Shaldon Regatta 2007
Reports of the 2007 Regatta will appear as the week progresses.
James Ashton & Chris Connell winning the Chirney Cup
Sunday evening saw the opening of Shaldon Regatta by the Chairman Mark Pile who, whilst welcoming everyone to this years event, also announced the awarding of a Lottery grant for the purchase of eight new Regatta dinghies with oars and gates. This had been preceded by the usual marathon row from Dawlish breakwater to Shaldon beach run in cold and windy conditions but with a fairly calm sea. As usual it was a very competitive race with various trophies up for grabs in the different categories. The Chirney Cup for the Men.s Pairs was finally won by Chris Connell and James Ashton entering together after some years away, Connell has now won this event a record seventeen times since his first victory 28 years ago, whilst Ashton notched up his thirteenth win. They took the lead at the start of the race and stayed in front through out whilst behind them last years winners Tommy Stoyle and Ed Rawlings battled it out in the first half of the race with Mark Pile and Steve Astbury, who have now rowed in this race together for thirty consecutive years, although by the mid point Ben Smith and James Stoyle had battled their way through to compete for the honours. But it wasn.t enough for any of these pairings as Connell and Ashton ended up twenty lengths ahead to take the race and also the Collyer Cup for the over 45.s. The Sarah Jane Cup for ladies was won Sue Heath and Felicity Rawlings whilst the over 55.s pair.s trophy, the Ray Edworthy Cup, was won by Gilbert Gill and Bob Rawlinson who was rowing at the sprightly age of seventy four. The Leander Cup for under 16.s was won once again by cousins Georgina Pile and Hattie Stoyle who rowed a wonderful race considering their ages and managed to keep up with the majority of the older rowers. The Deborah Tosio Memorial Trophy was won by seasoned rowers Harriet Langworthy and Andrew Darkin who also rowed a superb race. One encouraging sign was the amount of youngsters who took part including one pairing who had not rowed in a regatta dinghy before and managed to compete the course in good time.
Heavy rain on Monday morning saw the postponement of the Beach Rounders although in the afternoon the Otter sailing boats were able to take to the water for a series of races. These included the Patrick Nicholls Trophy for children not yet fourteen years old helming and this was won in a good race by Sarah Stoyle ably assisted by her crew member mother Claire whilst second place went to Alex Collie. The Dougie Brixton plate for helms over forty five years old was once again won by Drew Astbury crewed by Francis Astbury with the second place going to Charlie Holt.
By Tuesday morning the rain had abated and left a biting wind for the first Shaldon's Happy-Go-Lucky Water Sports swimming events. The main races included the Pat McCarthy Cup to the first local man home which was won by Dan Butcher with the Mirriam McCarthy Cup for the first woman across the line going to Ann Mears.
By the afternoon the breeze had dropped and the sun appeared for the Beach Volleyball which was, as usual, keenly fought from the off. Each year it seems as if the teams are more practiced and this was certainly the case this time. Some close and exciting games were played and the semi-finals and final proved to be one of them. The semi-finals saw a very strong visiting 'Brummies' team overcome the Shaldon Poets whilst in the other semi-final Tom.s Team, let by Tommy Stoyle, defeat the Devon Destroyers. This set up a tasty looking final of five games with the Brummies taking the first game before being overtaken in the next to and then pulling back to take the trophy with wins in the final two games.
Wednesday morning and on to the beach for another competitive tournament of Beach Rounders for the Simons Trophy in which teams of six play to the strict Shaldon Rules. A long afternoon of competitive games saw a close fought final between last year's winners Devon Destroyers and the Hitters with the former retaining the trophy by scoring one home run to nil.
