Impressive end of year performances from rowing crews

Ladies’ and Men’s crews from the club recently headed to Newquay for the end of season championships. It is the second largest regatta of the year, beaten only by the World Championships held in the Scilly Isles in May.

With flat seas, the ladies, above right, were only briefly hampered by a slightly rocky start before the crew blasted round the three-cornered course, leaving four boats trailing in their wake to come in second in the heat, with a time of 15.01. First and second place boats in the heat automatically qualify for the next round so their second row was assured.

With the wind picking up and the tide on the turn, the club’s second race was a little slower and a lot lumpier. Getting the start absolutely spot on this time, a wild and wet race of 18.33 saw the crew left out of day two, but ranked 39th out of 96 clubs. The Bridport men’s crew, above left, headed to Newquay a couple of weeks later for the men’s rowing championships. Their intense training and sheer determination paid off. They faced a difficult first heat drawn against five very strong clubs. After a poor start the experienced squad kept their heads and fought back from sixth to fourth place in their first round race in an impressive 14.33 minutes.

This secured a place in round two and an opportunity to race against some of the region’s most successful teams. In what turned out to be their race of the season, Bridport’s second heat started cleanly.

Experienced race coxing brought the squad alongside and then past three other boats to secure third position in the race and a very impressive 29th place out of 94 clubs overall.

The squad knew they had set a benchmark for next season’s racing.

The club is also always on the lookout for new members. Those interested in joining should email info@bridportgigclub.org General rowing and squad training continues through the winter in preparation for the new race season in early spring.