Blog: Tidal energy helps power 90 mile charity row around Orkney

On the 24th June 2016, two of EMEC‘s employees, Danielle Moodie and John Skuse, took part in a charity row around mainland Orkney. Danielle discusses the experience below:

Danielle Moodie with EMEC-sponsored oar

As an islander I have always been drawn to the sea. I find it relaxing and comforting to watch so it’s little wonder that when I tried coastal rowing – after moving back to Orkney to work at EMEC – I was hooked.

Almost two years after that first jaunt around Kirkwall Bay, I have just participated in Orkney Rowing Club’s first charity challenge: to row continuously around the Orkney Mainland in under 24 hours.

Having never made it far from Kirkwall Bay, my fellow crew members and I climbed down from the safety boat just off the coast at Yesnaby. We’d watched an earlier crew row through thick fog from Tingwall and past Costa Head, where puffins flew past against the eerie but spectacular backdrop of caves and sea stacks.

The fog lifted as we got underway, set for a hard two-hour stint worthy of the blisters we’d endured in training. After some time, there was speculation as to our exact location. The marker buoy to my left revealed that we were passing the Billia Croo wave test site. “This is supposed to be my day off,” I joked as I realised that I was even using the oar that EMEC had sponsored a year earlier. I could hear colleagues among the supporters shouting what I assume were words of encouragement from the shore.

The sun was setting behind us as we rowed through Hoy Sound, past our intended changeover point. It has to be said, the Orkney coastline is an impressive reward for the hard work. When we changed crew the club was two hours ahead of schedule. Naturally, we tried to take credit; we recorded a maximum speed of 12 knots and covered 18km after all.

Admittedly, 12 knots is twice our normal sprint speed. So that brings me back to the draw of the sea: its power. It was no coincidence that we were rowing with the tide to harness that power. Even still, those speeds left me in awe.

For EMEC’s Maintenance Engineer and Permit Administrator, John Skuse, awe might not have been the right word, for he had a much tougher leg ahead and knew that the sea might not be so kind.

Some reorganisation was needed to account for changes to the schedule, but we couldn’t reorganise the tide and we were now early for a notoriously tricky bit of water around the South. At around 4am, our Shetland yole headed into the Louther and round the east coast with a strong but weary crew. The conditions were much less favourable and the rowers were reminded what anyone working on the sea knows only too well.

By all accounts it was tough. With determination and support from two safety boats, they made it round without losing much time. The encouragement from the community was felt throughout and no less when a crowd gathered at Kirkwall Bay to welcome the weary rowers as they arrived at 11:30am – 90 miles and 21 hours later.

The effort was well worth it and with donations still coming in it looks as though we will have raised over £3000 for Cardiac Risk in the Young, RNLI, Age Concern and Clan. You can still contribute through our event page and if you’d like to hear more about the challenge, the club or our charities have a look at Orkney Rowing Club Facebook page.

Orkney Rowing Club passing EMEC test site, Billia Croo