Falmouth Gig Club rowers have been crowned world champions after completing a clean sweep for the third successive year in the 24th World Gig Rowing Championships held on the Isles of Scilly over the bank holiday weekend.

And mens’ crew captain Jamie Maxted said winning felt just as good as the first time.

“Crossing the line felt brilliant, a mixture of relief and elation. We had a new guy Adam Evans on the crew this year, and he hasn’t won it before so it was great to do it for him. My sister was our cox too, so crossing the line with her was really nice. All the boys trained hard and put in a superhuman effort and it’s paid off.”

The Falmouth crews, both hotly tipped to take the title beforehand, didn’t disappoint, with the mens’ crew seeing off the challenge of a strong Looe team.

The crews rowed to victory in Black Rock (pictured), one of four gigs the club owns, with the mens’ crew finishing their course in under ten minutes.

They battled their way to the top of the podium, winning by a boat length, with Looe second and  Roseland third.

Meanwhile the ladies’ team took control of their final right from the offing, stretching out a commanding lead, finishing well ahead of Mounts Bay in second, and the Caradon ‘A’ crew in third.

Jamie said: “Our race was a bit closer than theirs! They did really well, but I think everyone rowed better than they’ve ever rowed before. It felt quite controlled, we all kept our nerves, even though Looe were pushing us really hard.

“We realised about half way through that we could do it, but to cross the finish line first was great.

“If I’m honest, I think we rowed the perfect race.”