Forth Midsummer Challenge -posted 19 Jun 2016
Rachel reports: On Saturday 12 of us were at Granton/Newhaven for a bit of “Midsummer madness” — we had rowing/sailing/running/dodging yachts and buoys in a busy harbour area.
Mike Mc D had kindly left Ferry Maid all wrapped up at the Forth Corinthian Yacht Club at Granton on Friday night, so as we all arrived from before 10am we had the boat set up very quickly. Thank you Mike for delivering and collecting.
It was a chilly, dull start to the day, so coats and hoodies were required. The sun broke out later in the day, however. The event was a new experience for us all, but what appeared a complicated format for the day did eventually all fall into place.
Manoeuvring from the slip in a tight space to get to the pontoons was not an easy move!!
One of our “important” people was our runner, Dónal. He had a lengthy run from harbour to harbour — he was our human baton. We were all allocated a yacht; ours was “Smidge”. Dónal set off in the yacht on the first sailing leg of the race, to Newhaven harbour, then ran back to our skiff at Granton and leapt into the bow, where he recovered while we raced a course around buoys between the harbours, quite a lengthy course! Dónal then jumped out of skiff ran back to Newhaven and “his” yacht, relaxing on board while it raced back to Granton — Phew!
The experts calculated a lot of timings and estimations, after which the skiffs set out again in a numerical rolling order for the Grand Finale race, with the runners sitting in the bows again. A frantic race ensued around another course, back into Granton harbour at speed, to give a winner. Guess what, it was Anstruther!!
This was a great fun day,next year we will “know the ropes” and who knows who the winner will be.Three very new members were with us for the challenge. I think they got a shock, but they promise to come back! Gabe, Louise M and Mel K, thank you, you were thrown in at the deep end!! Thanks also to Irina, who willingly helped out Dunbar, as they came with a skiff and just four people! We had an “extra body”, so that solved that problem also. (Note from Barbara: I spoke to the Dunbar crew later and it transpires two of them had only been rowing for a couple of weeks, and their runner had joined the club the day before!)
PS: An amazing selection of food was on offer all day!
Click here to see more photos on Flickr
Tides for the coming week – posted 19 Jun 2016
All is well during the week, some complications for the weekend.
Tuesday 21st June
16.38 —- 5.48m H
21.48 —- 1.05 m L
Wednesday 22nd June
17.18 —- 5.50 m H
22.22 —- 1.07m L
Thursday 23rd June
17.59 —- 5.48 m H
22.53 —- 1.13 m L
Saturday 25th June
06.58 —- 5.37m H
11.50 —- 1.04m L
Social rowing from 9am as usual, but we will need to be finished before 11.30am, as the tide falls very low. That should give time for both boats to be out a couple of times however.
Sunday 26th June
07.44 —- 5.3 m H
12.35 —- 1.1 m L
No pontoon available for afternoon rowing, so the social session will be moved to 9am.
As ever, a big thank you to Rachel for passing on the tides information!
Our dear Andy – posted 23 Jun 2016
The Club was given the sad news yesterday that Andy Jarvis has passed away. Club captain Donna writes:
As we start our day with a heavy heart at the loss of our dear friend Andy, let’s be glad he is in pain no longer but enjoying the fuss being made of him no doubt by the great Heavenly Rowing Club. Our thoughts of course are with Anne, Lynne and Andrew at this time. I have written a little Ode to Andy for you to perhaps peruse and smile at …
ODE TO ANDY
Dear Andy this is to let you know
We wish you well wherever you go…..
No doubt you will be heading to that Heavenly plane
To sort out those Angels, now you are feeling no pain
We are sure you will be the same good Guy
Cracking jokes, having fun – you would want no-one to cry…
For we all know that whatever you do
New spiritual friends will surely flock to you…
The one thing I know for sure
Is that you will getting those Angels to pull an oar
The terms they will have to learn from you
Will of course to them be brand new
“Lean back, pull harder and catching a crab”
Will seem alien to them and they will think you quite mad!!
I’m sure the date you will arrange
For the Angels to race
A tough Regatta, with you setting the pace
Whether on stroke, mid boat or in bow
You’ll be shouting for them to pull their oar – anyhow!!!
So you see, whilst we will miss you
And your Grumpy ways
We know for you there will be great rowing days
Forever to be had with those Angels in the Sky
For now we will simply say goodbye……
A collection of QRC photos of Andy on Flickr — if anyone has more pictures they’d like to share, please contact Barbara.
