On arrival it was a bit blustery but we were greeted by lots of happy faces and warm welcomes. Everyone pitched in to lift skiffs over the dunes to the beach, making ready for the off, stowing away all our snacks and layers! With flags flying in the breeze, 12 beautiful boats launched awaiting the tide to push us upstream.

Going under the three Berwick bridges we were waved on by passers by. We passed a couple of slidy seat boats, they didn’t look as happy as us! We could feel the pull of the tide helping us on and even though this was not a race, we did row through the others boats from the back of the fleet. It was good to keep Sandy happy! The Tweed is a lovely river and there were so many swans, which I have learnt is called a bevy, there were also gaggles of Canadian geese wondering where we’d all come from! The banks are peppered with lots of old fisherman’s huts, which have been refurbished since I was last on the tweed, it is so pretty.

We did hit a patch of shallow water but no one had to get their feet wet, this time, we had just gone too fast for the tide! After an hour and a half rowing we rounded the last bend and we could see a small crowd awaiting us on the beach at Paxton house. All the skiffs were pulled up and we laid out picnics to replenish our hunger. Some folk ventured up to the cafe, others lazed on rugs enjoying the blethering and keeping a watchful eye on the boats in case they floated off in the heightening waters!

After restoring our energies we packed up and headed off for the much quicker decent. We switched coxes and positions and sped off back with the tide, soon heating up again. We were blessed with no rain for the return leg, landing back at Spittal beach after about 45 minutes of rowing. Everyone mucked in to load the boat back up, many hands make light work! All of the rowers said fond cheerios and we all thanked those who had put together a great row. We headed ack to NB for a speedy dismount and unpack. It was a super day, I would highly recommend others to participate next year. what a super day. Thanks again to my team mates and Robbie.

Jax

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Two North Berwick boats had crews which were made up of club members plus a couple of bodies from other clubs. They were joined by two Port Seton boats, two from Eskmuthe, along with boats from Golspie, Dunbar, Queensferry, and Row Porty. 

Skur Euphame set off first to report back on conditions, which were really favourable.

Skiffies helped each other ready the skiffs. After a short briefing we set off, keeping together, great banter, singing and totally enjoying the conditions. The first stop was at pooh buoy to re group and check every one was grand to carry on.

As we reached the sound of gannets and smell, we received reports from Skur Euphame’s crew that there was a pair of otters in the mouth of the cave on the west side. This pushed us on. They were totally amazing, so sleek and inquisitive, and we all took turns to row closer but not to disturb them. 

We made our way to the east side to stock up on hydration and snacks, polishing of the final bits from the Hope Rooms pop up cafe. There was a lot of hilarity between boats, some ventured into the cave from that side too.

The wind was getting up so we headed towards Tantallon Castle, where Dunbar peeled off to go home, on the way doing badges landing folks on their pooh buoy. We were assisted by the wind so it was a pleasant row on the way back along the coast.

There was a shout that dolphins were heading our way, and sighting of a much bigger whale further out, but only some had binoculars to see it.  We plodded all the way back across Milsey Bay, all happy rowers with all the fun laid on.

In true skiffie form, we were helping each other again to retrieve boats to trailers after nearly 3 hours on the water. everyone agreed it was great fun and all keen to repeat again.

We really are so lucky to have so many places of interest to row and share with our visitors.

Click through all the photos from NBRC 2023 Regatta below.

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The smaller team meant we only competed in five of the eleven races and we were not able to enter the novice, junior and older women’s competitions. The 2km triangular course provided a fair test and races were set off in two waves so crews were aware that they were competing against boats in the other race so there was no letting up even if your skiff was well ahead.

Thirteen clubs took part, mainly from the Dundee area and the north east coast and Cromerty was the furthest travelled with Eastern and us the only two from the south side of the Forth. We didn’t have our full squad and so advance predictions didn’t stand for much although Bro’ty were expected to have home advantage and Eastern are always strong in depth.

