Scillies World Championships 2013

This was Clevedon's biggest year yet at the World Championships on the Scilly Isles, and in fact with our 60 people in 13 crews, we were one of the biggest clubs at the championships. We clearly made an impression - the Radio Scilly commentator said that someone had asked him: "How big is Clevedon? It must be huge as there are so many of them!". There were certainly enough of us to ensure the Somerset flag was flying proudly with all the others.

This article is an attempt to capture the buzz we all experienced as a club, and I'm grateful to those who've given me their thoughts to include. I hope I've done you all justice.

Those who arrived early on the half empty Scillonian III were greeted by a beautiful week of spring weather and the quiet and tranquil islands, and had plenty of opportunity to explore, discover the local 'Scuppered' brew and enjoy a nice pub meal in a quiet (!) Mermaid Inn. As the week went on, giggers began to outnumber locals and regular visitors (the captain on my flight from Exeter apologised to the non-giggers for the excited state of certain passengers), as a large contingent from the club rowed out to Tresco for a drink in the sunshine. By Friday the place had been taken over by (mostly) athletic looking types in a range of club colours.

Early Friday afternoon and most of the club were there. We converged on 'HQ', the beach apartment with its Mediterranean-style courtyard that Andrew and Sue Brown had rented again and much appreciated by all. Tension and excitement were beginning to build, especially for those rowing that evening in the Vets and Supervets races. Many of the crews got out for a quick practice row to get 'in the zone' and familiarise ourselves with borrowed boats. From Men's C's perspective, feeling how beautifully Porthgain's 'Ella Rose' slid through the water gave us a massive confidence boost.

It wasn't long before it was time to launch the Ladies Vets and Supervets. Off the ladies went to the first of many rounds of "Blackbird, I'll 'ave 'ee", and the rest of us trekked up to the Garrison hillside and the rocks by the cob to watch the race.

Those who raced described the sea as 'a bit lively', which was a bit of a shock to a club perhaps overused to the cosiness of Bristol Harbour. But adrenaline soon took over, and it was a great taste of what was to come for the rest of us, as the field of around 60 boats raced towards St Mary's with the wind and early evening sun at their tail. Both crews performed well, considering they hadn't trained together much. This was soon followed by the men's vets and supervets, both also putting in great performances, with the highlight of this race being a half length win for the Vets in Watch & Pray over Isambard of Bristol.

That night, we went to the pub for a couple, but most people wanted to be rested for the big races to follow.

So Saturday came. The big day for most of us. Some of us were better rested than others, but we were all up for it. Down at HQ in the morning the atmosphere was tense, with plenty of coffees and bacon sandwiches, but at midday it was finally time to launch the ladies. There was a great buzz of activity as we readied the boats, loaded up the crews and pushed them off on their way, and many have commented about the spirit and camaraderie of the club on the beach over the weekend. After we'd launched our own Ladies, the Men's C crew headed off up the beach to help Porthgain launch the boat we'd be rowing later. They were a fantastic bunch and it was a pleasure to share the same experience with another club in that way.

We were lucky that since we were being followed by a film crew, they had chartered a boat, the 'Calypso II', which was available to us as a spectator boat most of the weekend. Personally I was a bit nervous about not getting back in time for the men's races, but plenty of people got to enjoy the races from the boat and for the crews racing it meant we were never far from shouts of "Come on Clevedon!".

A bunch of us went to watch the ladies' race from the hilltop. This first long race of about 3km determines your position for the subsequent shorter group races. We watched them row out to St Agnes and could just about see them lined up on the massive start line a mile away. Rowing out, there is a huge feeling of anticipation and also awe at the sight of 130 gigs making their way to the start line knowing that every person feels the same as you. There is a powerful sense that you're taking part in a great competition, and you want so much to do yourself, your crew and the club proud.

The race came near us and we spotted both our yellow boats more than holding their own, we noticed something unexpected - the Ladies B in Watch and Pray were ahead of Blackbird! So the Ladies B beat the As, and the Ds beat the Cs. The weekend was getting interesting already...

