In October 2009, six members of the Loch Broom
Sailing Club, Adrian Morgan, Topher Dawson, Richard Weekes, Mike Connor, Sue
Evans and John McIntyre, together with local boatbuilder Chris Perkins signed
cheques to form the Ullapool Skiff Syndicate, as it was originally
called.
When people ask “How did it all start?” the
club can be proud to say that “It was us wot (mostly) did it.” And now look
where we are?
Not many people know, however, that the
germ of the idea of starting a syndicate to build and row a Scottish Coastal
Rowing St Ayles skiff came from Joe Hayes, boat builder and now oyster farmer,
who at the time, in October 2009, was building his house at Cambeltown. “Have
you heard of this Scottish coastal rowing thing?” was the gist of it. “Vaguely,” I replied.
That same day, googling uncovered more about
this ambitious project to revitalise coastal communities through communal
rowing, first by building, then racing skiffs designed by Skye designer Iain
Oughtred. The prototype had been built in Anstruther under the guidance of
Strathkanaird's Chris Perkins, in honour of whom it was named, from kits
developed and produced by Alec Jordan.
The Friday before the seven met at Topher’s
house, a small notice, with a drawing of the skiff, had appeared in the
Ullapool News inviting anyone wishing to join a rowing syndicate to get in
touch. The meeting was short, and by the end, all had written cheques for
around £170 to fund the cost of one of Alec’s kits.
It would be only the second boat built.
Next Friday’s Ullapool News on 16th
October, carried this notice:
SCOTTISH
COASTAL ROWING PROJECT
A
Skiff is born
Ullapool
rowing team formed
An
Ullapool rowing team has been formed to build and race a 22ft St Ayles Skiff,
one of several being built nationwide as part of the Scottish Coastal Rowing
Project.
Responding
to a letter in the Ullapool News, seven members have now signed up for the first
skiff, which will be built locally, and on the water early next year. The cost
will be around £250 per person.
The
double ended, lightweight clinker/epoxy skiff, based on a Fair Isles design by
Skye small boat designer Iain Oughtred, requires four rowers, and a coxswain.
The first Ullapool boat will be used to showcase the project. Anyone, young, old, male, female, fit or unfit, will be welcome to have a go.
At
least five teams around the Scottish coastline will be building identical
boats, with a view to racing next year in a series of regattas around the
Scottish coast.
Loch
Broom is an excellent stretch of water for sea rowing, providing healthy
exercise and the chance of competition with skiffs from other coastal
communities.
Rowing
is a great way to keep fit. And once a regatta circuit is established, Ullapool
can compete against, and socialise with, rowing teams from around the Scottish
coast.
The
aim is to host a Scottish Coastal Rowing Regatta in Loch Broom, with teams from
all over the country taking part.
However,
to be competitive, Ullapool needs at least two boats.
The
current team consists of Adrian Morgan, Topher Dawson, Chris Perkins, Sue
Evans, Mike Connor, Richard Weekes and John Mcintyre.
The
nucleus of a second team is already in place.
Fiona
Macdonald, Marcus Macdonald, Rory Ross and at least three others are keen to
build a second Ullapool skiff (which should be even cheaper than the first).
Anyone
who wants to sign up for a second Ullapool team should contact Adrian Morgan.
The kit arrived and was delivered to
Leckmelm, where John, Dan Johnson and I had a workshop. Topher and I were soon
after interviewed by Radio Scotland, standing by the pile of plywood on its
pallet.
Construction began under the leadership of
Chris, who had built the Anstruther prototype boat, and Topher, teacher and
renowned professional boatbuilder. All members, however, had a hand in gluing,
planing, scraping, clamping , bevelling and painting, with the exception of
Adrian who was busy building boats to order close by. He did, however, fashion
the distinctive arrowhead stemhead late one night.
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Ulla at Anstruther
Ulla’s mixed team, Topher, Adrian, Dan, Charlotte, Jan, Laura and Sue may
not have covered themselves in glory at the opening regatta in Anstruther, but
their skiff was certainly admired for its build quality and quirky details –
the Viking steerboard being the main attraction. Laminated breasthooks and
dowelled gunwales all came in for close scrutiny, as did the extreme length and
weight – 28lb apiece – of the oars.
The consensus among the opposition was that,
either we were right, or very wrong. But we knew we were here to find out. As
it happened, there wasn’t much in it, no matter what was wielded. Pin oars,
cheap Finnish oars, long oars and short oars – even mixed oars flailing at
random – seemed to perform much the same. Ulla can claim to have looked by far
the most elegant of the half dozen skiffs, with a rowing technique that was as
good as it gets after half an hour practice.
The men’s team won their opening bout outside
the harbour with the Coigach Lads (sweet victory) and progressed to the finals
inside the breakwater where they were beaten by an oar blade’s width by Port
Seton(?), while the women’s teams struggled in the rising wind and waves to
master their unusually long and heavy oars, going down womanfully. The mixed
team fared little better. Jan steered throughout and from a nervous start very
soon was heard encouraging her team in language hardly fit for the wife of a
pillar of the Ullapool academic establishment.
Highlight of the day was the appearance of
our master builder, Mr Dawson, and his japanese saw with which he lopped a foot
or so off each of the oar blades. The discarded pieces were forthwith attacked
by a gang of beach dogs which made off with them, to the cheers of the crowds
of Ansthrutherians and holidaymakers thronging the beach.
The racing was close, despite wildly
differing styles of rowing. Length and weight of oar and rowing techniques
seemed to count for little. The skiffs reach their hull speed after a few
strokes and a law of diminishing returns prevails thereafter. This makes for
good competition, with no skiff streets ahead of another.
Ulla’s crew thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and Alec Jordan’s organisation
proved near faultless. Heats got off promptly and the schedule kept to time,
despite the changing of crews, some of whom had to be rustled up on the spur of
the moment.
While crews struggled on the sea, a BBC
Scotland broadcast team buzzed about overhead, catching the action from a
microlight. And miraculously, the sun shone on the Scottish Coastal Rowing
Project’s opening regatta throughout.
When in 2010 Fiona MacDonald and her friends
Bev Macgregor, Kaz Foot, Kathleen Mckay and Sue Evans (aka The Golden Girls)
formed their legendary team with cox Mcintyre, races and medals were soon being
won regularly. Moreover fund raising went ahead apace, with raffles, cake
stalls and every kind of ingenious way to wheedle cash from Ullapudlian
purses.
With this injection of much needed
enthusiasm, cash and energy, Ullapool Coastal rowing was now thriving, and has
never looked back.
Under Topher’s guidance, Ullapool coastal
rowing has continue to prosper. Villagers both young and old have taken to
rowing with a vengeance, largely thanks to his leadership. His ingenuity,
drive, enthusiasm, organisational and boat building skills have helped turn an
idea into a phenomenon, both in Ullapool and worldwide.
Of the seven members of the original
syndicate, only two remain. But it is fair to say that without the
confidence of those original seven putting their own money on the table, and building
the skiff, it would never have happened.
See also Chris Perkin’s article in the
July/August 2013 issue of Watercraft.