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'Historic' coastal rowing world championships swell Scottish loch and club pride
More than 2,000 rowers from 78 clubs across four continents competed in St Ayles Skiffs - which are built for rowing at sea and have four crew, four oars and a cox - over a week on Loch Ryan at Stranraer.
Scotland was well represented, with clubs from all corners of the country - from Highland to Aberdeenshire, Angus, Edinburgh and the West Coast, converging in Dumfries and Galloway for the contest, which is held every three years.
Teams also travelled from Australia, USA, Canada, South Africa, and the Netherlands for the event.
Northern Irelands's Dundrum Coastal Rowing Club took the world title for the fourth time after collecting 8 golds, 2 silver and 5 bronze medals over the course of the competition.
Portobello's Eastern Amateur Rowing Club - known as The Eastern - were named runners up overall with their Under 17 crew taking the world title in their category.
Overall, the club took home two golds, eight silver and five bronze medals.
Ailsa Cook, a founder member of 'The Eastern' which celebrates its 10th anniversary this December, said it had been an 'amazing and intense' experience.
Ms Cook said: 'The racing was excellent and the weather was incredible. Stranraer had done a brilliant job setting it all up. There were huge screens where you could watch all the races and there were people from all over the world screaming for their clubs.
'We are really delighted at our results and our Under 17s took the gold in their race. They are all 13, 14, 15 and 16 and they did absolutely brilliantly in their competition.'
The world championship returned to Stranraer following the town's highly successful hosting debut in 2019.
The top placed international team was WSV Woudrichem, from the Netherlands, in third place, winning gold in three classes.
Golspie Rowing Club placed fifth and collected three gold medals while North Berwick ranked sixth overall.
Eskmuthe Coastal Rowing Club, based in Musselburgh, took home their first medal after their U19 mixed crew collected silver.
Meanwhile, Strathpeffer took home gold in the 60+ mixed class, while St Ayles won gold in the women's 280 class – a category in which the combined ages of all four rowers must be at least 280 years.
Despite challenging weather conditions at the start of the event, the championship demonstrated both the resilience of the sport and the exceptional suitability of Loch Ryan as a venue for major water sports competitions, organisers said.
Max Berends, Chair of St Ayles Skiff International, said: "As a blueprint for SkiffieWorlds I'd say Stranraer is the ideal location.
'It runs very smoothly, the volunteers and the community are tremendous, and it all comes together to create an event that is ideal. Even with the challenging weather at the start of the event, we were able to reschedule easily because of the scale of the water.
'This sport is all about health and community, and many rowers have commented on the warmth of the Stranraer community. It's just the whole package that comes together here."
Wendi Cuffe, Trustee of Stranraer Water Sports Association, who organised SkiffieWorlds, said: "It's been amazing. I'm in absolute awe that these people have come from so far to fill our beach and to race on Loch Ryan.
'It's been absolutely fantastic. All the clubs have been very kind, they've complimented us on our organisation, on our communication and this week has exceeded all my hopes and expectations for this event.
"The fact that the Stranraer community backed us 100% has been the biggest part of it. They believed in us; they believed our water sports association could deliver this and they supported us to do it. We are so grateful to our community.'
1 . A historic weekend on the water
A record-breaking 78 clubs and more than 2,000 rowers took part in the Skiffie Worlds 2025 over five days of competition on Loch Ryan at Stranraer. | Kirstin McEwan Photo: Kirstin McEwan Photo Sales
2 . A hard row
The Royal West of Scotland Amateur Boat Club, from Greenock, take to the water on day three of the competition. | Kirstin McEwan Photo Sales
3 . Club capital
Rowers from the Edinburgh-based Eastern Amateur Coastal Rowing Club - or The Eastern. The club came in second place overall at the Skiffie Worlds 2025. | Kirstin McEwan Photo Sales
4 . C'mon The Eastern!
Supporters of the Edinburgh-based Eastern Amateur Coastal Rowing Club cheer on their rowers. | Kirstin McEwan Photo Sales
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