Then it was our turn, the men's crews. As we rowed out, we were well aware that some boats had been disqualified in the vets' races because they were over the line at the start, so we had to be careful to hang well back and not rush the start line. Keep calm, trust your cox, I kept telling myself, trying not to let the power of the event overcome all the discussions we'd had in the build-up. We got timechecks over the radio. 10 minutes to go - we had reached the start line by then. 5 minutes - in our start boxes. 2 minutes, oars in position, silence and concentration in the boat. Trying not to be distracted by the spectacle of the thing. 1 minute, then the last countdown and GO!

We were off, a good start. Long and strong, concentrate on our own race. Blackbird's only a couple of lengths ahead. Fantastic, we were holding our own against the A crew. The B's and D's were across the field, in other start groups. Don't get distracted by all the boats around us, great to be in the mix, we're doing great. Until they hit us of course! We got caught in a melee near the end as a boat in front of us got hit and lost their rudder. Not quite as bad as Blackbird though, who got spun round in contact with another boat. Both A and C crews lost 10 or 15 places as the B's in Watch & Pray got a clear run in and finished ahead of all their clubmates.

Crossing the finish line is massively emotional - relief, euphoria, exhaustion, delight; and sometimes disappointment. How did we do? How did everyone else do? You're desperate to share the experience with a group of people who know exactly how you feel.

No time to worry too much about the frustration for those crews that hadn't done as well as they'd like - the group races were up next. Much more of a normal situation, these are races of 12 boats neatly lined up over a straight 2km course. They're also a chance to correct any bad luck from the long race, as the first two placed boats go up a group, and the bottom two go down. The races are done lowest group first, but everyone heads to the start area together. This means there's plenty of chance to admire the sight of all the boats around you in a slightly more relaxed way than before the long race, and have a bit of banter with other crews. And practice a couple of racing starts of course...

The best place to watch the racing from the end of the main quay or cob, next to the finish line and where Radio Scilly's commentary is blaring out over the PA. It's great to be part of the support, amongst all of the other clubs.

In the ladies' races, our B and C crews held their positions (B crew were chuffed to pip Bristol B to the line) as did our nomads (4 of our ladies, two from Bristol and Cape Cornwall's boat and cox), but there was disappointment for D as they came second to last and were relegated. The A crew narrowly missed out on being promoted as they finished a very close third with a very strong finish.

Then came the men's. D in Dolphin held their position, and we in Ella Rose were a couple of races after. A straight race this time, boats either side but not jostling for position like in the long race - much less stressful on the cox I think! Two boats pulled clear from the start, but we were with the chasing pack the whole way and thanks to a strong finish ('CONDITION BLACK!') we were able to come in third. The A guys had a great win in their group F race that included Watch and Pray, where the B's came in a very creditable third despite a disastrous start that had left them at the back.

So, end of the Saturday, slightly mixed emotions but overall a positive day for the club. We were definitely finishing our races strongly across all crews, a positive sign.

Now, Saturday evening would probably have just been getting some food and a couple of pints, but our chairman had had the idea that every crew should do a 2 minute 'review' for the amusement of everyone else. This included the camera crew. This was one of those things that people grumbled a bit about in advance, but turned out to be a stroke of genius. The creativity of the club was unleashed, and we were treated to an hour and more of absolutely hilarious skits with too many highlights to mention them all but including a new club song ("I ain't going out in that..."), the Clevedon Rowing Haka and a new meaning to "Ring of Fire". As one member put it: "All the stresses and emotions and politics of the day's events were set aside and everyone came together and laughed together. Brilliant!"

So, food, a couple of pints, and then to bed.

Sunday dawned. And not just figuratively - the drizzle of the previous morning had been replaced by warm sunshine, the wind had dropped and there were rumours abounding of a flat sea. This was good. The first ladies' races were 11am (unlike 1pm on the Sat), so we needed to get our crews out there.

