The inaugural Wormit 2 Bridges Row (Sun 26th Apr 2026)
Why do you never see a baby pigeon? What precisely was it that Meatloaf wouldn’t do for love? Why is there only one Monopolies Commission? Do the French have a word for ‘reconnaissance’? And why do you need a pair of scissors to get at your new vacuum-packed scissors? These and other pressing conundrums are running through Stuart’s head as he tentatively pulls open the curtains and anxiously scans an expanse of steel-grey river under a lowering sky. After a succession of bright and breezy spring days, early-morning Sunday 26 April 26 seems set on being anything but; not ideal for the launch of a brand-new skiffing event. Will the inaugural 2 Bridges Row prove to be twice as good as a single Bridge over Troubled Waters, or will it be, er, a Bridge Too Far? Still, at least it isn’t actually raining or blowing a gale, thinks Stuart, as he turns his attention to some last-minute tweaks to the day’s impressively comprehensive briefing note.
Notwithstanding the hour and chill breeze, down at Woodhaven the club is already alive with activity as, under the watchful eye of Jan, members of the galley crew arrive with what looks like a week’s worth of baking and enough soup to fill the sauna plunge pool at a hippos-only spa. Meanwhile, the traffic management team, hard to miss in hi-viz vests and brandishing official-looking clipboards, work on honing their interpersonal skills as flags are hoist, chairs arranged, gazebos wrestled into submission and safety boats’ outboards fired up. Soon the first of the visitors and their skiffs begin to arrive and are expertly marshalled into position; the traffic team has worked out that all the trailers will fit onsite, but only if everyone does exactly what they are told.
And so, with the stage thus set, a cheerful and chatty throng of skiffies from across the land – from Portobello’s Row Porty and Eastern to skiffs from Newhaven, Troon, Perth, Montrose, Broughty Ferry, St Andrews, North Queensferry, Dundee, Anstruther, Kinghorn, Dunbar, Elie and Queensferry – are soon gathered expectantly for a rowing event with a difference. The 2 Bridges Row, building on the successful Perth to Wormit Row and with Woodhaven the focus for the day, offers an opportunity to row the Tay from the sleek and sturdy road bridge, sixty years young, to the venerable and iconic high girders of the rail bridge, opened in 1887 and still the longest railway bridge in Britain.
With WBC delighted that so many – perhaps 150 or more? – seem keen to take up the opportunity, crews are briefed and skiffs are expertly launched by the slipway team, also resplendent in hi-viz (any more hi-viz, plus throw in a few hard hats, and it would start to look like a convention of election-hungry politicians). Seventeen skiffs are poised to begin their progress downriver, and with safety boats Vigilant and Patrol noisily fussing about, beachmaster Alexandra (yup, she’s also wearing a hi-viz vest) checks her watch and at 1030 on the dot presses the transmit button on her VHF handheld and instructs the waiting craft to Give Way Together. With that, the colourful flotilla, flags, pennants and bunting aflutter, begins its passage, Skiff Catalina in the lead, towards the road bridge and the first turning point marked by the West Deep buoy off Dundee Port.
Soon the field opens up as skiffs pause to enjoy the scenery and take photos. Seals are spotted on increasingly glassy water, and the first boats arrive in the shadow of the prow-like profile of Dundee’s famed V&A, attracting the interest of Sunday promenaders strolling along the riverside. Ralph and Stuart, miraculously whisked from Woodhaven to Dundee by means unknown, though possibly in Ralph’s Land Rover, direct crew-change operations at the short slipway chosen for the task. It isn’t so much the slipway itself that makes this an exacting, if novel, activity, as the reluctance of waiting crew members to finish their ice creams and lattes. However, refreshments finally consumed, all are shortly and safely on their way.
As Vigilant and Patrol provide a reassuring presence for those skiffs in unfamiliar waters, the day proceeds with skiffs either returning to Woodhaven for crew changes or electing to complete the full 10 kilometre course, rowing up the north side of the river and under the rail bridge, scanning the shore for the treeline which marks the point at which they turn south to track, parallel with the bridge, back across the Tay. By noon, following a few tantalising flashes of sunlight illuminating the rooftops of Dundee, the sun decides to put in a more sustained appearance, setting the scene for an increasingly idyllic afternoon both on the water and ashore. Here, notes are compared, skiffs are admired, friendships made and renewed, and the galley crew are kept busy with a steady stream of thirsty, hungry and appreciative skiffies making the most of the delicious fare on offer. Generous skiffies too; while the final tally has yet to be announced, thanks to donations and the popular tombola, plus Gail’s official souvenir t-shirts, it looks as though that shiny new skiff launching trolley (well hopefully heavily galvanised anyway) will soon be added to the WBC inventory.
The afternoon slowly winds down and the final few skiffs return from their gentle jaunt up to Wormit Bay, trailers are hitched up and farewells exchanged. Everybody seems to agree that it has been a thoroughly splendid day, combining all the elements that help to ensure that skiffing remains the very special community that it is; welcoming and friendly, challenging and fun, and with, of course, the icing on the cake of, well, cake.
Sincerest thanks are owed by all who took part in the 2 Bridges Row to everybody that contributed their time, skills, energy and enthusiasm afloat and onshore. A heartiest Well Done to them; roll on 2BR27!
Dai John
Photo credits: Donald Coutts and other WBC members
