We’re here to promote and encourage participation in the amateur sport of rowing, based in the communities of Flushing & Mylor (from under 14s to our famous ’supervets’. All ages, shapes and sizes! - read on…). The pilot gig racing circuit extends from the westernmost Isles of Scilly, all over Cornwall and along the south and west coasts as well as overseas such as the amazing MPM event in Holland (which we won in 2007!).
Helford regatta - more top 10’s
Some short, sharp (and at times large!) wind-against-tide seas faced us during the well attended Helford Gig Club regatta with 18 gigs taking part. Thank you to all at Helford, a very busy event at at time a very busy beach - you couldn’t have squeezed another gig onto it!
Mens-A heats were first on the list and with a few crew changes (Russell and Tommy standing in) they had a powerful race and finished 6th overall. For the Ladies-A heats the seas had built up considerably and was quite unlike anything that stroke rower Megan had been out in before, a great start saw us lead the fleet and a slightly startled Falmouth Ladies-A crew for a little while. A real rollercoaster ride on their way to 7th place. No U16s this weekend and next out were Mens-B again with Russell and Tommy and rather a baptism of fire for bow rower Vince. A good workout saw them 10th over the line. Ladies-B took on the rough stuff and had a great row taking 3rd. Last of our crews to race, but by no means least were Ladies-Vets who came in 6th in their race.
AliJ writes “Ladies-B were without their usual stroke rower Liz but Bonnie kindly stepped-up and held a great steady rate throughout the roller-coaster course. After a cracking start (bit of a theme there for FMPGC and thanks must go to Penny for that), the Ladies B held onto their 3rd position convincingly into the first mark and despite Penryn in Morlader trying to make a move on the 2nd mark, finished a fantastic 3rd pushing Morlader back with every stroke in the last leg to leave them a clear 3 lengths behind. Great great row Ladies - a true pleasure to cox.”
Flushing & Mylor finished 7th overall with 61 points.
Pic: Ladies-B enjoy their 3rd place.
Pic : Mens-B at the marks.
Pic : Mens-A prepare for take-off.
Mevagissey Tribute event
Round 2 of the 2009 Tribute series was hosted by Mevagissey Gig Club at Pentewan Sands.
Results : Mens - A 9th, B 12th. Ladies - A DSQ, B 13th, C 2nd. U16 7th. Vets 14th & 20th.
Another great day out for the club, I managed to tow Pinnacle there and back without any problems. Big thanks to my trusty wing men Jowan and Neil (or no thanks if you ordered some kindling). All the race crews rowed very well, each week we are creeping up the results table. The only sad point of yesterdays racing was that after our Ladies A fantastic first leg, Paignton’s boat Top Catch decided to cut them up on the mark. Unfortunately for our girls, Top Catch had water on the mark, but in a moment of, er, genius Neil the cox managed to relieve the very tired Paignton rowers on stoke side of their oars so our girls were disqualified. Jeremy had a very important job, he was one of the official starters for the afternoon. Afterwards he said he had thoroughly enjoyed it because he had managed to dry four pillow cases, a vallance bed sheet and a throw over for a sofa - thought that flag looked strange. Anyway Helford next Sunday, let’s see if we can win some silverware and l don’t mean on the tombola. Cheers, Blako.
Pic : FMPGC Ladies C lead the fleet with their ultimate nemesis Newquay crew in “Hope” behind. Just one second separated them at the finish!
Pic : Ladies A in Penarrow, just before 1st mark.
Mounts Bay - great event & top 10 results
Another good event for FMPGC run by the very hospitable Mounts Bay gig club. All our crews placed in the top 10. Again we had top weather, calm(ish) seas, close racing and good results - as follows : [time mm:ss](fleet size)
Mens A 4th [11:15](18), Mens B 5th [11:54](20)
Ladies A 10th [13:22](17), Ladies B 8th [13:44](20), Ladies U18 5th [13:17](20)
Many thanks to Porthleven gig club for letting our “U18 Ladies” use their gig St Elvan in the ladies ‘B’ racing. The gig racing circuit rolls on to Pentewan Sands this coming weekend for the 2nd round of the Tribute Series, see you there!
Across the Bay :: Good result
Penarrow and her mixed crew took 4th place in the 2009 Across the Bay race from Mounts Bay to Porthleven against about a dozen other gigs. It was good to row on different water for a change and the coastline between Mounts Bay and Porthleven provides a stunning backdrop (for bow-side rowers that is, stroke-side had to make do with 2 lobster pots, an upturned fish box and a couple of basking sharks).
The course is about 8 miles so we knew it was going to require some steady hard work. As St Michael’s Mount gradually disappeared behind us into the setting sun we were joined by 4 or 5 basking sharks, the dorsal fins appearing suddenly and providing a bit of a boost to the crew. Each headland we passed meant the seas became more choppy and confused and we had a good battle with St. Elvan, always just a few lengths behind us. Their local knowledge seemed to pay off 3/4 of the way through the race as they closed the gap to us considerably. A big push for the last mile or so held them off and eventually we slipped into Porthleven harbour.
A big thanks to the race organisers, it was interesting listening and watching the varied weather forecasts leading up to the race but things calmed down in the end and gave us forgiving conditions. Thanks also to Toby for helping with the various logistics and towing.
Crew : Lynn (c), Jeremy, Neil, Andy, Ali, Emily, Hilary.
