The St Ayles skiff coastal rowing world championship brought personal bests, international agreements, record entries, a proposal of marriage and a footfall of around 30,000 people to Stranraer, as SkiffieWorlds 2019 took to the waters of Loch Ryan.
The week long international sporting event saw 700 crews of coastal rowers and 55 community built boats descend on Stranraer, with crews travelling from as far as Australia, South Africa, Canada, Tasmania, the USA and mainland Europe to take part.
Dundrum Coastal Rowing Club, from County Down in Northern Ireland, retained their World Champion title, after placing top of the points table, with nearby Sketrick a close runner up. Top Scottish clubs Eastern and North Berwick placed 3rd and 4th overall, while top international club WSV Woudrichem from the Netherlands placed joint 5th.
Wendi Cuffe Project Manager for SkiffieWorlds 2019 said:
“It’s just so awesome to see all the beautiful boats on Loch Ryan, the beach lined with club gazebos and to see thousands and thousands of people enjoying themselves – the park was packed as more and more people travelled to Stranraer over the course of the week to experience SkiffieWorlds. The feedback from competitors has been absolutely incredible and the potential of Loch Ryan and Stranraer to become an international water sports destination should now be obvious to everyone.
“For too long Stranraer has been talked down and Loch Ryan hasn’t shown its full potential, but we have the opportunity, now, to unlock that incredible potential. This is one of the most accessible, sheltered and unspoilt sea lochs in Scotland, and its proximity to the town gives events like this an opportunity to be driven by the local community and benefit the local economy. It’s a coming together of local people and local businesses with the stunning natural amphitheatre of Loch Ryan that makes Stranraer the perfect stage for water based sports development.”
Councillor Adam Wilson, Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Events Champion said:
“Stranraer and Loch Ryan proved to be a stunning backdrop for SkiffieWorlds 2019. There was real energy and excitement for the event and that was demonstrated by the high number of visitors who flocked to Stranraer. The Council invests in major events to create memorable experiences for local people and attract new visitors to our beautiful region, which brings benefit to the regional economy. Thanks to the hard work and skill of the Stranraer Water Sports Association we have achieved all of that last week through Skiffieworlds 2019.”
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said:
“Loch Ryan proved to be the perfect stage for the Stranraer SkiffieWorlds 2019 with a fantastic turnout, both from local spectators and competitors from across the globe. We were delighted to see HRH The Princess Royal adding some further excitement to an already fantastic event. Congratulations to all the crews involved, in particular, Dundrum Coastal Rowing Club for retaining their title as well as Eastern and North Berwick for their respective 3rd and 4th place finishes, putting Scotland on the leaderboard.”
David Davies, Chair of Stranraer Watersports Association, said:
“We regard SkiffieWorlds as a huge success for Stranraer, and a large part of that is because of the coming together of the local community and the rowing community. The organisation of this event has involved more than 150 volunteers and it’s a credit to those volunteers that everything ran so smoothly. Thank you to every single one of them”
Topher Dawson, Treasurer of Scottish Coastal Rowing Association, said:
“This week we discovered that Stranraer is possibly the perfect venue for this kind of event. Stranraer is a perfect combination of sheltered water, lovely beach and sea front, and all the accommodation and cafes, bars and local services that you could possibly want.”
Alec Jordan of Jordan Boats who designed the original St Ayles skiff ten years ago, said:
“I didn’t know Stranraer at all well but what they’ve done through the skiffs is absolutely amazing and the organisation of the regatta has been fantastic. It’s great to see the skiffs that I sell play their part in the transformation of so many coastal communities. I thought I had wild dreams about where this was going to go, but what has happened has gone well beyond anything I could have dreamed ten years ago.”
As well as marking the 10th anniversary of the design of the first St Ayles skiff, SkiffieWorlds 2019 saw the signing of an International Minute of Agreement by four existing national organisations to form an International Class Association. The agreement between associations in Scotland, Ireland, Australia and the Netherlands, was formally signed at the event and will result in international co-operation in promoting the St Ayles skiff class worldwide. Personal international agreements were made too, with an impromptu proposal of marriage from a Dutch rower from WSV Woudrichem to a Scottish rower at the closing ceremony – she said yes.
