The sport of coastal rowing arrived in Corpach with the launch of Fort William’s locally built skiff, Each Dubh (Dark Horse), on Saturday.
Calm waters, clear skies and a cheering crowd welcomed the vessel as it was carried from its Banavie build shed to the Thomas Telford Corpach Marina to take to the water for the first time.
Joining the celebrations were skiffs and crews from Appin, Lorne, Glencoe, Isle of Seil and Nairn, all of which rowed across Loch Linnhe from the Lochaber Yacht Club to witness the new boat’s launch.
A bottle of Helmsman whisky was used to toast the vessel before spectators were invited to experience the skiff on the water.
“A lot of people who turned out were really excited. It was something new and different, and something that they could potentially see themselves getting involved with in the future,” said Chris Webster, chairman of
Lochaber Coastal Rowing, which oversaw the boat’s build and launch.
“It seems like it has been a positive day, especially for the other clubs. They were really delighted to be able to come up and be part of it.”
Construction of Each Dubh, a St Ayles skiff with space for four rowers and a cox, started in 2018 after Chris noted there was no coastal rowing club in Fort William. A trained boat builder, he joined John Ireland, Carl Haberl and a band of volunteers to bring the popular activity to the area from scratch.
“The joy of rowing - once you get past the image of breathing heavy and training hard - is you have an hour on the water to do what you will with the boat,” Chris explained.
“If you and your crew are more inclined to enjoy a nice sunny evening, you can just be out on the water being active. If you want to train, then you can do that.”
The community aspect of having a group of friends ‘being active, out in nature, and having an adventure’ is also part of the reason the sport has caught on, Chris added.
Although Lochaber is a newcomer to coastal rowing, Scotland’s west coast has a strong connection with the St Ayles skiff.
In February, Iain Oughtred, the man who first designed the internationally used model, passed away in Skye, and both Ullapool and Stranraer have held the ‘SkiffieWorlds’ world championship.
For now, however, Lochaber Coastal Rowing is keeping its ambitions relatively modest, focusing simply on bringing a social activity to ‘anyone big enough to hold the oar’.
“The main focus is getting people involved in something that is perhaps a bit different to anything else on offer just now in Fort William, but offers community and activity,” Chris said.
“We are very much about regular participation. Turn up, get in a boat, and row.”
Anyone wishing further information about coastal rowing in Fort William, or the Each Dubh project, can contact Lochaber Coastal Rowing via its Facebook page, or through lochabercoastalrowing@gmail.com. Facebook
link: www.facebook.com/LochaberCoastalRow.
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