TAMAR and Tavy Gig Club rowers proved they are certainly no 'stick in the muds' when it comes to helping out fellow users of river craft in distress on the River Tamar. The men's squad were out training on the gig early last Wednesday evening (July 23) when they were called by a passing craft to help rescue four men from a motor boat which had become stranded in the mud on the banks of the Pentillie reach of the river, near St Mellion. Sarah Gall, a spokesperson for the gig club, told the Times: 'The two crews had just started their evening session when the alarm was raised by a passing vessel who asked whether they might be able to assist in a rescue. 'They arrived on the scene to find the men stranded on their boat, and tried to reach them with the gigs. 'They were unable to get close enough to pull the boat off the mud due to the outgoing tide, but some quick thinking from the crew and coxes got the gigs close in and crew member Pete Keegan ran across the mud and shepherded the men back to safety.' While the crews were on the scene the emergency services were called and a Ministry of Defence launch, based at Plymouth, joined in the rescue. Sarah said: 'A police rib joined the scene but was unfortunately unable to free the stranded vessel and was in turn caught by the tide. The men were returned to the safety of a police launch at Weir Quay and one of the gigs helped to free the rib.' The crews were thanked by the grateful men and also received a commendation on their skills and competence from the police. 'The dramatic event was a good test of the skills and expertise of the crews and coxes, proving the worth of the club which has a presence on the river seven days a week for either social rowing or race training,'said Sarah. 'Special thanks go to Pete Keegan for his initiative and quick thinking, to George Masters who helped one of the men to recover, to Mike Blong who aided the recovery of the police rib and to Becky Masters and Chris Dill who were coxing the gigs.' Tamar and Tavy Gig Club welcomes new rowers, whether for competitive rowing or just for fun; for details go to the website http://www.tamarandtavygigclub.co.uk">www.tamarandtavygigclub.co.uk l A rescue was also made by fire fighters from Yelverton last week, after two men and a dog were trapped in a boat on the mud at Lopwell Dam. The Yelverton crew quickly identified the rescue could only be performed by the boat and mud mats from the Specialist Rescue Team from Camel's Head. They were deployed into the river and with a bit of effort and some self rescue assistance from the two men, they were able to man-handle the boat back into the water.