Our day got off to a good start in the Women’s 40+ winning the bronze prize following in the two favourites. Brot’y and Eastern also just beat us in the Men’s 60+ for our second medal of the day. This was a remarkable achievement considering one of our crew was born in the early days of the second world war.

Things got even better for us later in the day when our Women’s 50+ crew pipped our main rivals and won gold. Another gold followed when the Women’s Open once again beat the host club and our Eastern friends to complete our haul for the day. The Men’s Open crew had a slightly disappointing outing missing out on the bronze medal by about 20 secs where there was a lot of packing in by clubs in the race which lasted just over 12mins.

Eastern won the overall event having completed and scored points in all the races. There were lots of compliments to Brot’y for their seamless organisation, hospitality and catering. We all agreed that we look forward to our next trip to the River Tay.

Photos of the day can be viewed below.

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On Sunday 16 April nine new crews took part in the Trades Cup. This event, organised by North Berwick Rowing Club, gives people who have never rowed before the opportunity to practise under the supervision of an experienced cox before competing against each other. Ages in the teams ranged from 15 to 82 years old showing that rowing is a popular activity for all ages. The races took place at North Berwick’s Elcho Green where participants, club members and spectators enjoyed surprisingly balmy weather, refreshments and fierce competition on the water.

Club Captain, Millie Lowe, presented the Trades Cup trophy to the winning team East Rock Strokers who were the overall winners on the day. Since the event five new members have joined the club. North Berwick Rowing Club has a busy weekly programme of rowing options that members are free to sign up. Non members are very welcome to make contact with the club via the website.

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Throughout March 2023, North Berwick Rowing Club have been introducing rowing to young people from the North Berwick Youth Project. The collaboration between local clubs was supported by volunteers from NBRC who firstly introduced the boat and some safety points before heading out to learn to row.  Some much appreciated funding from North Berwick Trust helped to supply gloves and wet boots for the youngsters to use when taking part.  

The first challenge was getting the boat launched in what was still a pretty cold North Sea then everyone got on to learning the basics of the rowing stroke.  The NBRC coxes were amazed at how quickly each crew started to learn the new skill and how soon they realised the importance of team work.  Rowing together in time makes the boat go faster!  There was rapid progress made by all. The sea conditions were so good on one outing that a crew headed out to the Craig to do some seal spotting.  

After all the excitement it was back to base for hot chocolate and dry shoes. All the volunteers from NBRC agreed that it had been a great experience to get some new young people introduced to rowing and Claire Simpson, the clubs Junior Coordinator, hopes that some of them will continue their rowing adventures with the regular junior session on a Sunday.  Any enquiries can be directed to enquiries@nbrowingclub.com.

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The 22-23 April weekend saw 12 St Ayle’s Skiffs (Avoch, Arran, FOCCR, Appin, Prestwick, North Berwick, Loch Awe, Renegade, Row Porty, St Andrews, Chanonry, Royal Northern) descend on Loch Awe for a weekend of exploration culminating in a 15-mile race from Dalavich village to Taychreggan hotel and back. Representing North Berwick were the all-female dream team of Jo, Vik, Lyndsay, Ann and Jess.

The weather was gloriously sunny the entire weekend. On the pre-race day (Saturday), we all got acclimatised to our cosy hobbit-like accommodation (camping pods on the hilly shore of the Loch). Lyndsay, Ann and Jess donned our wet suits and did a spot of stand up paddleboarding. Ann even went swimming (on purpose!), which was very impressive as despite the gorgeous sunshine, the water was baltic! The hosts had put on a self-guided tour itinerary for us to enjoy at our leisure. Clive, Lyndsay, Ann, Vik and Jess rowed away the afternoon exploring the tiny islands of the loch.

All photos from the event are in Flickr below and there is more to read after below.

We saw a wee grave site on one of our island stops, a beautiful ruined castle (which the more intrepid crew members – Clive – scaled for super views of the Loch) and rounded it all off with a sea eagle sighting! The evening activities included a jolly ceilidh, carbo-loading thanks to the super catering put on (& beer is a carb right?) and reasonably early nights for the NB crew.

