Monster row breaks Loch Ness record after 26 years
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A NEW record for rowing the length of Loch Ness has been set this afternoon by a 13-man crew led by Scottish maritime adventurer Jock Wishart.
They broke the existing record set 26 years ago in a new time of two hours 26 minutes and 57.04 seconds. It beat the old time by 72 seconds.
The team set out from Dores Inn at the north-eastern end of the loch shortly after 2pm in calm and still conditions. Part way down the course, the boat began to benefit from a slight tailwind and an hour into the route were exactly on course for a new record.
The boat, a Trainera, is unique to the Basque region of Spain and is designed to cut through the coastal waters of the Bay of Biscay. It is a fibreglass copy of the old fishing boats which evolved into a lightweight carbon fibre rowing machine.
Mr Wishart said: “I am absolutely delighted to have broken this record which stood for such a long time.
"The crew were terrific. They used their power and stamina to achieve this and I suspect their new record could stand for some time.
"This is a truly monster row at almost 21 miles and we had hoped for a bit more assistance from a tailwind but that eluded us for a large part of the row. It was welcome when it finally appeared around halfway down the loch.
“You just never know what the weather is going to do here on Loch Ness and today it was fairly kind to us, even though the temperature was higher than expected.”
Mr Wishart’s crew beat the original record set by two Scots. Former world lightweight sculling champion Peter Haining and his partner George Parsonage set the record in April 1993. In recent years several crews have attempted to break it without success.
Speaking near the finishing line at the canal lock gates at Fort Augustus, Mr Wishart said: "This was very, very tough and it is a relief to finish, but rowing challenges like this bring our love of the sport alive.”
A support boat tracked the crew all the way and timekeepers and scrutineers were on hand to verify the record for the Guinness Book of Records.
