Dart Gig Club were one of 19 crews who attended Paignton Regatta last Saturday, in Mediterranean conditions. As always the racing was competitive with exciting races that led to some tightly fought placings.
The men's A was the first race of the day and Dart were fielding a newly formed A crew. The men have been struggling to find rowers over the past two years but now have a core of very strong rowers.
Expectations were high that the newly formed squad would do well and they certainly made an impact, finishing 3rd. The crew rowed well off the start line, pulling away from the bulk of the fleet, with Caradon edging into first place, followed by Flushing and Mylor.
Dart had a battle with the Weymouth men, who had the edge on them until just before the third mark, when Dart found a little bit extra and started to pull ahead.
Unfortunately, Weymouth were the inside boat and had the mark, so once on the homeward leg, Dart managed to find a little bit more and edge ahead of Weymouth.
In the heat, it was a battle to maintain the position. The effort was rewarded by the third place.
The men's B race followed, with three of the crew having to row again. The club's early success was maintained, with the crew coming in fourth place out of a field of 19. The crew were a little disappointed as they thought they had pipped Caradon's second B crew just before the line.
The ladies' A was next, again with some very strong crews rowing. The Dart ladies were unable to emulate the men's great placing and came in ninth place out of a field of 13.
The ladies' B followed and they had a bad start, clashing twice with Brixham. They rowed strongly to finish in 10th place out of a field of 15, beating Teign at the final push.
The men's veterans continued an excellent day of racing for the men and produced another great fourth place out of a field of 16, putting Dart men emphatically on the map .
It was yet again a closely fought race between what were now the top four crews to row that day and in a fight for the top between them, Vilt came first with Caradon second, Cattewater third with Dart close behind.
The ladies' veterans were not to be outdone by their male counterparts and put in a strong row to claim fourth in a field of 11.
All the gigs came out of the start quickly in line and a battle for positions continued right up to the first buoy. Dart had a good first turn to get into fourth, battling with Bridport in Dagger to stay ahead.
Dart managed to maintain their position and pull away a good four lengths ahead of Bridport, but never quite caught up with Weymouth in Tristan, who came in third, despite some very hard rowing.
Torridge in Kerrens came first and Teign in Morgan came second. The club wishes to thank Sharon Jarvis, from Salcombe, for making up the crew.
The final race was a mixed crew and Dart again did well, coming in fifth out of a field of 15 coming in behind Caradon, Weymouth, Cattewater and Appledore.
After racing in extreme heat and rowing more than once, all rowers were exhausted but very encouraged by some great results.
The club offers special thanks to Clare Thorp, Paul Kunert and Jonnie Holmes, who spent hours on the water both rowing and coxing magnificently in extreme temperatures, and to Kevin Pyne for umpiring.
Rowers were:
Men: Jonnie Holmes, Paul Kunert, Lea Humphreys, Carlos Minto, Tom Holloway, Jon Pope, Chris Gale, Michael Bryant Mole, Stan Bray
Ladies: Clare Thorp, Peta Chivers, Kate Cooke, Chloe Gardner, Bonnie Chivers, Carol Squire, Lucy Swash, Maggie Russell