Portobello

Rowporty are having a winter social & ceilidh on Friday 27th January from 7.30 - 12.00 at Portobello Community Centre.

Tickets are £10 which includes Haggis, Neeps & Tatties, an address to the haggis, singing and ceilidh dancing. Tickets are in short supply & going fast! So hurry & book yours now from Sybil, or contact any member of Rowporty.

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On Monday 7th Nov at around 9:30am five of us set off in the car and Jenny Skylark in tow to North Berwick. We launched from the beach (you can take the road trailer onto the beach down the slip outside the harbour) and set off at around 10:30am.

We called the coast guard on channel 16 to let them know that St Baldred and Jenny Skylark, rowing skiffs, were heading to the Bass Rock, ETA 14:00hrs, 10 people. They wished us luck.

We had 5 life jackets, VHF, anchor, large yellow bailer, spare oar, 8 kabes and 8 pins, first aid kit, hot drinks, water proofs, Cox's jacket, hats, water and food.

You can leave the trailer above the high water mark on the beach and the car has to be parked on the streets; most of the harbour is no parking.

We were very, very lucky. It was completely becalmed and sunny, rare Autumn weather, which paid off for those who took annual leave or skived off work for the day! Even the porpoises came out on the way to the Rock, followed by loads of seals, many with young on the islands. It took about 1:15hrs to get there with no wind or tide, but several stops for pictures

We left on High Tide so the cave was underwater, but we could still get quite close to the entrance in the incredibly flat sea.

Once we had rounded the Rock and could see the lighthouse hanging onto the cliffs on the Southside, we tethered the 2 boats together for lunch. We did break one of N. Berwick's pins as the 2 boats knocked into each other, but we were forgiven with offerings of hot coffee and home made food. Nick, Maddy, Sally and Claire had brought loads of delicious home-made food, for which we were thankful!, and we shared with some friendly (and hungry) North Berwick rowers.

Although we did not use the anchor, we did not drift very far East over the 50min we stayed there. The rope is only 25mts long.

A ship approached rapidly at first and then stopped some 1,000mts from us. We were able to row up to it, close enough to have and exchange hand signals with the folk on board the research/working vessel from the Forth; we had our Viking hat on at the time, which I am sure scared them witless. They then sent off a little red helicopter, but we were not impressed, not at all.

After this, we rowed off Eastwards towards the Craig, where we showed Claire where we almost smashed into the rocks during the N. Berwick regatta last year! and we carried on rowing towards the Lamb rock/island.

It was after 2pm and the sun, although bright, was already quite low, and the temperature dropped a bit too, so it was time to head home. We navigated through some tight channels in through the Lamb (after much holding of breath, then relief as we came out through a different channel) on the way back. The tide was still quite high and the sea was very flat.

We stopped at the Craig again on the way back to see the baby seals hiding in the rocks, in the sun, they looked, well, succulent.

Got back to North Berwick at around 15:00hrs, having spent 4.25 hours on the water. We did not suffer from air attacks as is common during the summer, the Garnets were away by then, so we saw the regular inhabitants, which did not pester us at all.

It's a worth while row that can be done comfortably in two and a half hours, with stops along the way. However, we were told by North Berwick and others that have been to the Bass Rock in kayaks, say that it can be quite rough around the back of the Rock as the big swells hit the rock and there is a mess of water that can be dangerous. If in doubt stay away form the Rock, there is no way onto it from the skiff in high tide, you need a flat sea and low tide. But if you do land you will need to pay £100 at the bird centre for the privilege.

On calm days one could stop on the way back at either Sea Cliff beach, but the beach below Castleton is more on the way back.

The pictures should give you an idea of the idyllic conditions we had on the day!

Thanks to Claire for some lovely pictures

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In October 2009 Robbie Whiteman, convenor of the SCRA, attended a PS&KC meeting at the Beach House to explain the Scottish Fisheries Museum initiative to re-introduce rowing to the Forth through community boat building.

Ali Grant & I immediately caught on to the idea and we discussed how we would go about it. I agreed to find a workshop space and buy the first kit from Alec Jordon in Anstruther.

We were one of the first clubs to purchase the kit, which gave Alec the cash to buy some marine plywood. Ali said she would get the funding for it!

I called Nik, who was in France at the time and he was enthusiastic to lend his tools & his joinery skills to the project.

As part of raising awareness of the project in Portobello we managed to get the first prototype skiff which Alec had built, to Porty beach for a trial row. Everyone who came along was captivated by the boat on the flat sea in January, on a sunny afternoon.

By January 2010 we had secured the workshop space from BL Developments at the old power station site. The best thing about it was that it was free! By February 2010 we started building Ice Breaker and by May we had her launched, a few days before the inaugural skiff regatta at Anstruther.

