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Was that the best North Berwick Regatta yet? The weather was warm, dry and mainly sunny, but with enough westerly wind to provide testing conditions. NBRC welcomed twelve visiting clubs who brought enough crews to fill most events. Thanks for coming to Boatie Blest, Broughty Ferry, Coigach, Crail, Dunbar, Eastern, Eskmuthe, Islay, Row Porty, Royal West, St Andrews and St Ayles.
Broughty Ferry led the way in the first race, the men’s 50+. After that the wins were shared by Eastern (mixed 60+, mixed U19, men’s open and women’s open) and North Berwick (women’s 50+, men’s 40+, women’s 40+, mixed open, mixed novice and mixed 45+).
Pleasingly, many of the other clubs won silver and bronze medals. It was also good to see eight boats in the 60+, as a result of relaxing the entry for this event to average age rather than minimum age.
A few of the races were won convincingly but others were very close. 7 seconds covered the first three boats in the men’s 50+; 6 seconds for the first three in the men’s open; and closest of all, 6 seconds for the top four of the mixed open. Very small margins in nearly 20 minutes of rowing. And very painful. One of the best performances was from NB’s novice crew who rowed through South Queensferry from two lengths down, with Eastern chasing hard the whole way. What an exciting way to win your first race.
Have I mentioned to anybody that the fastest time of the day was from NB’s men’s 40+ crew in 00:17:25?
I should also report Broughty Ferry’s discovery of a new land mass behind Craigleith, on which they perched their boat while attempting an overland route in the women’s 40+. It is possible the SCRA race rules need to be amended to deal with porterage.
Once again the Hope Rooms were the hub of the regatta, with a fine array of rolls and cakes provided by members and organised by Tracy Ramage and Rachael Porteous. The evening was warm enough for the prize giving to take place on the beach, with this year’s medals using flat pebbles.
Thanks to Sandy Wallace for coordinating the regatta and acting as beach master; to David Davidson for organising the racing, umpiring and safety boats; and to all those Club members who helped with the many activities that make NB Regatta the climax of the racing season.
John Irvine
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A squad of 20 rowers from NBRC went to South Queensferry and boy was it blowy, white horses across the Forth under the bridges made “interesting” rowing conditions. Various club gazebos needed to be held down with concrete slabs. The triangular course meant a fast wind-assisted first leg to the buoy then across the wind and waves to the next turn, followed by the final leg hauling through a wall of wind.
The seven main races all went ahead, although as wind conditions worsened in the afternoon Andy’s race was called off. The first race was the 60+ ladies and the NB ladies put down a strong start winning in style. The 60+ men also did a great job coming in joint first with South Queensferry. There was strong competition from the other clubs such as Crail, Broughty, St Andrews and Anstruther. For the novice race we managed to hijack a novice from Broughty to make up a crew. The women’s open came in second to Anstruthers’ indomitable ladies and the final race saw our open men win another gold for NB.
The medals were beautifully crafted by a knot-maker, each one cleverly tied into a “Monkey's Fist”. The excellent home baking and soups certainly helped counter the wind exhaustion! Many thanks to South Queensferry for a great day under the famous bridges.
Jo Drewitt
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On Saturday the 29 of July the North Berwick Rowing Club pushed one of their three St Ayles skiffs down and around North Berwick as part of the yearly Lifeboat Fete Parade. And this year instead of getting gassed by the old tractor in front, we were treated to a jazz band in the back of an old fashioned pick up truck. Apart from the odd shower, it was loads of fun and we sold loads of coconuts.
Sam Cowan (not-quite Junior Member NBRC)
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The filler was sanded, the hull was painted and nail varnish stripes added to foot rests - Skiff John B was back in action and ready for a trip!
On our way up the sun kept shining and the temperature in Aberdeen hit 'taps aff' degrees before dropping down to a 'mibies wear a wind proof jacket' in Portsoy. A selection of tents from the Cowan Corner Shop to Fraser's teeny tiny shelter quickly made up the North Berwick High Street at the camping ground and we even stretched to a little suburban section with rather civilised camper van accommodation, bunting and all!
In the evening we were treated to a most spectacular sunset with 40 odd dolphins playing in the bay. A couple(ish) beers and many good catch ups were had before heading to bed early to rest before a day of competing.
The first regatta day kicked off with 2K races where six seat Shetland yoals, despite being in a different category rowed alongside the skiffs. Team NB came third in the Men's Open and our crew in the Women's Open raced past a yoal to claim first place. It was then time for the sprints where Big John joined forces with the formidable Anstruther ladies in their Mixed 60+ crew and they rowed to second place.
Sadly, it wasn't long after this that the wind started to blow heavily enough to warrant the rest of the day's races to be cancelled but not before Jo and Clive managed to nab a couple of coveted seats in a yoal and join the Shetland crew for a quick spin in the harbour.
Our non-rowing sorrows were drowned in ice cream, rowies, cullen skink, and a beer or two. Sadly the wind kept its stubborn hoolie-gan attitude and Sunday had to be called off all together. We packed up the boat and lingered just long enough to listed to some music, sample some more foods and for Vana to nab a photo with a seemingly random Viking..
..mid posing, Viking to Vana: '..wait..I know you..did you do Make Works*?..I run the spinning mill in Shetland!'
Turns out Vana managed to pick from a sea of people the one hairy Shetlander she'd met 4 year ago while travelling the length of Scotland for a project.
*here's Garry the Viking in less hirsute form
Hoping the weekend was fun even for those who didn't get a chance to row. Captain Jaque certainly made up for it by absolutely and unquestionably winning 'Yellow car' on the journey back.
Big thanks to our hosts for their tremendous hospitality and we hope to see them again soon.
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NBRC are organising "have a go" coastal rowing sessions as part of RYA "Push the Boat Out" at East Lothian Yacht Club on Saturday 20 May. Half hour rowing sessions are on offer to beginners between 2pm and 5pm. Go to the Yacht Club on the day to register, and you will be brought down to the beach at a time that you can get in the boat. There are plenty of other activities to enjoy on Friday night and Saturday, including Motor Boating, Yacht Sailing, Dinghy Sailing and Stand Up Paddleboarding. The full programme can be found on the East Lothian Yacht Club website: http://www.elyc.org.uk/
If you are not able to attend push the boat out, but would still like to have a go at coastal rowing in North Berwick e mail; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will explain how to get involved. Generally sessions for adult beginners take place on Sunday afternoons, and for youths (age 14-18) on Monday nights.
If you are not local to North Berwick, check out the Scottish Coastal Rowing Association Club Finder for your local rowing club...... there will almost certainly be one near you, but if not SCRA will be happy to speak to you about how to set one up. http://scottishcoastalrowing.org/club-finder/
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