/regatta thanks to Peter Drake’s meticulous race timings and the rather less infallible binocular action of  myself and Andrew MacNeilage attempting to sort out 1st to 9th places from our shoreside vantage point whilst attempting a commentary on the races!

Check out your places and timings at the above url – and here are the other prizes which were awarded on Saturday night.

Best Presented Boat - ‘Coigach Lass’  Achiltibuie, Highly Commended – ‘St Ayles’ Anstruther. (Judge – Jim Kinnear)

Best Newcomer:  Newhaven with ‘Wee Michael’

Team placements (Mean of points won divided by races entered)

Coigach Lass with 85 points.

Best Visiting Team placement  (and prize for top visitor crew competitors) – Anstruther  ‘St Ayles’ with 73 points.

Jim Muir Senior cup – Over 50s- Anstruther  ‘St Ayles’

Local photographer Anne McGee’s stunning photos of rowers and spectators galore can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/buckbeak143/

Videos and many more photos coming soon. And what photos!!!

An impression of Ulla’s makeover for her Royal Row – so you know what to look out for on the telly.

Saturday 2nd June, 1030 am – Trial rowing sessions in Cul Mor and Jubilee cake sale, on the pier.

Sunday 3rd June at 2 pm –  Fancy Dress rowing in the Seaforth, ‘Ulla’ will be beginning the row down the Thames in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant, meanwhile at the Seaforth, come and row along / try to beat ‘Ulla’. Jubilee theme fancy dress, prizes for kids and adults, Jubilee cocktails, Pimms, fancy cakes. Raffle prizes (1) Ullapool Coastal Rowing Club Membership voucher (2) A spectacular hamper of local produce including items kindly donated by Ullapool Smokehouse, Ullapool Bakery, SRCFoods, Heather K lobster, The Seaforth (A Ross & Cromarty Malt) plus many more. (3) A Beth Stockl bag with Made in Ullapool candles and handmade Lochbroom Soap  generously donated by Cathy MacKenzie.  Get planning your outfit now !

After a fairly late evening and a bit of sleep the boats were put back in the water for the first running of the Tanera cup race.

On the Beach before the campers stirred

Some crews were all raced out and elected to take a leisurely row across the water to Tanera allowing those with some competitive energy left to lead the way. Others took the easy route (although the gymnastics needed to embark and disembark were a tad challenging for some) and paid the ferryman for passage.

On the Tanera Ferry

This meant we were well ahead of the Skiffs to the destination, the Tanera Post Office.

Waiting on the Tanera Cup Victors

Once the Spectators and Skiffs all arrived we all enjoyed a light Brunch and the more energetic did a little island exploration.  Tanera is a different world and well worth visiting.

After lunch the Skiffs made their individual way back to Bardentarbet to prepare for the long haul home while the host of spectators enjoyed the scenery while waiting for the ferry.

A distant Coigach from Tanera

The Anchorage and Tanera Post Office

Awaiting the return Ferry

A super end to a glorious weekend.

As a reminder of a fantastic weekend, some photos taken by Chris Perkins….

Close racing in the Men's open, Coigach holding off North Berwick and Anstruther

Portobello and Newhaven admire the snowy hills.Boatie Blest 35+

Bardentarbet Bay – click for the bigger picture

Coigach Community Rowing put on a really rather Good Regatta over the weekend. Taking on board lessons from last years damp & breezy event they remembered to book some decent weather – given the last couple of months a miracle in itself!

Everybody who was able to go had a really good time in a glorious setting.

and the setting was magnificent

Coigach pretty well swept the board, demonstrating a deep understanding of the local tidal currents – fascinating watching the changing strategy as the tide ebbed and flowed through the day. We shall have to visit the Coigach more often as part of our training regime .

A toast for our Victorious neighbors – Coigach

 Port Seton & Cockenzie brought a new strip along which added to the day’s colour.

