Lyme Regis: Gig rowing regatta sets sail (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Lyme Regis: Gig rowing regatta sets sail

11:00am Thursday 2nd August 2012 in Lyme Regis

ROWERS will battle it out on Sunday when The Cobb becomes the stadium to see 15 Cornish Pilot gig clubs sprint racing at Lyme Regis Gig Club’s rowing regatta.

The world champions from Falmouth will be among the teams competing, alongside Sidmouth, Torridge, Clevedon, Bristol, Ilfracombe, Appledore, Teignmouth, Barnstaple, Swanage, Portland , Cotehele, Weymouth, Bridport and Lyme Regis.

The races, which include ladies, men’s, mixed 16 and under, veterans, and barbarians, are part of Lyme Regis Regatta and Carnival and start at 11.30am. The racing from The Victoria Pool, behind the harbour Aquarium, will be fast, demanding and exhausting as teams are pushed to the limit over a straight line 1,200 metre course to the east running parallel with the Cobb Wall and Monmouth Beach.

The Cornish Gigs are 32ft sea rowing boats, built of elm and oak and used to land pilots out on the square riggers before they entered port in the 19th century and as lifeboats and for smuggling.

Each gig has six oarsmen and a cox and participants say these sea boats are exhilarating to row for fun, to keep fit and in competitions, which are held among the 62 clubs in what is the South West’s fastest growing sport.

All proceeds are going toward the build and fitting out of Lyme’s new wooden Gig ‘Tempest’, which will be launched at The Cobb on September 29.