The weekend of 27/29 June saw the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival in Portsoy and our thanks go to Jo and Clive who towed Skiff John B up on the Thursday. Their efforts were to be richly rewarded, as, not only did Clive find himself coxing Olympic Rowing Medallist, Katherine Grainger as she tried her hand at skiff rowing in John B, but also, Jo managed to secure an autograph on her life jacket….so now she’ll have to take it off before she falls in any water!
A small but determined contingent from NBRC set off in high spirits at various points on Friday to reconvene in the tented village on the school playing fields in Portsoy. After a long journey north, beset by end of term traffic it was wonderful to see the rowing club flag fluttering bravely in the ever strengthening wind!! Our advance party, Jacque and Louise had done an amazing job setting up camp for us and we set off to the harbour area to reconnoitre the rowing conditions for the next day.
As night fell, the thickening cloud cover, strong winds and huge swell with more white horses than the Vienna Riding School meant that things were not looking good for Saturday’s race programme. Sadly, our fears were confirmed at the coxes’ briefing. The official race programme was to be suspended and replaced with a timed “bo-ssage”-type event in the inner harbour. Even getting the boats to the inner harbour was a challenge not for the faint hearted as it involved rowing across the mouth of the harbour where massive waves were pouring relentlessly in. For the sake of Phil’s emotional well-being we decided not to subject John B to the indignity of potential bumps and bashes off the harbour walls and slipway and so we prevailed upon the generosity of Portsoy who were happy to lend us Soy Quine to show off our manoeuvrability skills(!) With much turning on sixpences and backwards rowing, dodging the beautiful traditional boats which were visiting for the festival, our womens’ and mixed squads put in very creditable performances before repairing to the beer tent!
Our disappointment at not being able to row was offset by the vast array of festival activities in Portsoy and despite the high seas, the weather stayed dry and we were able to appreciate the lovely harbour- side town, enlivened by music, dancing, and the high spirits of everybody who was there. Portsoy Rowing Club had done an excellent job welcoming the 15 clubs who had come to row, particularly in light of the unhelpful sea conditions.
Sunday brought little change in the state of the sea and, although a limited programme of racing over a much shorter course was proposed, as we watched the safety boats literally disappearing into the troughs between the breaking waves we reached a consensus decision that the conditions were not raceable. The more intrepid among us took John B out for a social row and friends in other clubs were able to offer a row to those who were keen to race.
As is always the case, whether we race or not, a weekend with NBRC is unforgettable for the friendship, fun and team spirit which are the cornerstones of every club activity. This weekend was no exception.