On Wednesday afternoon some serious rowing races took place in a strong breeze and tide, with a number of trophies up for grabs including the Alice Cup for the Ladies single sculls which was won once again by Felicity Rawlings with Janet Langworthy second. Hattie Stoyle retained the Janet Butterworth Cup for girls twelve to fifteen years and is looking a stronger rower by the year having crossed the line in second place in the race for the Cyril Extence Cup won by Amy Savva. Other family members, father Keith and brother Charlie, then kept the flag flying by again taking the honours in the Generation Cup in which each rower took an oar each. It was then the turn of another brother, James, rowing with friend James Crawford, to cross the line first and take the John Pile Cup for the men's pair oars having beaten last year.s winners Ed Rawlings and Tommy Stoyle into second place. The Liney Cup handicap race for local boys & girls 11 years and under was closely fought with the wind and tide playing a major part. Matt Langworthy saw off the challenge of Greg Horrill and Sarah Stoyle to take the race.
The evening brought out the Seine Boats, traditional Teign salmon fishing craft rowed by a four plus cox, for the veteran and novice races. This was a good chance for rowers who may not be involved in the River Teign Rowing Club's series of races to experience actual racing and was keenly contested. The Shaldon Gulls took the Old Bats Trophy for ladies veterans whilst the event for the over 55's, The Old Codgers Cup, was won by Tuckered Out resplendent in pink with pink blades to their oars. The Veteran Trophy was won by the Shaldon Poets, one of the original seine boat crews for the early years of the River Teign Rowing Club who in winning got their hands on the only trophy that has eluded them over the many years they.ve been together. These events are always good fun to watch and so it again proved with a number of clashes of oars from the beach start as well as some choice language between crews!
By Thursday afternoon the rain had gone and the sun appeared for the next lot of rowing races in the harbour. Various trophies and cups were on offer with some exciting racing taking place, not least between Mark Pile and Lewis Bloor for the Thomas Extence Cup, a handicap race for the older man (45 to 55 years). It was neck and neck most of the way with Lewis finally pulling away to cross the line first and retain the cup won the previous year. Another close race followed for the Frank Thomas Cup for even older men (56 years and above) with the starter handicapping by age and allowing Chris Clarence to take a deserved victory. The Cinderella Cup for ladies pair oars was yet another good race this time with Kate Barzock and Kelly Innes taking a commanding lead from the off and winning in some style over second placed Maxine Bradley and Sam Surgenor. A fierce and competitive race ensued for the Cotgrave Cup, the main men.s rowing event of the week, with James Stoyle holding off the challenge of friend Ed Rawlings and brother Tommy proving yet again how strong the crop of youngsters coming through the ranks is proving to be, it wasn.t long ago that these trio, along with other familiar names, were competing in and winning the more junior events. Other brother Charlie Stoyle then won the Ferry Boat Cup for mixed pair oars 12 to 17 years with Stevie Hudson.
By the evening the tide had turned and the wind died down which brought out all manner of craft for the Treasure Hunt by boat set around the harbour and village, a wonderful family event that has competitors scratching their heads over some quite baffling clues. Results were given out at the barbecue afterwards along with the actual answers when loud groans and 'told-you-so's' could be heard. In the end the South Cove Sharks team won by a short leg.
Due to strong winds at the beginning of the week the Otter sailing races had been postponed and were held on Friday morning. A fairly good breeze coming down the river saw some close run races and as usual all the competitors whether experienced sailors, novices or visitors gave their all. Always a fun event the races saw experienced and not-so-experienced take to the water with the Shaldon Ferry Trophy for children 14 to 17 years old won by Tessa Astbury in a close fought tussle with Nick Abrams. The other trophy being sailed for was the Wallace Mole Cup for helms over 45 years old and was won by a sailor of vast experience John Ball, and crewed by Hattie Stoyle, beating off the challenge of Drew Astbury crewed by Tessa Astbury.
