Newquay Women’s County Championships

07 Sep Newquay Women’s County Championships

Since I started gig rowing, 4 years ago, the Newquay champs has always been spoken about in hushed tones; Huge Atlantic swells, top crews and the scene of the only gig capsize I have seen (curtesy of youtube). As the second most important calendar event after the World Champs, it’s rumoured to be epic and it did not disappoint.

120 crews gathered for 2 days of racing. Day 1 (Saturday) would have 2 rounds with 6 randomly drawn crews racing, the fastest 3 boats from each race progress onto the following rounds. Day 2 (Sunday) the races are timed with the fastest boats racing in the semi finals and then eventually the final.

Our crew consisted of Nina in 6, Rosie (Me) in 5, Caragh in 4, Terry in 3, Sophie in 2 and Jules in 1 coxed by Steve. Unlike most of our races we didn’t have the trusty Avona to guide us through the waves. For Newquay, due to the small launch site 12 boats are used for all the races, randomly allocated and alternated for every race.

So our first job was getting in the top 3 for the first race. We were drawn against Appledore A, Exmouth B, Brixham B, Helford D and Mounts Bay A. From previous form we were pretty sure that Mounts Bay and Appledore’s A crews would be better than us so we were racing for that all important third place with the other 3 crews. 3-4 ft swells and a brisk force 4 blowing straight onto the beach made for spicy conditions and we were going to need to stay focused and not let the sea state intimidate us. We had a long wait for our first race and seeing very damp crews returning from their rows and discussing how rough it was did nothing to calm our nerves.

We left the beach in heat 17 rowing Samphire, a cornflower blue Loue boat built by David & Jim Currah in 1999. As we left the shelter of the harbour we immediately felt the full force of the wind and swell and we braced ourselves for the race. As is characteristic of Clifton we got a good start and soon we were being tossed about with large rollers hitting us square onto bowside as we made our way to the first mark.

The first leg was just pure magic, hard graft in sparking seas as we fought to keep our blades in the water and plunging our hands deep into the boat on the recovery to avoid the towering salty hills, which seemed determined to push us off course, steel our oars and fill the boat with brine! We took a few waves into the boat and Jules in number 1 took the worst of it as wave after wave broke over her head. Steve steered a good straight course and we made it to the first mark in third place – come on girls we can do this. These ‘river rowers’ aren’t going to be put off by a few lumps in our way! The stretch to the 2nd mark felt short and even with our muscles starting to burn I think we all started to believe we could hold our position.

After the 2nd mark we then had a longer stretch with the full force of the swell hitting stroke side. The soaking from the waves had the unpleasant side effect of making our hands slippery on the oar handles, which made the constant height adjustments required in these conditions even more challenging. It was at this point Steve chose to take a scenic detour, perhaps it was the allure of the deep blue or the cry of a distant mermaid but he pulled us back on track only to find Helford uncomfortably close on our heals. As we rounded the last mark we had wind and swell behind us and the harbour felt again within reach. We rowed as we row best: together, long and strong and pulled away to comfortably take third place. What a row! And a sound reminder that these amazing boats are made for conditions such as these.

Races were taking longer than the organisers had predicted and they decided to delay the 2nd round until Sunday when conditions were set to improve. We didn’t need telling twice and retired to our air BnB and the hot tub in the garden, possibly with a few glasses of champagne to celebrate a good days racing.

What a difference a day makes – Sunday saw calm seas and clear blue skies. We were in race 3, this time rowing Miller daughter, also built by the Currah brothers in 2003 and the competition was even fiercer: Fowey A, Mounts Bay A, Weymouth A, Cotehele Quay A Torridge A (who withdrew). We were realistic about our chances in this race and knew we were up against crews who were just plainly better than us. For us every row in the sea is a bonus so we squared up and got off the line well. As predicted by half way along the first leg we were lying in 5th (sounds better than last!) but it was a lovely row and we pulled hard until the end. It’s credit to our competitive spirit that we all felt deflated as we pulled into the beach for a quick swap with the next crew. It’s never easy stowing the oars next to a crew who are celebrating going through to the next round but good motivation for getting fitter, stronger and tighter as a crew.

All in all it was a truly fabulous weekend of rough seas, teamwork and a few bubbles in the hot tub all in true Clifton style. We finished in joint 41st position and all felt that was a good result from 120 crews and one that accurately reflects our level in the field, at the moment.

Thank you Newquay for a wonderful regatta – see you next year.