Long Rows on the Inlet
Two events are driving us to gain more stamina and experience. They are the Augusta Picnic Regatta on the 27th January and the Steamers Run which starts on 26th February. The latter is a 100km row in company over 4 days, along the Gippsland Lakes from Sale to Lakes Entrance. So we have been out extending our morning rowing sessions and pitting ourselves against the wind on the inlet.
Denmark Classic Boat Show 2023
On September 24th Denmark Rowers hosted the second Denmark Classic Boat Show at Berridge Park, on the Denmark River and in the Denmark Riverside Club. The weather was perfect, the boats were beautifully presented and the atmosphere was relaxed. The Old Gaffers of WA had brought a number of small wooden retro type craft down from Perth to supplement the growing fleet of Denmark vessels. The star of the show was the recently restored “Sweetheart” a 101 year old 18ft racing yacht built in Albany. We were also happy to support the Denmark Senior High School, Denmark Sailing Club, the Denmark Sea Rescue, Denmark Historical Society, and the Denmark Dragon Boat Club who had displays and made it a real community effort. The Albany Maritime Foundation brought their whale boat and were impressed by our St Ayles Skiffs and showed interest in building them. The club house held displays of historical photographs, slide shows of restoring Sweetheart and building the St Ayles Skiffs as well as some beautiful model boats and immaculate wooden kayaks, canoes, and dinghies. The day wrapped up with a barbecue and shanty singing by Denmark’s Salty Seadogs in the Riverside Club. Thanks to all those who supported us as volunteers, donators to our raffle and exhibitors.
Albany Maritime Festival – Try Rowing
On 1st July 2023 we participated in Albany City’s “All at Sea Saturday” community event in front of the Albany Boat Shed. We put “St John” on display (with it’s new stone guards) to attract would be boatbuilders in Albany to think about building their own St Ayles Skiffs and were successful in luring half a dozen. We also launched Nullaki and in beautiful winter conditions took interested members of the public out to try rowing.
Exploring the Frankland River at Nornalup
Two Denmark Rowers crews have ventured into the beautiful wilderness of the Walpole-Nornalup National Park up the Frankland River. On Sunday 30th March and again on Wednesday 3rd May we picked up the skiff from Harry’s shed at 8am and carpooled over to Nornalup where we were on the water just after 9am. We had a gentle row approximately 2.5km up river in glassy calm conditions taking in the peacefulness and beauty of our surroundings.
Launch of Valkyrie, SOPYC
South of Perth Yacht Club officially launched their first St Ayles Skiff on Sunday 23 April and Denmark Rowers took their skiff “St John”, the 430km up to Perth to join in the celebrations. Official speeches by the Commodore Troy Dalglish and those more closely involved in the build were followed by the customary toast with Scotch Whisky. The club’s patron unveiled the name “Valkyrie” and then the boat was launched with a bit of a bump.
After the launch six skiffs took part in the Australian 5.
SOPYC have built a set of wooden oars. Here are a few details of the build.
Australian 5 virtual national race
Over the 21-23 April four crews from Denmark Rowers took part in the Australian 5 event by using a location recording app to get their time over a course that was 2.5km out and 2.5km back along the same track. This was our first attempt at rowing a fixed distance of this length but we were after the Midfielder award for the crew whose time was closest to the average time of all the attempts. The event was organised by the national representative body SASCRAA (St Ayles Skiff Coastal Rowing Association of Australia).
Clem’s Crew consisting of Clem Williams, Sally Ingham, John Balde, Fay Lewis and cox Geoff Bowley achieved the fastest time of 39min 35sec.
Veronica’s Crew consisting of Veronica Miller, Shelagh Pepper, Rovie Robinson, Valerie Mather and cox me (DaveCliff) rowed it in a leisurely 55min 36sec.
Lesley’s Crew consisted of Lesley Murphy, Veronica Miller, Sally Ingham, John Balde and Clem Williams. Sadly Geoff missed out. Their time was recorded at 43min and 32 seconds but as you can see they had technical problems turning off the recording at 5km so perhaps 41min 34sec is closer to the mark.