More of Anne McGee’s photos of Portsoy 2012. She took some cracking shots of the Ferry Lass.
And here’s one North Berwick posted on Flickr – he’s taken his teeth out to row! He used to say it gave him more room for his breath.
Portsoy regatta pays tribute to Andy – posted 27 Jun 2016
Tides for the coming week -posted 27 Jun 2016
Quick update: Saturday morning’s social row is to go ahead at 9am, hurrah!
All tides are favourable for normal social rowing sessions. Not so good for early morning training on Saturday, but Sharon will advise on that. Saturday rowing generally could be affected by a shortage of RPs – a couple are going to Broughty Ferry for the regatta, while others are on holiday or working. Are any other RPs available? Email Rachel if you can help out.
Tuesday June 28th
14.35 pm — 1.44m L
22.01 — 5.07 H
Wednesday June 29th
16.50 —- 1.51 L
23.04 —- 5.09 H
Thursday June 30th
11.33 —- 5.20 H
18.07 —- 1.41 L
Saturday July 2nd
07.39 —- 1.2 L
13.38 —- 5.5 H
Sunday July 3rd
08.41 —- 1.0 L
14.37 —- 5.7 H
Medals all round at Broughty Ferry – posted 3 Jul 2016
Rachel reports: It was another long busy day on Saturday, with an early start and late finish. We hope Len can now catch up on sleep,as he is still recovering from long stints at Highland Show. But we had the pleasure of his company and rowing today!!
There were only ten of us, but we managed to enter all but one of the races, albeit we ‘borrowed’ a Broughty Ferry man at one point. And what’s more, at the end of the day, every one of us from Queensferry Rowing Club had at least one medal – this must be a first!!
We from Queensferry were greeted warmly at the welcome meeting, by John Miller of Broch’ty and thanked for being there under the circumstances of Andy’s death. A round of appreciation was given by all our fellow rowers from the competing clubs.
We had all weathers, not what was to be expected for July 2nd!! But we so love our GAZEBO, and again on Saturday it was admired by others.
When the rain came, it was “oh so heavy” and the wind gave us grief, especially at the start lines. We had very difficult waters to row through, with the wind and tide turning etc. The race course was reversed towards the latter part of the afternoon, to alleviate problems with this. However, we can deal with that!
Race 2 – Women’s 60+ won their wave, then giving them a bronze medal overall. Coxed by Len.
Race 4 -Women’s 45+ again won bronze, after two heats. Coxed by Louise.
Race 6 – Mixed novice came joint third with Broughty Ferry, giving us another bronze medal. Coxed by Louise.
Everyone did so well in all the races, with hard rowing over a 2km course. Special mention to Gabe, only a few weeks with us and on Saturday did two races back to back. Not many of us would be keen to do that! I think he is developing our passion!!
A day well spent in good company, and good teamwork.
More photos from the day on Flickr
Tides for the forthcoming week -posted 4 Jul 2016
All is well with these tides. On Saturday we would need to be finished by midday, but that is OK. On Sunday there will be enough water to launch by the time a crew is ready.
Tuesday July 5th
16.23pm —- 5.90m H
22.33pm —- 0.87 m L
Wednesday July 6th
17.12pm —- 5.87 m H
23.09 pm —- 0.94 m L
Thursday July 7th
17.58pm —- 5.75m H
23.40 pm —- 1.08m. L
Saturday July 9th
07.07am —- 5.53m H
12.50 pm —- 1.00 m L
Sunday July 10th
07.50 am —- 5.3 m H
13.07 pm —- 1.3 m L
Andy’s funeral – posted 6 Jul 2016
Yesterday we said goodbye to our very good friend Andy Jarvis.
Club secretary Richard posted this on Facebook: “Andy was a hugely popular man, not just with us in Queensferry Rowing Club, but throughout the Skiffie community, many of whom attended the funeral today. An oar salute seemed a perfect send off to someone who will be dearly missed. Row, row, row your boat…”
Many thanks to John H for sharing these videos with us
Dozens of skiffies from all over Scotland attended, wearing their club colours. Andy had organised his own service in detail, and the choice of music raised smiles as well as tears. Thank You for the Music by Abba, The Wonder of You by Elvis Presley (dedicated to Anne) – and of course this ditty for the entrance and exit (you can just hear it starting up in the second video):
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile,
Don’t forget to scream!