So, watching again from the cob, again mixed results. The nomads unfortunately finished last, and the C ladies in Dolphin dropped down a group. But the D crew in Serica put in a fantastic performance to win their group by a clear margin and win promotion to group I for the final later that day. Ladies B also dropped a group to F, while the A crew came from 2 lengths back to miss out on promotion by less than half a length. You could see the disappointment in their boat after the race, but what an amazing finish they put in, they just ran out of water!

As we rowed out for the men's races, we were pumped. The sea was flat - this was our water and we were going up a group! That race will stay with me for a long time, so you'll have to excuse me a moment's self indulgence. We had a great start in the middle of the line, everything just clicked, and quickly found ourselves ahead of the boats alongside us. We pulled clear of one boat after another, Marian, our cox, counting us 10 strokes at a time and shouting "Come on, you're amazing!". By about 500m out, I could see from the stroke seat that we were clear of the field on that side, but was sure there must be a battle going on the other side. Only when Marian shouted out that we were ahead of everyone did I permit myself to glance around at the second place boat, falling 2 lengths behind. As we crossed the line, Marian had given up steering and had her hands in the air and we all raised our oars to salute the crowd and especially the Clevedon people onshore, and those who'd shouted us on aboard Calypso II. As I'm sure others who won a race will also agree, and I'm sorry I'm sure yours were every bit as good as ours, the feeling is amazing. I was jumping around, and when I phoned home my kids probably thought I'd won the whole thing!

So, awesome. As for the other crews, D stayed where they were, and A just missed out on promotion setting up a final race intra-club showdown with B, who had also had a memorable win.

The final. In many ways, more of the same, but as you finish you have this massive wave of exhilaration as you've just finished this amazing event with a cox and crew you've trained and bonded with through the cold and the dark and the wet. Highlights for the club were the Ladies C winning their group (with one of their rowers putting her oar in the air about 20m before the line!), and the epic battle between Men's A & B with Men's A just clinching it. And then there was the rafting up, joining with all the other boats, singing songs (we had a few other clubs joining in with 'Blackbird'), drinking cider, rum and port, saluting the champions and rowing back to shore one-handed with a bottle of cider in the other hand.

It all went a bit mad after that. By the time the C crew had helped Porthgain get their boats on their trailers, half of Clevedon had been for a swim and the boats were still on the sand. We got them away, just in time for the start of the presentations. The nomads went up to get their wooden spoon (well their first row together had been Saturday's long race!), and the Ladies C went up as winners of their group. Pumping music, people dancing on the trailers in the sun, Andy Cole and I bought the last two cases of cider from the only shop that was still open. After that, we all ended up (most of us still in our sweaty rowing kit) in the Scillonian dancing to a ska band on a floor that was distinctly bouncy and not designed for this many people. At some point C crew went off to find our cox and give her her present, I think other crews did the same in some very emotional exchanges. And the night went uphill or downhill (depending on your point of view) from there.

As for the next morning, well I'm very thankful to my clubmates who woke me up, helped me pack and generally made sure I got to the airport for the 8:55 to Exeter. And to the cafe at the airport whose bacon sandwiches and coffee sorted me out. Those who stayed on the islands got to see that buzzing, lively, festival town rapidly dwindle back to 'Sleepy Hollow'. Roads became empty, restaurants and cafes bookable. Maybe next year I'll take a bit more time there...

To sum the whole thing up, to quote one of Clevedon's 'pioneers' from 2011: "how nice it was to have moved from tail end charlies to really being up there 'in the mix' - we all know there is more in us and we can improve but our curve has been not far off vertical!". I think I understand a bit of how Olympic athletes must feel. What a privilege to take part in such an amazing event, and with a fantastic, dedicated and inspiring bunch of people, both within Clevedon Pilot Gig Club, that I'm so proud to be a part of, and beyond.

Bring on 2014 and the 25th championships....