TAMAR and Tavy Gig Club travelled to the Isles of Scilly over the May Day weekend to take part in the 26th Annual World Pilot Gig Championships.

The club entered six teams: ladies' and men's supervet crews rowed in the vets' race on the evening of Friday, May 1 and ladies' and men's A and B crews raced on Saturday and Sunday. Their boats, Tamar and Ginette, were two of 143 boats competing in the championships.

The weather was challenging but all crews handled the elements well and rowed hard, proving that hard training over winter was worthwhile.

The supervets had some of the worst weather on Friday but both crews rowed strongly, with the men finishing 47th of 48 crews and the ladies 17th out of 19.

Saturday saw the ladies row first, with the A team earning a place in group G. The B team also had a strong row to win a place in group K. After heat one, both crews had gone up a group, with the A team winning their heat and the Bs being rewarded with second place.

The men then followed with a similar performance, holding off challenges and taking places throughout the seeding race, finishing with the As in Group G and the B team in K. Their heats were close but both crews had great races and held their own to stay in their groups ready to race again on Sunday.

Sunday saw the final two heats, with forecasted winds of up to 50mph. A good deal of excitement and determination saw teams head out once more into the swells. The ladies had two challenging rows, with the A team holding their own in Group F and finishing in 3rd place in the final, putting them 63rd out of 143 boats. The Bs unfortunately went back down into K, but finished 130th. The men had some hard races with crews evenly matched which made for some nail biting spectating. The men's A fought hard in both heats, holding their placing and missing out on a win by a matter of inches in the final, coming 74th out of 138 boats. The B team also fought hard and rowed strongly, holding off the competition to come 126th.

Congratulations to all rowers and coxes and especially to the nine new rowers who were competing in the Scillies for the first time this year and Stewart Ross who stepped in at the last minute to row in the men's B, having only rowed once before. Thanks were also expressed to all who supported.