Alnmouth Community Rowings second year hosting this chilly event!
This was the second year of our own regatta, with the racing tailor-made for the twists and turns and tidal flows of the Aln; very different from most regattas. Our Scottish guests, Queensferry, Newhaven and Eskmouthe arrived in good time and the skiffs were towed round to the sandy wastes of Little Beach. Dave Foote’s coxes’ briefing was a marathon of detail, given the intricacies of the afternoon’s rowing ahead.
The day is chosen to coincide with a (very) high tide to maximise the amount of water available, however the water rushes in, fills up the river rapidly and makes early launching a challenge!
Each club had a skiff in each race, plus an “all-comers” skiff, comprising a cox and rower from Alnmouth and one rower from each of the other clubs. It stayed dry, but the wind made conditions tough until it died down later in the day.
The racing format worked well, with skiffs starting in waves with the fastest time winning. Eskmuthe did most of the winning, but Alnmouth crews also came in first.
Prizes were handed out to the race winners in the moonlight outside the boathouse, with 3 wood fires burning and a tot of whiskey in hand. It felt like the middle of the night, but it was only 5pm – a lot had been packed in to the afternoon. All of our guests seemed to have had a fun time rowing and helped themselves to soup and cake afterwards.
The organisation, catering and hospitality for events like this only works thanks to the efforts of the club members – too many to mention. It was also good to see a number of our newer members taking part.
Lots of good things to take into the planning for next year.