The Friday afternoon Row & Motor races provided great entertainment with such sights as the Nags race for the Galli Trophy (a rolling pin) in which dinghies were seen being sent all over the river whilst blind-folded rowers were screamed at by their direction-giving partner. This year the younger generation proved to have the most 'harmonious' relationship with James Stoyle ably coaxed around the course by partner Charlie Adams. A number of serious cups were up for the taking with the Pegasus Cup for the men.s two pair oars proving a fascinating race in which Tommy Stoyle and Ed Rawlings took a good, early lead over the pairing of Lewis Bloor and Richard Shelston with Charlie and James Stoyle coming in third. The matching race for ladies, the Popkin Trophy, saw Kate Barzock and Felicity Rawlings take the early, commanding lead which they stretched as the race unfolded and were never seriously at risk of being caught.
The motor races always provide a superb spectacle and this year was no exception. Shaldon rules are rigidly enforced but at times some of the teams seemed to take them close to the wire! Kate Barzock and Richard Shelston continued their good run to win the John Player Trophy for the Row & Motor up to 5 h.p. In this event one leg is rowed whilst the next allows use of an outboard engine and the winners let the other competitors fight it out round the buoys whilst they kept up a good, steady speed.
Saturday is always one of the real fun days of the regatta and started with youngsters, and the older generation, let loose with their imaginations along with spades, buckets, shells and seaweed, to produce fine sandcastles.
Mid-afternoon saw the Gig and Punt chase, a light-hearted re-enactment of local history when a Teignmouth gig manned by a large crew raced the one-manned Shaldon punt out of the harbour to pilot in the boats visiting the port. Orange flares, fireworks and drifting flour made this a great spectacle and ended with both boats sinking some yards of Shaldon beach as Captains Paul Edworthy and Steve Astbury tried vainly to keep their heads above water whilst the rest of the crew disappeared under.
Saturday afternoon saw the youngsters take to the water for the Happy-Go-Lucky Water Sports with Jo Woolnough winning the Benjamin Cup for the first local boy in the boys 12 to 15 years across the line over 50 meters whilst Freddie Barton from Bristol was victorious in the Abby Cup for a race over 100 meters. Chloe Kemp swam well to win the Jemima Cup for local girls twelve to fifteen years old.
Further events during the day including Beach Sports for the children in which Samara Taylor won the Three-Legged race for seven to nine year olds with partner Corinne Patridge and Hadley Brown of Shaldon won the Bean Bag race for five to seven year olds.
The Tug of War took place on the beach in the evening with teams from the Ferryboat Inn winning both the Challenge Shield for gentlemen after last years runners up spot and the Graeme Challenge shield for the ladies who beat Team Totties.
On Sunday morning the 5-A-Side Beach Football for the Royal Standard Cup took place with a packed grandstand watching a full compliment of teams battling it out. The final between Broadmeadow FC and the Brummies saw the former win by two goals to nil.
The wonderful weather on Sunday afternoon saw one of the great spectacles of the Regatta, the King Canute competition and this year was exceptional with a record number of forty teams entering. Teams lined the shore from the Quay down to Ellerslie House building defences against a high and fast incoming tide whilst trying to impress the judges with their flair for design. The under thirteen.s event was won by the Pollets whose magnificent structure was closely matched by other class winners including the Exonians.
Further superb weather in the evening brought out large crowds to watch the Seine boat races being run in conjunction with the River Teign Rowing Club who were using this event as the final race in their 2007 series. First out to race were the under sixteen.s crews rowing for the Eric Yeo Memorial Cup and some excellent handicapping saw a closely fought race with the final victor.s being the Freya boat.
The Dora March trophy for ladies crews was extremely exciting as Hot Pants needed to beat Uproar to take the series. With the two going neck and neck with the Abs Fab team they came to the Sprat Sands buoy at which point Hot Pants veered off course and missed the mark allowing the others to pull away with Uproar taking the honours on the line. The Charlie Bloor Trophy for men was won in a truly exciting finish by the Ship Inn team following last years victory but not before a clash on the last marker with the Hiremasters boat in which oars and words were exchanged. Some fantastic coxing by Kate Barzock saw them take the lead and hold onto it for a great win. The barbecue afterwards gave rowers time to discuss incidents and reflect on tactics with the arguments on the water soon forgotten.
