Club vice-captain Mike B writes: I’m afraid that the tides are pretty poor for us this week. We will not be able to have any social rowing on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, nor can we have social rowing on Saturday morning.
On Saturday morning though, can I encourage you all to meet at the shed at 09:00 to help prepare one of the boats for the Ferry Fair parade!
The bunting’s ready, the leaflets are printed…
Peter Locke will be supervising the preparations and will advise on the parade. All volunteers to help distribute leaflets alongside the parade will be very welcome. It’s always a very happy occasion taking part in the parade. The weather is forecast to be overcast, with a light breeze and to be very pleasantly warm but not too hot!
After the parade, the tides will be good for rowing, if anyone wants to take a boat out (RP needed of course!).
On Sunday, we shall have turn-up-and-row sessions in Ferry Lass from 13:00 onwards. Ferry Maid will be used for Youth rowing from 13:00 to 14:00 and then for social rowing bookable slots at 14:00 and 15:00. Long distance training will be in Ferry Maid from 16:00 to 18:00.
Social rowing this month
If you would like a space in the bookable slots, please email me directly on mikebreewood@gmail.com.
If you would like a space in the long distance training row, please contact Keith Thomson on keithrmcethomson@yahoo.co.uk directly.
QRC captain Marianne writes: A few things to update you all on.
New Skipper and coxes
Congratulations to Beth Christie on becoming our newest skipper. Well done also to Scott Boyd, May Macleod and Val Alexander, who passed the coxing course. Thanks also to everyone involved in making this happen.
5 Miles from Home
Well done to the three crews, the Skua Chasers (W50+), Ferry Scratchers (Mixed) and the Ferrymen (M60+), who represented QRC in the 5 Miles challenge, all in the most testing of conditions. This is a unique challenge in that’s more about participation than times as everyone is rowing in a different place. Special mention to the Skua Chasers, who had to complete their race in the marina because it was so wild out there, but who won a special ‘Plate of Spaghetti’ award for their inventive course!
New Door
Thanks to Douglas and Alan for hanging the new door, sourced by Maria. New keys are reaching skippers, while there is one for members to use in the keybox on the side of the Shed. Please replace the key as soon as you’ve opened/closed the door.
Broughty Ferry Regatta Report
We went to our first regatta in over two years last Saturday. Broughty Ferry is a stiff test at the best of times, and Saturday was no exception – in the morning the stiff wind was against us on the outward leg, the strong tide against us coming home. We took a team that included a number of new members and I applaud you all for your positive can-do attitude! We also included three of our friends from North Queensferry in what we all hope will be the start of closer interclub club co-operation.
Photo by Cheryl White
Well done to everyone who came. We may not have come home with any medals, but it was a great club day out and everyone’s enthusiasm and good humour was second to none. In lieu of a formal regatta report, check out the fabulous interview with Michelle by our roving reporter Elspeth, on our Facebook page and Twitter feed!
Future Events
We have regattas trips to North Berwick (27 August) and FOCCRS (Largs, 10-11 September). Sign-up sheets are in the Shed. We’re also planning to send two crews to Castle to Crane, the long distance race between Dumbarton Castle and the Titan Crane in Glasgow (3 September). Again there’s a sign-up sheet in the Shed.
Queensferry Community Event
We took part in a Queensferry community event to showcase clubs to local people Ferry on Sunday 1 May and made a few friends! We made a little on bridge T-shirts and monkey-fist merch. Some exciting news coming on monkey-fists later!
Youth rowing
Really pleased to see a new, enthusiastic young rowers coming along. We supporting our young people in Duke of Edinburgh Awards and Scout badges, as well as introducing them to what we hope will be a lifelong passion! Thanks to everyone involved.
Club kit
We’re aware there have been a few issues with the new kit shop. These are being addressed but be aware that changes in suppliers to Superlogo mean that some items may differ slightly in colour and there are limits to what we can do about that.
