Affinity Rowing Club makes a splash at the Three Rivers Cornish gig rowing regatta

The Three Rivers Cornish gig rowing regatta in Saltash was a blast! And it was the first time Affinity Rowing Club competed in the event. Let me tell you all about it.

We entered a men’s crew and, although we had a great time, we hope to enter a women’s and a men’s crew next year. The race course was 10km long and involved four buoyed turns. The weather was fantastic - sunny, reasonably warm, and with light winds. Perfect for rowing!

Our club coach, Nikki, was our cox and she was absolutely brilliant. Throughout the almost one-hour race, she provided great encouragement and kept the six members of the crew focused on maintaining a steady, consistent stroke rate of around thirty with an emphasis on power through the stroke.

Seventy men’s crews were set off in six heats, with Affinity in the last heat. We raced in ‘Gull Rock,’ a Gig borrowed from Portreath gig club. We got off to a great start, thanks to Nikki’s calm and focused approach. We quickly found our rhythm and were excited to see over half a dozen boats trailing behind us.

Over the course of the race, we stayed in shouting distance of ‘Shelley Main’ of Exmouth but couldn’t quite overhaul her. The boat behind us, ‘Rival’ of Boscatle, tried using ‘power 10s’ to close on us, but we were able to respond and pull ahead. It was exhilarating!

Affinity finished the race in third place in our heat and 56th out of 70 overall. We were very happy with our performance, especially as it was our first time at the regatta. The race was physically challenging, but we all loved taking part.

The Three Rivers Cornish gig rowing regatta is a fantastic event that brings together rowers from all over Cornwall and beyond. We were delighted to be a part of it and can't wait to enter again next year with both a men’s and women’s crew.

All in all, it was a wonderful day full of camaraderie, competition, and fun. We'd like to thank everyone who organized the event and made it possible. And a big shout-out to Nikki for being an amazing cox and helping us achieve such a great result.

Next up — the Scillies!