The North Berwick coastal skiff rowing regatta 2019 – the best yet! 

What a day - wall to wall sunshine and not a breath of wind - conditions could not have been better.

There was an early start with a 7 o’clock meet to get the ribs out to lay the buoys and check  that there were no creel lines that could snag the boats.  Clive and Finlay were already looking a bit overdressed in dry suits.

So what were the highlights of the day? A few things really stand out. 

One of my personal highlights of the day was the opportunity to help out on the water with Finlay Robertson showing me the ropes on the rib. I had absolutely no idea what we were doing but (I think) I managed to look quite officious and had a blast zooming around the Craig. Thanks Finlay maybe next year I’ll be semi-helpful. 

So what else is worthy of a mention? Well the catering must be talked about. Meg, Ann and the team did a wonderful job.  The catering was terrific throughout the day, and, of course, is such an important fundraiser for the club. The standard of catering was quite outstanding.  Pretty early on I concluded that my cheese and pickle rolls were okay but they didn’t really compare to my favourite role of the day.  This was humus and sun-dried tomato on a freshly home-made sourdough roll – outstanding.

A review of the day would not be complete without a mention of Messers Baird  and Rooney on the tannoy. Their inane ramblings were quite wonderful entertainment and I understand the new weekly podcast will be coming out later in the year.

So what about the rowing ?   Lots and lots of terrific rowing in wonderful conditions with some really fast times. All races were keenly contested and it was great to see a spread of medals across all the clubs.

At the end of the day we all gathered for a cold beer on the beach and a chance to listen to one of Sandy’s monologues - which never disappoints.  All the medal winners were delighted with their unique medals (way to go Milly) which were a terrific memento of a wonderful day on and off the water.