Clinker skiff boats were once the most numerous type of working boats found along the eastern seaboard of Ireland. They were recorded in 1874 by historian E.W. Holdsworth. He noted that ‘the smaller boats employed for line-fishery are the same style as the Norway yawl, sharp at both ends’.

Skiff racing, with a team of four oarsmen and one coxswain, has its origin in the occupation of ‘Hobbling’. Hobblers were freelance boat pilots, and competition was strong to be the first to board the approaching ships.
Not only did the successful hobblers receive payment to pilot the ships into port, but they also were awarded the lucrative contract for discharging/ loading those ships while in port.

The skiffs worked mainly between Lambey Island just north of Dublin Bay and Wicklow Head, where they required considerable skill on behalf of the oarsmen.

The long tradition of rowing is now carried on through the rowing clubs of the east coast. These clubs can be found around the old Dublin pilot stations of Ringsend and East Wall in Dublin Port, Dun Laoighre, Dalkey, Bray, Greystones, Wicklow and Arklow.

Organised by the East Coast Rowing Council each year, a summer schedule of regattas is held from Ringsend to Arklow. The skiffs also take part in the Celtic Challange, which is a bi-annual race over 90 miles from Arklow to Aberystwyth in Wales, and other long-distance races.

The traditional design is retained in the racing boats. Present-day racing skiffs are twenty-five feet long, clinker built and double-ended. The east coast skiffs are part of the wide sport of coastal rowing and are affiliated to The Irish Coastal Rowing Federation.

More than eighty clubs are affiliated to the ICRF, mainly based in Cork, Kerry, Antrim, Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford. Each area races its own traditional boat, and they come together annually for the Irish Coastal Rowing Championships, where they now use an agreed single design boat. Coastal rowing helps communities all around Ireland to maintain links with their maritime heritage.

Above: The recently-launched Stella Maris IV in Ringsend. From left: Mick Curry (cox); Daniel Byrne (1st stroke); Sam Barnable (2nd stroke); Paul Mooney (2nd bow) and Shane Cleary (bow).