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What a fantastic start to the rowing season! On Sunday 9^th March, we entered 2 ladies and 2 mens crews into the Three Rivers Race hosted by Caradon Gig Club at Saltash. The weather was stunning, which made a very welcome change after the tough conditions we faced in training, and the river was calm. Spirits were high, with 59 boats entered in the ladies race and 51 in the mens and everyone looking forward to getting out on the water. The course was a tough 10 km, requiring a lot of grit and determination. The boats started under the Tamar Bridge before heading upriver into the mouth of the Tavy, then back, past Saltash and down river into the mouth of the Lynher, before turning again and finishing just short of the bridge.

The ladies raced first, entering an A team formed of Sarah Gall, Lynn Renton, Katie Turner, Heidi Brodribb, Charity Philips and Helen Atrill and coxed by Bill Stacey-Norris. They had a great race, pitted against some very strong crews in their heat, and battling for position around the course. Some excellent coxing and a strong, hard row in the final leg gave them the edge they needed and they overtook 2 boats and held off a third to cross the finish line in 30^th position in a time of 60:07. The ladies B team, formed of Julie Rendle, Jane Morton, Debbie Farmer, Sandra Anstey, Claire Luxton and Helen Samson-Hill also had a very strong race, managing to take a few boats at the first turn, which put them in the middle of their heat. They held their position for the rest of the race, and had a strong finish, with some excellent coxing from Carolyn Dawe helping them home in 40^th place and with a time of 61:44.

After a quick change of crews, the men took to the water. Their A team, formed of Andy Morton, Pete Keegan, Mark Turner, Stuart Heale, Jake Rendle and Rob Dawe rowed very well, with a fantastic start and some great coxing from Carolyn Dawe putting them into a strong position. They managed to hold this throughout, with a tough battle as they crossed the finish line putting them in 21^st place with a time of 50:24. The men’s B team, formed of Roger High, Tim Brodribb, Dan High, Jon Overnells, Simon Luke and John Rogers and coxed by Becky Masters also had a good race. They held their position, holding off some other boats and working hard, with some determined rowing and excellent coxing helping them across the line in 58:18, 49^th place.

All in all it was a fantastic day of racing, and a strong start to the season. It was lovely to be back on the water, in great conditions, and with lots of support from club members – many thanks to all involved and to Caradon Gig Club for a brilliant day.

Saturday 7th September saw three teams from Tamar & Tavy Gig Club in their Cornish Pilot Gigs, Belinda O’Flynn, Tamar & Ginette at the annual Great London River Race. A junior team of under 14’s; a ladies super vets squad and a men’s crew, aged 17 to 75! Having trained hard over preceding months, coping with last minute injuries, drafting in of a replacement coxswain for the ladies, not to mention the logistics of just getting there, all were up, out of their tents for the 0630 start to a very long and exciting day. For over 20 miles the 319 boats entered, race from Milwall to Richmond, navigating the numerous number of bridges across the river. The weather, much improved from last year with a mixture of sun & cloud and ambient temperature, saw a strong head wind and tide providing for a demanding race.

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LONDON RIVER RACE REPORT

Saturday 7th September saw three teams from Tamar & Tavy Gig Club in their Cornish Pilot Gigs, Belinda O’Flynn, Tamar & Ginette at the annual Great London River Race. A junior team of under 14’s; a ladies super vets squad and a men’s crew, aged 17 to 75! Having trained hard over preceding months, coping with last minute injuries, drafting in of a replacement coxswain for the ladies, not to mention the logistics of just getting there, all were up, out of their tents for the 0630 start to a very long and exciting day. For over 20 miles the 319 boats entered, race from Milwall to Richmond, navigating the numerous number of bridges across the river. The weather, much improved from last year with a mixture of sun & cloud and ambient temperature, saw a strong head wind and tide providing for a demanding race.

Getting on the water was the primary challenge and the help rendered to others, by the Tamar men’s crew, made them last on the water and a 6 minute adjustment to their final time. At the start some support boats hindered the participants among them our ladies in Ginette who also had a collision with a dragon boat – that craft suffered a broken oar as a result of their actions. Despite this Ginette got a flying start but later on in the race she was undercut by a large whaler at one of the bridges and gigs they had been in front of overtook them and they never quite regained their placing. Tamar had an ongoing battle with 2 other gigs, ‘Water Witch’ and ‘Cream of Cornwall’ throughout the race. Belinda O’Flynn with our indomitable juniors, made steady progress through the myriad of boats; blisters and periods of heat proved to be their immediate rivals.

Tamar & Tavy Juniors crew

Tamar crossed the line at the 3 hour mark; Ginette was a few minutes later and the juniors came in at the 4 hour point. Notwithstanding the bumps, blisters, sore backs and tiredness, all achieved something incredible and no doubt had much to talk about in The Swan, where a well earned feed and a cleansing ale/lemonade was had. A brilliant effort by everyone involved; rowers, towers, supporters and parents.