Amble Coastal Rowing Club

Amble Coastal Rowing Club Would you like to become part of an exciting project within your community? Would you like to help build a boat? Well here’s your chance. Do you want to help?

Amble Coastal Rowing Club was created with the purpose of bring together local people to build, row, race and enjoy our very own St Ayles Skiffs here in Amble, Northumberland Would you like to be a crew member of a St Ayles class rowing skiff? Amble Coastal Rowing Club are building 2 St Ayles class wooden rowing skiffs right here in Amble. In clubs up and down the coasts of Scotland and now spread

ing down through Northumberland, there are people just like you, aged anywhere from 10 - 80 building and rowing these boats. Boats they have built themselves. Both men and women, a few with a little experience, but mostly without any understanding of woodwork or any prior boating experience can now call themselves Boat Builders and Coastal Rowers. Many friends have been made along the way. New skills learned, confidence boosted and a pride developed in a project that represents their own town or village. We live in a community steeped in maritime heritage and should be proud of it. Following in the footsteps of the likes of Eyemouth, Dunbar, North Berwick, Gosforth etc, we have started a community group to build and row our very own St Ayles Skiffs for Amble. This project will provide many different opportunities to get involved as things progress. Fund raising, planning, social events not to mention the building the boats from scratch. And once built, skiff rowing for fitness, fun, and friendly competition as part of a team can be an exhilarating and rewarding experience. Amble Coastal Rowing Club is open to absolutely everyone. No restrictions on age, gender, or ability. Whether you’re a master shipwright, a novice sandpaper operator or a tea making expert and keen fundraiser. A web designer, social media guru, cake baker, painter, organiser or just want to join in, there’s a place for you and you’ll be more than welcome. Drop me an email at [email protected]

Don’t forget to like our page and tell your friends. Rob Angus
Amble Coastal Rowing Club
[email protected]

Mad dogs and skiffy crews -18 miles, 11 bridges, two skeletons and 29 degrees... It can only be a blast of bank holiday ...
27/05/2026

Mad dogs and skiffy crews -18 miles, 11 bridges, two skeletons and 29 degrees... It can only be a blast of bank holiday "bonkersness" with ACRC as they again rowed the Tyne from Newburn to Tynemouth. On this particular morning the fog on the Tyne was not all mine (all mine) as we were presented with blazing sunshine, a cloudless sky and barely mouse's breath of wind. It was an early start (timed between Frap's first and second breakfast) when that age-old logistical puzzle of the fox, the chicken and the corn swung into action (with boats, cars, trailers and crew taking the places of the animals and the grain) this was strategically planned over a cheeky coffee midweek to ensure that all the people ended up at one point and all the cars and trailers ended up at the other. A warm bank holiday meant that roads were full and parking was a premium and we must give a big thanks to Christine for carrying the drivers back to the start (you're an angel x) This was the first time we'd taken our launching trolly on the road, flipped on top of the skiff and secured via some handy and hasty "wood and ropework" by our resident knotmeister Cap'n Angus, and (to be expected) it worked dream and the boats were soon on the slip. Crew numbers were somewhat depleted for this one so quite literally a Skeleton crew was assembled for one skiff as "Skelly and Boney" (named by two local children who were down by the skiff at the time of launching ) took alternate seats to maintain the appearance of a four person crew ... All that remained was a quick tub of ice cream and we were off... Now in any 18 mile row there's going to be lots to look at and this was no different .. starting in a country park and soon passing the "oar and rower" and "Blaydon races" sculptures marking the course of the original and modern races... green parkland morphed into scrapyards and industrial units, ponies on crumbling banks sat aside new luxury housing and the derelict remnants of factories and long forgotten jetties sat quiet like ghosts, leaving only faint echoes of a proud past... It was only when we passed the metrocentre that it clicked how far up river we'd actually started.. Did anyone mention bridges?? Surely not?? In fact we rowed under 11 in total and with each bridge Frap had another sandwich xx. The bridges offered us a little welcome shade from the sun, whilst Haribo offered glucose for the bloodstream hurrah!!!. Rowing under that iconic succession of Newcastle bridges does give you a certain tingle of childlike excitement and a sense of history and belonging no matter how many times you do it. After the bridges the river starts to widen and passing traffic (small but fast) gave the odd bounce from their bow waves to keep us alert.. this was followed by the cox's motivational message "you've still got another ten miles or so to go xx" at which point the skeletons aboard were seen to visibly chortle as their jawbones shook in the breeze, whilst their arms simultaneously waved to families on the riverside. The next stretch saw more ghosts from the past sat next to modern "big industry" with their strange looking contraptions and techical hoojamaflips aplenty. After checking in for the final time with Port of Tyne we rounded the last bend, suddenly feeling quite small as we found ourselves amongst the 'big lads". The breeze suddenly dropped and water flattened as Tynemouth Priory could be seen beckoning from atop the cliff... The tide had fallen significantly by now and apparently thousands and thousands of people had crammed every beach, every street , every cafe, every bar and every vantage point just to catch a glimpse of us (either that or it was the hottest May bank holiday on record and people love a beach... but I prefer to think of it as the former) We were met on landing by an enthusiastic bunch of children in the water with many questions, mainly about the skeletons, apart from one young fellow (about 8 years old) in an RNLI tshirt who said he make sure we were safe. (The future is in great hands there) Even with the launching trolly, it was a hard push over knobbly rocks and the softest of sand, but there are indeed good people in the world who sprang to our aid (and others who oddly decided to film our grunts and groans. haha)... Olivia at this point restored the crews energy and resolve with hand baked brownies that worked with immediate effect (just look at Alan's face in the pics)... Weaving our way home through Tynemouth was slow as the crowds lined the street to see us off (at least that what I'm taking it as) days like these take planning but are always worth it so a big thanks to the crews for digging in and doing the run with no crew changes (we were easily the most gorgeous crews from Amble in handmade boats on the Tyne that day... I swear it), thanks too to the kind folks who helped carry the boats at the end and the absolute legend from Newburn Leisure Centre who came on his day off to open the slipway gates, cheers to Port of Tyne for letting us do this and giving helpful advice, to Tynemouth rowing club for letting stash the trailers and finally to Milton Blake who back in 1932 invented sunscreen ### love to all x.. I'll add some more pics over the next few days too

