Rowporty are having a winter social & ceilidh on Friday 27th January from 7.30 - 12.00 at Portobello Community Centre.

Tickets are £10 which includes Haggis, Neeps & Tatties, an address to the haggis, singing and ceilidh dancing. Tickets are in short supply & going fast! So hurry & book yours now from Sybil, or contact any member of Rowporty.

On Monday 7th Nov at around 9:30am five of us set off in the car and Jenny Skylark in tow to North Berwick. We launched from the beach (you can take the road trailer onto the beach down the slip outside the harbour) and set off at around 10:30am.

We called the coast guard on channel 16 to let them know that St Baldred and Jenny Skylark, rowing skiffs, were heading to the Bass Rock, ETA 14:00hrs, 10 people. They wished us luck.

We had 5 life jackets, VHF, anchor, large yellow bailer, spare oar, 8 kabes and 8 pins, first aid kit, hot drinks, water proofs, Cox's jacket, hats, water and food.

You can leave the trailer above the high water mark on the beach and the car has to be parked on the streets; most of the harbour is no parking.

We were very, very lucky. It was completely becalmed and sunny, rare Autumn weather, which paid off for those who took annual leave or skived off work for the day! Even the porpoises came out on the way to the Rock, followed by loads of seals, many with young on the islands. It took about 1:15hrs to get there with no wind or tide, but several stops for pictures

We left on High Tide so the cave was underwater, but we could still get quite close to the entrance in the incredibly flat sea.

Once we had rounded the Rock and could see the lighthouse hanging onto the cliffs on the Southside, we tethered the 2 boats together for lunch. We did break one of N. Berwick's pins as the 2 boats knocked into each other, but we were forgiven with offerings of hot coffee and home made food. Nick, Maddy, Sally and Claire had brought loads of delicious home-made food, for which we were thankful!, and we shared with some friendly (and hungry) North Berwick rowers.

Although we did not use the anchor, we did not drift very far East over the 50min we stayed there. The rope is only 25mts long.

A ship approached rapidly at first and then stopped some 1,000mts from us. We were able to row up to it, close enough to have and exchange hand signals with the folk on board the research/working vessel from the Forth; we had our Viking hat on at the time, which I am sure scared them witless. They then sent off a little red helicopter, but we were not impressed, not at all.

After this, we rowed off Eastwards towards the Craig, where we showed Claire where we almost smashed into the rocks during the N. Berwick regatta last year! and we carried on rowing towards the Lamb rock/island.

It was after 2pm and the sun, although bright, was already quite low, and the temperature dropped a bit too, so it was time to head home. We navigated through some tight channels in through the Lamb (after much holding of breath, then relief as we came out through a different channel) on the way back. The tide was still quite high and the sea was very flat.

We stopped at the Craig again on the way back to see the baby seals hiding in the rocks, in the sun, they looked, well, succulent.

Got back to North Berwick at around 15:00hrs, having spent 4.25 hours on the water. We did not suffer from air attacks as is common during the summer, the Garnets were away by then, so we saw the regular inhabitants, which did not pester us at all.

It's a worth while row that can be done comfortably in two and a half hours, with stops along the way. However, we were told by North Berwick and others that have been to the Bass Rock in kayaks, say that it can be quite rough around the back of the Rock as the big swells hit the rock and there is a mess of water that can be dangerous. If in doubt stay away form the Rock, there is no way onto it from the skiff in high tide, you need a flat sea and low tide. But if you do land you will need to pay £100 at the bird centre for the privilege.

On calm days one could stop on the way back at either Sea Cliff beach, but the beach below Castleton is more on the way back.

The pictures should give you an idea of the idyllic conditions we had on the day!

Thanks to Claire for some lovely pictures

In October 2009 Robbie Whiteman, convenor of the SCRA, attended a PS&KC meeting at the Beach House to explain the Scottish Fisheries Museum initiative to re-introduce rowing to the Forth through community boat building.

Ali Grant & I immediately caught on to the idea and we discussed how we would go about it. I agreed to find a workshop space and buy the first kit from Alec Jordon in Anstruther.

We were one of the first clubs to purchase the kit, which gave Alec the cash to buy some marine plywood. Ali said she would get the funding for it!

I called Nik, who was in France at the time and he was enthusiastic to lend his tools & his joinery skills to the project.

As part of raising awareness of the project in Portobello we managed to get the first prototype skiff which Alec had built, to Porty beach for a trial row. Everyone who came along was captivated by the boat on the flat sea in January, on a sunny afternoon.

By January 2010 we had secured the workshop space from BL Developments at the old power station site. The best thing about it was that it was free! By February 2010 we started building Ice Breaker and by May we had her launched, a few days before the inaugural skiff regatta at Anstruther.

