This is the article penned by Sandy Wallace for the East Lothian Courier here.
(photos courtesy of Andy Grant here on Flickr)
More than 300 rowers and enthusiasts gathered at the West Beach for North Berwick Rowing Club’s 15th annual regatta at the end of last month.
The popular event in the coastal rowing calendar invited 15 clubs from across Scotland, including Dunbar, Boatie Blest from Port Seton, and Musselburgh’s Eskmuthe.
The course extended from the old pier, circumnavigating Craigleith Island and back to the start line, covering a distance of about three kilometres.
The day’s racing opened with the women’s over-45 category, with North Berwick emerging victorious, followed by Eskmuthe and Eastern ACRC.
Eastern Amateur Coastal Rowing Club from Portobello secured wins in both races within the under-16 and under-18 mixed category that followed. The hosts managed second and third places in these events.
One of the regatta’s distinctive categories, featuring four rowers from different age decades in each crew, was won by Wormit from the Tay estuary. They were trailed by the hosts and Eastern.
The wind picked up before the lunch break, making the sea conditions for the open mixed race ‘challenging’.
St Ayles from Anstruther clinched the win in this event, with a time of 19 minutes and 53 seconds, one of the fastest of the day.
The novice race, open to rowers who have never won a medal before, saw Eskmuthe claim first place, with Wormit and Ellie&Earlsferry securing second and third respectively.
The 240 mixed category, the biggest race of the day, featured 17 skiffs. This category is based on the cumulative age of all crew members and includes two men and two women over 60 years of age. St Ayles led this race, followed by Alnmouth from Northumberland and Eastern.
Another race for over-45s in mixed crews followed, with Wormit securing their second win and North Berwick just edging out Eastern ACRC for second place.
The men’s and women’s open events, traditionally considered the highlight of the regatta, saw Eastern ACRC and the host club North Berwick victorious respectively.
The last race of the day saw the host club come home first to the cheers of the local crowd. Eskmuthe and St Ayles followed, with 10 other clubs taking the minor positions.
Regatta officer Claire Simpson said: “Once again, we have put on a day of races that visiting clubs and spectators have thoroughly enjoyed.
“It is good to see medals distributed around all the different clubs, which encourages people who are new to the sport.”
She extended her gratitude to all participants, organisers, supporters and sponsors.