Club captain Donna is on holiday with Rory and young Kieran and so couldn’t attend, but posted this tribute from Spain:
Club members are asked to please send in stories, anecdotes about Andy and photos too, as a book is being planned as a gift to Anne. Here are some of the photos contributed most recently.
Queensferry regatta – call for entries – posted 13 Jul 2016
We know everyone is frantically busy training for the Worlds, but that’s not the end of the racing season! Queensferry Rowing Club’s 2016 regatta – held in conjunction with North Queensferry RC – is on Saturday 10 September.
Inchcolm row – posted 13 Jul 2016
On Monday 11 July an intrepid crew of six – Donna, Rachel, Louise, Maria, Mel and Barbara – set out from Port Edgar to row to Inchcolm for a picnic. The trip there was indeed a picnic – a falling tide and the westerly wind swept us along and we arrived about an hour after leaving. There was plenty to see along the way – many seals and other craft, and a different perspective on places like Dalgety Bay.
On arrival we quickly scoped out a sheltered spot with a view of the boat and settled in for lunch. Louise had baked a (scrumptious) cake and packed “lashings of ginger beer” in the spirit of Enid Blyton’s Island of Adventure, while Rachel shared freshly baked sausage rolls and date square.
Louise, who was RP, got the return trip under way sooner than planned, as the wind was rising. And so began a tough slog of about two and a half hours back to Port Edgar. Spirits were high though, and fortified by lunch, everyone enjoyed the challenge.
The following images are from the Endomondo app – in the first you can see how we steered nearer the shore to gain some shelter from the wind. And in the second, close-up image, you can see how far we were blown back when we stopped for a change of crew positions.
As ever, there are more photos on Flickr.
Tides for the forthcoming week – posted 18 Jul 2016
Rachel reports: All is well for social rowing times except for Saturday 23rd July, when the tide is too low. So – no rowing on the coming Saturday.
Tuesday July 19th
15.34 pm —- 5.46m H
20.53 pm—- 1.16 m L
Wednesday July 20th
16.15 pm —- 5.60m H
21.34 pm —- 1.03 L
Thursday July 21st
16.57 pm —-5.68m H
22.14 pm —- 0.95 L
Saturday July 23rd
5.56 am —- 5.7m H
11.08 am —- 0.7m L. No Rowing
Sunday July 24th
11.43 am —- 0.8m L
19.07 am —- 5.6 m H
Several of us will be leaving on Saturday/Sunday for Northern Ireland. (Just one week to go until the World Championships begin!!) While we are away, there will be RP cover for all the social rowing sessions except Tuesday the 26th.
If you’re not going to Ireland and want to follow the club’s fortunes, the organisers have set up a Facebook page where results will be posted: https://www.facebook.com/Skiffie-Worlds-2016-Updates-Craic-1214580245227181/
Skiffie Worlds photos – posted 1 Aug 2016
A bunch of photos from QRC folk who attended the Skiffie Worlds have been uploaded to Flickr – to see them click here. There are more to come, so keep checking back. A full report on the week will be forthcoming!
To whet your appetite, here is a random selection:
More Skiffie Worlds photos- posted 3 Aug 2016
From John H this time – most are from the two Big Rows, from Strangford (where the boat trailers were stored) across the lough to Delamont Country Park, where the racing was held – and back again, a week later.
To see more QRC Skiffie Worlds photos click here. Email Barbara if you have more photos you’d like to share with the club.
Yet more Skiffie World photos! – posted 7 Aug 2016
Keep them coming – these ones are by Maria.
Tides for the forthcoming week – posted 7 Aug 2016
Rachel reports: The tides for this coming week are all favourable.Dare I say, even the weather is looking ‘fine’!
Tuesday August 9th
12.36 —- 1.51m L
20.03 —- 5.00 m H
Wednesday 10th
13.10 —- 1.84m L
20.45 —- 4.80 m H
Thursday 11th
13.55 —- 2.17m L
21.34 —- 4.62 m H
Saturday 13th
05.10 —- 2.4m L
11.29 —- 4.5m H
Sunday 14th
12.39 —- 4.7m H
18.32 —- 2.0 m
Saturday is Ferry Fair parade – further details of social rowing etc on Saturday and the preparation of Ferry Maid for the parade will follow. And on Sunday we have the Alan Meldrum Community Challenge – teams have been practising hard for this, including a crew of doughty ceilidh dancers, Anne F’s nurses and of course last year’s champions Ferry Fit Camp, so let’s see a good turnout to cheer them on.
