Thank you to Dart Gig Club press office and Monty Halls for this fantastic write up!
The day was particularly frigid, but the gig community are hardy souls, and the good folks of Teignmouth, Brixham, Salcombe, Paignton, and Yealm duly gathered in Dartmouth on Sunday to do battle.
The course was short – an eye poppingly intense thousand metres – but nonetheless still offered ample opportunity to become hypothermic on the start line. All in all, we were set for a great day, with steaming urns in the shed, numb hands clapping us in, and epic rivalries to the fore.
It turned out that every single point was to be significant. Every race, even lost causes as some swarthy crew pulled away in a gust of tattoo sleeves, was worth fighting for. Maximum effort from that first desperate pull to that final haemorrhaging heave, that desperate battle for a triumphant fourth over a miserable fifth, that’s where regattas are won and lost. Without a doubt, our current form is due to the medieval unpleasantness that goes on in the shed of an evening, as we all whirr away like demented hamsters.
The Juniors
The Juniors (U16) led the way – as ever.
An epic battle for the lead saw Brixham pip Dart – how wonderful that members of those two gigs will be racing each other for decades to come – and then our second boat (with three U12’s in) came a very, very significant third.
The Women
Next up, and off to a strong start were the Women’s B crew, securing a fantastic 2nd place finish, marking a solid beginning for Dart’s points. Their performance demonstrated both skill and determination, setting a high bar for the rest of the competition.
The Women’s Super Vets, representing the experienced and seasoned athletes of the club, brought in the first win of the day, taking the top spot with a commanding display of teamwork and strategy. Their victory was met with cheers and excitement, as they continue to show that age is no barrier to success.
Meanwhile, the Women’s C crew, composed of Dart’s Masters racers, also had an impressive outing, finishing 2nd in their category. With a great showing of experience and finesse, this crew demonstrated the club’s depth and consistency across all levels of racing.
The Women’s A crew faced a tough challenge after a dramatic start. A collision at the beginning of their race forced them to stop completely and restart, but the crew quickly regained composure. Despite the setback, they pushed hard to recover and eventually finished in 5th place, overtaking another boat in a remarkable comeback. Their resilience and sportsmanship were truly admirable.
Finally, the Women’s Vets finished in a strong 4th place. Their performance was consistent and strong throughout the race, solidifying their position as a competitive force in the league.
Photo credit: VX3
The Open
The Vets won at a canter, even though John – thighs like hydraulic rams that man – bust his stretcher straight out of the groove, and then did a back somersault to celebrate. The entire incident was politely ignored by the rest of the crew, and will not be spoken of again. Man of the match goes to cox Jamie Osborne, who for the rest of the race kept John upright and rowing using only his right foot with the stretcher nowhere to be seen.
You can watch the full Vets race, including John’s slip’n’slide below.
And what a race. Brixham powered into an early lead, with Dart hanging on in there. There was no respite, no pause, no quarter, just a headlong sprint. Looking at the faces in our gig, it looked as though a fire alarm had gone off at a rest home. Liam had gone from gentle Yoda to demented Buddha, and was assuring us at some volume that unless there was at least one catastrophic brain haemorrhage in the boat before the end, then there’d be no cocoa that night. The race was won in those last few metres. Fitness, pure and simple. I was so tired afterwards that I tried to put my trousers on over my head.
There was a certain level of unpleasantness in the shed afterwards, with a barbaric 500M erg challenge. Will Gillow took the honours, I heaved and hauled my way to second, and Liam came third. Allegedly…
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