LYME Gig Club hosted their home rowing regatta with clubs from throughout Devon, Dorset and beyond taking part.

The final result saw Lyme Regis win the overall trophy for the first time since the club formed nine years ago.

The day started with the ladies supervets’ race. There was close competition up front with Lyme settling early on and keeping their composure to finish in fourth. The men’s supervets battled hard around the turns, and gradually moved ahead of a strong field to give Lyme their first win of the day.

Next up was the junior race, where under-14s and under-16s competed alongside each other. In all 11 crews raced, with the two under-14 crews from Lyme coming in fourth (second in the under-14s) and seventh, which is a great result for the crews and their coaches Kerry Maguire and Diana Dixon.

Next up was the ladies’ A race which was won by Ilfracombe, with Lyme coming home third. The men’s A race followed with Lyme rowing to form and winning their fourth trophy of the year.

The ladies’ B and C races were both won by Weymouth. Lyme showed strength in depth with two B crews and two C crews, all rowing with discipline and quality with Lyme B coming fourth and B2 finishing in eighth.

The men’s B and C races followed. Competition was stiff even between Lyme’s own crews, with Lyme C1 and C2 battling it out on the water. Lyme B gained a very respectable second to a strong Brixham crew while the C2 crew came home third.

The Lyme ladies’ vets rowed with great composure and, in increasingly rough and rolling seas, finished fifth, which although a respectable result, meant Lyme dropped behind their competitors overall.

Lyme’s men’s vets crew, with two supervets stepping up, showed strength and coolness of head to pull away gradually from the start and could not be caught, gaining the third win of the day for the club.

Now, the overall trophy was between only Lyme and Weymouth, but Lyme had ground still to make up.

The final race was the mixed race, with three ladies and three men in each boat.

The early lead went to Lyme 2, with Lyme 1, who scores counted to the overall, in third.

As Lyme 2 took the first turn they were passed on the inside by Ilfracombe and those positions held, Lyme 1 came home third with the much-fancied Weymouth dropping back to a disappointing eighth. Lyme club members started celebrations as the final maths showed they had won the overall trophy by the narrowest of margins, just the one point over Weymouth, with rivals Bridport coming in a close third.

Club Captain, Henry Barlow was delighted with the day. He said: “The club has come a huge way in the nine years since we formed and to win our first regatta outright, on home waters, was wonderful.”

Lyme Gig Club would like to thank all the many sponsors who supported the regatta and provide valuable backing to the club throughout the year. Thanks go to the Harbourmaster and his staff, all the harbour users, the town council and the regatta and carnival committee for all there help and support. The club also thanks all the participating clubs .