Alan Meldrum Challenge called off – posted 11 Aug 2016
Sorry folks, but this year’s community challenge has been cancelled due to the difficulty in getting enough teams trained up ahead of the event on Sunday. There was just too short a time after the Skiffie Worlds to get things properly organised. We hope to see more of the community rowers down at the shed though – ceilidh dancer Colin popped in this evening to collect his membership form. And there’s always next year to practise for…
Saturday morning is the Ferry Fair parade – we’ll be at the shed from 9am getting a boat ready for that, any willing helpers welcome. Otherwise, we should be at Burgess Road by the primary school by 10am. Fingers crossed for reasonable weather. Here’s a photo from 2014:
Tides for the coming week – posted 16 Aug 2016
Rachel reports: As we move into this coming week, we have some challenging tides. But we can deal with that!
Tuesday 16th August
14.23 —- 5.27m H
19.54 —- 1.42m L
Wednesday 17th August
15.08 —- 5.54m H
20.36 —- 1.16m L. —- Race Training will need to be finished by 19.30
Thursday 18th August
15.51 —- 5.8 m H
21.18 —- 0.9 m L —- We can start social rowing at 5pm, as we will have low tide on the slip by 19.30
Saturday 20th August
04.50 —- 6.0 H
10.24 —- 0.5 L
17.15 —- 6.0 H
As the tide is not suitable for social rowing at 9am we can have a later start of 12pm. ‘Long Lie Saturday!! ‘
Sunday 21st August
10.56 —- 0.4 L
17.59 —- 6.0 H. —- Perfect for our usual 1pm start!!
Some good news from Saturday’s Ferry Fair parade: the Ferry Maid came third in the floats competition! We got a lovely rosette and £20. Distributing QRC leaflets along the way resulted in some new faces at the shed on Sunday.
Tides for the coming week – posted 22 Aug 2016
Rachel reports: After the mishmash of this past week’s tides and high pressure, we have a great week ahead. No problems on any day!
Tuesday 23rd August
12.08 —- 0.77m L
19.36 —- 5.68m H
Wednesday 24th August
12.55 —- 1.12 m L
20.19 —- 5.43 m H
Thursday 25th August
13.54 —- 1.54 m L
21.14 —- 5.16 m H
Saturday 27th August
10.56 —- 5.0 m H
17.32 —- 2.0 m L
Sunday 28th August
12.11 —- 5.0m H
18.53 —- 1.9m L
So, enjoy lots of rowing this week! As a reminder for new members checking in: social rowing sessions are Tuesday and Thursday from 6pm, Saturday from 9am and Sunday from 1pm.
Race timings for our regatta – posted 28 Aug 2016
We are hosting eight races in total this year for our regatta on 10 September. Proposed timings are:
10am Women’s 60+
10.45 Men’s 60+
11.30 Women’s 50+
12.15 Mixed Open
13.00 Women’s Open
13.45 Men’s Open
14.30 Mixed Novice
15.30 Andy’s Race
Tides for the coming week – posted 28 Aug 2016
UPDATE: Social rowing is going ahead on Saturday from 1pm – RP cover is confirmed, so please roll up and enjoy!!
Rachel reports: As we approach September this week, we are losing the evening light fast and the tides are a wee bit disruptive.
Tuesday August 30th
14.17—- 5.45m H
20.42 —- 1.42 m L. Sunset 20.12
We can always get out earlier than 6pm as we should really have the boat in by 8pm. The water level at the slip has surprised us in the past couple of weeks.
Wednesday August 31st
15.07 —- 5.62m H
21.22 — 1.24m L Sunset 20.09
Again training could start earlier,to give us ease of time. Sharon will work it out.
Thursday September 1st
15.50 —- 5.71m H
21.55 —- 1.12 m L. Sunset 20.06
All will be well today.
Saturday September 3rd
10.49 —- 0.7 L
17.04 —- 5.7 H
Social rowing can be from 1pm if we can have RP coverage. We will inform you of this.
Sunday September 4th
10.51 —- 0.8 L
17.38 —- 5.6 H
Normal time for social rowing (1pm) and we can watch the water come up.
Updated race times for our regatta – posted 2 Sep 2016
Some changes to race timings on 10 September to allow a break for the umpire and safety boats.
