Club captain Marianne writes: Anne P, Ewan G, Taciana, May, Louise, Maria, Lynn, and a random wee bloke in a club hoodie going by the name of ‘Marvin’, represented QRC in the South-East Region team at the Loch Tummel Freshwater Sprints on Saturday.
A slightly misty, but calm, autumnal day saw short, sharp sprint racing between the regions that tested the rowers, coxes and umpires alike.
Well done to Ewan for his first gold medal in the M210 sprint and no longer being a novice! (Marvin got one too.) I hope his kidneys weren’t too bruised after the pummelling he received from the rower in two!
The winning crew – that’s Marvin second from left.
The two longer 1.5 km races at the end of the programme around a single buoy provided new umpires with a stiff ask of their freshly acquired skills. They also provided a talking point over the rules approaching turns.
Well done to May for stepping up to race cox, and for her part in what was obviously a hotly contested buoy turn.
Great racing and coxing from everyone – a good number of seconds and thirds, often in men’s races, which were bolstered by honorary blokes.
QRC captain Marianne writes: What a great day for the club on Saturday! To kick things off, Gabe, Ade, Cheryl and Taciana, coxed by Louise, rowed a hard fought race in testing conditions to retain the North South trophy for QRC by the narrowest of margins – one metre. Well done to both crews for exciting start to our day.
A hard-fought race…With a thrilling finish. Photos by Scott Boyd
The action then moved to the marina and the Shed, where we welcomed our friends from North Queensferry for a day of fun ‘Andy style’ sprints and food.
And what an afternoon it was! Six crews with rowers and coxes from each club mixed together took part in a race series that saw ‘Puffin’, crewed by Mel, Lesley (NQ), Shona and Ewan, and coxed by Jenny T, overtake ‘Fulmar’ in a thrilling last race to finish two boat lengths ahead in first place. Special mention to Ewan who, aged 14, was part of the winning ‘Puffin’ crew, and to Lois, aged 17, who coxed a crew in the three boat final. Well done to you both!
Puffin’s crew celebratesLois at the helm. Photos by Scott Boyd(Most of) the North-South crews receive their prizes… And Puffin’s crew get theirs.
Some thank yous
Anne P – for putting crews together, coming up with the race format, and for adjusting, readjusting, right through the day to make sure everyone who wanted to had two rows. Mike B for all his hard work behind the scenes.
Thanks to the rowers and coxes from both clubs who so eagerly jumped in boats and enjoyed some fun racing! Some of you were new to racing, and we had two people trying out race coxing for the first time, and I hope you enjoyed this gentle introduction.
Three cheers for race starters Douglas and John on Committee boat Faithful, and joined by Scott, whose wonderful photos can be seen on the club Flickr. Mike McD on his boat, gently shepherding boats into the right place. Anne F, Lorna, Sharon, Steph, Barbara and Stuart in the timing tent keeping track of all the results. Thanks to May for keeping an eye on crew changeovers on the slip.
The timing tent. Photo by Barbara
Food – Peter and Stuart, who managed to keep everyone supplied with hot food from the BBQ all day! Shona and Beth who did the shopping. Our club ‘soup dragons’ Alistair and Val, who kept us fuelled with nourishing broths! Thanks to EVERYONE who brought food – as usual members from both clubs did us all proud!
Stuart and Peter kept the barbecue fired up. Photo by ScottThe shed was buzzing. Photo by Barbara
Clearer uppers – Barbara, Rachel, Steph, Stuart and everyone else who pitched in.
North Queensferry for joining with us to and helping make the day such good fun.
I am bound to have missed people, so apologies for that, but thank you nonetheless. Events like these always needs all hands to the pump to make them work, and members from both clubs, as ever, certainly rose to the occasion.
Finally, just huge thanks to everyone from both clubs who came along and contributed to a wonderful, relaxed and happy day!
Save the date! The marina has given its blessing for a litter-picking blitz to go ahead on the eastern breakwater, from about midday on Saturday 15 October.
Associated with this, we’ll also be taking part in the Great Nurdle Hunt. We collected thousands of these pesky little pellets back in 2019, and they became part of an art project by Maarten Vanden Eynde in Belgium (see video below). Maarten has recently been in touch asking if we can send more, for the next stage of this project.
