Sunday 20 November for Newhaven Coastal Rowers witnessed some lovely autumn sunshine and 9 new recruits who arrived bright and early for their first row in Granton Harbour.  We are pleased to report that all the new recruits survived and we look forward to seeing them again both at Wednesday evening fitness training (6.30pm every Wednesday by the statue in Victoria Park) and future Sunday rows.  Having enjoyed letting some new people man the oars the Wee Michael then let some ‘old hands’ on board for a leisurely trip to Cramond.  The outgoing crew enjoyed beautifully calm conditions which made swapping positions in the boat easier meaning almost everybody go to to have a go at coxing and the stroke position which sets the pace.  It should be noted that ‘stroke’ is really hard work and serves as a reminder of why we need to do Wednesday night training to get fit for the 2012 Regatta Season.  
 
Not wanting to be too late for the next crew an attempt was made to beat the tide and nip through the gap in the causweway rather than rowing round the whole of Cramond island – this strategy was not entirely succesful and the Wee Michael did get a bit stuck for a few seconds.  An attempt was then made for the beach rather than the pier but some rogue sandbars meant that the crew had to disembark into the chilly November water and walk the Wee Michael in to swap crews.  Legend has it that the last crew had to wade for about half an hour to get enough water under the keel for the journey back to Granton but eye witness reports are conflicting on this issue.  Wading aside I am sure all the teams agree that messing about on the water in the autumn sunshine is a great way to spend your Sunday afternoon and that we look forward to seeing a similarly strong turnout on the next training row. 

There is a social row together with other skiffs up the tweed on Sunday 25th September 2011. Crews for this row have now been selected, but you are welcome to join us for a picnic and day-out and possibly have a row once the skiff arrives at Paxton House.

Launch at Tweedmouth 9:00 – Crews to meet at the RNLI station, Dock Road in Tweedmouth.

Total distance to Paxton is about 5 miles, and although the row up will be with the tide, the flow of the river will in part counteract that particularly as we pass over the shallower sections.

Non-rowers to make their way to paxton house for about 12 midday. Bring own picnic \ refreshments. Paxton House also has a tee shop where lunch can be purchased if so desired.

To get to Paxton house by road, take the B6461 from the Berwick on Tweed bypass (A1), which takes you directly to the gate.
For details on Paxton House click on this link.

Essential Rowing\Parking Permit documents are below:
Tweed Parking Permit

Tweed Briefing Instructions

Inchkeith and Inchcolm have been conquered and the Newhaven Coastal Rowing flag raised. Inchkeith was reached after a rather wild row in a 3-4 North Easterly. Large waves made the row a bit unpleasant with rowers lifted from their seats time and time again. The 5 nautical mile crossing took 2 hours, but only 55 minutes on the return journey.

On a different weekend (Sunday 20th June) Inchcolm was reached at 9pm in the evening in completely different conditions. The weather was fair, sea calm and a slight breeze from the West. This was the second stage of an evening’s row having changed crews at Cramond. Shipping caused a delay in us reaching the island as we had to wait for them to pass before we could cross the shipping lane. Some seals swam very close to the stern of the skiff wondering if we had any fish onboard. No such luck. We returned to Granton at 10:30pm and were very lucky to find some water left in the harbour. The skiff was carried across thick ouzing black mud back up the slipway. The stuff certainly stinks!

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Great weekend even though 4 tents got blown down and damaged. Lovely to get to the Summer Isles on the sunday through the wild weather, hailstones and choppy seas.

Many thanks to all the locals who made us so welcome and allowed us to use the Community Hall to sleep in on the friday night. Fun was had by all and looking forward to a repeat (with better weather) in 2012.

Leaving Dunbar harbour for the start line

Our first regatta at Dunbar was a fantastic experience – the sea was very choppy, with large waves and troughs – exhilarating but took some getting used to! Our fitness training paid off as all of our teams managed to complete the course under difficult conditions.
We enjoyed the camaraderie with the other competing teams and the warm hospitality from the Dunbar team at the BBQ at the end of the day. A great first competition.

Steady!Out in the choppy waves

Strong winds in Granton Harbour

The whole weekend was supposed to be big rowing session, getting beginners and the more experienced on the water. Saturday was for beginners and this was blown off due to high winds: 5-6 South Westerlies. A bit of a let down as plenty of enthusiasm and sunshine were present, but not a great time to be coaching with a leeward harbour wall looming.

Sunday was better, the wind had dropped a notch and with the more experienced about (wanting to go far afield to Cramond) we were able to do some rowing around Granton Harbour. We did venture outside the harbour entrance for a very short while to experience the 4ft waves and strong winds. The skiff rode the waves very well, not a drop inside, and Cath swiftly turn us around and surfed us back into the relative safety of Granton.

Oars keep sliding of the wear strips

In anticipation of our first regattas, the Newhaven Coastal Rowers are getting fit!  Under the expert guidance of Jenny Maclean from EnergyWise Health & Fitness we are attempting, with our weekly fitness regime, to be ready for action in the 2011 summer regattas.

If you would like to find out what the Newhaven Coastal Rowers are all about, come and meet us at our next fitness session.  Simply arrive in comfortable clothing and trainers at the statue in Victoria Park, Newhaven Road, on a Wednesday evening at 6.30pm – come and join in the fun!

Strengthening those rowing arms

Hup two ...

Fly and nimble!

All still smiling at the finish

This is to annouce that we will be having a meeting to discuss the year ahead on Saturday 12th February 2011.

The meeting will discuss the forthcoming Scottish Coastal Rowing regattas, our training plans, rowing schedule and party nights!

The meeting will be held at Forth Corinthians Yacht Club, Granton Square on Saturday 12th February at 7:30pm.   http://www.fcyc.org.uk/ 

 The bar will be open.

 If you are interested in skiff rowing, or want to join the NCRC then do come along.

Perfect day for a gentle row, ready to launch The Wee Michael.

Happy New Year and to start the year as we intend to continue we went out on the water in Granton Harbour for a training session. Over 20 people had a go rowing, or in the case of our very younger members – assist with rowing.

The weather was kind to us, with a relatively warm surface air temperature of 1degree, light wind and very little swell. Blishfully tropical compared to the weeks of winter weather we have been experiencing.

Several laps of the harbour were made, practicing rowing in sync, tight turns around the numerous bouys littering the harbour and some speed work to finish off the day.

Ladies out on a New Year's day row.

We had a number of complete novices out on the water who all managed very well and we potentially have a few more recruits for the ladies team.

David did a great job in coaching the “skiff wiffies” who were out in full force and were certainly not wanting to be left behind. The “skiff wiffies” are our other half who have endured and tolerated a year of absent spouses and are now keen to join in the fun.

Skiff out on the water with next team eager to have a go.

We have had a very generous contribution, in the form of a cheque, from Trinity Toddlers. They were very keen to contribute to our project in the hope that as they get older they will be able to join in the fun. Trinity Toddlers is a group of wee toddlers that meet on a regular basis to socialise and have fun (accompanied by a parent or two).

We are very grateful for their donation, which came completely out of the blue . They are offcourse all very welcome to come down to visit the skiff and perhaps let they parents have a go rowing.