May the Oars be with you... A flashback to a May 4th row with those jovial Jedi of ACRC... Where do we start? Oh yes I r...
13/05/2026

May the Oars be with you... A flashback to a May 4th row with those jovial Jedi of ACRC... Where do we start? Oh yes I remember..."A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.." well technically it was just over a week ago on a slipway 30 yards from where we keep the boats, but who are we to let the truth get in the way of a good story. It was halfway betwixt lunch and tea when a rag tag bunch of rebels, bounty hunters, Wookies and Ewoks descended on the Shorebase cantina to try and secure transportation for their next voyage of discovery and mischief. Perhaps predictably, there were no X Wings or Millennium Falcons on the trailers in the compound, but there were two adorable wooden boats (unashamed bias applied here of course, but anyone even remotely involved with these community built little beauties can't help but be beguiled by their charm) our two skiffs, like most older and younger sisters, share a strong family resemblance but are each individuals in their own right. One having long beefy oars, grand for the long stretch whilst the other sports shorter more delicate oars ideal for close quarters navigation. With it being Star Wars day it wasn't long before the phrase "hmmm the oars are long in this one" was heard to emanate from Coquet Venture's Cox's seat, and in a pretty convincing Yoda accent too... It was then quickly established that " too much water over the harbour bar there is" and " bumpy outside it seems" so riverwards we headed at light speed (well rowing lightly if that's what light speed is) The first stage upstream was familiar for any Northumbrian.. cold, grey and windy but this soon changed, almost like that transition to colour in The Wizard of Oz, the sun came out, the trees burst into colour and for a moment summer arrived (no munchkins though) The banter up river was suitably chilled and typically random with Star Wars themed activities created on the fly to occupy the minds, including Sally's R2D2 rowing (row 2, drop 2 and harder than you think to keep time on the return) we even at one point had a guest seal jump up and give us his best Jabba the Hut impression before chasing his tea frantically around the river as if it were the last pea on the plate. We all know that Cap'n Angus is a knot tying Jedi, but today he introduced us to rowing with the force... throwing the oar forwards, letting it go and bringing the stroke back by the power of his mind. This soon (naturally) became a competition to see who could do the most claps before the palms hit timber once more... 7 was our record (well done Sally, who risked a crab to get the last clap in) But it's not all puns, whimsey and outer space... Really it was just us lot having a row up river, raising the heart rate in a good way whilst reducing the stresses of the modern world just for an hour or so and taking in the sights, sounds and the usual wildlife... From ducklings (well done Alan for taking evasive action to let them continue on course) , swans, and seals to those Heron fellows that keep as much a spellbound eye on us as we do them... The row back was a knuckle down job resulting in bit of nifty reverse parking on the slipway and the subsequent recovery and clean down was rewarded by tea and biccies aplenty and of course the obligatory group pic. Ever the advocates of real reality over virtual, we apologise for the assistance of AI in two of the pics this time around, although I do suspect that you already spotted those. Please forgive us . . (Although if anyone has ten real stormtrooper outfits going spare we'd love to do this for real).... May the oars be with you .. love Amble skiffies x