Dave’s Crew in Perth for the launch of the SOPYC St Ayles Skiff “Valkyrie” consisted of myself, Ted Kirkbride, Mike Roberts, Andy Pearce and Fay Lewis as cox. We recorded 40min and 33min. Not bad when neither Mike nor Andy had ever rowed before! Mike is hoping to get Nedlands Yacht Club to build a couple of skiffs.
The following are the results tables for the national event:
These results are on the St Ayles Australia facebook page which has given only one Midfielder Award this year to the Skiffie All Stars team from Lake Macquarie Classic Boat Association, 37min 48 sec.
We were thanked for taking part by SASCRAA’s Lorrie Harrison who did a brilliant job of organising the event.
It was great fun and shows we are already improving our techniques and longevity of our rowing sessions and of course gives us a bench mark to aim for, for next year.
Exploring with the Old Gaffers of WA
On the 2nd and 3rd March Denmark Rowers went exploring on the Wilson Inlet and the Nornalup Inlet with the sailing craft of the Old Gaffers of WA who had come down from Perth to “Raid” and sail in the Walpole Regatta. We rowed out and had a picnic lunch each day.
Augusta Picnic Regatta
Denmark Rowers fielded their newly launched St Ayles Skiff “Nullaki” and 13 rowers in all categories of the Augusta Picnic Regatta on the 28th January which was great fun and a really steep learning curve for our rowers. There were 6 skiffs in most of the races and we came consistently 5th in each race over a distance of 500m, beating rival new club from Nannup.
Nullaki Launched!
On Thursday 26th January Denmark Rowers launched the second St Ayles Skiff “Nullaki” at the Denmark Riverside Club. See the blog for more pictures and story. Nullaki went so well that she was chosen to be taken to Augusta Picnic Regatta the next day.
Rowing from the Denmark Riverside Club
Denmark’s first St Ayles Skiff “St John” is now safely housed in the Denmark Riverside Club boat shed. The new launching trolley makes it easy to trundle it to and from the Denmark River making rowing even more accessible to the community.
St John Launched!
On Saturday 5th November St John, the first of our two St Ayles Skiffs, was launched in front of a large crowd. See the blog for more pictures and story. There is also a Photo Gallery.
18th May 2022: Turnover Day for Boat 1
Denmark Rowers had a milestone event yesterday (Tuesday 17th May), as some of you witnessed, we turned the first St Ayles Skiff over. This involved unsticking the boat from its building moulds which took a bit of brute force accompanied by ripping noises as the epoxy pulled away from the taped up moulds. Then with the help of the year 11 boat building students from Denmark Senior High School we lifted the boat up and out into the sunshine where it was rolled in mid air and set down on the ground the right way up for the first time. It is a thing of great beauty and with the bow and stern stems as yet untrimmed looked very much like the Norwegian faerings used by the Vikings and probably earlier generations in Scandinavia.
This was day 40 of the project, working on it three half days a week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) and we are now preparing to start building the second skiff while we fit out the interior of this first one. We are still welcoming new members to come and join in and enjoy the friendship and sense of achievement we are getting from this project.
30th March 2022: The first planks are on
Yesterday was a bit of a milestone in the building of our St Ayles Skiffs, we glued on the first two planks. It’s taken us 19 half days to reach this point as we had so many jobs that needed doing, from laminating the stems, glueing the frames to shaping the keelson. A fabulous group of men and women have been enjoying the process and getting to know one another as we all learn new skills. You can follow our progress each day through the blog on our website www.denmarkrowers.org.au/blog/ or drop in for a look when we are there at Harry and Kay’s shed at 98 South Coast Hwy, Denmark, opposite the Uniting church. Members are more than welcome to come and join in on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9am and 1pm. If you would like to join in but can’t make these times please let me know and if there is enough of you we will adjust the schedule.
Thanks again to our great sponsors who have made this possible.
We have been very fortunate to receive more than enough oars from the Murdoch University Rowing Club this month. Thanks guys.
