On Saturday 15th March, we entered a ladies crew into the Mini Scillies regatta hosted by Helford River Gig Club. A second weekend of sunshine made for a beautiful day of racing, with the crew competing in two races. The rowers were Julie Rendle, Lynn Renton, Katie Turner, Helen Atrill, Claire Luxton and Nicky Evans, and they were coxed by Simon Howes. Some of the top crews were racing which made for a challenging competition, but our ladies had a great couple of races, rowing strongly and showing their determination. They battled a strong head wind on the second race, but some great coxing from Simon helped them to stay strong, powering past the Brixham crew and taking a few boats on the line to finish in 12th place out of 23 boats – a fantastic result. Thanks go especially to Nicky Evans who was rowing with jet lag!
This was a warm up for the World Pilot Gig Championships which are held on the Isles of Scilly every May, providing a great opportunity for us to get out on the water for some sprint racing, and with competition of a very high standard, the club are now looking forward to a fantastic championships. Crews are in the final stages of training, working hard and more determined than ever to succeed.