Rowers: mission accomplished!

Thursday 02 August 2018

A team of rowers from Dartmouth have successfully navigated the Channel twice, making their way to Guernsey before rowing back home.

In total, the Dart Gig Team rowed for around 30 hours to make the round trip, leaving Dartmouth at 04:00 on Friday 27 July, and getting to Guernsey in the early evening, around 19:00. They were due to row back on Sunday 29 July, but windy weather prevented them from leaving. They eventually managed to row back on Tuesday, leaving Guernsey at 05:00 and arriving home around 21:00.

Upon arriving home, they were greeted by a huge flotilla of supporters congratulating them on their achievement.

Tara Horwood; one of the rowers, said the whole trip had been brilliant.

"We ultimately had to delay our return journey to wait for the weather to get better, but we set off home at 05:00 yesterday (Tuesday) morning," she said.

"There was a little bit of swell but the weather was pretty great, it was nothing the boat couldn't handle. Our outward journey was lovely as well, but we didn't have as much lightning or sea sickness on the way back."

The team were accompanied by two RIBs and a fishing boat, which they used to rotate in members of the team to allow people to have rest periods.

Ms Horwood said they started off each rowing for two hours, and then getting transferred to the fishing boat to eat and sleep, but they later cut that down to 90 minutes to help keep the pace up.

Express asked Ms Horwood how the team kept themselves entertained and motivated during such a long period of rowing.

"One of the members of the team bought along a big speaker, so we had music until that ran out of battery which was good to keep a rhythm," she said. "But we are a close knit team and have known each other for a long time, so we are happy in our own company to be honest."

The Dart Gig Club made the journey on their boat 'Smudger', which is a Cornish Pilot Gig - a six oared 32ft long boat, the design of which dates back to the 17th century.

They undertook the challenge to raise money for the Children's Hospice South West and a new competitive racing Cornish Pilot Gig for their club. So far they have made £11,006 of their £15,000 target, with a number of fundraisers to go, and Ms Horwood said they were really happy with the huge amount of support they have received. 

Pictured: The money is coming in as the Dart Gig Club continue fundraising 

People in both Guernsey and Dartmouth have been incredibly supportive and helpful as they had adapted their plans, Ms Horwood said. 

The team decided to support the charity because, while they didn't have any direct links to it, they all indirectly knew people who had been helped by the Hospice and felt it was a worthy cause.

The hospice they are supporting is dedicated to making the most of "short and precious lives" through the provision of the best possible hospice care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions. They provide specialist palliative care, respite for the whole family, a sibling service for brothers and sisters, emergency support, end of life care and a bereavement service for as long as is needed.

Pictured: File image of the type of boat used by the team.