11/05/2026

As a post script to the previous post..join us for a quick tuck and row under the pier....###

Hallucinations, hypnosis, bangers, beards and shooting the piers... another Sunday morning pootle with those nautical ni...
11/05/2026

Hallucinations, hypnosis, bangers, beards and shooting the piers... another Sunday morning pootle with those nautical nicefolk from ACRC. Now there's a lot to be said for being happy in the place you're in rather than what could have been and Sunday morning happily proved just that... The skiffies had emerged from their burrows early to find that neap tides would leave "little watta for wider adventures upriver" and swell over the harbour bar may pen them in from venturing too far out. Unperturbed, the two boats headed in different directions to scope out opportunities for messing about. At this point the tune from Disney's "Ichabod and Mr Toad" sprang to mind and "merrily on our way to nowhere in particular" has been a cursed earworm ever since... After a short period of exploration, the crews reconvened to share tales.. Those in Coquet Spirit (the blue one) reported that it was a little bouncy outside the piers and that they'd been beckoned from the pier by what appeared to be the real Father Christmas calling to another brother in beardhood for banter and reciprocal selfies. The crew of Coquet Venture (the red one) reported that the river was potentially going to be more gravel than water further upstream as expected... What wasn't perhaps as predictable was the casual comment from John that "there were two daschounds flying above Warkworth castle" (Whether these were cloud formations or the effects of medication we may never know) When we started this little club a dozen or so years ago, our world was smaller and we used to launch at little shore and shoot the pier through the biggest gap... The moment that we realised that we'd not done that in so long, there was only ever going to be one wonderfully nostalgic destination... (and a new one for recent joiners) There's something nice about tucking in the oars and squeezing through the gap (something all visiting clubs gave done too) we did note however that the little shore did feel very small (the clue I suppose is in the name) With time by the bucket left, we decided a little Cox training via the old "let's rescue Bob the buoy" exercise might be a jolly jape as well as a useful endeavour... I couldn't hear the coaching chat between the two Alans but presumed that it was some form of hypnosis given the mystical waving of fingers... As morning turned closer to afternoon, minds turned towards stomachs and the sausage sandwiches Wendy had brought as reward (or a bribe), so it was a quick nip through a new and enticing gap in the old pier (woohoo) and we were back at base in no time at all, with boats recovered, washed and put away, and the skiffifolk duly furnished with steaming tea and pork and ale bangers in buns (Mr Young, ever the scout, had adhered to his "be prepared' mantra and brought his own sauce just in case ..what an inspiration) as we say in most of these posts , you can't underestimate the value of messing about in boats with friends with no agenda, minimal plans, a sense of childlike wonder and a packed brunch..With Spring tides next week the world opens up a little again.. watch this space and remember that growing old may be inevitable, but growing up is a choice ###

A cracking crew, a steaming brew, and a seal and a puffin (or two):- it could only be another foray out to sea with ACRC...
19/04/2026

