With Yolande up at the Loch for the winter, sea rows have been few and far between. But our Shetland Yoal, Reevik has been on a few outings in the Forth in between maintenance sessions. The most recent was a night time row on the solstice, December 21st.
It was a remarkably clear and still evening. Lit by a 360º lantern of bike lights mounted on a pole and donning head torches, the crew ventured out past Pettycur and circumnavigated the Black Rocks. With carol singing, jelly babies, and the lights of the Burgh spurring them on, they returned from the club’s first night time exercise. As an added bonus, Wee Eck performed its tractorly duty to perfection, towing Reevik back to the shed in one smooth balletic manoeuvre.
A great success for the log book and a fine precedent for future winter rows.
Chair Hannah Macniven writes up the club’s representation at the 2021 SCRA AGM and Freshwater Sprints, held at Loch Tummel yesterday.
It felt rather celebratory to be heading off to Loch Tummel for the Freshwater Sprints, on a dark and rainy morning, with Judith C. Only 2 attendees were allowed per club, so we knew things were not going to be the same as usual, but this was our first Regatta in ages, so we were going to make the most of it.
It was lovely to see so many clubs here at the race briefing when we were quickly organised into teams. There were 3 boats, Ferry Sonnet from North Queensferry, Arthur Nicol from Broughty Ferry and Chippy McNeish from Royal West, so races needed 12 rowers to participate. Things nearly came unstuck at the beginning when only 7 men owned up to being under 50. The race was then opened up to under 55’s, and then to under 60’s… But crews were formed, enough for a good selection of races to go ahead.
Racing was competitive and after watching the men’s race, Judith and I were ready to go, Jude in Chippy McNeish and me in Arthur Nicol. We introduced ourselves to the rest of our teams, started to come up with some kind of plan and BANG we were off!
The race was a blur of hurting legs, arms and lungs. I remember thinking “nearly at the buoy and I can stop rowing and hold water, whilst the other 2 row us round.” We were the first crew around the Buoy and we picked up the stroke andwere back at it, enthusiastically encouraged by our cox, Liz from Broughty Ferry. The finish was close and it was with great relief that we heard the hooter, Parp … Parp … … Parp! With wobbly legs and now-cleared lungs we disembarked to find out who won, and it was our crew in Arthur Nicol! Commiserations Jude, who’s team came a close second!
We could then enjoy the beautiful scenery and watch the rest of the races, before we headed to the AGM. As the weather started to improve and the sun tried to come out, Marie, Christine and Kathleen appeared too, to watch the races with us. It was lovely to catch up with old friends and make some new ones!
There was also a race for the SCRA shield, a mixed crew race with crews from 3 regions, North, South-East and South-West. This was won by our region, South-East in Arthur Nichol, with Liz as cox—well done guys! Here are the final results should anyone be interested, but all in all, I’m going to end with a cliché, it really wasn’t about the winning but the taking part!
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
Welcome to Kinghorn Coastal Rowing Club’s new website. We aim to post stories and photos of club activities, outings, regattas, etc. here for a wider audience that might not be on social media. We’ll also keep information about the club here, for current and future members.
