DARTMOUTH Gig Regatta generated some excellent results for the seemingly born again Dartmouth Gig Rowing Club at the end of March. The sight of Dart’s maroon craft surging ahead of the feared red blades of Caradon would have been considered the stuff of dreams only a year ago but on the day, race after race, this improbable vision was actually to be seen on the water.

In addition – and more importantly – the weather gods favoured the hosting town with perfect spring sunshine, a delightful choppy swell and a cheeky breeze to give the Cornish Pilot Gigs some pleasingly challenging conditions at the narrowing of the river. Eleven clubs came to the event; all the locals as well as some other welcome visitors: Cattewater, the mighty Caradon, Torridge and Rame.  

It was the Ladies B crews that kicked off the regatta, rowing the usual course. All boats competed in the race so steady nerves were needed by the coxes on a congested line. The Dart crew made a strong start, keeping up with the leading pack, but the usual script appeared to be in play as Amazon, the flagship of the Caradon fleet, streaked ahead and apparently won with ease. However they were not actually competing so the true, recorded victory went to Teign. The home boat of Dartmouth crossed the line in a respectable third place. 

The next race, the Ladies A bout, was a genuine contest with Caradon again giving a masterful demonstration of skill and power, manoeuvring their craft from a very difficult start to a decisive victory over their counterparts. Dart managed fifth in a very messy race with a huge pile up at the first turn. So, at this point, it seemed the titanic Caradon club would win the event as they always have in the past.

The junior race followed and provided a great spectacle with the closest finish of the day, Yealm in Wasp beat Dart by a herring’s length in a true gripper – credit must go to the young locals for fighting right to the end of the race.

The narrative began to turn in the men’s B race with Dart taking the victory as Caradon were disqualified for crew issues having crossed the line only a minke whale’s length ahead of Lightning, who in turn were racing in a non-competitive status and thus conceded victory to their team mates in Volante following close behind. From this point on Maroon was more or less the colour, with the men’s A spectacularly repeating the pattern of the day and overall victory went to Dartmouth.  

Racing in the Scillies will, however, prove the real test.