Vets Championships 2023

Saturday 8th July saw 25 clubs descend on Breakwater Beach, Devon for the Vets Championships 2023, hosted by Brixham Gig Club.  Conditions on the day started damp and following a morning of fleeting heavy showers, thankfully brightened up by the afternoon.

 

33 Women’s crews and 28 Men’s crews took part in the day with Charlestown, Newquay and Caradon taking the top spots respectively for the Women and controversially Caradon B over Caradon A and Dart for the Men.

 

“As ever we must thank the clubs who willingly provided loan boats for the Championships, everyone asked was so responsive and co-operative this year!” Amy Plowman, Brixham Gig Club

 

There was a great atmosphere across the beach throughout the day, which was crowded with 10 boats out most of the time. The event ran smoothly and mostly to schedule, thanks in part to the efficiency of quick turnovers in between races.

The CPGA Championships made up one half of a double regatta weekend for the town, with a huge group effort from the club and the local community to facilitate the weekend of events.

 

Outside of rowing, Brixham Gig Club members were all hands on deck, helping to cook burgers, make teas, pull pints, run the tombola and make and sell huge amounts of cake and sandwiches. The club were thankful for support from local suppliers including The Bay Coffee & Cake Company for sponsoring the trophies and Rockfish, Brixham Trawler Agents, St. Austell Brewery, Bays Brewery, The Berry Head Hotel, Bertie and Crew, Inspirations, Lloyd Maunder, Flotsam, Brandon Hire and The Breakwater Bistro for donations or generous discounts on goods to sell, equipment or prizes.

 

“It is wonderful to see so many club members and their families and friends giving up so much time over the whole weekend to manage traffic and gigs in the car park/slipway, lay the course, look after gigs and rowers during changeovers on the beach, umpire, keep accurate results on the start and finish lines”

Here are the Women’s Results:

 

Here are the Men’s Results:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the racing was over, the bar stayed open until after the presentation and 13 gigs stayed alongside one or two crews from clubs who were taking part in the Sunday regatta. Once the bar shut, revellers headed to The Manor pub in Brixham, where the Porthleven Women supposedly had quite a laugh.

 

“A double regatta weekend takes a huge amount of work by many people (and a bit of madness) and we are extremely grateful for all the people who make it happen. The expanded CPGA team are now able to take on a lot of the preparation work including the registration process and organising all the race officials. This takes a lot of pressure off the local organisers beforehand and particularly on the day making those tricky umpiring decisions and moderating any disputes. We could not go ahead without the umpiring, safety and stream team boats which were provided by club members and our wonderful local RNLI crew members, who also gave up their time to operate them on both days.”

 

Well done to all clubs who took part in the event and special congratulations to the winners.

“Final thank you to all clubs who attended over the whole weekend and helped make it such a special event, we hope you had a wonderful time.”

 

Watch: Women’s Cup Final

Watch: Men’s Cup Final