Time Travelling Crew
Cluaran took part in Nithraid 2023 with a collection of people who re-imagined their connection with the river Nith through rowing on it and creating stories. One participant commented that whilst on the bridge stuck in traffic on the way to work she was now able to remember the day and transform he frustration into happy memories.
“With a boat, a river becomes a road.“
- We explored the heritage of the clinker boat building tradition with the Cluaran boat.
- We re-imagined the many ways in which the river Nith has shaped the lives of those living on her.
- Recruited a crew who learned to row as a team and tell stories that encouraged others to ask questions and think.
On the Day of Nithraid collected a crew from throughout time. Our ship held a Novantae princess, Vikings fresh of the boat and looking for adventure, a border Reiver and even a visitor from a possible future. They were all connected by a love of the river Nith.
On the day we pitched a medieval pavilion to use as our shore base. We rowed round the island and landed on in (our water world visitor from the future was particularly happy to find dry land!).
The crew had many chats with the public, young and old, and we contributed to the event plan by towing/reiving the salty coo downstream accompanied by the sound of bagpipes.
To prepare for this we held four boat evenings with on the water training and several maintenance sessions at the workshop. Here is a video by David Slater (DRS Video Clips) of one of the early on the water sessions.
Launching and recovery on the 13th of July 2023
We used an online form to help people re-imagine their connection to the Nith as a story.
These blog posts tell the story
Nithraid is a race. Come and view the finish line from Millgreen. Want to know more? it is organised by the Stove Network and you can find them online here:
