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On 11^th July, Tamar & Tavy Gig Club travelled to Daymer Bay for a regatta hosted by Rock Pilot Gig Rowing Club. It was a brilliant sunny, windy day in the gorgeous setting of the Camel estuary. Tamar & Tavy entered Ladies A, B and vets crews and Men’s A and B crews into the racing, rowing against a mix of other clubs with between 14 and 20 boats in each race. The racing conditions were hard with boats battling tide and wind around the course, but all crews rowed strongly and enjoyed taking on the elements. The ladies vets rowed really hard, taking two boats at the first bouy and finishing a creditable 14^th. The ladies and men’s B teams both had hard races, battling tide and wind around the course and other boats to the line, both finishing in 13^th place. The ladies and men’s A teams were also very strong, with the ladies fighting for water around a couple of buoy turns and the men rowing strongly throughout, both finishing in the middle of the pack. All in all it was a brilliant day of racing and spirits were high. Many thanks to Rock for such a fun and well organised regatta, to Simon Howes for towing the gig and to all rowers and supporters for another great day out.

Photo credit: Katie Turner and Matthew Pinney

3 Rivers

On Saturday 14th March, Tamar & Tavy Gig Club entered two ladies and two men’s teams into the Three Rivers Race hosted by Caradon Gig Club. The race was an hour long endurance race with a course that began under the Tamar Bridge. Crews then rowed up river into the mouth of the Tavy, back down to the mouth of the Lynher, and finished back under the bridge. The crews all rowed well, and it was brilliant to be back on the water. The ladies went first, with an A and a B team, the A crew, Julie Rendle, Claire Luxton, Katie Turner, Sarah Gall, Debbie Farmer and Mel Cotton were coxed by Ian King, and the B team, Jennie Smith, Helen Samson-Hill, Charity Philips, Susan Douglass, Amy Dubrovich and Denise Nixon, were coxed by Lynn Renton. Both boats had a great race, enjoying relatively good conditions, despite the cold wind. They both had some tussles with other boats, but both overtook boats, with the A team taking 3 in the run up to the line. The A team finished in 42nd place, and the B team in 55th out of 63 boats.
The men raced second, with the A team, Simon Luke, Kevin Cole, Chris Morton, Jake Rendle, Mark Turner and Roger Hine, coxed by Bill Stacey-Norris, and the B team, Ian King, John Overnels, John Rogers, Pete Keegan, Martin Painter and Peter Clarke, coxed by Chris Dill. Both teams had a great row, with the A team holding their own and passing boats to finish 30th out of the 67 boats competing, and the B team having a great race and finishing in 66th place.

A great day was had by all, with welcome sunshine for the first full club outing of the season. This race is traditionally seen as the start to the gig season, with teams now all looking forward to the world championships on the Isles of Scilly on the May Day weekend.

Tamar and Tavy Gig Club enjoyed a very successful day on the river on Saturday 9^th August competing in the Tamar Challenge hosted by Cotehele Quay Gig Club. They entered three boats of mixed ages; two ladies and one men’s crew into the 9 mile (one hour) endurance race which started in Saltash and ended at Cotehele Quay. The race was handicapped with  

Conditions on the river were mixed, with a strong wind making the going very tough on some sections, but providing a welcome tail wind on others. The race was handicapped, with the slowest boats starting first and everyone else trying to overtake them before the finis, and prizes awarded for first past the post and fastest time. Both Ladies crews were in the first group to start, with crews from Rame and Rock. The boats had a tussle up to the first corner, but Tamar & Tavy Ladies A: Claire Luxton, Sandra Anstey, Katie Turner, Lynn Renton, Sarah Gall and Julie Rendle, managed to pull into the lead as they approached Cargreen. Some great coxing from Mark Turner and some strong rowing saw them holding off Rock as they past Weir Quay and they then managed to maintain their lead all the way up to the finish line! Unbelievable!  

The B crew, coxed by Becky Masters with Karen Auborn, Nicky Evans, Carolyn Dawe, Helen Samson-Hill, Jennie Smith and Beth Gay also had a fantastic race. They fought for position and rowed very strongly, finishing in 7^th place out of the 13 crews competing and holding their own amongst the competition. The men’s crew: Rob Dawe, Simon Luke, Jake Rendle, Ian King, Peter Clarke and John Rogers were coxed by Chris Dill. They started 11 minutes after the first boats, which meant that they had their work cut out as they fought their way past other crews on their way up the river. They proved their worth though, finishing in 12^th place, but with the 5^th fastest time of the day. Brilliant!

The official results are:

Ladies A 1st (1 hour 6 minutes 44 seconds, 8th)

Ladies B 7th (1 hour 12 minutes, 4 seconds, 12th)

Men 12th (1 hour, 3 minutes, 22 seconds, 5th)

For the full results please click here – Tamar Challenge Results 2014

Huge congratulations go to all teams competing, and especially to the Ladies A, some fantastic results, proving that the hard work and dedication in training really does pay off. Huge thanks also to all the supporters and to the crew who rowed Belinda back to Weir Quay after the racing. Thanks in particular to Mike Vosper who provided safety boat cover and saved us from having to row the race length twice by towing Tamar to Saltash and back from Cotehele, and then coming back to tow Belinda the final stretch of the river. You certainly providing some very welcome relief after a hard day at the oars!

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The club had a brilliant day in Salcombe on Sunday 29^th June at the Salcombe Estuary Rowing Club regatta. We entered Ladies and Men’s A, B and Supervet teams and two mixed U16 teams. The setting was stunning, and rowing in another beautiful estuary was a lovely treat. The races were challenging, with twelve gigs competing on the mile long course and fighting for water around the numerous very tight buoy turns.

The ladies A were first up, battling their way round, and finishing in 10^th place, the Men’s A followed next, finishing in 7^th, the ladies B in 9^th and the Men’s B in 10^th place. The two supervets crews also had a strong row, with the ladies finishing in 4^th in their race, and the men narrowly beaten.

The real highlight of the day, however, was watching our two fantastic U16 teams. They had a tough row, with the A team, Molly Friendship, Will Gardner, Cameron Mckie, Ben Luke, Ethan Lamerton and Fen Eastaugh suffering a clash with another boat on one of the buoy turns, but some fantastic coxing from Becky Masters saw them pull away in the home straight and take some boats, earning them a well deserved 1^st place! Fantastic! The B team also had a brilliant row, with the crew Martha Walke, Amy Crocker, Anya Anstey, Katie Crocker, Elliott Overnell and Mia Anstey, and coxed by Tricia Stewart rowing their hearts out and proving their strength. It was a brilliant start to their season. Many congratulations to all of them.

Thanks to everyone who came to support the teams, to the rest of the club, to the rowers and coxes, and to Salcombe for hosting such a great day. 

(Details below to be confirmed)

Ladies A crew: Sarah Gall, Meg Keegan, Katie Turner, Claire Luxton, Helen Atrill, Lynn Renton, Cox: Mark Turner

Ladies B crew: Helen Lloyd, Julie Eastaugh, Julie Rendle, Jennie Smith, Mel Cotton, Debbie Farmer, Cox:

Ladies supervets: Julie Rendle, Sandra Anstey, Debbie Farmer, Lynn Renton, Mel Cotton, Tricia Stewart, Cox:

Men’s A crew: Simon Luke, John Overnell, Jake Rendle, Mark Turner, Pete Keegan, Andy Morton, Cox: Becky Masters

Men’s B crew: Matt Pinney, Roger Hine, Kevin Cole, Tim Brodribb, Ian King, John Rogers, Cox: Becky Masters

Men’s supervets: Mike Blong, Peter Clarke, John Rogers, David Auborn, Ian King, Martin Painter, Cox: Becky Masters

Junior U16 A crew: Molly Friendship, Will Gardner, Cameron Mckie, Ben Luke, Ethan Lamerton, Fen Eastaugh, Cox: Becky Masters

Juniors U16 B crew: Martha Walke, Amy Crocker, Anya Anstey, Katie Crocker, Elliott Overnell, Mia Anstey, Cox: Tricia Stewart

Tamar & Tavy Gig Club celebrate best ever world championships

Tamar & Tavy Gig Club had a fantastic weekend of racing at the World Pilot Gig Championships on the Isles of Scilly from the 2^nd – 4^th May. They took Ladies and Men’s A and B teams, and their boats Ginette and Tamar were two of 147 gigs taking part. The teams had worked hard all winter to prepare, often battling challenging conditions on the Tamar, but they were rewarded by idyllic conditions to race in, with calm seas and clear blue skies. Rowing captain Lynn Renton commented that the ‘great weather, great results and great people all combined to make it a fantastic experience’.

The Men’s A team rowed superbly, with some brilliant coxing resulting in them reaching group D (the 4^th of 12 groups) in the seeding race; within the top 50 crews. They then held their position for the 2 heats that followed, and had a blistering row in the final with some fierce competition, finishing in 7^th place in their heat and 42^nd overall. An amazing achievement and a massive 33 places higher than they finished in 2013, proving they are a force to be reckoned with. The B team also had a strong championships, beginning in a low group, but winning that in the first heat by a good few boat lengths – fantastic! They went on to finish in group K in 127^th place; a great achievement.

The Ladies A team similarly proved their worth, battling some tough conditions in the seeding race, which landed them in group H, below where they were hoping to be. This gave them renewed determination and they had an amazing couple of heats, winning both by at least a boat length which put them into group F for the final. They pulled it out of the bag, rowing their hearts out, to finish 2^nd in the group, and 62^nd overall, 8 places higher than ever before; fantastic! The Ladies B had a superb row in the seeding race, finishing in group I. They then held their position, competing strongly within their group with 2 strong heats, and a brilliant final finishing 104^th overall.

Club chair Simon Howes said ‘This year’s expedition to the World Championships in Scilly was our best ever – best training, best organisation, best publicity, best teamwork, best weather and BEST RESULTS.  It takes an enormous amount of effort to project two boats and four teams to the islands and it is a whole club enterprise.  Oar painters, coaches, boat tow drivers and all the others who have had a part in the club’s success should be proud of our results.  We can of course do even better next year and with this level of commitment I am confident we shall.’

Huge congratulations to all the rowers, to their coxes, and in particular to Pete Keegan, Jake Rendle and Claire Luxton, for whom it was their first world championships. They did the club proud. Thanks also to Jean-Pierre Le Tissier from Cotehele Quay Gig Club who rowed for our men’s B team, and to all the supporters and club members who have trained and rowed throughout the winter and supported the team’s preparations. It truly was a great club event and a brilliant start to the 2014 season.

Cornish Pilot Gig Association fixtures for 2014 as they currently stand. Please be aware that this is a draft so will be subject to change.

Download the CPGA Fixtures 2014 here

On Saturday 21^st September, Tamar & Tavy Gig Club held their annual regatta at Weir Quay. It was a fantastic day of rowing, and was well supported by local clubs, with teams entering from Cotehele, Cattewater and Rame. Tamar & Tavy laid on a bbq, cake stall, tombola and raffle which kept the teams and their many supporters fed and watered throughout the day.  The event proved also to be well supported by local residents, and it was fantastic to have such a crowd to cheer the crews on, both from the shore and out on boats which added to the racing atmosphere.

The racing began with the epic Brunel Trophy, a handicapped race where the teams rowed down to the Brunel Bridge and back. This was a hard 6 mile race, coinciding with slack water and some strong winds which made it a battle for the crews competing. Cattewater came through victorious in the end with Tamar & Tavy finishing in fourth after being overtaken by Cotehele men in the final stretch! The shorter sprint races followed this, which proved hard races for all competing, especially those who had already rowed in the Brunel race! The course went down towards the Tavy and round a buoy, which, thanks to the tide being one of the biggest of the year, made for some tricky bouy turns! Some strong rowing led to wins for Cattewater in the Mens, Tamar & Tavy in the Ladies and Rame in the Super-vets. The day ended with Barbarians races where the junior rowers were also able to join in the fun. Rowers from all the clubs entered, making for some fantastic scenes as the teams pulled together for a final row. All in all a brilliant day was had by all, and Tamar & Tavy would like to thank all the clubs that competed and all the spectators for their support and encouragement.

Tamar & Tavy Gig Club enjoyed a fantastic day of rowing at the Tamar Challenge on Sunday 18^th July, entering a Ladies and a Men’s crew to race the 9 miles up the Tamar from the Tamar Bridge to Cotehele Quay. The challenge was hosted by Cotehele Quay Gig Club, and was very well organised and a great day out. Weather conditions were perfect, which was a welcome relief for the crews who enjoyed the calm waters and sunny weather.

The race handicaps meant that the T&T Ladies crew were the first to leave the start line amidst cheers from the waiting crews and spectators. The crew, formed of Lyn Renton, Carolyn Dawe, Katie Turner, Mel Cotton, Helen Samson-Hill and Julie Eastaugh had a storming first leg up to Weir Quay where they were finally overtaken by Rock Ladies vets who went on to win. They maintained their speed and with some strong rowing and fantastic coxing from Tricia Stewart held second place all the way up the river, only to be taken by Falmouth Men’s B and Caradon Men on the 2^nd to last bend. This was a fantastic result for our Ladies who came 4^th out of the 12 crews with a time of 1 hour 14 minutes.

T&T Ladies Tamar Challenge crew: Helen Samson-Hill, Carolyn Dawe, Mel Cotton, Katie Turner, Tricia Stewart (cox), Lyn Renton and Julie Eastaugh

The T&T Men’s crew, formed of Martin Painter, James Roobottom, Rob Dawe, Dan Highscapes, Ian King, and John Rogers also had a great race. They enjoyed the good conditions, and some excellent rowing and great coxing from Chris Dill meant that they came home in 1hr 10mins. All rowed hard, and enjoyed the race. Supporter numbers were high which added to the atmosphere and gave the crews a much needed boost as they came into the final stages of the race. Many thanks go to Cotehele Quay Gig Club for organising a fantastic event and providing such a good day out.