RFBYC St Ayles Skiff
The St Ayles Skiff group extend an invitation and welcome to every member of Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club who harbours a wish or inclination to row on the spectacular Swan River.
Two St Ayles skiffs Dotsie and Ripple were built by Club members, launched in 2016 then gifted to RFBYC. Each of the fixed seat skiffs is crewed by four sweep oar rowers plus a cox; 22’ long, beam 5’6”, weight 166 kg. The skiffs are available to member rowers, through the booking system at the Club’s On-Water Office or members are welcome to join the weekly roster for a regular row at scheduled times.
The St Ayles Skiff has its origins in Scotland where in 2009 the Scottish Fisheries Museum launched a project to re-connect its community with coastal rowing which was popular on Firth of Forth early in the 20th century.
The renowned Australian traditional boat designer Iain Oughtred was retained to design a clinker ply version of the Fair Isle Skiff that could be built by amateurs. The first was launched in 2009 and the concept proved so popular that upwards of 300 have been built in UK, America, Canada, The Netherlands and Australia by yacht clubs and rowing clubs.
The St Ayles Skiff is a very stable and proven sea boat. She takes the waves from any quarter with minimum water coming over her bows. The skiffs are built to a standard International one design kit consisting of laser cut marine ply components plus locally sourced timber for thwarts, gunnels, knees and oars.
St Ayles Skiff rowing adventures have occurred on the Swan River, Fremantle Harbour, Princess Royal Harbour, Kalgan River, Denmark River and Wilson Inlet, Frankland River and Nornalup Inlet, Blackwood River, Margaret River, Lake Dumbleyung, Murray River, Moore River and aiming for all rivers in Western Australia. Also, Dotsie trailed across the Nullabor to compete and win the inaugural Australian St Ayles Skiff Championship at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club 2016 Wooden Boat Festival. Further, an RFBYC team hired a St Ayles Skiff to participate in the 2019 [Thames] Great River Race.
On Opening Day at RFBYC the St Ayles Skiff challenge for the Parmelia Ball Trophy is a feature of the day.
Members are encouraged to join the skiff rowing group and whether historically skilled or a beginner, excellent training is available.
Two St Ayles skiffs Dotsie and Ripple were built by Club members, launched in 2016 then gifted to RFBYC. Each of the fixed seat skiffs is crewed by four sweep oar rowers plus a cox; 22’ long, beam 5’6”, weight 166 kg. The skiffs are available to member rowers, through the booking system at the Club’s On-Water Office or members are welcome to join the weekly roster for a regular row at scheduled times.
The St Ayles Skiff has its origins in Scotland where in 2009 the Scottish Fisheries Museum launched a project to re-connect its community with coastal rowing which was popular on Firth of Forth early in the 20th century.
The renowned Australian traditional boat designer Iain Oughtred was retained to design a clinker ply version of the Fair Isle Skiff that could be built by amateurs. The first was launched in 2009 and the concept proved so popular that upwards of 300 have been built in UK, America, Canada, The Netherlands and Australia by yacht clubs and rowing clubs.
The St Ayles Skiff is a very stable and proven sea boat. She takes the waves from any quarter with minimum water coming over her bows. The skiffs are built to a standard International one design kit consisting of laser cut marine ply components plus locally sourced timber for thwarts, gunnels, knees and oars.
St Ayles Skiff rowing adventures have occurred on the Swan River, Fremantle Harbour, Princess Royal Harbour, Kalgan River, Denmark River and Wilson Inlet, Frankland River and Nornalup Inlet, Blackwood River, Margaret River, Lake Dumbleyung, Murray River, Moore River and aiming for all rivers in Western Australia. Also, Dotsie trailed across the Nullabor to compete and win the inaugural Australian St Ayles Skiff Championship at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club 2016 Wooden Boat Festival. Further, an RFBYC team hired a St Ayles Skiff to participate in the 2019 [Thames] Great River Race.
On Opening Day at RFBYC the St Ayles Skiff challenge for the Parmelia Ball Trophy is a feature of the day.
Members are encouraged to join the skiff rowing group and whether historically skilled or a beginner, excellent training is available.
St Ayles Skiff Bookings
Please contact Gerry McGann or call 0438 642 738 to get involved or to make a booking to row.
St Ayles Skiff Latest News
Please contact Gerry McGann or call 0438 642 738 to get involved or to make a booking to row.
St Ayles Skiff Latest News
- Nine Years of St Ayles Skiffs - issued July 2024
- Parmelia Ball Challenge Invitation - See this page - issued August 2024
“Parmelia Ball Challenge”
Opening Day – Saturday, 19 October 2024
Invitation to Compete in the Challenger Series
The Parmelia's Ball Challenge Trophy race is held on each RFBYC Opening Day between the holder and the challenger and will take place during the Opening Day events on Saturday 19 October 2024.Invitation to Compete in the Challenger Series
The race is a rowing race using the Club's St Ayles Skiffs (SAS) with a crew of 5, a cox and 4 rowers. It’s a sprint race over a course of about 500m, starting from Karrakatta Bank heading directly back to the club and will be watched by the full Opening Day crowd. “The Win” guarantees season long bragging rights!
The current holders are the Etchells, and this year the challenger will be the winner of the Challenger Race Series “CRS”, which will take place in the weeks prior to Opening Day. Invitations to enter a team into the CRS will be sent out to all Fleet Captains, head of Divisions, and others in early September, with the aim to encourage participation from every part of our RFBYC membership. All teams entering will be seeded based on SAS experience, past participation and oversight from the current SAS Committee. Training slots will also be allocated to CRS teams from late September to assist their preparation.
The Parmelia’s Ball Challenge Trophy Race has been running since 2017 when Life Member, the late, John Walsh created The Parmelia’s Ball Challenge Trophy. HMS Parmelia was the first ship to bring civilian officials and settlers to establish the Swan River Colony in (now) Western Australia in 1829. When HMS Parmelia ran aground in Cockburn Sound, she jettisoned cannon and cannon balls to refloat. John recovered one of the cannon balls and it was made into a (very heavy) trophy – the “Parmelia’s Ball”.
Mark Endersby
St Ayles Skiffs Race Director
10 Year Anniversary video
“More than just a boat”
View the video on 10 years of Scottish coastal rowing (June 2022).
The video encapsulates the rationale behind the SAS movement and might help you understand why our SAS rowers are so fond of Dotsie and Ripple.
The video encapsulates the rationale behind the SAS movement and might help you understand why our SAS rowers are so fond of Dotsie and Ripple.
