Tag: water

Scottish Coastal Rowing St Ayles skiffs triumph in wind and waves regatta


Anstruther Regatta 2011 photos by Ron Wallace

Anstruther Regatta 2011 photos by Ron Wallace Anstruther Regatta 2011 photos by Ron Wallace

These shots of the 2011 Anstruther Regatta taken by Ron Wallace at the end of last month show various Scottish Coastal Rowing Association St Ayles skiffs racing in the harbour – it looks like they’re having quite a time, doesn’t it?

There are more of Ron’s fabulous shots here and here.

Alec Jordan, who originally conceived the idea for Scottish Coastal Rowing, has this to say about the event:

‘It was a little wild and windy, and the St Ayles performed superbly. None of the skiffs took more than a couple of pints of water during the races.’

Perhaps that’s not so surprising as the boats are derived from traditional craft and were designed by Iain Oughtred.

The Scottish Coastal Rowing phenomenon continues to be awe-inspiring, with a very lively racing calendar and new boats being built all the time – and not all in Scotland.

Restored Norfolk Broads half-decker Jamesia II back on the water

Jamesia II afloat April 2011

Restored Norfolk Broads half-decker Jamesia II back on the water. Click on the image for a larger shot

Mat Gravener has sent us this shot of his repaired and restored Norfolk Broads half-decker Jamesia II back on the water following lots of work over the winter. She’s certainly looking as pretty as a picture.

Mat reports that she was launched on the 23rd April 2011 and immediately floated on her marks. She took on a little water but, as he says, that was to be expected after being out of it since 2004!

He then sailed her back to her moorings and found she performed very well, even with just the mainsail set.

For more posts featuring Jamesia II and Mat’s earlier projects, click here.

 

Chebacco boat designed by Phil Bolger, built by Academy ex-student Connie Mense

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One exhibit at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show made the case that the recently deceased designer Phil Bolger should be remembered for his very pretty boats as well as his boxy easy-to-build plans.

This is an almost-complete Bolger Chebacco boat, as built by an ex-student of theBoat Building Academy down at Lyme, Connie Mense. I think it’s a terrific-looking craft and that Connie has made a very nice job of building it. The boat was on the Water Craft stand because editor Peter Greenfield is currently building a Chebacco boat from the same moulds.

There are precious few Bolger boats in the UK and I’m always interested in them, so when it’s on the water, can Julie and I come for a sail please Pete?

PS – Don’t miss the ad for Water Craft in the right-hand column of this weblog. It’s well worth a subscription!