PS&C adding a splash of colour

Our own rocket ship ‘Ulla’ is still being prettified for her sate with the Thames on 3rd June so was substituted with ‘Cul Mor’, the UHS boat. She wasn’t first but she wasn’t last (too often).

The School boat

 a random slideshow will show what it was like better than words

Click to view slideshow.

Congratulations to our Coigach friends on the quality of their event – and showing the rest of us how to win.

Sunday’s pix to follow

Though early Saturday started fair with a gentle breeze,  the wind began to get up.     Then the Skiffy gods smiled on us – possibly remembering the near-gales of last year – the weather brightened and the wind dropped a little to make rowing conditions near-perfect for a great day’s sprinting off Badentarbat Beach!

… and on Sunday the crossing to the isle of Tanera Mor – however you did it -  was awesome!  All the better if you took a piper on board as the North Berwick crew of the redoubtable ‘St Baldred’ did!

Full results and the lowdown on the weekend with lots of pics (and url for local photographer and photo-finish-person Anne McGee’s flickr site) will be up shortly, so watch this space…

Rowers from Anstruther, Cockenzie/ Port Seaton, Loch Broom SC, Portobello, Newhaven, North Berwick and Ullapool joined hosts Coigach Community Rowing Club for a stunning weekend of coastal rowing in the remote Coigach peninsular in the North West of Scotland. Saturday saw a sprint course of 1000m without a turn. Up to nine boats were on the start line for each race, with the stunning backdrop of Islands and snow covered mountains. There was a tail wind for the race, which reduced to a pleasant breeze after about noon.

Anstruther won the first race, women’s open, before the Coigach lass started her winning habit, bringing home line honours in the Men’s open. North Berwick took the next race, women’s 45+. The visitors from Anstruther brought home a victory in the over 50 mixed and were joined by North Berwick youngster Patrick Waite to win the in the under 30 mixed. However the home club swept the boards in the remaining five races.

After the Saturday Night Ceilidh and scrummy scran, slightly bleary eyed rowers were woken up on the Sunday for a stunning row out to the Isle of Tanera. Four boats raced, the rest simply cruised the 2km out to the largest of the Summer Isles, where the winning team, Coigach, were treated to silver service in the cafe, whilst the rest of the crews and their supporters, who travelled mostly by ferry, enjoyed a light lunch on much more practical wooden trays. The scenery was fantastic, the weather was kind, the welcome was first class, and the rowing community were all very happy.

If you have any photos please e mail your best three to secretary@scottishcoastalrowing.org and we will get a small selection uploaded.

The Crail Crabbers launch their coastal skiff – The Crail Partan on Saturday 26th May at 4pm at Crail harbour. More information will be posted in due course.

Nine coaches from a variety of SCRA clubs passed their written exam for the UKCC Fixed seat rowing coaches course held recently in Greenock.

The successful coaches, pictured below are (left to right) Iain Sinclair (Rollicking Rowing Club, Lochgilphead), John Curtis (Boatie Blest, Cockenzie and Port Seton), Robbie Wightman (North Berwick, and Convenor of Scottish Coastal Rowing Association), Ali Grant (RowPorty, Portobello), Sarah Hayward (course tutor from Welsh Rowing), Alan Farrell (Troon RC), Fergus Allison (RowPorty) Mick Boden(Troon), Jon Gerrard (Boatie Blest) and Tom Hares (Dunbar CRC)

Trust me I am a "coach"

The coaches underwent four days of intensive lectures and practical assessments of thier coaching abilities. This included time on the water instructing each other.

Immersion recovery drills

Having undertaken the first part of the course, the coaches must now go back to their clubs and practice what they have learned. They will then be assessed by a British Rowing assessor, at their own clubs, hopefully in September.

Jim Ford of Royal West passed his assessement the day before this course, meaning that Scottish Coastal Rowing now has four fully qualified Level 2 coaches. Jim has joins Adam Graham and Ian Clark, also from Royal West and Topher Dawson from Ullapool.

All the coaches are committed to promoting safe and enjoyable rowing, and if your club would like to have some input from one of the coaches, or if you would like to attend this intensive course yourself at some time in the future, please contact Adam Graham, Training and Development officer for the SCRA.