0800 to 0900: Registration at race tent
0900: Coxes’ briefing at race tent
1000: Women’s 60+
1045: Men’s 60+
1130: Women’s 50+
1215: Mixed Open
1330: Women’s Open
1415: Men’s Open
1500: Mixed Novice
1545: Andy’s Race
Prize-giving will follow at about 1630.
Tides for this week – posted 6 Sep 2016
No tide issues at all!
Tuesday 6th September
18.46 —- 5.31m H
23.33 —- 1.42m L. Sunset — 19.53
Wednesday 7th September
11.54 —- 1.45m L
19.25 —- 5.13m H. Sunset — 19.51
Thursday 8th September
12.25 —- 1.75m L
20.06 —- 4.93m H. Sunset — 19.48
Saturday 10th September REGATTA DAY
09.26 —- 4.6m H
13.57 —- 2.4m L
20.43 —- 4.6m H
Sunday 11th September
10.31 —- 4.5 m H
17.17 —- 2.4 m L
Have a good week of rowing and we look forward to our regatta on Saturday, when we welcome 11 clubs for an enjoyable day of racing and hospitality.
North Berwick Regatta report – posted 6 Sep 2016
Rachel reports: We are a wee bit late with this,but a bit of confusion as to who was reporting!
Eighteen hardy rowers set off early last Saturday to row 2.4km around Craigleith Island off North Berwick. Some of us were around that island five times,either rowing or coxing! This is a real endurance test of rowing and stamina, well known for choppy waters and changeable conditions, with tide and rocky outcrops to watch out for.
There were 13 visiting clubs and North Berwick had all their three skiffs entered. This made for “Worlds” conditions at the start lines.
The race around the island had varied winning times, ranging from 16.49 in the Men’s 40 +, done in the morning in good conditions, to 19.08 in the Women’s Open, in the choppiest conditions! Our own timings ranged from 18.37 in the Men’s 40 + to 27.16 in the Women’s Open.
The Men’s Open and Women’s Open were the last races of the day and gave everyone grief at the start lines. Many, many attempts were made to get everyone in line and staying in line for the start, everyone was drifting badly and being called back into position.
For the Women’s Open, the last day of the race, I think the starter had given up the will to live trying to get us all in order, and ended up saying “Go”, taking us all by surprise! This is where we had a clash with Port Seton, who were still trying to get on to the start line! We never recovered from that, hence our long hard slog of 27.16 around the island in challenging conditions, as the day finished on the beach!! Hats off to Donna, our Cox, who kept us going when all seemed lost!
Our Men’s Open crew, below, had an admirable time and decent placing, considering the crazy start, losing 7th place by just one second. Well done Donal, Gabe, Jon and Rory. I had the pleasure of screaming at them to get there!
The handicapped 60+ was a shorter race to a buoy turn and back. We were running in third place turning the buoy, when “all-time carnage” took place! We were completely pushed out of position, rowing stopped and hands were out to push boats and oars off us. Fierce competition took place, in which clubs broke all the rules of buoy turns. Several boats collided bow to stern, with clashing of oars, heads being hit and general bad practice. We lost our third position and ended up fifth. Thank you to Anne F, who kept us all alive to finish that one.
It was an eventful day,full of fierce competition and camaraderie amongst fellow skiffies. Well done to everyone in all the categories, we all tried hard to have respectable placings.
As we approach our own regatta on Saturday, we will be vigilant to ensure it is primarily a safe environment for everyone. We aim to scrutinise the buoy turns and enforce penalties where necessary,whilst still enjoying the fun of rowing.
Note from Barbara: The photos above are by Steve Thomson of North Berwick RC – he has very kindly given permission for us to use the Bass Rock one in our 2017 calendar if we wish. There’s an album of his shots from the day on NBRC’s Flickr page, and they are well worth a look – especially those of that buoy turn!
Tides for the week ahead – posted 11 Sep 2016
Rachel reports: Now the nights are drawing in, evening rowing has to come to an end and this week seems to be it. The tides are so not in our favour for the week, though we can manage a wee while on Tuesday evening and this should be considered our last evening session of the summer. It would be good to have both boats out ,and a wee get together over coffee or a beer/wine with reflection on the season.So come along!
I will be there from 5pm to get us out promptly and add a bit of time on our session. Saturday rowing will be from 12pm and there will be RP coverage for that.
Tuesday September 13th
13.03 —- 4.93m H
18.51 —- 1.80m L. Sunset 19.35. Rowing from 5pm. LAST evening session.
