Tamar & Tavy Gig Club30/06/2008
Saltash mixed and veteran championships
Saturday the 28th June saw the Tamar and Tavy Gig Rowing Club turn out in their numbers to the Saltash Town Regatta & Waterside Festival. This is an annual jointly organised festival offering a host of events running all through the weekend.
Tamar & Tavy is currently welcoming a lot of new rowers to the club and this well organised festival offered the perfect opportunity to introduce their newcomers to the joys of gig racing! The mixed crew kicked off the days rowing with Tamar & Tavy entering a team consisting of three new and three experienced rowers (Andy & Jane Morton, Jemma Sharman were new with Tamar Howard-Pearce, Paul Sellers and Matthew Pinney representing the experienced rowers). The team gave their all and though they couldn’t rank with the fastest times they certainly made up for in shear guts and effort.
The Mixed races were followed by the ladies vets – an event that Tamar & Tavy won last year – a hard act to follow and exacerbated by with some soupy water and strong competition. They entered a team consisting of Carolyn Dawe, Carrie Lawson, Loveday Fethney, Jo Cameron, Ruth Walker and Tricia Stewart. Only two members of the crew had rowed last year and this was only Lovedays second experience of racing. The team were not able to follow last years club lead but gave a good account of themselves coming in 3rd and 2nd in the following two heats.
The Mixed Super Vets was the next event that the club entered. Again, choosing to give some new and inexperienced rowers a taste of the exhilaration of rowing in a fun environment. The team was made up of Helen MacFarlane, John Rogers. Maggie Cartwright, Martin Painter, Peter Clarke and Lesley Coupland who has only recently joined the club and rowed with all the pull she could muster!
Recognition must also go to one of the clubs longest standing members, Maggie Cartwright, a ‘super’, super vet who spent most of her, long day, taking photos and supporting all with kind words and good advice.
