On the last day of August in glorious sunshine a group from the club made the journey up to North Berwick to compete in the iconic North Berwick regatta.
This regatta unusually involves a 3.2 kilometre sea row heading out and around Craigleith, a large rock in the Firth of Forth, and then heading back to the harbour. The regatta is very popular with the Scottish clubs and as a consequence is well attended and very competitive with 21 boats competing.
The regatta started in excellent rowing conditions with the Mens’45+ category race. A scratch crew from Alnmouth, ably coxed by Alan Burt, using all his prior knowledge of the course gleaned from being an ex-member of North Berwick, pulled off an impressive tactical race, by coming a very credible second to the North Berwick crew and winning the silver medal.
Unfortunately, as the day progressed, despite the sun continuing to shine, the wind picked up and made racing particularly challenging in a heavy swell. Despite these testing conditions the Alnmouth crews continued to compete but their race results reflected their unfamiliarity with these adverse conditions.
Late in the day the last three races had to be cancelled because of the deteriorating conditions which was a shame for those crews competing but certainly the right decision.
None the less the Alnmouth crews very much enjoyed the racing the unusual course, the kind hospitality of North Berwick club and of course the opportunity to do some sunbathing!