42 members and guests attended our annual Xmas dinner in Scotts restaurant in Troon.Service and food was excellent and everyone enjoyed the evening.A raffle was held and proceeds from it were added to club funds.

 

Ailsa Lass ready to return to Troon Yacht Haven after refurbishment completed 20.11.17

 

Both our skiffs will be undergoing their annual maintenance and refurbishment commencing on 16th Oct 2017.Each skiff will be out off service for a period of three weeks and work will be carried out by club members at the Scottish Maritime Museum boat shed in Irvine. Only one skiff will be available for rowing sessions over this period.

Our club took part in the annual Ballantrae Smugglers Chase which involved various classes of races out to a bouy and return to the shore.The day finished with a row out to the sailing ship La Mouline to take on contrabrand and land it ashore.FOCCRS were the overall winners by one point from Troon.

Our club took part in the regatta at Largs Yacht Haven organised by Firth of Clyde Coastal Rowing Club(FOCCRS).14 clubs took part from around Scotland and also from Ireland and Holland.In perfect weather conditions a series of sprints were held.No medals for Troon but a gr eat day out.The day ended with a Tug of War(onshore) between all clubs.

Interesting sea conditions at Prestwick regatta made rowing a challenge but the return surfing to the finish line was fun. No medals for Troon at this regatta but an enjoyable time was had by all. Thanks to Prestwick for organising a great day and supplying superb catering all day finished with an Indian curry spread at night. Congratulations to Arran on winning the overall regatta.

On Saturday 23rd September both our skiffs took part in the 13 mile race from Dumbarton Castle to the Finneston Crane as part of the Clydebuilt Festival at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. 75 boats took part including 45 St Ayles skiffs from all over the UK and also Ireland and Holland. Troon’s skiff Marr Voyager came fourth in its class in a time of 2 hours 11mins and was 21st overall.

Nine clubs including two from Northern Ireland took part in the annual Excisemans Chase organised by Carrick Coastal Rowing Club. The Excisemans Chase is a enactment of the past when smugglers landed contrabrand at the Gas Bay beach below Culzean Castle. It involves rowing from Maidens harbour to the Gas Bay and collecting contraband and then returning to the harbour to land the illegal goods. Due to heavy seas the race was shortened and kept within Maidens bay but otherwise followed the same format with crews changing halfway. All teams were timed and the winners this year were Skelrick in a time off 34 minutes. Troon came equal sixth place in a time of 39 minutes. The day ended with a Hog roast and other refreshments supplied by the host club. This was the largest turnout yet for the Excisemans Chase and apart from the high seas at Gas Bay the weather was great and all had an enjoyable day.

We took our lovely skiff Marr Voyager and joined 16 other St Ayles skiffs and over one hundred other boats of all types at the official opening of the new Queensferry Crossing bridge. It was a fantastic, magical event with a great feeling of achievement being felt by all.

On a blustery late June Saturday in Lamlash Bay our club beat five other local west coast coastal rowing clubs to be crowned overall regatta champions. Out of eight races we came first in five. A wonderful performance and congratulations to all members who took part. This is the first regatta our club has won and look forward to many more successes in the future. On the Sunday all the skiffs rowed round the Holy Isle,which took around two hours. Arran Coastal Rowing Club supplied a wonderful barbecue and catering and disco on Saturday evening.

We took our skiff down to Loch Ken and joined other local clubs in an enjoyable day rowing and racing.

There was also the opportunity to have a try on a Dragon boat and the photos attached show some of our members trying this different rowing method.