Summer sun, blue skies, and a brisk off shore wind welcomed the first of the summer’s pilot gig racing to Gyllngvase Beach, on Saturday.

Each year the Tribute series, consisting of three ‘star’ events, sees crews from clubs across the county and further afield compete in men’s, women’s and junior’s events, with most regattas also having mixed and veterans categories. Saturday’s racing got off to a good start, with the kite course having been well laid the previous night and over 30 clubs bringing 45 boats including Padstow’s Brabyn in its inaugural event. The winners table was dominated throughout the day by Falmouth and Caradon, with Falmouth’s local rivals Roseland and Helford also featuring well. The men’s A heat saw Caradon, in Essa, take first place in 11 minutes 22 seconds, followed by Mount’s Bay, Looe, Falmouth and Roseland. Caradon also took Men’s B, in Essa, this time followed by Roseland, Falmouth, Mount’s Bay and Fowey. Men’s C saw the first win for the hosts, in Irene, followed by Zennor, Caradon, Helford and Penryn. The ladies races saw a familiar pattern developing with the hosts’ World Champion Crew, in Irene Too, sharing first place in the A heat with Charlestown, in Defender. Roseland were third followed by Truro with Mount’s Bay and Caradon in joint fifth. The ladies’ B race was also won convincingly by Falmouth in Irene Too, followed by Caradon, Newquay, Charlestown and Helford. Ladies C saw Falmouth, in Irene, increase their lead to almost lap the end of the previous B heat, followed by Newquay, Caradon, Helford and Charlestown. The juniors event saw the sport’s future champions in what was possibly the closest of the day with Fowey in Troy taking the trophy ahead of Cadgwith, Looe third, Padstow fourth and Helford fifth.

All in all the day was a success made possible by the efforts of all club members who were hauling gigs onto the beach from 7:30am and the event committee who gave their time to deal with the logistics of getting such a big event up and running. Also much appreciated this year was the catering provided by Gyllyngvase Beach Cafe and their Snack Stop. Anyone interested giving the sport a go visit the Watersports Centre in Grove Place (between Trago and Events Square) on Wednesday evenings for Novice rowing from 6pm until it gets dark or go to www.falmouthgigclub.co.uk.