A cracking crew, a steaming brew, and a seal and a puffin (or two):- it could only be another foray out to sea with ACRC... Today was forecast for bright sunshine, no rain, and a wind that was to take an afternoon nap... and I'll be jiggered if it wasn't absolutely spot on... You may have realised that light hearted madness is generally our mantra and today was no different. We were not yet out the harbour mouth when Alan (who'd already set hearts a fluttering with his naked knees) requested we stop so he could de-layer. This will be familiar to most rowers, as we often realise that rowing warms you up quickly and a jacket has to come off. Perhaps what you don't expect is the crew to blast out an acapella version of "the stripper," (a la the Morecambe and Wise breakfast sketch). Flamboyant as always, Mr Burt thrilled (?) us further as he flung his lifejacket open and shut like Eric and Ernie's cupboard doors (younger readers may need to Google that last bit). With a beefy tide running we made grand time and were at the island before we knew it, spotting "puffins on the starboard bow" as we approached... an observation that predictably started the singing again ,(younger readers may wish to Google "Klingons" at this point).. On arrival at the North end of the island we stopped and simply let the tide take us gently along the shoreline ... seals, puffins, eider ducks, terns , a solitary goose and a pigeon (who'd obviously taken a wrong turn when looking for the Harbour chippy) ... In a world that's literally gone mad, where devices curate our consciousness in 30 second chunks of increasing levels of manipulative tat, you can't underestimate how good for the soul a couple of hours at the oar and the chance to sit still in nature and watch it float by (or you float by it) can be... Especially when Wendy opened up the goodie bag and distributed Twix ... Now as a celiac I couldn't have a Twix (boooo) but I could have a 49p cut-price Easter Egg (hurrah) . I ceremoniously peeled back the foil wrap and held the chocolate ovoid aloft in some ritualistic celebration of my very own "Easter Island".. An emotional moment... We really could have stayed for hours more but a 5.3m tide has to come out again, and we didn't fancy rowing against that... so homeward we rowed, fuelled by positivity, random banter and Twix. On the way back we noticed that the often animated waters south of the piers had fallen flat so we hugged up close to Cliff House and crept slowly along the breakwater (to the surprise of a few folks out for a Sunday stroll) before turning into the harbour mouth and heading towards Shorebase where our newly stocked tea and biccies box awaited.... but wait!!!... "Stop!!"We shouted to boat in front... "Well have to stop off on the way home for milk!" A swift pull in towards the quay wall, some close quarters navigation and Wendy was away up the ladders and on the hunt for lactic replenishment... Meanwhile we resumed our collective homeward voyages in the afternoon sun, the wind by now fast asleep...would we see her again? Read on...It wasn't long before we arrived at base, boats were retrieved and were being washed down when the milkmaid arrived, successful in her venture...hot teas, coffees and chocolates followed ..with biccies of course... Special mention to Ruth who had her inaugural row today .. welcome aboard at last x.. There's a lot of waffle here I know, but two or three hours with no real plan, nice people, nature and a little exercise and we're all significantly better for it... Sleep well and let's see if we creak in the morning x

Abominable Friday- The wind, the rain and the Easter Yeti - "The Easter Bunny isn’t, as many presume, a creature restric...
04/04/2026

