Tamar & Tavy Gig Club30/06/2008
Salcombe
A champagne toast was in order for Tamar & Tavy’s super-veteran gig rowers after a resounding win at Salcombe. The crew with over 400 years of experience in the boat and the rowers’ average age of 64 years, rowed at an incredible pace to take the mark in first place, once securely in the lead, they romped home, crossing the line with a very comfortable lead against local team Salcombe, sporting a team with average age of 70 years. The veteran category is extremely popular and competitive, however it begins at 40 years; meaning there are few opportunities for the more mature rower to race competitively. Salcombe regatta is the exception as there is a super-vet race for a beautiful wooden trophy with oars and a walking stick entwined. The supervet crew: Rod Atkinson, Jonathan Young, Paul Fletcher, Peter Clarke, Alastair Monteath, Steve Fletcher: cox and non-super vet Helen Lloyd.Some great performances by the rest of the club in the new gig Tamar were: Ladies’ B battling in the peak of the tide taking 9th place, Men’s B 7th, Men’s A 9th, Ladies’ A 8th, men’s vets 6th and Ladies’ vets taking 5th place with Tom Sargeant making an impressive debut as a race cox. It was a rigorous day, with many of the crew rowing two or three of the long races to and from the sand bar, famed in Tennyson’s poem ‘Crossing of the bar’.
A day of sunshine and spectacular scenery ended on a high with the Barbarian’s race, in which crews from all clubs present were scrambled. Tamar & Tavy club chairman Bill Stacey-Norris coxed a crew with four TnT rowers to 2nd place in local boat Bolt.