In the mean time Ali had secured funding from the Lottery Heritage fund and we were already thinking about building a second boat. However, Nik & I were wondering if anyone would row the boat while we were painting Ice Breaker.

Jenny Skylark was built with many more hands (around 30) and it took all winter (Dec -- April) and she was launched with much funfair with BBC Alba in attendance.

Since we have attended regattas in Port Soy, Achiltibuie, Dunbar, North Berwick, Port Seton, Anstruther, South and North Queensferry, Ullapool, and we have run 2 successful regattas in Portobello. We have also rowed the Tweed, the Tay, the Union Canal, Musselburgh Lagoons (twice) & Inchcolm Island. The boats have been in constant use around 5-6 days per week with over 80 paid members getting out on the water.

We have unwittingly created a dynamic community group with a wide range of ages and people from many walks in life. My happiest moments include launching Ice Breaker, launching Jenny Skylark, reading the kids stories to name Ice Breaker, winning the men's open in Achiltibuie! And ending up as champions for the 2011 regatta season. My worse moments include loosing 2 generators, arguing with Nik, arguing with Ali, arguing with myself and neglecting my family.

We set out to build a boat, but we ended up with RowPorty, a wicked rowing club, filled with an eclectic blend of newcomers and old timers. RowPorty gives people easy access to the sea through a healthy sport that is inclusive, extremely social, great fun, open to all.

We launched both boats using pagan rituals and we have remained a-political; the core value is to have fun and we have remained un-stuffy, relaxed and welcoming.

So we have 2 lovely boats fully kitted out, a place to store them, a quad to launch them, a good IT forum (BigTent), a busy blog, a wide membership, a cabinet full of trophies, blisters, sore bums and a whole lot of old and new friends.

As we look into the future I hope we can maintain the enthusiasm for rowing in Portobello which must include more younger people. I hope the club can continue to maintain its core (slightly) anti-establishment values. I also look forward to many more expeditions to explore new routes that can become established, and safe, adventures for all members.

I would also like to see a better integration with the PS&KC and many more successful Portobello Rowing Regattas.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for all your support and encouragement over the past 2 years.

I would like to wish the new co-convenors (Sean and Emma - SAMENAME) the best of luck for the year ahead and I am sure we will all support them in any way we can.

Cheers and much love
Andres

Sunday had always threatened to be rainy, but would it be heavy / light & would it impede our plans to row down the Tay?  

When Sunday dawned & Sally, Roisin, Andres, Neil & I met in the yard at 7am – it was wet. It rained most of the way to Perth, & it seemed intent on setting in for a thoroughly miserable day.

By this time the rain had stopped, & although the day remained overcast it stayed dry for the rest of the row. We slowly dried out, & enjoyed lots of banter; although it was hazy, we could see the Tay rail bridge from quite early on, but tantalisingly, it seemed to take us forever to get there. Although the wind was against us, we’ve rowed in much tougher conditions at some of the regattas. But it was a long row, so we were glad to arrive at Wormit, between the 2 Tay bridges, after a 2^1/2 hour row from Newburgh. Andrew, of the rescue boat, had phoned to check on our progress, & was there to meet & help us out of the water.

 Despite the early rain, we had a cracking day out, & arrived back in Portobello at 5.30 having stopped en route for a well earned drink in Cupar.

 Thanks to Brenda of the Perth Sea Cadets for turning out to welcome us, Andrew & Andres for reccying the route, Andrew for rescue boat cover & Newburgh folk for giving us shelter in a shed.

Ali Grant writes:

Just to report that not only is it possible to row up the Tweed, but it is stunningly beautiful to do so. We began the day with an early kick off from Porty at 7.30am, but were at Tweedmouth in little over an hour.

When we got there, there seemed to be skiffs coming from all directions.

We launched at the mouth of the Tweed in the company of at least 11 other skiffs - including three new ones to the fleet - from Grace of Gosford, Puffin of St Abbs and less than 24hrs after being painted, Dunbar's second boat, Black Agnes.

The sun shone and we went under 3 magnificent bridges, passed under the A1 and then headed into the countryside for a leisurely 5 mile journey to take in the scenery.

The journey was pain free until the last mile when the wind made an appearance and wasn't in our favour, so a bit of a slog. This paled into insignificance when we arrived at our destination at Paxton House, to be met by a welcoming committee and a number of picnic hampers.

A trek up a hill and we were at the house itself and made straight for the team room where we refueled with cakes, Yorkshire puds and mega sandwiches. A great trip and one we should definitely do again.....soon!