We have also been told that we have been successful in our grant application for the Federal Government’s “Stronger Communities Programme” which will fund one of the trailers we will need.
I am very happy with the progress and with the way the project is meeting its goal of bringing people together in our community.
Thanks everybody.
Feb 25 2022: Denmark’s St Ayles Skiff building begins thanks to our generous supporters
Hi all those who have supported Denmark Rowers
As some of you know, yesterday marked a significant step along the path to provide Community Rowing for Denmark with the arrival of two basic St Ayles Skiff kits (above) thanks to Denmark Haulage and Thorntons Mitre 10. Building can get underway in Harry and Kay’s magnificent shed and we have Denmark Rowers members turning up on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 1pm.
All of this has been made possible by the generous donations of our sponsors, shown below, who I would like to thank for believing that this is a worthwhile project for our community. A special thanks to our latest donor, St John WA, who have recently paid for advertising by naming one of the skiffs “St John Denmark”.
Thanks also to members (now 35 of them) who have donated time and money to raising funds along the way. Thanks also to those organisations that have supported us like Jane Kelsbie’s office, the CRC and the Riverside Club.
If you want to follow the building process I’m writing a blog (see the link in the page header above) and posting updates on Instagram and Facebook under Denmarkrowers. You are also welcome to drop in and have a chat at the shed at 98 South Coast Hwy, Denmark on the mornings we are there.
Thanks again.
Cheers
Dave
Feb 10 2022: The St Ayles Skiff building Project Begins
Yesterday John Sampson and I drove over to Nannup with a flat bed trailer very kindly lent by Clem Williams and picked up the building frame and attached moulds from the Nannup Mens Shed. The trip went well and the trailer turned out to be perfect after Kevin Bird and John Thompson of the Men’s shed added extensions to the back legs of the frame. Despite the bumpy road home via Manjimup and Walpole the whole thing stayed intact and will save us a lot of set up time. Thanks to all those who turned out to lift the frame off the trailer when we got here.
We are still at least 2 weeks away from getting the kits but there is a lot we can do in the shed to make it ready for them. Perhaps we could have a kick off session on Tuesday next week at 10am? If you’re able to come along we can make a start.
On Thursday 17th Peter Wilson is going to give us a workshop in using epoxy glues and resins at 10 am in Harry’s shed for all those interested. Could you please let me know if you’re coming along.
Look forward to catching up with you next week.
Cheers
Dave
January 2022: We’ve made it happen!
Thanks to everyones’ efforts we have raised over $17,000 and can buy the two basic kits for the St Ayles Skiffs so that we can start building them on schedule in February in Harry and Kay’s wonderful shed.
A huge thank you to our sponsors Rockcliffe Wines, Denmark Co-op, Pepper and Salt, Nutrien Harcourts Denmark, the Rivermouth Caravan Park, Bibbulmun Cafe, and MCC.
Thanks to the efforts of our members, particularly Kay White, the raffle and sausage sizzle we held outside the Supa IGA raised $1,750 on 15th January. Thanks to Willoughby Park Wines, Singlefile Wines and Blossoms Nursery for supplying some of the gifts along with member donations that made up such enticing prizes. The winners were the Pericek family, Elspeth Weatherstone and Cathy Overington.
There are still more funds needed but the pressure is off and we can start to concentrate on setting up for building the boats. Nannup Men’s Shed has just about finished with the moulds and we will be going over to pick them up soon. Meanwhile we can buy the timber for the building frame that lifts the boat off the floor while we work on it and set up work and storage areas.
If you are planning to lend tools and clamps to the project it would be a good idea to paint your initials on them so that they can be retrieved at the end of the job.
There are some excellent videos on Youtube on Building a Caledonia Yawl which is another similar Iain Oughtred design and has the same build technique. I have subscribed to Off Center Harbour to access all of them so I can share them with you as we approach each step.
We can’t think about the build without mentioning Covid. We will obviously have to follow the rules and do everything we can to keep each other and the greater community safe. To that end we have decided to follow most organisations working closely together and insist that everyone is double vaccinated who works in the shed. Fingers crossed that we can get through this and still build boats together.
