North Berwick regatta has a special place in the hearts of many TCRC members. Its an iconic racing venue with a well run regatta and stiff competition. The scenery is not too shabby too. It’s one of those regattas where the best view is from the skiff but if you listen to the cox yelling “eyes in the boat, eyes in the boat, heads up, backs straight” its so easy to miss that incredible big rock!
Craigleith is a lava dome just off the harbour of North Berwick. Its part of a chain of four islands near North Berwick, along with Bass Rock, Fidra and the Lamb. Of these, it is the closest to the town’s harbour. Like these other nearby islands, Craigleith is a bird colony although with “eyes in the boat” I’ve never seen a puffin yet.
Fifteen members of Troon were due to compete but as ever, things change and plans need to adapt.
An impressive 21 clubs were scheduled to compete in the regatta:
The regatta consisted of 10 races with each race starting off the harbour and heading west around Craigleith (The Rock) and coming back to turn eastwards towards the finish line at the harbour wall. Races were all run across two heats and timed with no finals. Even with half the boats on the start line, it was an impressive sight.
Troon competed in eight of the ten races at the regatta. We did not compete in Race 3 – Under 18s or Race 6 – Mixed novices.
The first race of the day was the 45+ Men and Troon were drawn in heat 2. Christine C took the cox seat with Kevin in stroke. Adrian sat in 3 , Mike K in 2 and Neil in Bow. The guys looked focused as MJ slowly slipped away from the beach and headed for the start line. North Berwick is one of those regattas where you smugly reach for your binoculars because you realised the year before that once the boats are away from the beach, it’s impossible to see anything!
This was an endurance race wrapped in skill and covered in layers of determination. Attention! Go! The first heat was off and slogging its way to the rock. Less than 10 minutes later and the second heat, including TCRC, was off. Everyone watched the skiffs head towards Craigleith and watched the minutes tick by. As they headed round the island, “the boys in the boat” were somewhat surprised to be faced with two local lads, fishing rods in hand, sitting in their wee boat enjoying the peace and quiet directly on the racing line. Disaster avoided, the guys continued around the rock into even choppier waters and yet another sea state. The guys gave their all and left everything in the boat as the horn sounded and their race was over.
An anxious ten minutes later, the final results were posted on the North Berwick site. TCRC had secured an incredible third place in the overall race finishing on 19m 10s. The home team, North Berwick, finished first on 18m 36s and Alnmouth on 19m 02s.
The next race up was the 45+ Womens with Adrian in the Cox seat and Christine R in stroke. Christine C sat in 3, Adrienne in 2 and Kathleen in bow. Drawn again in the second heat, the ladies headed out into choppier waters. Hearing from the first crew of the “interesting” conditions, despite the sunny day, meant the ladies were going to have a bumpy row. Another anxious wait, watching from a distance, and hoping for glory. It was obvious from the guys when they reached the shore that it was a challenging row in changing and difficult conditions. “Now I know what its like inside a washing machine”, one of the crew joked as they climbed out the boat.
The Troon ladies, like our first crew, had rowed for all they were worth and took another third pace for TCRC finishing in 21m 13s. Boatie Blest took first place in 20m 27s and Broughty Ferry secured second place in 21m 09s.
The next race TCRC competed in was the Mixed Decades. Christine C jumped back into the Cox’s seat and Adrian in stroke. Julie sat in 3, Lorna in 2 and Paul sat in bow. The chat was electric round the boat as the guys got themselves ready. Advice from returning crews was shared. “Avoid the fisherman”, “Get ready for the waves on your beam”, “Head further East when you come round the rock” but the guys were already in race mode and they were off.
It was clear from shore that the conditions were getting rougher and rougher. The tide was coming in, the winds were blowing a cold Easterly, the sun was shining and the white horses were dancing off shore. An anxious 30 minutes later and the guys returned to shore after a hard race in difficult conditions. TCRC finished fifth with a time of 21m 38s. Elie and Earlsferry finished first with a time of 20m 57s. North Berwick were second on 21m 7s and Eastern third on 21m 10s.
Race 5 of the regatta and Troon’s fourth race of the day was the Mixed Open. At this point everyone could tell that the conditions were getting worse and TCRC were going to be really tested today. Kevin sat in Cox and Christine R took stroke. Our first “improvise, adapt and overcome” moment arrived with Jacqui (who was scheduled to be in seat 3) but was currently in seat 1 on the A720 at that very moment. The team were resolved to forfeit the race until Julie, in a superwoman moment, declared she would take the place and do back to back races in the washing machine. Euan took seat 2 and Michael B sat in bow.
Another anxious wait as the guys headed away from shore. We could see that the boats were being thrown around in the ever turbulent bay. The guys were clearly doing well and we could see that they were in second place as they disappeared around Craigleith. Waiting with bated breath, we peered through binoculars watching for them to round the rock. Little did we know that the guys, whilst racing behind the rock, came to an unplanned emergency stop, as they captured a submerged buoy! Hanging over the stern with Christine hanging onto Kevin, the guys removed the offending rope and restarted the charge around the rock. Unbelievably, after overtaking other boats, the guys finished 10th with six boats slower in the overall race.
Despite the weather, the sun had brought everyone to the water with wild swimmers, kayaks, fishing boats, tourist day trips and the local sailing club regatta all vying for space. That made things even more interesting for our beloved skiffs. The next race was the novice race and due to our ongoing successes, we passed on that particular race.
The next race for TCRC was the Mixed 240+ with Christine C in the Cox seat and Kevin in stroke. Adrienne sat in 3, Christine in 2 and Neil sat in the bow. Watching from the harbour wall was exhilarating, terrifying and with a sense of relief that we weren’t in that boat! The skiffs were being thrown around, waves crashed over the boats and at the last minute, whilst the guys were in the boat, they were told not to go around the rock and instead go around a buoy on this side of Craigleith. Another wild row with the washing machine in maximum spin mode, the guys raced around the new course. The guys raced for all they were worth and the finish was wild.
The TCRC raced across the finishing line taking fifth place with a time of 16m 9s. St Ayles secured first place with a time of 15m 32s and Eastern took second place on 15m 40s.
After this race, North Berwick took the sensible approach and paused the regatta hoping conditions would improve. After some time the next two races were cancelled and the regatta again paused. The first heat of the ninth race was the men’s open and was heading for the start line but it became quickly obvious that crews felt it was unsafe and headed back to shore. The regatta was cancelled at this point but everyone clearly had a great time and felt the right decision was made. Once everything was packed away, in a medal winning time, the crew headed to the lobstershack for a well-deserved treat.
TCRC were delighted to take home two third place awards from The North Berwick regatta against such strong competition. We were also delighted to be supported by Steven, Ronnie and Lorna’s daughter, Eilidh. Eilidh was a star and hopefully a future member, helping launch boats and keeping us all topped up with sweets.
Forthcoming Regattas
The next regatta is on Saturday 14th September at Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club at Rhu. The guys would love you to join them and support TCRC at the regatta. Its also a great opportunity to have a wee look at some skiffs and spot any design changes that have been implemented by other clubs.