Arran rowers compete in tough Largs event
Due to a production error, a previous report from the Arran Coast Rowing Club (ACRC) was printed in last week’s Banner. Here is the report of how they got on in Largs.
A perfect summer’s day saw 16 Arran rowers – six women and 10 men – take their skiff Seabhag over to the Firth of Clyde Coastal Rowing Club in Largs for a fun, friendly and challenging regatta day on Saturday September 2.
In total, there were nine 500m sprint races in the following categories: mixed decades and mixed open, novice/fresher, mixed under and over 220, junior (U19s), women’s and men’s open and an inter club challenge – so something was offered for all ages and levels of experience.
Arran managed to field crews for all races, except the junior one, and faced strong competition, battling against 13 other skiffs – mainly from the Clyde region but also from as far away as Queensferry, North Berwick, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands, which gave the event a real international flair.
There were some very exciting and close races, and several Arran crews won their heats. With such strong competition though, medals were hard to come by but nevertheless the novice team came a well deserved third and took home bronze.
At the end of the races the clubs had to compete against each other in a tugof-war, where the strong Arran team won silver medals for coming second, narrowly missing the gold. There was also a 200m sprint challenge on a rowing machine and the ACRC rowers proved to be on good form, producing four winners in their age classes – Gillian McLaughlin, Cecilia Paul, John Baraclough and Stuart Turner, who got the fastest time of the day in all age classes.
Everyone enjoyed the warm and welcoming atmosphere throughout the day and the entire event – including the weather – ran perfectly and was very well organised. Arran Coastal Rowing Club would like to thank the organisers for putting so much effort into it and all those taking part for making it such a memorable day.
The next regatta for ACRC is coming up on Saturday September 30 in Prestwick. The club has grown significantly over the past 18 months and has a wide variety of members from all over the island with ages ranging from 20 to 70.
If you would like to give coastal rowing a try or come along as a supporter then feel free to get in touch with Friederike: secretary@arrancoastalrowing.co.uk.