We are about to put in place Voluntary Workers Insurance to cover us for out of pocket expenses if we are injured while working in the shed. We have also joined the Australian umbrella organisation St Ayles Skiffs Community Rowing Association of Australia and are now covered by their Public Liability Insurance.
To celebrate the ordering of the kits we invite all members and sponsors to Harry and Kay’s shed for sundowner drinks at 5.30pm on Friday 4th February. (BYO, at 98 Great Southern Hwy).
November 2021
In this newsletter:
- Fundraising going well
- Target to kick off building project in February
- Membership numbers growing
- Sponsorship drive
- Denmark Rowers to take part in the Christmas pageant
We are now at about a quarter of the way to having sufficient funds to complete two St Ayles Skiffs with around $6,500 in the kitty. We have decided that as long as we get to $13,000 by January we will kick off the building project by ordering the basic plywood kits and start building in Harry and Kay’s shed in February while continuing to fundraise.
Our membership list has reached 29 which is great, but we would like more of you to join so that when we apply for community grants we can really say that we represent a significant part of the Denmark community. To tempt you there is invitation for members only to a sundowner and sausage sizzle at Harry and Kay’s shed on November 19th, join up and come along to meet Harry and Kay and the other members.
The main focus of the committee this month is on a sponsorship drive. Attached is a sponsorship form and information sheet that we are using to invite local community businesses to support us. It would be amazing if you could support this by either approaching personal contacts yourselves or introducing me or other committee members to local business people or potential individual sponsors.
Augusta Community Rowing Association set the bar high in successfully asking for $5,000 for the naming rights to their two skiffs and they managed to achieve it from the Colour Patch Cafe and an individual who named the boat after her late husband’s boat, “Zoom”. A name on a beautifulboat seen by many rowing through the centre of Denmark has got to be good value advertising.
We have shelved the plan for the pirate themed party as things seem a bit tight as we go into the Christmas period but we will be working on an event in the new year.
As part of our community participation and to create community awareness we are planning to have a float in the Denmark Christmas Pageant on Friday 17 December.
Cheers Dave
October 2021
Denmark Rowers Raffle Draw
Denmark Community Rowing Association is very pleased to announce the prize winners of its fundraising raffle that was drawn on Saturday 9th October by club supporters Harry and Kay White. The first prize, a beautiful 8ft pram dinghy donated by the Albany Maritime Foundation and built by Peter Wilson and David Cliff was won by Mark Henderson of Ocean Beach. He is very pleased with his win and is himself starting a boat building project. The second prize, a case of mixed wines, mainly donated by Willoughby Park Winery, was won by another Ocean Beach resident, Michael Cumming. The funds raised are going towards the purchase of the plywood kits to build two St Ayles Skiffs. Harry and Kay White are very generously going to lend Denmark Rowers their shed next year to build these boats in.
September 2021
Denmark Classic Boat Show
The Denmark Classic Boat Show on Sunday 26th September drew a steady stream of onlookers who watched the visiting St Ayles Skiffs from Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Perth and Augusta Yacht Club row past in the mirror like conditions on the Denmark River.
On Saturday 25th September the Augusta and Perth St Ayles Skiffs were made available to the Denmark Rowers to have a go. Many found it a very enjoyable experience and joined up to the Association. The seasoned visiting rowers raved about the ideal rowing conditions that the sheltered Denmark River with its nearly 3km of navigable water affords and the Wilson Inlet allowing longer expeditions and the chance to sail home.
A raffle to win an 8ft pram rowing dinghy and a case of wine has been running since the 18th September. The tickets ($5) have been selling well and there will still be an opportunity to buy some at the Albany Folk and Shanty Festival on Saturday 2nd October at the Museum of the Great Southern in Albany or on Saturday 9th October outside the Denmark Co-op where the raffle will be drawn at 12.30pm.
The dinghy was built by the Vice President, Peter Wilson for a course he gave for the Albany Maritime Foundation who have kindly gifted it to our cause. The wines were donated by Willoughby Park Winery.