Sunday, race day, factor 30+ was meticulously applied, snacks sorted, much faffing accomplished, and at around 10am ish all 12 skiffs were out on the water and ready to go! Lyndsay took the first turn at coxing, Jo in stroke and we set off. Some nimble coxing saw us overtake Arran early on and we settled into a comfortable rhythm overtaking Porty a little later. Jo and Lyndsay swapped the coxing half-way through, and we arrived at Taychreggan, the halfway stop in 4^th place (pew pew!).

The timer was stopped, toilets used, blisters inventoried, teas, coffees, lemon cake, scones, bananas ingested (on lawns that gave off prosecco and afternoon cream tea vibes) and off we went again, this time with Vik as cox. Some crews swapped their entire team at this point – not us though! We shuffled the crew a bit with Ann at stroke now keeping a very nice and steady pace. The wind was behind us on the way back to Dalavich and it was all very civilised with Vik revving us up for a cheeky sprinting finish.

Very happy faces all around! We came 5^th overall with a time of 3:04:34 (1^st were Avoch in 2:52:48, 4^th Prestwick in 3:04:34). But, if we were into counting such things (which of course we are), we were the first all-female crew to finish and second place for a crew of 5 (no swapsies at halfway, Avoch also had no subs). Overall, it was a magnificent weekend with a fantastic crew, brilliant hosts and friendly Skiffie community.

Jess Ivy

The post Loch Awe 29th April 2022 appeared first on North Berwick Rowing Club.

Our members Ian Baird, Clive Rooney, Duncan Hughes, Ross McKinney and Fraser Potter have safely arrived in Antigua finishing third in the Talsiker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. You can read more about their epic adventure here Waves roared like jet engines

Not only have they completed this amazing adventure they have also succeeded in raising over £46,000 for their chosen charity, Reverse Rett through Ross’s just giving page. You can still donate by following this link here.

We all look forward to seeing them back in North Berwick soon and hopefully on the water with us.

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The day will start with the Row Around Scotland baton arriving with a crew from Port Seton. Information about the baton’s journey can be found here. We will be rowing the baton on the next leg of its journey to Dunbar on Sunday.

The races start at 11.00 and the last race will be at 15.00. If you are not rowing do come down at some point during the day and soak up the atmosphere. The best place to watch the whole course will be from the walkway above our store at the north end of the dinghy park.

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Eastern Amateur Rowing Club and South Queensferry travelled to our beautiful coastal waters in North Berwick to venture round the island of Craigleith in Enid Blyton style and take part in mini sprints round the bay.

The row in company saw five boats disappear round the harbour wall, the most skiffs seen together in North Berwick for over a year. Lizzie Cowan, from NBRC, who coxed a mixed club crew of girls thought she might need to fill in some awkward gaps in the conversation but her worries were unfounded when the girls readily chatted across a diverse set of topics including mascara, kittens and algebra during their row.

All photos on Flickr below.

On returning to shore the junior rowers took on some refreshments, generously provided by the NBRC’s club mates, and studied the crew lists for the sprint course set up by North Berwick’s Robbie Wightman and Dave Davidson.

The girls went out first and Eastern’s crew showed their power and rowing style which gave them the advantage for a win against a North Berwick/South Queensferry mix. North Berwick’s older boys came out with the fastest time of the day in the next set of races with all three crews discovering how buoy turns work for the first time. The final races of the day saw NBRC younger boys coxed by Jacque Turner take the win over a South Queensferry/Eastern mixed crew that included some of the youngest rowers to take part.

The effort and determination of every crew was a delight to see and they were rewarded with a burst of sunshine during further refreshments and presentation of the beautiful medals made by the very creative Cowan family. Taking home your first coastal rowing medal is a memory to cherish.

Everyone agreed it was a delight to be back mixing with other clubs and seeing so many young people, the future of our clubs, leading the way.

This is our normal.

Claire Simpson

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