100 rowers take to the Tyne

More than 20 boats and 100 people took part in the Northern Rowing Council’s third annual Great Tyne Row this weekend, rowing through the historic Newcastle Quayside and underneath the famous Tyne Bridge.

The boats rowing over the 25km course, from Newburn to the mouth of the Tyne, included St Ayles Skiffs, stable quads, fours and doubles and, for the first time, a Teifi double Skiff. Chris Dixon, Chair of Tynemouth RC said “The sight of the boats arriving around the corner of The Haven was amazing and the spectators sure appreciated it.”

Short patches of rain and the breezy conditions proved challenging for the competing rowers, but luckily the water stayed calm enough for crews to reach the finish line at Priors Haven – home of Tynemouth RC.

Rowers came from as far afield as Norwich and Edinburgh, and local clubs also made an appearance with Tees RC claiming the fastest boat of the day. Durham ARC, a club more used to far more gentle waters, proved that they could rough it in the waves too with their crew WOT! Wear on the Tyne ending up the fastest women’s boat of the day, less than a minute ahead of Norwich boat Norfolk Broads.

In keeping with the festive atmosphere of the day, other prizes were awarded to crews who might not have been the fastest but more than made up for it in the fun side of things. Tyne RC took the Best Dressed Crew award for dressing up themselves and their craft with a “Row Ho Ho and a bottle of Rum” theme, and Tyne Boat A took the Best Dressed Boat award for their Viking-themed quad.

North Berwick took the Harry Clasper award – a prize named after the famous Tyne sculler from the mid 1800’s. The award is presented to the crew or person who the organising committee feels deserves special recognition. North Berwick took the award this year on the basis that one of their rowers had never sculled until the day before, and none had been in the boat until the day before. 

“It was a great day,” said James Andrews, Northern Participation Manager. “It’s great to see more crews taking up the challenge on the Tyne each year, as well as local clubs coming back for more. We’d love to see more boats and more varied boats coming to enjoy the fantastic River Tyne.”

For a gallery of photos from the 2013 Great Tyne Row, visit the Northern Rowing Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/northernrowing/photos_stream.

The provisional date for next year’s event has been set for 20th September 2014. More information will follow soon.

The full results from this year’s event are now available to download, using the link below.