Rowing race with a difference for 2020
LIKE so many events, the 2020 Clydebuilt Festival was cancelled this year. Part of the annual celebration is the Castle to Crane race, the largest open water rowing race in Scotland, held on the Clyde between Dumbarton and the Finnieston Crane in Glasgow.
The organisers came up with a new format especially – Castle to Crane Five Miles from Home – which allowed more teams to take part from around the world. Rather than race up the Clyde, entrants were challenged to row their own five-mile time trial in their local waters over the weekend of September 19-20.
With a fleet of around 118 boats and some 680 rowers, entries came from as far afield as Tasmania, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, as well as Cornwall, Hampshire, Oxford and much closer to home.
Staying in home waters meant that the fleet of boats was much more diverse, with smaller craft which would struggle with conditions on the river and large boats which are difficult to transport any distance, taking part.
The winner of the Castle to Crane Median Trophy 2020 was Burghead Coastal Rowing Club, rowing their
St Ayles skiff Tarbh Uisge (Gaelic for ‘water bull’, a reference to the Pictish carvings found in Burghead). The club was established in 2013 and is based on the Moray coast of Scotland.
Possibly the smallest craft taking part was WAWHFL, a small skiff hand built during the Forth & Clyde Canal Society’s CanalCraft project. As not every team was able to row, due to weather conditions or social distancing, results were also collected from those who took part in the fivemile race on foot, SUP, canoe and kayak: a truly inclusive event.
The Scottish Coastal Rowing Association is the national governing body for fixed-seat rowing in Scotland and is where you can find the final race results and more information about boat building, rowing and racing in Scotland. (scottishcoastalrowing.org)