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On a very windy Saturday Morning in September – Jacq, Fiona, Andy, Chris and David prepared Whisstock to take to the water.

Using the DYC dingy park to remove the cover and frame and set things up is proving to be excellent. There is plenty of space and maneuvering the skiff up the hill and down the slipway is surprisingly easy.

Caro and Brian had come to see us set off and take the photographs below which was a lovely send off.

With winds gusting up to 38 mph the crew slowly made their way along the tourist section to Kyson Beach with much waving from people walking along the exposed pathway. The first plan was to see what it was like in the Martlesham Creek but this proved to be almost impossible with a strong headwind so we turned around and headed back up stream.

To our great surprise we were able to hover around the Tide Mill and watch a group of Morris Men perform outside The Longshed. They seemed very pleased to see us as very few pedestrians had braved the day.

It’s nice to know that we can still have a paddle on the days when others aren’t brave enough to take to the water.

Thanks Crew

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On Friday ‘Whisstock’ was moved from the Longshed to her new home at the DYC where she now sits in the back dinghy park proudly wearing her new cover.

On Saturday, she was immediately taken out again by Beryl, Caro, Chris, Jacq, Jo, and Myles who had a nice outing up to Wilford Bridge and back again against the tide. The group found it very easy to launch and retrieve her from the DYC slip and skillfully managed to avoid all the yacht racing that was going on at the same time.

Big thanks to Julian for fitting a jockey wheel to the trolley as it made the route to the waters edge very easy.

On Saturday the 24th August eight WCRC members decided to support the Macmillan appeal by rowing all the way to Felixstowe, out to sea, and back again.

Six crew members took on the first journey with two swapping at Felixstowe and walking home along the river. All were reunited at the Waldringfield Maybush on the way back for a quick drink before setting off again.

This is the furthest that ‘Whisstock’ has been taken and definately the first time out to sea. Having said that conditions were not too challenging as the sun shone and the wind stayed away.

Whilst waiting for the tide to rise enough to put the skiff away one brave crew member changed into a swimsuit and had a quick dip to cool down.

All crew members made a donation to the macmillan fund for taking part and bought one of the sponsorship T-Shirts to wear on the day. All money raised from other trips during the Macmillan two weeks will also be donated to the charity.

It was a great day out and proved that a full days outing would always be possible so long as the tides are ok!

Photos are thanks to Malcolm

 

On the 4th May 2019 the Woodbridge Coastal Rowing Club came alive. The recently formed committee and first handful of members celebrated when the newly built St Ayles Skiff was named and launched for the very first time.

The naming ceremony was introduced by Pete Clay from the Woodbridge Riverside Trust and Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company and then led by Sue Cox, daughter of Claude Whisstock who previously owned the Whisstock’s Boat Building site where the skiff has been lovingly built. The committee, crews and other visitors raised a glass at the appropriate moment when the boat and river were blessed to 

Once named ‘Whisstock’ was launched on the river Deben for the first time, accompanied by the Blakeney CRC in their own St Ayles Skiff, the ‘Hoo Canoo’ made by Just 42 and also launched on the same day and Sae Wylfing the half length Sutton Hoo Ship crewed by the Deben Rowing Club.

 

On the 27th April a number of committee and club members attended the ‘Eastern Region Rowing Council’, – Coastal Sharing Good Practice conference at the Marconi Sailing Club in Steeple, Essex. The conference included sessions on seamanship, weather, tides, safety, techniques, knot tying and radio usage. This provided a very good grounding for anyone wanting to navigate the river Deben and some useful contacts in the local area.

 

Following an initial get together at The Cherry Tree public house on the 30th January, six willing volunteers have stepped forward to help set up the club by making sure that all the paperwork is in place before we start.

Yesterday the new committee members met to discuss things like membership fees, booking, insurance, British Rowing affiliation, club kit etc. But most importantly we have penciled in a date to launch the new St Ayles Skiff and get the club underway. Although there is still a lot to do it is great to know that the start is in sight and we hope to have lots of people come and support the launch over Easter (more details to follow).

On Saturday 21st April a group of Blakeney Coastal Rowers kindly brought one of their St Ayles Skiffs to Woodbridge to help celebrate the opening of the new Longshed. The rowers spent much of the day explaining how the boats are made from kits over a frame which takes a team of boat builders about 700 hours to complete.

After the grand opening they very kindly took groups of potential Woodbridge Coastal Rowers out on the water for a quick paddle on the river. As you can see it was a glorious day and everyone who ‘had a go’ came off the water very keen to join the local club.