35 members and guests attended our Xmas dinner in Scotts of Troon Restaurant and an enjoyable evening was had by all ……….

Our club took part in the annual Wintertainment parade through Troon on the 20th November accompanied by Santa and Troon pipe band and many other floats and dancers. 

 

Both our skiffs have completed their annual refurbishment carried out by members at The Scottish Boat Building school in  Irvine.  A big thanks to all those that helped out.  We also fitted shelves in our storage container where all oars are now stored.  Hours of sanding,painting and varnishing brought both skiffs back to new look condition after a hard seasons rowing.

The ever popular Troon event drew its biggest number of visiting skiffs including our  usual west coast neighbours ,some new guests from the east and from across the sea new club Arran attending their first regatta.

With a mixture of established and experienced clubs pitching in with each other to assist clubs with lesser numbers make up crew shortages so that most skiffs got to experience as much racing as possible, the rowing was played out under a sunny sky with a good sea surface. First to go was the senior race over 65 teams followed by the juniors aged under 18, the open section and after a break for lunch the +47 races this being amended from +50 to allow greater scope for clubs to enter. All races saw some great tussles and determination of mind and body to battle for the coveted medals and overall winning shield . Close of play was a sprint one way back to shore using up most remaining breath and energy with a last chance to add blisters to anyone who did not have enough.

Visitors appreciated the organisation of TCRC  staging of the day not least the amount of fresh baked assorted cakes and sandwiches that members had lovingly prepared.

The overall winners of the day were an excellent Broughty Ferry team .

There were many notable performance by the runner up clubs with the expected high standards of the established clubs  and some surprisingly good stuff from some of the newbie teams.

For more photos recommend visiting Arran Coastal Rowing on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/Arran-Coastal-Rowing-599468700153153/?fref=ts

Great selection of photos exceeding my humble efforts.

April brought us just about every combination of weather conditions,club sessions have continued to be well attended,some days due to very strong winds and rough seas these were restricted to inner harbour rowing,other days we had brilliant sunshine and flat conditions this allowing some excellent extended rowing ,trips round to South beach and landing ashore for ice creams also some trips out across to Lady Isle as usual being treated to sights of inquisitive seals. Also got the chance for a row around visiting minesweeper HMS Cattistock

Loch Ken trip was a resounding success  accompanied by our neighbours Carrick,Girvan and Prestwick two days of rowing/racing and general nonsense set in a beautiful location,the weather being very kind to us,most attending opted to stay overnight in one of the cabins ,the wonderful Annette from Carrick providing huge quantities of hot food to refuel the rowers,evening of music and song and one or two drinks,morning start of full cooked breakfast before the start of second day of rowing

https://trooncoastalrowing.org.uk/events/

Calendar is filling up ,check out our list of events the club will be involved in this season. More details on individual events as they are unfolded.

 https://trooncoastalrowing.org.uk/events/

Saturday April 2 will see Irvine Coastal Rowing re-launch the Vennel from 11am . At the harbour side Irvine. With expection of Troon and Carrick clubs attending complete with crews and boats, a great opportunity to come and see the boats in action ,all  welcome to have a go ,free of charge with full instruction and safety equipment provided. It is a fair guess with at least 3 skiffs out in the water and possibly more , a few impromptu and fun races will occur. For any further info contact  https://www.facebook.com/Irvine-Coastal-Rowing-Club-785788984773745/?fref=ts

Taking advantage of some good weather the club has had a few decent distance outings ,earlier this week a crew had a good outing from Troon across the bay to Irvine with the obligatory visit to the Puffer Cafe, member turnouts continue to be good, and Saturday morning saw both skiffs out with one making a trip out and around Lady Isle and able to enjoy the sight of the local seals basking on the rocks.