By the end of this weekend our fleet will be increased by two new launchings at Pittenweem and Maidens (Ayrshire), and we will have had races and social events at Coigach regatta. See below for posts. Good luck to all, and feel free to send a couple of photos and a report to secretary@scottishcoastalrowing.org

The second St Ayles to be built in England will be launched on Thursday 31st May, and all followers of Scottish Coastal Rowing are warmly invited to take part.

The skiff is being built at St Michaels Church in Byker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, by two teams of community boat builders.  One team is made up of  teenagers  (YMCA Newcastle) and the second group are adults recovering from  alcohol / substance abuse (Norcare and Tyne Housing). The whole build was commissioned by Newcastle’s Science City community science team.  The building of the skiff has therefore been a real community effort, and the plan is to use her as a community resource, racing on the Tyne and travelling to various coastal events, helping to reintroduce coastal rowing to the region.

The launch party will leave at 10am from St Michael’s Church Byker, Hedlam St (NE6 2DX), walking the boat down to St Peters Marina for the launch. At 11am the skiff will be lowered into the water with opportunities to  take a turn on an oar.

Your Homes Newcastle have kindly donated some authentic Byker paint  and the oars are being varnished. The skiff will spend 2 hours on the  water from 11am to 1pm on Thursday 31st, then back up to the Church  for some sandwiches and a mug of coffee / tea around 1.30-2pm, where  you can try your hand at some traditional woodworking. So come along and witness what a creative community can achieve by  sharing skills and utilising their natural surroundings.

If you intend to come back to the Church  afterwards please let Alex Finnegan of puppetship CNC know, so that he can arrange numbers for food and beverages:

Alex Finnegan PuppetShip CIC 07971 407 586 http://www.puppetship.com/

Cheer on the crews at the second Coigach Regatta this weekend.  More Information at:

http://buieboat.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/its-that-coigach-regatta-time-of-year/

ULLAPOOL COASTAL ROWING CLUB

FUNDRAISING AUCTION

Ullapool coastal rowing club have put together an auction of exciting items to auction to raise funds for the club. The auction will run from Monday 14th of May and will end on the evening of August 11th at the Ullapool Regatta. Anyone who wishes to bid on any item please email your highest bid to kimbuckthorp(at)live.co.uk (replace the (at) with @), please leave your personal details, the auction item number and your highest bid. Alternatively please call 01854 655275 . This post will be updated with the latest bid on a daily basis and as we get near closing time as they come in.

 GOOD LUCK!

ITEM 1: ONE DAY HIND STALKING ON STRONE ESTATE, LOCHBROOM.
 You will win the opportunity to stalk Hinds on Strone Estate. You will meet in the morning with the Estate Stalker and practice your rifle shooting on a target before heading out to the hill. Once at the hill you will pursue through the hill in the Argo Cat eventually stalking by foot into the Hinds. When ready you will have the opportunity to shoot yourself or if you prefer the Stalker will shoot for you. You will then have a complimentary dram and proceed back down the hill to home. Date will be arranged with the highest bidder for the Hind Season 2012.
KINDLY DONATED BY FOICH ESTATE

STARTING BID £80.00

ITEM 2: ONE WHOLE RED HIND.
One Red Hind skinned and quartered. Highest bidder will receive item during the Hind Season 2012.
KINDLY DONATED BY INVERBROOM ESTATE.

STARTING BID £60.00.

ITEM 3: ONE DAY FISHING FOR TROUT ON BENMORE ETATE, ASSYNT.
 A day trip for one to fish for trout on the beautiful Benmore Estate during May/June 2013
KINDLY DONATED BY DAVID RANKIN OF BENMORE ESTATE.

