Club Update October 2026

The highlight of the summer for many of us was the Moidart Produce Show at Kinlochmoidart. The Moidart Coastal Rowing Club were again able to have a stand on the showground, and although it would have been perfect to have our own St.Ayles skiff Speireag on show for all to see, unfortunately she is still mid-build. With the gunwales not yet attached, she may not have had the robust stability to be lifted and wheeled out from the build shed.

But anyone who was at the Show could not have missed the beautiful skiff that was standing next to our stall… This was Each Dubh (or Dark Horse), very generously loaned to us for the day by our friends at the Lochaber Rowing Club, based at Corpach. Her varnished wood and blues were really eye-catching as the sun tried to come out; she attracted lots of people intrigued as to whether this was our finished boat – alas, no! But with a number of visitors on the day keen to learn more about skiff boats and what we’re trying to do with our Club, we hope that we’ll have signed up a few more people able to help with our build. We have to say a huge thank you not only to Chris and John from Lochaber for devoting their time and energies getting Each Dubh to us for the day, but also to the Lochaber crews who had to forfeit their Saturday rowing as we had their boat!

The generous support from the team at Lochaber just shows what a ‘family’ we can look forward to playing with once our Speireag is launched. Indeed, a few folk from the Montrose Rowing Club have just been visiting our waters, bringing their skiff, Goose, for some community rowing in Loch Shiel and Lochaline – more on that next time. The Skiff community around Scotland (and beyond) is really active and vibrant – although we’re all volunteers, many clubs are eager to share knowledge and skills. We look forward to tapping more into that network and sharing our own experiences with future Skiff build projects.

We’re always keen to hear from others who would be interested in lending a hand, especially to help create and finish parts that are best done in a well-equipped workshop. In the last few months, we’ve welcomed several new members. Admittedly, some of us have taken time off over the summer so there have been less Sat morning build sessions, but we hope as Autumn temperatures and storms return, then more of us will be available (and not out on the water or hiking up the hills ourselves!). We’ll aim to meet up most Sat mornings at Kinlochmoidart. For more details, please get in touch with Eilish MacLellan or Lou Johnson via build@moidartcoastalrowing.org, or search for Moidart Skiffies on Facebook.

Thanks!

Louise Johnson, Club Co-Chair