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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.
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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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. More photos can be viewed here.
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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.
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 4th 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 5th overall with a time of 3:04:34 (1st were Avoch in 2:52:48, 4th 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
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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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Our annual regatta is returning this year. It will be in a slightly different format and will be a "Regatta Lite". Although there are a series of races the emphasis is on having fun and rejoicing at being back on the water with our skiffie friends. Instead of rowing round the Craig races will start in the east bay with a finish line at the point of the Platcock Rocks and will cover a distance of approximately 1km. We will be joined by skiffs from Dunbar, Eskmuthe, Port Seton, Row Porty, Eastern and South Queensferry.
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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Achieving the impressive task of mustering twenty six teenagers on the beach by 10.00am on a Sunday morning was just the start of a fantastic day which marked a welcome return to inter-club rowing.
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.
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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