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Check it out, and get kitted up.
Author: Barbara Agnew
Club kit shop refresh
Eleni writes: After careful consideration, the Committee decided to make a change to the colour of our kit in order to create a more consistent and unified look across all items.
The new shade of red we’ll be using is called “Fire Red”. It’s a brighter, warmer red compared to the current “Red Hot Chilli” shade that our hoodies are in. This new shade will allow us to have all items in the same colour, providing a more cohesive appearance across the entire kit.
Please note, “Fire Red” is the only shade of red that works with the basic kit items required for the Club, and we’ve made efforts to explore other suppliers as well. Unfortunately, we could not find the full range of kit we need.
Below is the kit list and pricing for your reference before the online store goes live. Feel free to take a look, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’re excited to have everyone in the new kit soon!
Mad March Mash Up
Marianne writes: We’re holding a ‘Mad March Mash Up’ regatta on 01 March. Why mash up? Following the successful format we used the last time, crews won’t compete for their clubs, we’ll all be mixed up together. It’s a great way to meet other people and have fun!
Racing
Racing will be over 1km, without a turn, in the following categories (tbc). All races are mixed sex and club (and not necessarily running in this order). There is a theme….
- Major mash up: Mixed 60+
- Tattiebogles – Mixed 50+
- SpudUlike– Mixed Open
- Mini Mash Up – Youth race
- George’s Special Stovies – Mixed Decades
- Bubble and squeak – Mixed Mini Major race (two youth rowers, two older rowers)
- New Potatoes – Mixed novice race. A great chance for those who have raced, never raced, and/or would like to try race coxing.
How you can help
We need everyone to pitch in to help make the day a success, as well as rowing of course! Sign-up sheets for jobs including pontoon supervision, catering, commentating, safety boat (PB2 required) and race placing are on the noticeboard in the Shed.
Please sign up for at least two jobs and racing, and let’s make this day a huge success!
AGM reminder
Just a quick reminder that nominations for club officers and committee members ahead of this year’s AGM close next week, on Tuesday the 8th of October.
The nomination sheets are pinned to the notice board in the Shed.
The AGM will be held on Thursday the 24th of October at 7.30pm in the Club House of the Port Edgar Yacht Club.
Yes, the sun has set on evening rowing sessions for 2024. Photo by Rory
Ullapool Regatta report
Val writes: We had a glorious couple of days in Ullapool, memories of the torrential weather and lightning of the previous year fondly recounted and reminisced over by scores of skiffies from the Queensferries and beyond as the weather this year just got better and better during the weekend set up on the shelving shingle beach of Costa De Lapooll.
No medals but great company, fantastic variable conditions on the water throughout the weekend with just enough chop and swell at the Lomo buoys to really give the crew and coxes something to think about. Both Richard (thank you so much for towing and all the kit organising!) and I undertook our first ever race coxing.
It’s a super set up at Ullapool, SEVENTEEN lanes!! As I set off in the Maid with my steady crew, I popped past the hand buoy that the coxes pick up to achieve one of the most organised race start lines anywhere I have ever seen. I confidently tapped it, felt how I would grab it again and released so we could practice a start and a turn before lining up again.
Well, it took me three attempts to pick it up for real after several inelegant million point turns onto it. But, not daunted, with cheerful crew that was it, we were lined up. Just a little bit of medieval torture maintaining the hold on the buoy with out dislocating my right shoulder, left hand on rudder and the radio crackled into life
… Attention..
All skiffs!…
Row!.. Or maybe Go! (I’m not sure!!)
But we were off! A great start, a strong crew, an inexperienced race Cox and a flipping long sprint. Chop at the run into the Lomos … “Watch the oars, catch the water” and I found the first of Rachel’s phrases emitting from my mouth to encourage the crew… “This is Scottish Coastal Rowing, We LOVE IT!”
The crew were giving their all but I saw four little smiles crinkled in response to that. St Andrews crossed our bow on their way back down the course as we approached for the turn, serendipitously gaining at least two boat lengths on a competitor many lanes away. We raced back into the more gentle water in a gaggle of four skiffs, our own race unfolding in a wave just a minute behind the eventual winners. We came a brave second out of that four. Another of Rachel’s techniques unfolded as we gave Ten for Allan, Ten for Sarah, Ten for Lesley and Ten for Richard as we attempted to just nudge past that leading Skiff!! There’s always something to play for at a regatta!
Rachel enjoyed what she’s said will be her last race, and what a venue, regatta and weekend of weather for that to have happened.
We really enjoyed having our friends from North Queensferry with us, and thoughts definitely started to drift towards “The Worlds” next summer. Óndrej and Filip held up the side for the youths and as well as rowing with Queensferry were poached by a couple of other clubs giving them exciting afternoons on Saturday!
Ullapool, as ever is a fantastic venue, It was my first ever regatta that I attended a few years ago, my first ever race, and now my first ever race coxing and so will always be special.
There’s accommodation suiting all budgets and ranging from canvas, to campervan, youth hostel to plush hotel. From fish and chips to curry, langoustine, lobster, or wood-fired Pizza and with a decent Tesco at the back of the village for self caterers, it really does have everything. We were treated again to a Saturday night Ceilidh in the Ferry Terminal, there’s something just so magical about that and a good crowd of us rounded off Saturday evening with a wee burl to Auld Lang Syne… (Or so we thought…., until we reunited on the beach slightly later to reinstate the gazebo after it had been caught by the wind and become, shall we say, rather friendly with RowPorty’s skiff!…. ) No skiffs or gazebos were hurt in the process!
The nice thing about Ullapool is it really is so special. If the usual pattern unfolds, it will be a local Highland regatta next year in their preparation for the Worlds, so mark up your July 2026 calendar!
I haven’t really given the breakdown of the results, but actually, it really is the taking part that counts.
Fantastic weekend.
