The club was established in May 2010 as part of a community project to try and bring together people of all ages who would like to get involved with something that would not only help their fitness but more importantly as a social method of getting to know the people in your area and have a bit of fun along the way.

The initial idea behind this came from the Scottish Fisheries Museum who commissioned the first Skiff and the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project whose aim was to have communities building and rowing the boats in inter-community regattas around Scotland and further afield.

Today the rowing community has grown worldwide with skiffs now in Canada, USA, Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia. There have been Skiff World Championships held: in 2013 at Ullapool, in 2016 Strangford Lough in Ireland, in 2019 in Stranraer and in 2022 in Kortgene, the Netherlands. The craze has no signs of fading. As the sport develops we aim to continue on the success that the club has achieved not only within our own community but in the wider field of skiff racing and enlighten people to the benefits of rowing for health and social well-being.

The type of boats rowed are called ‘St Ayles Skiffs’ which are a design commissioned by the Museum from renowned boat designer Ian Oughtred and are made from a plywood kit. These reasonably priced kits can be purchased from Jordan Boats, partners in the project, with the Museum earning a royalty from each kit sold. Each skiff requires a team of four rowers and one coxswain to complete a full crew with each rower taking one oar.

If you would like to find out more about the rowing club or would like to come have a go then please visit the website at http://www.staylesrc.org.uk or watch the 10th anniversary film.