Salcombe Estuary Rowing Club’s junior rowers travelled all the way to Hayle on Sun­day to take part in the under 14 county championships.

Hosted by Hayle Pilot Gig Club, this event attracts young gig rowers from all over the south west.

The event is open to all young rowers who are 14 or under by September 1.

Salcombe were represented by Tegan Zaf­firo, Gemma Norris, Luke Wotton, Ben Tre­gelles, Lucy Murray and Natalie Mordue, coxed by Nikki Wadey.

Salcombe’s draw for the first round put them in the second heat, pitted against strong opposition, and it proved to be a very fast race.

Rowing in Speed­well, Salcombe came a close second to Cleve­don A in a time of 4m 25s.

That time would have won the previous heat by 11 seconds, but as  runners-up Sal­combe had to wait until all nine heats had completed to find out that they had qualified on time, so were through to round two. 

With the confidence of knowing that they were faster than some of the winning crews from the last round, Salcombe rowed a super second race.

This time rowing in Lantic, Salcombe kept their timing and technique together and stayed in contention throughout. After Bude put on a spurt in the middle, Salcombe stayed with them, and at the end were gaining with every stroke.

Unfortunately, with a time of 4m 13s,  Bude just edged it and again Salcombe had to settle for second place, just three seconds behind. With four more heats to go, it was another tedious wait before it was confirmed that Salcombe were through to the quarter-finals.

This time there would only be six boats to qualify for the semi- finals, four winners and the two fastest runners-up, so it was essential to post a good time.

Salcombe, in Lark, rowed an absolutely fantastic race. Having learned so much from the previous two races, they flew down the course in a time of 4m 02s. It was a wonderful display of teamwork and determination, and each of the rowers pulled out their best row of the day. 

Despite it being their best performance, they ware again facing fierce opposition, so it wasn’t quite enough to win, and they had to settle for third – and another wait to see if they qualified on time. As a third placed crew, this seem­ed unlikely, however it had been a very fast race, so there was hope.

When the times for the other quarter-finals came in, the margins were tiny, with the three other winning crews posting times of 4:03, 4:03 and 4:05.

Salcombe were de­lighted (but not altogether surprised) to find that their time would have narrowly won all of the other heats, so they qualified for the semi-finals.

As the timings were so close, the Hayle organisers, who had made it clear from the outset that their priority was to give all the young rowers a challenging and rewarding day out, decided to allow two extra crews to join the semi-finals, which would each have four crews. 

Salcombe rowed out for the semi-finals, and with parents and friends again giving rousing encouragement from the shore, they dug deep. Every one of them was tired, but they kept on rowing, stayed in contention and never gave up. It wasn’t enough for a top-three place in the final, but it was a winning display of teamwork, superb sportsmanship, and sheer guts.

Salcombe Estuary Rowing Club would like to thank the parents and families who braved the 6am start to bring the crew to Hayle and support all day.

The club is very proud of all the young rowers, but especially of the under 14 crew, who represented themselves and the club so well.