Wednesday September 14th
13.54 —- 5.3m H
19.34 —- 1.46 m L. Sunset 19.32. NO training
Thursday September 15th
14.39 —- 5.64 m H
20.17 —- 1.13 m L. Sunset 19.29. NO rowing
Saturday September 17th
09.30 —-,0.45 m L
16.05 —- 6.11 m H. Sunset 19.24. Rowing from 12pm
Sunday September 18th
10.09 —- 0.3 L
16.49 —- 6.2 H Sunset 19.21. Normal session time of 1pm
Post-regatta thanks from our captain – posted 11 Sep 2016
A message from club captain Donna: I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all of you, for your dedication, motivation and hard work in making our Regatta a huge success. Not only did the weather play for us, but the comments from other Clubs highlighted to me how much the day was enjoyed by everyone.
Especially nice to receive super feedback, including a very good one from Newhaven who advised that they had such an enjoyable day and to them, it was obvious we were a “solid” club with great communication between us – and to them it showed. Praise indeed.
For my own part, in case I did not state it clearly enough yesterday – I would like to thank our Umpire, Safety & Committee Boat teams for keeping us safe in the water, whilst we were all too busy enjoying ourselves. Everyone who had the opportunity to join the Umpire/Safety Team, thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Duty Schedule gave the opportunity for many to be involved in learning and understanding the importance of these roles. We very much appreciate their hard work. Our Coxes – who guided our Teams throughout the day despite stiff competition.
Our Pontoon Control team who did a marvellous job of looking after and marshalling our visiting Clubs. Race Control Team noting race times with precision – always a difficult task which needed constant focus. Race Tent who did a sterling job, having been thrown in at the deep end, handling constant questions from our Visitors…
Our fantastic Catering/Tombola/Raffle team who made quite a large amount of money by asking local businesses for Raffle prizes, but hearing via the Grapevine, it would appear a healthy return for your efforts. A special Thank You to Barbara, who despite having surgery just a few weeks ago, gave Catering her all and kept the Team on their toes…. All those who helped serving tea/coffee throughout the day as well as selling Tombola/Raffle tickets. Multi-tasking indeed!
Our Regatta Sub-Committee, who against all odds, “pulled it out the hat” and worked tremendously hard these past weeks to get everything done…new signage and a tidy shed makes all the difference….
Finally to all of you for your help, support, participation and camaraderie that you showed yesterday to all our Visitors and more importantly, to each other.
Thank you so very much – you made it a great day. Congratulations to our Ladies 60+ for achieving bronze – race times will be available on our Facebook page. It was clear you all engaged with the spirit of the event.
Now we can start planning ahead for future events and more adventures on the water.
Photos by Louise Innes. More can be seen on the club’s Flickr pages.
Regatta report – posted 13 Sep 2016
Dónal reports: On Saturday last, North and South Queensferry welcomed ten Clubs to their Regatta at the Port Edgar Marina in Queensferry to race under the shadows of the three bridges. The crews came from along the Firth of Forth, the Firth of Tay and all the way up to Loch Broom. After the torrential rain on the Friday, Saturday dawned bright but chilly with little wind, this made for perfect racing conditions.
Crews started arriving from 0730 the racing got underway at 1000. The course was rectangular heading East from the Forth Road Bridge. It went down to a finger buoy which is North of Queensferry Harbour where a ninety degree turn was executed. It then headed to a second finger buoy near the Harbour wall and then back up to under the Forth Road Bridge. First up was the Women’s 60+ with only five participants and it was very keenly contested. North Berwick took the honours in this race finishing ahead of Anstruther by eight seconds with Queensferry taking third place a further nine seconds behind.
The second race was the Men’s 50+ and this time we had two waves as we had seven boats. We had a wave of four boats followed by the remaining three. In the first wave North Berwick must have thought they had done enough to win as they powered home in 9:12 a full 43 seconds ahead of Row Porty. However the second wave provided the winners with Anstruther laying down a marker for the day setting a blistering time of 8:48 and taking Gold ahead of North Berwick. Loch Broom made their trip worthwhile coming in third just one second behind North Berwick.
Special mention must go to Kinghorn who were competing in their first Regatta and in their first race they came home with a time of 10:29
The third race was the Women’s 50+ again with seven boats. There appeared to be a pattern emerging here with North Berwick and Anstruther beginning to dominate. The first wave saw North Berwick and Anstruther go head to head and it proved to be a close race around the buoys with North Berwick pulling ahead on the way home and winning by twelve seconds in a time of 9:42. In the second wave, Crail blew the other two boats away finishing in a time of 9:49. This gave them second overall, six seconds ahead of Anstruther.
