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North Berwick sent a young team with some level headed [Ed: "old"] mentors down to Maiden's in Ayrshire.The event was planned to be a two day one, with a junior regatta on the Sunday. However before the teams were recruited the ambition was reduced to a one day event with the excisman's chase (an 8km time trial out and back along the coast) in the morning and a junior sprint in the afternoon.
Blackadder got to meet six skiffs for the clyde. She found herself lining up against skiffs from Troon, Royal West, Girvan, Cumbrae, Firth of Clyde and host club Carrick.
The outward leg of the Exciseman's saw Cameron Robertson join the senior collegues Robbie, Claire and Issy with coxain Rachael. Conditions were fairly three dimensional. Crews set off at roughly two minute intervals, with one crew member (usually the youngest one) running from race control with a contraband token. The crew then raced along the coast trying to keep the breaking waves to starboard, and the Isle of Arran to port. Cox Rachel picked out the change over beach, which was just to the North of Stunning Culzean Castle. Starting second the NB crew quickly overhauled Girvan, and left the rest of the fleet fairly far behind.
Time for finding contraband. Cameron took his token and was issued with a bottle of whisky (surely against some licensing law somewhere). He brought it down to the boat as crew members swapped round. Robbie moved to cox, Rachel to a rowing thwart, Issy changed seats but kept rowing, Steve and Mel jumped aboard and we were off again into a sharp breaking sea. As we got further along the coast, passing the incoming crews, the waves were massive. Really huge. But the crew were heroic, and Blackadder looked after us. We surfed down the last section into the harbour, then powered through the now flat water before running up the beach, and sending Mel up with the whisky to stop the clock. About one hour and thirteen minutes rowing. Now to wait the return of the other clubs, and check out there times, keeping our fingers crossed. Oh so close, but the all male crew from Royal West beat us by a gnats baw hair [Ed: "small margin"]. Oh well, second was an honorable result and we accepted it with grace.
After lunch we had the sprints. Juniors first and a first race for Christy, Adam and Eliza, who were joined by our experience 12 year old Connor. Who could beat such a fabby foursome. No one without a North Berwick rep in their crew it would seem. Six boats lined up for the start (largest ever entry for a junior race?). Our North Berwick youngsters were second, beaten by Skiffy McNish, crewed by Cameron and Mel, with rowers from Royal West and Troon. All exciting stuff and an excellent start to racing for our new Juniors.
Finally we had a scary mixed bag sprint with a couple of Trooners joining Blackadder, who came in second to Chippy for the third time in the day. Again the consolation was that Chippy had a red shirt in him again, this time our Issy.
So well done rowers and coxes, enjoying the challenging conditions and enjoying the chance to row with Clyde crews.
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A small but perfectly formed group of rowers from NBRC travelled West to Otter Ferry on Loch Fyne for a little get-together/friendly race against Mid-Argyll and our friends at Cockenzie and Port Seton.
Having travelled over on Friday afternoon we awoke on Saturday morning to find the East Lothian har had followed us. Fortunately there was no rowing planned until after lunch because we couldn't see our own feet in the fog. But by lunchtime the har had burned away and the sun was shining.
What a beautiful setting, next to a pub, by the lochside. So we had a series of 2 mile races out to a buoy, around the local dolphin (I kid you not) and back. NBRC ladies set a storming pace to get the first win, followed up by the NBRC men also taking a win. Our mixed crew split the home team and a strong C&PS boat who won the third race.
After that effort and with a pub on the beach it was too much to resist a quick shandy before heading back on the water for some mixed crew, mixed club, pot luck sprints which our own Skiff John B - with a mixture of rowers for each of the clubs, won.
But this was a weekend for relaxing, socialising, and enjoying the stunning scenery and weather, the racing was kind of secondary.
A great weekend.
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NBRC travelled to Amble on the Northumberland coast last Sunday to take part in a low key ‘Regatta,’ also attended by Gosforth Community Rowing Club and Blyth Community Rowing Club.
The event was organised as more a social event which also hosted TV cameras filming for the ‘Tales of Northumberland’ series fronted by celebrity, Robson Green. He had previously been involved in the construction of the Amble skiff which had been launched only a week before. The idea was that we would all take part in a race, which in the event was a bit stage managed and focused in on Robson rowing in the Amble skiff. Endless shots were taken from cameras in ribs and a drone helicopter buzzing overhead. Our crew of Sheena, Sandy, Alan B, Jacque and cox Phil had an easy job keeping in front of the newer clubs. Jeannie and Mel supported our rowers by taking photos on shore and on the water.
The whole day was very successful particularly on shore with Robson spending time with all the rowers with lots of chat, laughs and about a million photos and selfies. We also met and socialised with the other clubs and looked forward to meeting again at future events. We particularly noticed that Amble would be a perfect location for an adventure row either up the river to Warkworth Castle or out to sea to Coquet Island.
[Ed: Apologies for earlier confusion, apparently it's a local fisherman called Robson Green, who is a favourite with our ladies]
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We came, We saw, We got mostly second
No wind, no rain, great squad, bit o sun what could possibly go wrong?
Crail as it happens! Mens and ladies over 40s and novices came second to them.
Long wait 'till final races where we were victorious in the mens open and "keys in the basket" category.
Thanks to the towers, special mention to the superb novice crew and our resident cockney who kept emailing everyone until the crews were sorted.
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We hosted our 5th regatta at North Berwick on 23rd August and we were blessed with pretty much perfect conditions to provide a real challenge to both rowers and coxes around the 2 mile course.
We were delighted to welcome new clubs Islay, St Andrews and Eskmuthe, as well as familiar friends from all over Scotland, with 12 clubs in total competing in the races.
The racing was tough following the usual 2 mile course around Craigleith. The conditions were challenging for both crews and coxes, an incoming tide in the morning being countered by an at times stiff Westerly breeze made the back of Craigleith interesting. The sea bouncing off the rock required a tough call on the coxes as to how close they could go to the rock.
In the afternoon with the tide going out and the wind still coming from the West the coxes were challenged to steer a course taking into account the significant Leeway.
The Men's 40+ kicked off the day with Coigach, Crail and North Berwick in a dogfight the whole way around the course before Coigach surged at the last to take the win.
A pod of dolphins joined in the Mens 50+ and swam in front of Crail just as they were finishing their race.
The U19 race was run as a handicapped event to allow different mixes of boys and girls to compete. The Newburgh young lads were fastest around the course, but the mixed crew of North Berwick won on handicap.
Islay's open men were heroic in winning Bronze despite breaking an oar, they improvised by putting two men on one oar! (see photo).
Closest finish of the day, although they didn't know it because they were in different waves, was North Berwick open ladies pipping Portobello by 1 second.
Full results are available here.
Many thanks to all those visiting clubs who came, and to all the members of NBRC who helped host the day.
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