DESPITE the unpredictable wind conditions, ten clubs attended Helford River Gig Club’s (HRGC) annual Mini Scillies gig rowing event on Saturday.

The day consists of six short sprints and was initially founded in order to test the winter training progress of the clubs planning to race in the World Gig Championships held in the Scillies each May.

The races are always short and fierce, with some of the top crews attending, including Falmouth, Truro, Coverack, Helford, Porthleven, Cotehele Quay, Charlestown, Nankersey, Fowey, Mounts Bay, Penryn and Devoran. Although welcoming only half the usual numbers this year due to the unpredictable weather forecast, it was none the less a very successful event, with some hard-fought races throughout the day. The races proved tough and longer than usual ten minutes as the rowers fought against wind and tide over the course.

The first races were Vets (over 40s) crews, with the Helford ladies Supervets (over 50s) winning this heat ahead of Mounts Bay by 15 seconds. Men’s Vets was won by Falmouth in Black Rock with Helford in second almost 40seconds later, an impressive margin over a short course.

The following Ladies and Men’s races were then split over two further heats with wins in both Ladies heats by Charlestown Ladies Crew, and another win from the Falmouth Men. After the six races were completed, times were compiled to provide the overall results for the day.

Charlestown was crowned as the winning club in their gig ‘Grace’, with Truro second in ‘Spur’, and HRGC’s ‘Helford’ crew in third place overall. With such dynamic racing from a variety of clubs, Mini Scillies has shown that the competition will be fierce in the Scillies again this year.