Regattas

“Such a great time!”

A few times a year, we give ourselves a real challenge and compete in some of the coastal rowing regattas.

What is a regatta?

Think of it as a competitive and friendly event filled with boat races. All regattas we have attended so far have all been Skiff Regattas – this means, all for St Ayles Skiffs (our boat is a St Ayles Skiff).

Usually a club acts has host/organiser, and invite other clubs along to take part in the races. Despite being a weekend of races, these are very friendly events, created to encourage the community around coastal rowing.

The Races

Some regattas are single day events, others are a weekend event.

Regardless of the duration of a regatta, it basically consists of rowing clubs entering a variety of races, of different categories. The different categories are designed to ensure everyone has a chance to race if they wish.

Clubs do not need to enter every event, though the more races that a club enters, the better the chance they have of winning overall.

What are they like?

Good craic, and a great workout!

A chance to have a day away with the other members of your club, rowing somewhere new, and meeting other clubs (typically from all over Scotland).

The races are organised in such a way that you can’t row in every race – but this is not a bad thing, as the races last about 20 minutes, and are great fun but hard work (lots of homebaking helps to refuel!)

As a young club, we don’t have as much experience as other teams, but the other clubs have always been very supportive and made us feel very welcome!

And it’s even better if the weather shows up!