A 2019 Breakwater Blitz haul. Photo by Rachel Holburn, who organised events throughout the year
The event is timed for low tide (1.7m), but everyone going out on to the breakwater must wear a lifejacket. I will provide rubbish bags, buckets and gloves, and a couple of litter-picking sticks. Please wear sturdy shoes in case of broken glass etc, and clothes that you don’t mind getting a bit grubby.
Getting down to the nitty gritty in 2019. Photo by Rachel Holburn
As ever the Breakwater Blitz is weather-dependent – if it’s heaving with rain or too windy we’ll convene another day. Hopefully we’ll get a good day and help keep our beautiful firth clean.
One of 2019’s Blitz crews. Photo by Rachel Holburn
Below is a video of Maarten’s project, Check Mate – it’s not in English, but you can see the idea. For next year’s exhibition he’s working on square 20, which will require 524,288 nurdles.
Club captain Marianne writes: We have our North-South race crew, Ade (stroke), Cheryl, Taciana, Gabe, and skipper Louise. The race starts from the North at 11:00. We hope you’ll come down and cheer them on! The finish line is near the old harbour, although you can get a good view at Port Edgar too.
Last year’s winning crew
Pot Luck BBQ
We are hosting North Queensferry with a barbeque starting at 12:00. As ever, we’d appreciate your help with catering by bringing a pot luck dish to share with everyone. We know that Alistair is bringing his world famous soup!
Andy’s Race Sprints
Our fun club sprints will start at 12:30 and run until 15:30. This is a new event, that sees QRC and NQ members in mixed ‘Andy’s Race’ style crews. Mike and Anne P have been working incredibly hard on putting arrangements in place, and race crews together.
Huge thanks to them, and to everyone from QRC and NQ who has signed up. There are still spaces, so please let et Anne P know if you can join in (apurcellb@hotmail.com).
John Howell will once again be skippering the Committee boat, Faithful, aided by Douglas and with QRC photographer Scott on board. Best smiles everyone! Anne F and Sharon will be in the timing tent, and others are helping with the jobs that need done for an event to run smoothly.
Club vice-captain Mike B writes: As the evenings draw in, and the leaves turn to gold, thoughts turn to our AGM and the election of a new Committee for the year ahead.
There are a number of cut-off dates before the AGM itself is held, for nominations to the Committee and for submission of items to be discussed at the AGM itself, so please do read the Calling Notice carefully.
If you have any queries relating to the Calling Notice, please feel free to contact me directly on mikebreewood@gmail.com.
There’s a sheet up in the shed for nominations for officers and committee members.
Club captain Marianne adds: Do think about joining our Committee. The club cannot run without the time and effort that the Committee, and others, devotes to the club. With that said, thanks to Alan S, Louise, Douglas, Beth, Scott, Anne, John, Lesley and, of course Mike B, for all your help and support over the past year.
Events – lots to look forward to!
North South race/Andy’s Race Day, Saturday 08 October
Sign-up sheet is in the shed for this exciting day we’re planning! Also, Anne F is looking for help with the race timing operation.
Last year’s North v South trophy winners
Tweed Row, Sunday 09 October
This is a five mile row from Berwick to Paxton House and back. There is the opportunity to change crews at Paxton House, where the traditional picnic takes place.
The fleet arrives at Paxton House, 28 Sept, 2019. Photo by Douglas Carse
Freshwater Sprints, Saturday 29 October
This is the last event of the season where we take part in sprint races not as a club, but as part of South East region. It takes place on beautiful Loch Tummel, with Schiehallion looking down on proceedings. It’s a great social occasion and I’d recommend you think about taking part. Anne P will be co-ordinating the south east team.
Freshwater Sprints, 26 Oct 2019. Photo by Barbara Agnew
Sign-up sheets are up in the Shed for all these events.
Oars – testing, testing
We’re looking at replacing oars (though the current sets of oars will still be available to use). As part of working out our requirements, we’ve borrowed a similar set from our friends at NQ. We want you to give them a try and note your thoughts on sheets provided on the noticeboard. Thanks to everyone involved, particularly Douglas, Alan D and Louise.
And finally…
Mark and Douglas will be taking Ferry Maid off the water for an extended period of maintenance. This includes painting, which needs to be done before the colder weather sets in. Rachel has organised for seats to get some much-needed tlc, which we’re very grateful for.
