Huge success for Stranraer watersports event

Stranraer proved itself to be a world-class venue for watersports as the veue for the SkiffieWorlds 2019. 

The St Ayles skiff coastal rowing world championship brought a footfall of around 30,000 people to Stranraer, with 55 community-built boats and 700 crews of coastal rowers taking part in the event. Crews came from as far afield as Australia, South Africa, Canada, Tasmania, the USA and mainland Europe for the week-long event.

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. 

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.  

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 third and fourth overall, while top international club WSV Woudrichem from the Netherlands placed joint fifth.

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."

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.”

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.”

Results of the club points competition can be found at: https://scottishcoastalrowing.org/2019/07/14/skiffieworlds-2019-the-points-competition/