Abominable Friday- The wind, the rain and the Easter Yeti - "The Easter Bunny isn’t, as many presume, a creature restricted to the bottom of an English garden in Spring, she is a free-willed, independant global explorer, with a mission to bring peace, love and confectionary to the world. On one particular trip to Tibet she met, and fell in love with, a local Yeti, a solitary creature who shunned attention and took pleasure in the simple things... the two made an instant connection and after a particularly wild night of lust, gymnastics and kinder bueno,they shared intimate knowledge of each other. However, explorers seldom stay in one place the two said their fond farewells as the bunny returned to Northumberland. Several months later the sun rose to the patter of enormous feet and the Easter Yeti was born, sharing his mother’s love for confectionary and his father’s love of solitude and nature... Being such a quiet fellow, he sought peace and tranquility in a seculded riverside spot, only peering out but once a year to share joy of chocolate, just as his mother used to. If you are very lucky, very quiet and good of heart (and not diabetic) perhaps you may see him...." This was the message that our intrepid band of explorers found in a bottle, bobbing in the chilly waters of the Coquet just after launch on a Good Friday that promised sun, wind, rain, eggs and merriment ... perhaps all of them, but on the upward leg it was mostly wind... big , blowy , arm-testing, blister making wind that exhilerates and has you wishing for home and a hot bath in equal measure.) Today's guest cox was young Lola Beans who quickly took to the role and the responsibilities associated with "being in charge" She grabbed the bobbing bottle and unfurled the sepia-tinged paper that was neally rolled therein and called the boats together to tell the tale.. Dare the intrepid skiffies venture further? Was the Yeti just a legend? will there be eggs? so many questions... so back into wind they went. (bravely). As they approached the Hermitage, Lola blew the "Yeti whistle" (hasnt everbody got one?) and the crew waited, breath held in anticipation, eagerly scanning the bankside.. They didnt have to wait long as soon they caught flshes of white fur through the trees and that familar yeti walk made famous in that film clip of the 70s .. The creatures shouted hello ... and the Yeti responded. However his plans to invite them for a bankside feast of confectionary from jolly gift bags was curtailled as the heavens opened and it started to plash down... now as all skiffies know, wind and plash are not a great combination. But not wanting to leave him, they offered a hand of friendship and asked the floppy-eared bigfoot to "lowp in" They even let him cox... so back downstream the merry bunch flew, the tide and the wind now pushing them and Easter treats replenishing their glucose levels. We all know that irony is a familair bedfellow to anyone who finds their fun on the water and predictably just before reaching base the sun came out, the wind died down and summer arrived... but dont worry, Winter returned a matter of moments later just as they were putting the boats away(a task made so much easier following the recent trailer service).... Happy Easter folks, and if you do go out near a river this weekend, listen out for rustles in the bushes and if you do the meet the Yeti , say hello.. he's not as sinister as his apperance might allude...

Sunshine, seals and a cardboard John... What what else could it be than an opportune "nip oot" with Amble Coastal Rowing...
21/03/2026

Sunshine, seals and a cardboard John... What what else could it be than an opportune "nip oot" with Amble Coastal Rowing Club... It seems like ages since weather, tide and daylight managed to align their diaries, so it was a joyful crew that crawled out of their burrows to see if their creaky joints would loosen up and propel them out to sea once more... and you know what .. they did...(but ask me tomorrow if I feel the same) With the forecast promising no swell, a little chop and only the occasional cheeky slap across the bows, the destination had to be out to the island where a choir of seals had already lined the beach and were practicing their mournful siren song . It really does drift across the water and draw you in... On getting there, the beaches were crammed with seals whilst the eagle-eyed (and non colourblind amongst us) spotted some up on the rocks, scratching their bellies in the afternoon sun. I couldn't be 100% sure but a small break-out group of seals seemed to have moved on from more traditional seal song, and were instead jamming some form of Mongolian throat singing ... We find that simply being immersed in nature does the soul so much good and we sat for a while (or was it a year) just watching and drifting It was only when flat calm water shifted to a more bouncy state that we snapped back into 2026 and headed back homewards. On entering the harbour, we tracked close to the north side whilst our resident Historian regaled us with tales of its past, of bridges across the harbour and of what lies underneath the sand. Back at base, retrieval was slicker than ever with our trailers visibly grinning as their newly greased rollers squeaked not once. (Thanks again trailer crew you legends) ..but what about cardboard John??? I hear you ask. We do like to take a crew photo after each row (because they're all splendid folks and it's nice to look back) , but on this occasion John had left early... Now we couldn't have a pic without him so we fashioned a John from cardboard and, once adorned with sunglasses and a club cap..you couldn't tell the difference. Have a look at the pic and see if you can tell which one is John... Again it doesn't have to be a big adventure to lift the spirits, just a couple of hours in good company, on the water, in nature and not in a supermarket... Now pass me the Radox xx

Herons, flippers and frozen kippers.... Just another cheeky nip out to sea in the company of ACRC. The weatherman said t...
17/01/2026

