October 12, 2011 News British Rowing NewsBritish Rowing EventsRowing CommunityGB Rowing TeamCompetitions and ClubsIndoor RowingPartners#YourStoriesArchive Falmouth claims memorable Newquay double Rowing Community The UK’s elite men’s gig rowers converged on Newquay last weekend (October 8/9), to contest the 2011 Newquay County Gig Championships. Inclement weather originally saw the Men’s Championships postponed in September, but conditions were just about hospitable enough on Saturday to ensure a frantic weekend’s racing on the Cornish coast.ADVERT Falmouth’s men arrived in Newquay tasked with claiming a memorable double, following their women’s crew’s triumph in the Women’s Championships last month. British Rowing’s Rhiannon Halliday was on hand to record their efforts; as well as coxing the Caradon C crew in the early rounds of the tournament: ‘The question on everyone’s lips on Saturday was ‘can Falmouth do the double?’. The first day of competition saw 62 crews complete Round One in rough, but manageable, conditions. ‘Over the course of the afternoon, however, the wind speed picked up causing a huge swell, with extremely rough water around the first and second marks. ‘Coxing in the last race of the day, it was a tough job to maintain control of the boat and motivate my crew to power in to the waves. ‘The conditions played their part as several crews clashed around the buoys, resulting in two gigs suffering damage in the sixth race of the day. ‘Arriving at the harbour on Sunday for the second day’s racing, we were all thankful that conditions had settled enough for racing to go ahead as planned. ‘After exciting quarter and semi-finals, six gigs – including the Falmouth crew – launched at 4.30pm in the eagerly-awaited final. ‘All six crews pushed hard on the first leg, with Falmouth reaching the buoy first followed closely by Caradon A and Roseland. ‘After a close-fought buoy-turn with much clashing of oars, Falmouth managed to pull clear from the chasing pack. Par emerged second, leaving the rest of the field chasing hard to make up the lost time. ‘The sea conditions were still challenging, with the bows of the gigs ploughing through the waves and crashing back down into the troughs – throwing bow rowers off their seats at times! ‘Par continued to chase hard all the way to the finish, but Falmouth powered clear to cross the line almost a minute ahead after the best part of half-an-hour’s racing.’ After the entertaining and frantic final, Newquay Rowing Club’s John Cuthill addressed the gathered crowd to underline the significance of the Cornish Pilot Gig Association working together with British Rowing to develop and further participation in the sport. Halliday then presented the victorious Falmouth crew with their prizes on behalf of British Rowing, capping a triumphant couple of months for the Cornish club. Newquay County Gig Championship Results Position Men’s Women’s Juniors 1 Falmouth A Falmouth A Looe A 2 Par Bay A Charlestown A Cadgwith A 3 Roseland A Mounts Bay A Coverack A 4 Caradon A Newquay A Caradon A 5 Newquay A Dutch Porthleven A 6 Caradon B Caradon A Fowey A ADVERT