JUST two seconds separated Cotehele Quay Gig Club's Ladies' A crew from a place in the quarter finals at the Newquay County Gig Championships.

The club put in its best performance ever to come 26th with a time of 14 minutes 07 seconds, frustratingly close to the next round as two crews with times of 14.05 went through.

In rough seas several clubs withdrew due to the conditions which left 83 boats in the competition. Cotehele Quay came second out of six in their first heat despite the waves, taking them through to round two. In the next heat the following day they were just pipped to a quarter-final place.

Their cox, Dave Clarke, said: 'This was the best result the ladies have had in the three years Cotehele Quay has existed. We are now looking forward to next year.'

Ladies' A squad leader Jade Farrington thanked Dave for his excellent coaching and coxing, and congratulated the crew on their fantastic effort.

She said: 'Everyone rowed extremely hard and it paid off with a great position for us. We came 34th at the World Pilot Gig Championships at the start of the season in May which was also a club best and I'm excited to see what we can achieve next season.'

A strong row from Cotehele Quay's B crew against several A crews saw them come fifth in their heat, taking 60th place overall. The end of season event was won by Newquay Rowing Club for the first time since 1996.