Thanks to Fergus and Osbert for driving and to fellow crew members Barbara, Patsy and the very capable, Chris from Eyemouth who came to our rescue (because someone who shall remain nameless didn't arrive in time! Luckily Barbara got a lift with one of the safety boats and joined us after the A1 (ed.)).

We await news of the crew that rowed the boat down the river, with the current flowing and the wind blowing in their favour. Chancers!

Osbert writes:

I got to row up the Tweed and to cox Icebreaker down the river, and in the absence of a report from the chancers, here's my mine:

We had plenty of time after lunch before the scheduled start down the river at three, so we got the boat on the water.

I decided the new crew shouldn't miss out on the experience of rowing up current into a strong wind, so we headed up river for a while.

After an invigorating warm up we arrived at this amazing suspension bridge, before rowing gently downstream to find the rest of the fleet had left early and were only just visible in the distance.

We were content to take it easy, even experimenting with sailing - our large flag was big enough to give us steerage way, but the bamboo cane is not strong enough to be a mast.

After a burst of activity to try, unsuccessfully, to catch the others, we reverted to 'Sunday rowing' as the sun was beating down despite the strong breeze.

With the current, wind and steady strokes we soon arrived at Berwick, giving the chancers their first view of the impressive railway bridge and the city walls.

The rest of the fleet were on the beach and slipway, and without having to hang around Icebreaker was soon out the water, onto the trailer and heading back up the A1.

What a great day! Not just the location and all the skiffs, but also the chance to row, chat, and have a laugh, all without the pressure of racing!

http://pedal-porty.org.uk/2011/09/car-free-day-sept-24th-2-3pm/

Peter Ashe writes:

Immediately before the prize-giving on Saturday evening, one of our hosts said that their approach to medal-making had been like a primary school sports day -- make a lot so all can have prizes. And something similar seems to have happened when trying to write about the event: it's proven very hard not to write a school sports day report.

Anyway, first a little background and context: for anyone who hasn't been to Ullapool, here is a photo  of the part of Loch Broom where we rowed. It's a wonderful amphitheatre with hills sweeping down to the water all round you. Our course on Saturday was -- looking at the picture again -- from the start a little to the right of the yellow crane on the town's foreshore, across the loch to a mark just in front of the white blob (a cottage) on the far headland. Then a starboard turn away along the lochside to a mark out of shot on the right. Once round that, the final leg was along the front of the row of houses on the shore line to a finish back by the start line.

The weather conditions on Saturday were always breezy, and even blusterous some of the time. But neither rain nor midges!

While warming up for the first event, one of our crew was heard to remark that this was the first time this year he could remember racing without a hangover. Well the first leg, into the teeth of the breeze and against the tide, was guaranteed to sweat any toxins out of the system. The second leg was relatively sheltered from the breeze and with the tide -- fast but not swoopy. But the third leg was right across the tide flow, parallel with any chop that the breeze had kicked up -- a guarantee of a hard finish.

Our winning row in the men's 35+ wasn't as easy as we'd perhaps hoped, in view of commitments later in the schedule. Credit to them, Achiltibue never let up. But two seconds was enough. Our Women's 35+ faced a blustery first leg -- the breeze had kicked up at that point, but we had a swift second leg and an admirable second turn and acceleration out of it (given they'd already been rowing hard for 20 minutes) to overtake Boatie Rows in about 20 strokes -- it's strange how swiftly positions can change. The Ullapool team won that one -- justly gratifying for them with their new daily training routine.

What about lunch, you may ask? We (the support team anyway) made our own on the beach, after a lightning raid on the local Tescos, and people ate on the run.

After two more commanding performances in the Mixed 35+ and Men's Open (the latter beating Achiltibue into second place…again), the Women's Open team faced a tough challenge from the locals. After steering an intriguing course into third place on the first leg, they rowed a blinder along the shore, overtaking (it's not easy to pass someone in a straight line) Boatie Blest about three-quarters of the way along the leg, to finish second. Finally, Achiltibue won -- at last! -- with our guys a bit tuckered out by their exertions in previous races (for one of our Mixed Open crew it was his third race of the day: next time you are out, try rowing for nearly an hour at full pressure!).

So with those results under our belt we adjourned firstly to the pub, then to a ceilidh in the evening. Wonderful inter-generational dancing, a raffle, and prize giving, including the new overall shield which we won by a handsome margin.

Here is Andres trying to look surprised Image thanks to and copyright of Ullapool Coastal Rowing Club

Full race results here.

Then on Sunday, the early morning clouds and midges cleared and most of us went to the barbecue further up the loch, by skiff, traditional sailing boat (think 'We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea'), or car. Meanwhile your correspondent's team decided to potter off home early so as to be able to take several cups of coffee along the way. True to this spirit, we stopped for a break before even leaving Ullapool. It was really much too nice a place!