Herons, flippers and frozen kippers.... Just another cheeky nip out to sea in the company of ACRC. The weatherman said to expect 5 degrees that feels like 3, we however received 3 degrees that felt like Reykjavik but that wasn't gonna stop us blowing away the cobwebs. The weatherman also said the sea was just swell ... turns out he was speaking literally, (but who doesn't love a bump or two) It was the first time in a while that we'd had two crews and many hands indeed make light work iand soon we were ready to go (after trying every permutation of oars in pins)... Today was a day when all was equal for us colourblind folks, the sky was grey, the sea was grey, as were the seals, the herons.. and the beards. With the swell assessed as safe but bouncy we headed island bound with whoops from Olivia and Alan in bow seats to let us know we'd hit those rollers just right..It is a lovely thing to see the boats playing in water, their bows leaping proud and splashing down, just being what they were made to be. However, taking a pic of that whilst your steering is a challenge, so the pics from today are taken in the somewhat calmer waters up at the island. Well done to Michelle on her first foray into coxing in the bouncy stuff.The beach at the island was a popular destination today as families of seals had obviously been out early to put their towels on the metaphorical sun loungers to secure a good spot. From here they could show their new pups these strange creatures who float on the water in wooden boxes and eat biscuits. Some of the young 'uns waved their flippers whilst others curiously approached the boats for a closer look. After a good spell of watching seals watching us, Kipper (our resident meteorologist and thermostat) spotted rain approaching and commented that it would be getting cold.. now no one wants a frozen kipper so shorewards we set off and what a good shout it was as the rain came and the by the time we got back through the piers some hands seemed frozen to the oar... We couldn't help but make one last detour by the old pier to see the heron, who this time decided to fly along with us for a few posts (how nice of him) before we said farewell and landed scrubbed and trailered the boats, tucking them in under their covers before heading home for soup and warming up... A grand day with good people doing nothing in particular ... Perfect x enjoy your bathtubs skiffmates..

The answer my friend is rowing in the wind... "Happy new year" said the weather folks, adding that it would be cold and ...
01/01/2026

The answer my friend is rowing in the wind... "Happy new year" said the weather folks, adding that it would be cold and windy today ... Well that wasn't going to stop a bunch of skiffles with warm hats and multiple Xmas puds and cheeseboards to burn off.. tides were well timed for a late morning meet and the wind had lined itself perfectly to blow down river... exactly where we were heading. We found that the promise of a speedy return wasn't exactly motivational as we dug in against the gusts.. commenting that it felt like there were polar bears wrapped around the blades of each oar. It's a good job we had "blood boots Burt" serenading us, although I'm not sure that we were bound for the Rio Grande ... A few bends and a good few grunts and groans later we found ourselves transported into a different world altogether, one of calm water, still air, herons and walkers along the footpaths and bridges who all returned our new year greetings with equal gusto. With a combined age of over 280 we may as well have been a bunch of 12 year olds joking, singing kids TV theme tunes, and pulling up in the trees to scramble up the bank and have a spoach about before jumping back and reversing out of the undergrowth with a cackle (some nifty limbo action Alan). With the tide still rising we afforded ourselves a break for a coffee stop before swapping seats and heading home. This was a different experience altogether and the wind all but saw us to our seats, gave us a complementary G&T, put on the in-flight movie and carried us home. (even providing seals to look at en route) On arrival back at base, we broke all rules of workshops and did the icebreaker last, (no, this wasn't making towers from spaghetti and marshmallows, it was altogether more practical.. and simply involved removing the thick sheets of ice that had formed on Raven's cover) After one last selfie and a discussion of the joys of frying Xmas pud in butter or melting Stilton in a sweet mince pie we were ready for home... It doesn't have to be a big adventure to raise a smile... Happy New Year from all at ACRC.###

Rowing up that hill (as Kate Bush would say) a momentary gap in the soggy stuff afforded us the chance of an upstream fo...
01/12/2025

Rowing up that hill (as Kate Bush would say) a momentary gap in the soggy stuff afforded us the chance of an upstream foray yesterday on a day that Pooh and Piglet would agree as being "blustery". A big hello to Helen who joined us for her first time behind the oar..and a hearty well done x. With so much rain last week, the flood was certainly hurtling down the river, so much that the inward leg was like trying to row up the down escalator whilst the return was like whooshing down a banana slide in buttered trousers... As for crocodile spotting, it may have been a log but I prefer not to think so...

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