And finally…
Our fiesty little friends, the terns, are back from their winter holiday off in southern Africa and are busy with nesting on the raft at the far end of the marina. Keep clear, or risk a pecking! Swallows are also back, swooping round the Shed, and as there’s evidence that eiders are nesting on the breakwater again, we’ll hopefully soon see eider creches bobbing about in the marina. The Forth is internationally important for seabirds – we row in a very special place!
Club captain Marianne writes: Following the recent announcement of the easing for Covid restrictions in Scotland, there’s good news for the Club. The exciting news is that the Shed will reopen for socialising from today, so you can now grab a coffee in the Shed after rowing.
The Shed doors still need to be open for ventilation, but this can be the ‘pedestrian’ door, rather than the boat doors. There are no limits on numbers in Shed.
Other measures as before:
We recommend you take a lateral flow test prior to coming down.
Please sign in using the app/book if your phone doesn’t read the QR code. (The crew book is separate and it’s not enough to just write in this.)
Masks can be worn in the Shed if you feel more comfortable.
Please use hand sanitiser.
As far as the boats and equipment are concerned, the boats, lifejackets and other equipment no longer need to be sanitised prior to rowing or between crews, though you can still do this if you feel more comfortable that way.
Boats should still be washed down with soapy water after the final row of the day as usual.
Boats still need a good scrub after the final row
The feedback is that you prefer the certainty of knowing you’ll get out rowing, so we’re going to continue with boat booking. We have one boat in service at the moment, but Ferry Lass should be back very soon.
Watch out for Mike’s usual email next week and get booked up for a row, bacon rolls, coffee/tea and chat! Bacon roll Saturdays are back and Peter is poised with his pinny to supply us all with our favourite weekend treat! Home-baking and biscuits will be very welcome!
Peter on bacon duty
On Saturday we have a tide pretty much all day, so lots of rowing possibilities, provided the weather plays ball. If it looks too windy, we’ll organise an activity so you still have an excuse to come down!
Thanks for the Return to Rowing Group for their continued advice, and to the Committee for their support.
The Loch Awe Coastal Rowing Club has announced its second Loch Awe Adventure regatta, to be held at Dalavich, Argyll, 22-24 April 2022 – the weekend after Easter.
If you would like to take part, please register your interest by contacting Tony, the club secretary, on asrbacon@gmail.com, or on the sign up sheet in the Shed. Please highlight any special abilities or wishes (eg RP/tower/cox/Sunday only….)
Loch Awe Adventure 2019
The main event will be held on Sunday 24 April, and is a long-distance race (24km) from Dalavich to the Taychreggan Hotel (North Port) and back. The race is in two legs, with an optional crew changeover at North Port.
Dalavich, the focus of the event, is a small village located about halfway down the western shore of Loch Awe. The adventure starts on the Friday, late afternoon, with the arrival of the first crews and skiffs, although it is anticipated that most will arrive on Saturday morning in time to row that afternoon. The main event will be held on the Sunday.
Camping is available by the community centre, which has toilets and coin-operated showers. There is also a wide range of self-catering accommodation, but this needs to be booked early.
On Friday, one of our crews was lucky enough to encounter a small pod of dolphins. They circled the Maid as it headed west of the Queensferry Crossing, and when we stopped they came in very close to check the boat out, swimming just beyond the oars and diving under the boat. The crew – cox Maria, club captain Marianne, Barbara, Anne F and Sharon – were thrilled. More excitement was to come as the story spread across social media, thanks to Scott.
Still from a video by Anne FPhoto by Barbara
Marianne posted photos of the sighting on the Forth Marine Mammals site, where they caused quite a stir. She writes: “They seem to be common dolphins, which like most animals with that epithet are not particularly common, and certainly not this far up the Forth. We’ve had lots of praise for our spot!”
Anne F’s video
Scott made a post on the club’s new public Facebook page – along with posts on Twitter and Instagram – and the next day revealed that it had reached many thousands of people – 20, 490 at last report. Among those picking up on the story was the Edinburgh Live news site, which posted an article after contacting Scott and Marianne.
