On Saturday the 27th of May Barnstaple Pilot Gig Club joined forces with Clovelly Gig Club to compete at the Boscastle Regatta.
A beautiful Cornish village that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the set of Middle Earth was the arena for the races to commence. 9 teams from across Devon and Cornwall were represented.
With the sun beating down ‘Barnvelly’ took to the water for the first race, the Men’s B. Light winds and soft swell gave away to a competitive race and the crew came in a very respectable 4th position. The following 2 races produced even better finishes, the Ladies B fought hard to take an excellent 2nd place and this was followed by a 3rd in the Men’s Vets.
Two races remained for the ‘Barnvelly’ crews to compete, the Ladies Vets and the Men’s A. With an increasing northerly wind the swell played its part buffering all crews in the remaining races. The adrenaline was flowing and the excitment was increased as the crowds watched on from there high vantage points on the cliffs.
The conditions were now playing there part, the Ladies Vets finished the now challenging course in a healthy 4th place. Men’s A came next, a challenging race throughout with snapped pins and shouting a plenty brought the crew home in 6th place.
With the racing now complete and the scores added up, ‘Barnvelly’ finished the Regatta in joint 3rd position. This was an amazing effort by all involved but most of all new friendships were made and fun was had by all.
Write up: Steve Page