The last race before lunch was the Mixed Open with eleven boats. The contest in the first heat was for the minor placings St Andrews were well ahead. They finished with a time of 9:35 which was 30 seconds ahead of Anstruther. The second wave was again a race for the minor placings as Broughty Ferry were well ahead. They came home in a time of 9:04, 24 seconds ahead of Newburgh and 40 seconds ahead of North Berwick. Broughty took Gold, Newburgh Silver and St Andrews Bronze.
After lunch the sun finally felt warm and the racing certainly hotted up too. The first race was the Women’s Open with Anstruther have always the team to beat in this category but Broughty Ferry and Crail are always knocking on the door. The first wave saw three of the big hitters along with Queensferry and Newburgh. It was a close race with Broughty Ferry sneaking ahead and in the final stretch they had an eleven second margin of victory over Crail. North Berwick were a further six seconds behind. The second wave had four boats on it with Anstruther leaving the other three boats behind. They finished with a time of 9:45 a huge 40 seconds ahead of St Andrews. That time wasn’t enough for Anstruther to take the victory as Broughty Ferry finished just seven seconds ahead. Crail took third place.
The Men’s Open had a strong field with the likes of North Berwick, Anstruther and Broughty Ferry all vying to continue their good form this season. The first wave saw six crews take to water and from the start it was clear that Queensferry and Anstruther were going to be close all the way round. From buoy to buoy there was nothing between them. As they headed for the finish both teams were giving it their all with Anstruther getting across the line in a time of 9:05 with Queensferry coming in with a time of 9:11. The second wave saw North Berwick dominate as they left St Andrews and Broughty Ferry in their wake. They finished in a time of 8:47 setting a new record for the day. They were sixteen seconds ahead of St Andrews. That time gave North Berwick the Gold with St Andrews taking Silver and Anstruther the Bronze.
The penultimate race saw ten crews try to drop their Novice status and was the hardest race to call. Once the first wave set off it was obvious who was going to win this as they left the other four boats trailing as they came home in a time of 9:38. The closest boat to them was North Queensferry who finished in 10:04.
The second wave was much closer with close racing between St Andrews, Row Porty, Queensferry and Newburgh. These four boats headed for the first buoy and there was a lot of jockeying for position with three boats coming close together. St Andrews had taken the buoy first and were forging ahead. By the second buoy things were still tight as Portobello, Queensferry and Newburgh all rounded it roughly at the same time and then it was a dash for home with Portobello and Queensferry fighting it out for second place. Newburgh were falling slightly behind after the final turn. With St Andrews well ahead and finishing in 10:05, Portobello and Queensferry were impossible to separate but as they came to the line Portobello took second by the margin of just two seconds. North Berwick took Gold with North Queensferry taking Silver and St Andrews taking the Bronze.
The final race of the day was a special race for Queensferry Rowing Club and the wider Skiff Community. This was Andy’s Race in memory of Andy Jarvis, a stalwart of Queensferry Rowing Club and a friend to all who had the pleasure of meeting him. Andy offered his services to any crew that would have him so it was felt a fitting tribute that a pick and mix race with rowers from the different clubs rowing in boats other than their own. The perfect way to remember Andy. This was a fun race but the competitive nature of rowers meant this was going to be a fight as well. The first wave saw Anstruther and Crail boats well ahead of the field. Anstruther came in first in a time of 9:32 which was 21 seconds ahead of Crail.
The second wave saw a great tussle between Queensferry and Broughty Ferry. Broughty took the first buoy slightly ahead of Queensferry and by the time they reached the second buoy they were neck and neck. From then on it was a race for the line with Queensferry doing better and pulling slightly ahead and by the time they got to the line they were six seconds in front. The first place went to the Anstruther boat, with Crail second and Queensferry third.
This brought down the curtain on a wonderful day which was finished off with the prize giving followed for some with curry and a drink courtesy of the organisers of the Keel Boat Regatta that was taking place on the same day. The day was a success due to the culmination of a lot of hard work from various people be they the starters, safety boat crews, time keepers, the pontoon organisers, the army of caterers and all those that helped throughout the day and if course the organising committee.
Edinburgh Reporter website’s report