Kees van Vugt from top placed international team WSV Woudrichem, from the Netherlands, said:
“We were the first St Ayles skiff club in the Netherlands, we have 165 rowers in our club and we have 5 skiffs already and we’re building our 6th. St Ayles skiff rowing is growing quickly in the Netherlands and I expect another 10 clubs in the next year. The reason it’s so popular is because we have 140 sloop rowing clubs, and sloop rowing clubs are starting to see the potential of St Ayles skiffs. Sloops are much bigger than St Ayles skiffs, but they’re long distance whereas St Ayles is more like a sprint, which means there are more possibilities for more people to row a race.
“We love Stranraer and I think the event is well organised, and the view and the panorama is very nice. I think it’s a good thing that the ferries no longer stop here, because now Stranraer is a destination, not just a place to travel through.”
Allana Hardie, Project Assistant at SkiffieWorlds 2019, said:
“I’m loving how SkiffieWorlds is helping local people to see Stranraer in a different light. Hearing people from all over the world talk about our town as an amazing venue for international water sports is really changing how we perceive ourselves as a community. Hosting this event has been a transformative experience for Stranraer, this is only the start.”
Comments from competitors and traders:
Amanda Brownlow of Portaferry Coastal Rowing Club said:
“The venue was perfect for the rowers – the beach for gazebos, the accessible marquee and food stalls, the launching area, the boat shed. The volunteers were amazing and approachable at any time of day, everyone was smiling – volunteers, organisers, rowers and locals. Everyone was included with events for all ages and I know that many rowers were there for the week with their entire family including their dogs. Congratulations Stranraer for hosting a very impressive event.”
Kerr Little of The Little Bakery in Dumfries who traded at SkiffieWorlds throughout the week said:
“The whole thing was remarkable by anybody’s standards. I can’t recall any event in Dumfries and Galloway that comes anywhere close to SkiffieWorlds. It was of Stranraer people by Stranraer people, and my goodness they showed themselves to be exceptional. It was wonderful.”
Alan Thomson of Annan Harbour Action Group said:
“We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the event and would like to congratulate and thank the organisers for the huge amount of effort that was expended to make this such an amazing event for participants and spectators. Our teams achieved their goal of participation and had no expectation of troubling the scorers so had a wonderful time. Special mention must be made of our safety boat helm Hayden Shaw who despite his tender years (15) manned his post for every single race and showed maturity beyond his years in carrying out his tasks meticulously and with good humour. We are very proud of what he has achieved.”
Kate Lorimer, Captain of Broughty Ferry Boating, said:
“Where do I start what a brilliant week!!! What a superb event! There was a real buzz the whole week and it was great to see local residents enjoying the racing and the entertainment. We were thrilled to win Gold in the 40+ Women and Silver for our Open B Mixed but our favourite moment was the ‘Row In’ at the Opening Ceremony – what a sight and to the sounds of the pipe band it was unforgettable!! Loch Ryan and Stranraer is an amazing location, a perfect arena for such a prestigious event and Stranraer obviously pulled out all the stops. Well done to everyone involved great job done – be proud!”
About St Ayles Skiff Coastal Rowing
St Ayles coastal rowing boat was invented in Scotland 10 years ago and was inspired by the traditional Fair Isle skiff. The sport is now one of the fastest growing water sports in the world and it starts with a community build of the skiff itself. This community approach to boat building makes each and every skiff unique; many of them brightly coloured and with quirky stories behind the boat names.
The World Championship, called SkiffieWorlds, takes place every three years and Stranraer won the competitive bid to host the event after impressing judges with the sheltered water of Loch Ryan’s sea loch, nestled behind the distinctive hammer-head peninsula of Scotland’s south west coast. St Ayles skiff racing is known for its accessibility, with races classes encouraging entry from a wide range of ages – in fact the oldest rower was 88 years old George Playfair from Boatie Blest, Cockenzie & Port Seton Community Coastal Rowing Club, competing in the 60+ mixed class with his daughter Margaret!
Results of the club points competition can be found at: https://scottishcoastalrowing.org/2019/07/14/skiffieworlds-2019-the-points-competition/
