Cornish Rowing Challenge Against Team GB!!!

We were there!! I don’t get out much but this was too good to miss. Cornish born Olympic rower Annie Vernon was the brains behind the best idea ever, well maybe not ever, ever but a brilliant idea in setting a challenge between our Pilot Gig Rowers here in Cornwall and Team GB Rowers.
Even the sun agreed to came out to play which was most definitely an added bonus after the summer we’ve had. The One Show also came along and Lucy Siegle, one of their presenters got stuck in by rowing in the 3rd race as did some very lucky members of the public. The event was run like clock work, with boats for spectators and all money given going to Shelter Box. [slideshow]

 St Mawes was buzzing but not so overcrowded that you couldn’t enjoy the event. We even managed to get out on a spectators boat at the last moment for the 1st race. This race was between the Gig Rowers in their Gig boats with static seats and the Olympian Rowers in their rowing boats with their sliding seats.The rowing community divides into the precision masters of technique of the sliding seat world – which is what Team GB rowers use and the brute strength and endurance of the fixed seat crews. I mention this because it does makes a difference! Guess who won… the Olympians of course, they had it easy with their sliding seats! Well, that’s what I’m saying. Maybe the Gig Rowers wanted to make them feel at home?!  The 2nd race was a different story when the Olympians had to row a Gig, I don’t need to tell you who won then do I? The Gig Rowers of course, this time the Falmouth team. Great Britain’s Olympic rowers – including Newlyn’s-own Helen Glover as well as fellow gold medallists Heather Stanning and Sophie Hosking took on South West’s finest gig rowers in a battle to decide who reigns supreme on the waters and have some fun at the same time, looks like they both reign supreme as long as they are in the rowing boat that suits them best!  It was a lovely evening that I will remember for a long time, my daughter, lucky thing has Team GB Rowers visiting her school today so I can’t wait to hear all about it later today.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmRJoqZZAmI&feature=youtube_gdata_player]

Courtesy of Kimberly Middleton, Chief West Briton reporter. @kimmidds