STARTING BID £60.00

ITEM 4: A TRIP FOR TWO SEA FISHING LOCHBROOM AND ULLAPOOL AREA.
A trip aboard the Orkney Coastliner to fish the surrounding Ullapool area. All equipment will be provided just bring yourselves and some lunch. Date to be arranged for summer 2012.
KINDLY DONATED BY ‘I Bucked One and Kim Bucked Two’ OWNERS.

STARTING BID £45.00

ITEM 5: ONE WHOLE SIKA HIND.
One Sika Hind skinned and quartered.
DONATED BY BUMBLE OF GENCALVIE ESTATE.

STARTING BID £70

ITEM 6: ONE HAND PAINTED WOODEN HOUSE SIGN.
The winning bidder will have their house name or number hand painted on to a choice of different wood and varnished for a long lasting finish. Will be ready for bidder as soon as the paint dries!

STARTING BID £30.00

Royal West are planning a Spectacular Aquatic Extravaganza. Follow the link below to their club webiste page explaining the weekend.

http://www.rwsabc.co.uk/club-rowing-regatta/

Not only will you have an opportunity to race along the Historic Greenock Esplanade but you will also be able to try out a variety of rowing craft, canoes and possibly sailing dinghys too.

Have a look and make an entry. The camping option is not bad either.

We have been approached by the Antrim Coast Rowing Association to provide 6 Scottish rowers (in kilts if possible), to take part in a Virtual Row at a venue in Belfast on 16th June.

The event will be on Ergometers.

The ACRA will be providing travel via ferry to Belfast and accommodation while you are there.

Anyone interested should contact Elaine Nelson via elainenelson01@hotmail.com to confirm your interest. Please also copy in myself at secretary@rwsabc.com.

Adam Graham

A small and dedicated team have been beavering away in a draughty shed situated somewhere in Ullapool to get ‘Ulla’ fit to place before the Queen during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. Even the normal inhabitants of the shed have been doing their best to ensure good luck for Ulla.

Evidence of the good wishes of the local pigeons

Ulla and her trolley get a fresh lick of paint

One bit of kit that Ulla has to borrow when she need protection is fenders – we are getting new traditional knitted rope ones. A number of members have taken home fender kits and the first to finish one was

Sue with the first of our new hand knitted fenders to protect our sheer from the other boats in the Thames Fleet

Next weekend will see two more craft formally join the St Ayles fleet.  A few posts below you will see details of the launch on 20 May at Maidens, of the skiff built at Carrick Academy.  The day before that Pittenweem’s skiff, to be named “Fisher Lass” will be launched.  The naming ceremony will take place on Saturday 19th May at 2.00 pm at “The Gyles”, Pittenweem Harbour.  The boat will be given her name by Pittenweem’s Fisher Lad and Lass (crowned at last year’s Gala Day).  There will  also be an exhibition of drawings of the build by local artist Isabella Colville, as well as lots of photographs on show and a barbecue too. Anyone not away racing at Achiltibuie  regatta, will be made very welcome to come along and join in at Pittenweem, or at Maidens for the launch of the Carrick boat.

All of us at Coigach Community Rowing in Achiltibuie can’t wait to meet friends old and new at our

2nd Coigach Coastal Rowing Regatta

this coming weekend – 19th and 20th May.

This year with a special addition-  a fab Sunday race out to the closest of our beautiful Summer Isles – to the Boatshed cafe on the shore for brunch.  The winning crew gets a champagne breakfast complete with linen napery and silver cutlery! Woo!

See you all there!

Saturday 19th – Fantastic free day out for all the family!

Beautiful hand-built Traditional -style skiffs competing

 from North Berwick, Portobello, Newhaven,

 Port Seton, Anstruther, Ullapool

and Achiltibuie ‘s own Coigach Lass!

                          10.30 am- 5 pm Follow the Regatta signs!                          (Coxes/captain’s safety/race detail briefing – 9.30)

Pipers!

All day food by: The Tall-Ships Youngsters

Venison Burgers and soft drinks stall –

in aid of their ventures on the high seas!

Achiltibuie School P A Teas and Cakes.

                   Panini Stall ….and more.

Come to Achiltibuie and make a day of it!