Tamar and Tavy Gig Club enjoyed a very successful day on the river on Saturday 9th 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 7th 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 12th place, but with the 5th 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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