Allan Benwood
Troon Coastal Rowing Club were saddened to hear of the passing of one of our founding members, Allan Benwood.
Allan was at Troon Coastal Rowing Club from the very beginning and as you can see from the small selection of photos here, he was involved in all aspects of the club.
Allan championed coastal rowing and was proud of the work to encourage young people to get involved in the traditional skills of boat building and getting out on the water.
Allan attended the Skiffie World Championships in July 2025 proudly supporting his club. Although he was a spectator on the day, you could still see the glint in his eye wanting to get out on the water and show those other clubs what TCRC could do. Allan and his buddy, Jim Palmer, sat on their thrones together on top of SkiffieHill, proudly wearing their purple kit, and yelling the guys across the finishing line.
A poem for Allan (by Philip Kuepper) that reminds us that our wonderful equipment, boats and oars, is lovingly crafted and maintained and every cut, paint and varnish is also a memory of those that came before us.
The Oars of Memory
The sudden clatter
of oars turned heads.
The rack that held them
had collapsed,
oars, heavy with the history
of the waters they had rowed,
oars, heavy with the imprints
of the hands of their rowers.
Heavy is memory,
heavy with memories,
with acts, committed, in time.
They were oars that knew
practice rows,
rows, contested,
rows, for pleasure only.
The heats of the rows was on the oars,
varnishing them to a shine.
And as they collapsed, clattering,
they glittered in the young light,
like, like a recruit,
eager to put right,
what accident had brought,
unanticipated, on the scene.
So when you are on the water next and gripping that oar, take a minute to remember Allan.
A number of club members attended Allan’s funeral in Edinburgh and his family reminded us all of his love for TCRC by asking for all donations to be made to “his much-loved Troon Coastal Rowing Club”. A wonderful £405 was raised for the club. Thank You. x
Our thoughts are with Allan’s family at this difficult time.