Mandy Abbot writes about the club’s adventures in June/July 2021:
When I agreed to row round Lewis, I’d never actually rowed on the sea. A bit late to the party, I was reminded to and so duly signed the agreement which said, “…accepts there may be 2m swells and challenging conditions”. I swallowed hard. This was followed by an email on the two types of heaven – dry clothes if it’s cold and wet (another gulp); or a sun-hat and mosquito repellent if equally hot, sunny and midgy. “Bring all the strength and resilience you have”, it said. At this point I put in a request to the weather gods: “blue skies and sunshine please, light breezes, no midges. Oh, and flat calm seas”. I packed with a mixture of trepidation and excitement – this was definitely always going to be an adventure.
The assembled crew, skippered by the capable Chris Mitchell, alongside Hannah Macniven, Lesley Smith (from North Queensferry Coastal Rowing Club), Jude Crawford, Susan Murray, Joel Mason and myself, set to practicing and firmly bonded over a bag of chips, which we rowed to Newhaven to get. And boy, it was welcome. What a great bunch of people. I was feeling truly blessed to have secured a place in Reevik, the club’s newly acquired boat, or Shetland Yoal to be precise.
With our luggage allowance of 15kg per person – including tent, food cooker, clothes, plus a day bag – we were set to row and wild camp in what we were to discover were heavenly spots. Ingenious variations of dehydrated food became the order of the day and the odd piece of fruit was delightful. The company of the other clubs (seven boats) in the evenings as we set camp and gathered in groups to sing or walk was joyous. The weather gods were so gracious and fulfilled all our requests. The locals said they had never seen the Minch so calm.
We were so blessed with the weather and the company. A truly magical, never to be forgotten, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I can’t wait to go back. The club would like to extend their thanks to the Kinghorn Community Council and their Common Good fund support which allowed the purchase of Reevik, expanding the club’s activities to include this expedition.
This story first appeared in the Kinghorn Chronicle, Issue 26, September 2021
