The opening ceremony of the World Championship of the St Ayles class of coastal rowing - SkiffieWorlds 2025 - took place in Stranraer, Scotland, on Sunday 6th July.
Stranraer hosts the largest gathering of St Ayles coastal rowing boats in history, with a record-breaking 79 clubs competing.
The coastal rowing event takes place from 6-12 July, with 2,000 rowers competing, including teams from as far away as Australia, the USA, Canada, and South Africa, along with several teams from the Netherlands and a strong contingent from across the UK and Ireland.
ROWING UPDATE:
A gusty northerly wind has led to the cancellation of rowing at SkiffieWorlds 2025 today (Monday, 7 July), with all races rescheduled for later in the week. The world championship coastal rowing event takes place on Loch Ryan, Stranraer. The 8-mile-long sea loch is famously sheltered from most wind directions, except for the northerly wind, which has affected racing today.
The northerly wind blows directly down the loch, making it difficult for the St Ayles coastal rowing boats to launch off the beach.
Topher Dawson of Scottish Coastal Rowing, one of the Chief Umpires of SkiffieWorlds 2025, said:
“We are obviously very disappointed to miss today’s scheduled racing, but safety comes first, and we are rescheduling all categories of races across the rest of the week when the weather forecast is favourable.
The northerly wind blows directly down the loch, making it difficult for the St Ayles coastal rowing boats to launch off the beach Photo: Soaring Productions
“This is the biggest ever skiff event, and due to its size, rearranging the schedule is like a gigantic three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle so that participants do not have to race too many times in one day.
“Accepting that the weather is unpredictable is part of coastal rowing, and you just have to take it as it comes.
The atmosphere at SkiffieWorlds remains very positive; everyone is happy to enjoy the sunshine and meet fellow rowers from various countries. It’s like being among 2,000 friends.”