In the mean time Ali had secured funding from the Lottery Heritage fund and we were already thinking about building a second boat. However, Nik & I were wondering if anyone would row the boat while we were painting Ice Breaker.

Jenny Skylark was built with many more hands (around 30) and it took all winter (Dec -- April) and she was launched with much funfair with BBC Alba in attendance.

Since we have attended regattas in Port Soy, Achiltibuie, Dunbar, North Berwick, Port Seton, Anstruther, South and North Queensferry, Ullapool, and we have run 2 successful regattas in Portobello. We have also rowed the Tweed, the Tay, the Union Canal, Musselburgh Lagoons (twice) & Inchcolm Island. The boats have been in constant use around 5-6 days per week with over 80 paid members getting out on the water.

We have unwittingly created a dynamic community group with a wide range of ages and people from many walks in life. My happiest moments include launching Ice Breaker, launching Jenny Skylark, reading the kids stories to name Ice Breaker, winning the men's open in Achiltibuie! And ending up as champions for the 2011 regatta season. My worse moments include loosing 2 generators, arguing with Nik, arguing with Ali, arguing with myself and neglecting my family.

We set out to build a boat, but we ended up with RowPorty, a wicked rowing club, filled with an eclectic blend of newcomers and old timers. RowPorty gives people easy access to the sea through a healthy sport that is inclusive, extremely social, great fun, open to all.

We launched both boats using pagan rituals and we have remained a-political; the core value is to have fun and we have remained un-stuffy, relaxed and welcoming.

So we have 2 lovely boats fully kitted out, a place to store them, a quad to launch them, a good IT forum (BigTent), a busy blog, a wide membership, a cabinet full of trophies, blisters, sore bums and a whole lot of old and new friends.

As we look into the future I hope we can maintain the enthusiasm for rowing in Portobello which must include more younger people. I hope the club can continue to maintain its core (slightly) anti-establishment values. I also look forward to many more expeditions to explore new routes that can become established, and safe, adventures for all members.

I would also like to see a better integration with the PS&KC and many more successful Portobello Rowing Regattas.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for all your support and encouragement over the past 2 years.

I would like to wish the new co-convenors (Sean and Emma - SAMENAME) the best of luck for the year ahead and I am sure we will all support them in any way we can.

Cheers and much love
Andres

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Sunday had always threatened to be rainy, but would it be heavy / light & would it impede our plans to row down the Tay?  

When Sunday dawned & Sally, Roisin, Andres, Neil & I met in the yard at 7am – it was wet. It rained most of the way to Perth, & it seemed intent on setting in for a thoroughly miserable day.

We launched from the slipway of the Perth Sea Cadets, Anstruther were already there when we arrived, & North Berwick followed soon after. B ut Port Seton, the hosts, were later than expected. We set off at 9.30, 4 skiffs & a rescue boat. The rain was unremitting, but spirits were high as we embarked on our adventure. The flow of the river & the tide helped us, but soon a breeze blew in from the estuary. The rowing was good & we rotated as usual to keep warm & share the load.

After  6/7 miles we arrived in Newburgh where we took a planned break. Being first out of the boat I was quickly ankle deep in slimy mud, yuck! We were welcomed by 3/4 folk who are about to start building a skiff, & got the use of a large shed for having our snack & coffee. Whilst there, it became apparent, that the other teams were intent on jacking in the rest of the row: the wind would be too strong, the tide would be against us by the time we got to Wormit, it was dangerous etc etc. I’m happy to say that none of Rowporty’s intrepid explorers had any such qualms, & we quickly decided to proceed with / without them. Andrew in the rescue boat would have come with us, but was needed for driving. So we set off on the last leg alone.

By this time the rain had stopped, & although the day remained overcast it stayed dry for the rest of the row. We slowly dried out, & enjoyed lots of banter; although it was hazy, we could see the Tay rail bridge from quite early on, but tantalisingly, it seemed to take us forever to get there. Although the wind was against us, we’ve rowed in much tougher conditions at some of the regattas. But it was a long row, so we were glad to arrive at Wormit, between the 2 Tay bridges, after a 21/2 hour row from Newburgh. Andrew, of the rescue boat, had phoned to check on our progress, & was there to meet & help us out of the water.

 Despite the early rain, we had a cracking day out, & arrived back in Portobello at 5.30 having stopped en route for a well earned drink in Cupar.

 Thanks to Brenda of the Perth Sea Cadets for turning out to welcome us, Andrew & Andres for reccying the route, Andrew for rescue boat cover & Newburgh folk for giving us shelter in a shed.

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