About Us — Wallasey Coastal Rowing Club

How It Started

One Random Text. Twenty Years in the Making.

The idea has been floating around for nearly three years. Two people who love coastal rowing and who knew there was nowhere to row in the North West. A few conversations were had, but then life got in the way — as it tends to.

Then, one random text last Christmas was all it took. Frazer and Pete — who has been coastal rowing for nearly 20 years — decided that this time, we were actually going to make it happen.

Wallasey Coastal Rowing Club was born. Not from a committee or a grant application, but from a genuine love of the water and the sport and a determination to bring it to the Wirral coast.

Pete racing at the Round Canvey Island Race 2011

Pete, in stroke at the Round Canvey Island Race, 2011. Nearly 20 years of coastal rowing.

The People Behind It

The Co-Founders

Wallasey CRC was founded by two people who share a simple belief — that the North West coast deserves a proper coastal rowing club, and that anyone who wants to get on the water should be able to.

Peter Johnson

Co-Founder

Pete has been coastal rowing for nearly 20 years, competing in races across the country and overseas. After moving back north a few years ago, he found no coastal rowing club in the North West. In partnership with Frazer, the only answer was to build one! Pete found the first boat, and now wants to build the foundations of a club he hopes will still be going strong in decades to come.

Frazer Gillespie

Co-Founder

Frazer, a Wallasey local, shares Pete's passion for coastal rowing and the belief that the Wirral coastline is the perfect home for a club. His connections at Wallasey Beach Club helped make the partnership possible, and one text message at Christmas was all it took to finally get the ball rolling.

Wallasey Beach Club

Founding Partner & Home Base

Wallasey Beach CIC provides the home from which Wallasey CRC operates. All WCRC members are also members of Wallasey Beach Club, giving access to the clubhouse and facilities at one of the most distinctive locations on the North West coast. Without their support, none of this would be possible.

Visit Wallasey Beach Club →

Where We're Headed

Big Ambitions. Open Doors.

We're starting small — one boat, one stretch of the Mersey, one big idea. But the vision for what Wallasey CRC can become is anything but small.

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Ultra Inclusive

We want paddlers on the beach, competitive racers on the water, and everyone in between. Coastal rowing is for everyone and we intend to prove it. No experience needed — just a willingness to get on the water.

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A Fleet of Boats

Our first boat — a Pembrokeshire Longboat, the forerunner to the Celtic Longboat — arrives in April 2025. We also have a coastal sliding seat pair already. The ambition is to grow the fleet to include Cornish Pilot Gigs and more, giving members a range of rowing experiences.

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Racing & Adventure

From club rows on the Mersey Estuary to open coastal races, we want to offer members the full range of what the sport has to offer. We already have our eye on the Hilbre Island coastal race as a first club event.

Where We Row

Wallasey Beach, Merseyside

We're based at Wallasey Beach Club on the Wirral coast — launching from the beach with the Liverpool skyline to the right os us, the Welsh coast to the left, and Lthe Irish Sea beyond. It's a dramatic setting for a rowing club, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

All WCRC members are also members of Wallasey Beach Club, giving access to the clubhouse, facilities and other watersports/beachsports activities at one of the most distinctive locations on the North West coast.

Our first session on the water is planned for the May Day bank holiday 2025. If you want to be part of it from day one, register your interest now.

About Wallasey CRC

One Random Text. Twenty Years in the Making.

The Co-Founders

Big Ambitions. Open Doors.

Wallasey Beach, Merseyside