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Volunteer lifesavers show off their skills





The Thurso lifeboat, The Taylors, arrives at John O’Groats harbour.
The Thurso lifeboat, The Taylors, arrives at John O’Groats harbour.

THE harbour day at John O’Groats on Sunday has been hailed as a great success.

Local man Keith Muir compered the annual celebration which raises money for Pentland Rifle Club and John O’Groats FC.

Committee member Walter Mowat said: "The day went very well. The forecast was very poor and I thought it was going to rain but there was only a wee shower early on and then it didn’t rain until five or six o’clock. We had sunshine all the way."

The RNLI crews from Wick, Thurso and Longhope went along and a helicopter rescue demonstration from the coastguard service was staged.

Mr Mowat said everyone had been in awe at the tremendous displays and exercises on show.

"There were quite a lot of people there and lots of kids around. I would say there was at least 1000 people.

"What I didn’t know at the time was the Natural Explorer boat was doing small trips for people during the day out towards Stroma and back. They must have gone out for five or six trips in the afternoon."

Mr Mowat said a couple of Stroma yawls turned up from Keiss. They were on their way to the annual Stroma open golf championships which always attract a lot of people to the area.

He said: "It’s a type of yawl that’s almost disappeared and with nobody living on Stroma any more there’s no-one making them. It was quite nice to see them coming in and a real treat."

Mr Mowat added there had been a lot of tourists who enjoyed Thurso Pipe Band and the Highland dancers in particular.

People were also delighted to see Wick Coastal Rowing Club’s skiff Spirit O’ Wick which was making its first Caithness outing.

Locals and visitors had the opportunity to view the boat at close quarters while proud club members explained how the craft was built from a flat-pack kit, and how local craftsmen helped lead a 10-strong team of volunteers fabricate what has been acknowledged as one of the best finished skiffs in the Scottish fleet of over 50 similar craft.

The skill shown in bending and joining the larch gunwales was particularly admired, and the paintwork and varnished timbers drew many compliments.

Later in the day, the skiff was launched and crews rowed out into the Pentland Firth to show just how seaworthy this design of craft, known as a St Ayles Skiff, is. Based on a traditional design developed over the generations in Fair Isle for fishing boats, St Ayles skiffs have now become a regular sight around the Scottish coastline, with nearly 30 coastal rowing clubs springing up since the sport was reintroduced in 2010.

The Wick group has already purchased two more kits and the construction of its second skiff is under way.

Chairman Stuart Tait said: "It was so encouraging to see the interest in our club and skiff at John O’Groats and we were impressed with the interest from a wide cross-section of the Caithness community in finding out how we established the club and built the skiff.

"I would not be surprised if other clubs are set up in Caithness harbours and communities over the coming months to purchase kits and build their own skiffs. It is an ideal way to turn the dark winter nights into a challenging and enjoyable pastime. It would be so exciting to be able to organise skiff races between village teams at harbours all over the north in years to come."

The Spirit O’ Wick can now be seen berthed at the Wick marina, from where she is regularly taken out on rowing practice by club members. Anyone interested in joining the club, or wishing to try their hand at rowing is welcome to go along whenever the craft is being used."

* Don't miss this week's Caithness Courier (August 14) for more fantastic photos of the harbour day.


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