Who are we?
We are the Portsoy Coastal Rowing Club (PCRC) and are a community venture now with around 50 members.
(If you wish to get involved, please see our contacts page).
We are the proud owners of two St Ayles Skiffs, the very pink 'Soy Quine' and the lime green 'Soy Loon', launched in 2013.
The club started off in 2012, when a group of local women got together and formed The Portsoy Skiffettes. The guys joined in the summer of 2013 and became known as the Portsoy Skiffers. Together the two groups formed the fully constituted Portsoy Coastal Rowing Club (PCRC).
The PCRC are members of the Scottish Coastal Rowing Association (SCRA).
A little history...
Portsoy Organisation for Restoration & training (PORT) part of the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival (STBF) had purchased the basic kit for a St Ayles Skiff. However there was no one to build it until Lorna Summers suggested that local women might be interested. It was amazing how quickly a group of enthusiastic women of all ages and backgrounds got together and began to build a Skiff - a very PINK St Ayles Skiff, which they named ‘Soy Quine' (a 'Quine' being the name for a girl in NE Scotland).
Most of the Skiffettes had no previous woodworking experience, and so appreciated the advice, help and support given by 'technical advisers' Alex Slater, Pete Danks and Mike Anavi. It was a fun build where you could always hear laughter from Ross' shed on a Wednesday night (which was build night).
Although the initial kit was supplied, the Skiffettes soon realised they needed funds for extra materials, oars, paint, life jackets, other safety equipment etc. So they embarked on a fund raising campaign, including soup and sweets, a pub quiz, a Boden party and a fantastic 'SkifFest' with no less than four acts performing at Portsoy’s Station Hotel.
As Soy Quine neared completion, the Skiffettes realised they had a boat but most of them had no rowing experience or water awareness. So the club approached Topher Dawson from the Ullapool Coastal Rowing Club, who took them under his wing with advice and invited them over to Ullapool for a couple of training sessions for both rowing and coxing. Some members also attained their VHF radio licence. The Skiffettes had further training from Andy Wrait on water awareness and safety at sea (which included a risk assessment).
The girls also had a great afternoon with the RNLI giving practical training for man (woman) over board.
March 2nd 2013 was the Launch date for 'Soy Quine'. What a great feeling as the Skiffettes paraded Soy Quine through the streets of Portsoy with many members of the community tagging along, despite the rain. You only have to look at the smiles on the photos to appreciate how much it meant to them all!
The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival committee asked the Skiffettes if they would be competing in the St Ayles Skiff rowing regatta in June as part of the Boat Festival. They all decided that would be a great idea. The lead up to the boat festival was a period of intense training as Soy Quine was in the programme for her first regatta and the Skiffettes wanted to give their all. This was when they realised that as the races were to include categories for Women, Men & Mixed crews, they needed to open up the membership to any men brave enough to don a pink life jacket and row a pink boat! So local men were encouraged to join the club.
This they did and enjoyed the competition immensely (especially coming 4th in the mixed over 50s race). The 2013 boat festival had nine competing skiffs, with the Skiffettes coming in at seventh overall. We were delighted to be awarded a trophy for the most enthusiastic newcomers.
The next competition for the Skiffettes (and) the guys, was only three weeks later and this was a big one. The inaugural St Ayles Skiff World Championships which were held in Ullapool. Here the competition had expanded to over 40 clubs, including representatives from the US, Australia and the Netherlands. From the opening by Princess Anne, to the end, the atmosphere was fantastic. The club did very well reaching the finals in two of the race categories that we entered.
After taking part in the STBF and the Worlds, the guys decided it would be good to build their own Skiff, for both the involvement in the building experience and to have a second boat to train with and compete against. So the Portsoy Skiffers were formed, and along with the Skiffettes became the Portsoy Coastal rowing Club.
The Portsoy Coastal Rowing Club applied for funding from Aberdeenshire Councils Be Part Of The Picture and were successful in securing £5000, enough to buy all the materials for the second boat, road trailer & launch trolley as well as to buy all the relevant safety equipment.
With enthusiasm and every spare minute spent 'Soy Loon'(Loon being the name for a boy in the NE Scotland) was built in about seven weeks, and launched on Sunday 13th October, on a lovely sunny day.
When the Skiffettes started they really appreciated the support and input from existing clubs, so the promotion of coastal rowing and support of new clubs is an important goal in the PCRC constitution. We regularly have open days or 'row and rolls' to give anyone a chance 'of a shottie' and attend harbour days in Cullen, Banff and Burghead. Collieston club also came to Portsoy for a row and inspiration before they built 'Admiral Redsocks' which they have rowed in with great success.
