Club Feature: Clevedon Pilot Gig Club

This week marks exactly 10 years since the formation of Clevedon Pilot Gig Club. The idea was hatched by Andrew Brown, who had previously been involved with the formation of Bristol Pilot Gig Club, and the decision was taken on 26th February 2009, at a meeting in the Royal Oak pub, to start Somerset’s first gig club.

Ten years on, the club boasts one of the largest memberships in the sport, they have two wooden racing gigs and several fibreglass training gigs, and they have led the way in the remarkable rise of the sport in the area. Once the only club in the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel, recent years have seen the emergence of gig clubs in Burnham-on-Sea, Clifton, Portishead, Combwich and Porlock Weir. In it’s early days, Clevedon benefited greatly from the help and goodwill of other clubs – the likes of Bristol and Lyme Regis lent valuable time and knowledge to get the club off the ground, whilst Clevedon Sailing Club offered to share their seafront clubhouse and buy shares in the club’s first gig – and in recent years Clevedon has been able to give back to the sport through it’s support of these new local clubs.

Thanks to some dedicated fundraising, a grant from Sport England, and sponsorship from a major local company, Win Cnoops of Bristol was commissioned to build Watch And Pray (named after the town’s motto), which was launched in March 2011. On completion, she was rowed the 14 miles down the Bristol Channel to her new home by an amateur crew, and just a few weeks later the club entered the world of competitive gig rowing at the 2011 World Pilot Gig Championships on the Isles Of Scilly. Their first race was the Men’s Vets race on the Friday evening, which they may have lost, but it would be the last time they would finish last that weekend. Members of that vets crew proudly admit to being in tears as they crossed the finish into St Mary’s harbour.

In early 2012 they acquired a second racing gig, purchasing an ex-World Championship winning gig from Caradon, which was renamed Blackbird.

The club has continued to grow in size, and in 2015 they successfully applied for charitable status. A move that has helped gain access to numerous grants, including several more from Sport England. This has allowed them to keep pace with a growing membership through the purchasing of new equipment.

One thing has remained constant during the clubs first ten years however, and that is the chairman Andrew Brown. Committee member James Geldart commented “Often an individual leading a group for that long can become a bit of a dictator. Andrew is the opposite as he has allowed the Club to develop in its own way and everyone feels the ownership of it, whilst he provides leadership and continuity. A difficult balancing act”.

The chairman sums up the club’s impressive first decade by saying “I can’t believe it is 10 years this month since we started on our gigging adventure. Not only have we been fortunate to have been helped by many people, we have made many friends along the way and I am sure this will continue for the next 10 years. A few years ago we set ourselves a 5 Year Plan which identified where we wanted to be. This included finding a long term base for our Gigs and equipment, securing access to the Sea at Clevedon, obtaining Clubmark Accreditation, whilst looking to have Crews that finish in Group B or above at the Scillies, as well as running our own Regatta. We are certainly making good progress with all these items, but we must also ensure we continue to have as much fun as possible along the way, something we have certainly done throughout the last 10 years”.

Hilary Marshall conveys the great spirit within the club: “After re-locating from Cornwall, I was keen to keep up the sport I’d learnt and loved in Charlestown and was fortunate to find Clevedon Pilot Gig Club. Being a rower for Clevedon is fantastic – It’s a welcoming, supportive and friendly community with a shared enjoyment for a brilliant sport and the option to engage with the competitive racing sprit. We are fortunate to have excellent equipment, enthusiastic members and great options for where we row and race – past Clevedon Pier in the Bristol Channel, or on the clear blue sea around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly being particular favourites of mine”.

One of the club’s youngest members, Jason Phillips (16), explains what it means to be a Clevedon rower: “To me being a Clevedon rower is just as much about the experience and the social aspect as it is about racing. The club has an excellent way of making everyone feel included. Furthermore, I feel the club has a good sporting mentality, where if we win then fantastic, but otherwise good sportsmanship comes into play and we think ‘never mind’ and consider how can we improve. Finally, I think that the dedication of all members to come out on freezing early mornings for practice (and North Coast Gig League 1!) is brilliant and I am looking forward to more of the same!”