The weather for the Bank Holiday Monday was wonderful with bright sunshine and very little breeze which brought out huge crowds to watch the Beach Kricket played to Shaldon rules for the Lockyer cup. This was a great spectator event and the large mass of onlookers proved that this was an event to set the pulses going, especially the quality of cricket played by the youngsters in the Optimists Colts team who, having put out the Dagmar Devils in a close fought semi-final dominated the final against the Grasshoppers to win by 30 runs to 9. The Bristol Taverners Trophy for the most promising young Kricketer went to Tom Edgington whilst the most promising female player was Natalie Savage.
Whilst the Kricket was being played out the sailors were once again tacking buoys in a continuation of the sea racing.
In the mid afternoon the highly trained Yellow Ducks took to the water for the Shaldon Regatta Great Duck Race run from Pole Sand, into the mouth of the river with a finishing line near Shaldon House. There was a great spectacle after as the youngsters took to their dinghies to collect the ducks with prizes for bringing home the most. The winning duck was trained by the well known mallard coach Geraldine Cliffden Gould who refused after to give away any training secrets although it.s believed that the winning entry is regularly fed Quacker Oats.
Then it was onto the pole for the famous pillow fight event with a fully booked fight card. A number of old scores were settled and friendships strained and there were some great matches as quite a few previous winners found themselves pitted against each other in the early rounds. The super heroes Batman and Robin made an appearance (aka Tommy and James Stoyle) although neither was able to fly into the final. This was an interesting affair after last year.s winner Fletcher Larkin who, as has become a regular custom each year, was booed heavily on his arrival in the arena was beaten in the semi-final by Dean Gasson who went on to beat local favourite John Hingston. In the ladies event Louise Pierce was a very popular winner of the Sandra Surgenor Shield having battled her way through a more tactical event to defeat Stevie Hudson.
The evening prize giving saw the presentation by local MP Richard Younger-Ross of the most sought after trophies in the Regatta, those awarded to the young person of either sex, under 18 years, under 16 years and under 12 years respectively who in the opinion of the committee, puts up the best overall performance during the week. Charlie Stoyle rightly shared the Clarence Cup with James Crawford sister Hattie took the Hulbert Trophy for the second year running and now seems set to join her older brothers in becoming very much a fixture on the winner.s rostrum for some years to come. The De Vey Jubilee Trophy was a close run thing and in the event the judges decided to give it to Greg Horrill who again was another youngster who seemed to be involved in everything possible.
The various cups and trophies from the week's events were also handed out with a number of names cropping up time and again showing the involvement many competitors put into the regatta. The sailing races produced some familiar names amongst the victors including Alex East who won the laser class, John Ball, sailing his OK, who won both the Jolly Boat Challenge Cup and the Fast Handicap Challenge Cup and Toby Kay who won the Amory Cup for helms under 18 years in his laser.
The Grand Draw for the Regatta dinghy or cash was then drawn out after the bag had been tossed amongst the crowd with the winning ticket belonging to local boy Matt Langworthy who was on the beach at the time and excitedly decided to take the dinghy for use in future years. So for the second year running a local young rower was able to take possession of the prize with the knowledge that it will be put to good use.
Chairman of the Regatta, Mark Pile, closed the week by thanking Richard Younger-Ross for presenting the prizes and stating what a good Regatta we'd had this year with entries up on the previous year, especially the last weekend when record crowds and entries were seen. Mark also thanked all the competitors, spectators, helpers, committee members, especially with the blend of youth, age, experience and enthusiasm now prevalent, and gave further thanks to the local hostelries, the Ferryboat Inn and the Royal Standard, for supplying the beer for after the Dawlish row and the Beachcomber Café and Newsagent for their continued support. He also added thanks to the RNLI, the Teignmouth Pilots, the River Teign Rowing Club for their help with the Sunday evening races and the Ferry for their support and keeping a distance when the boats were racing, not discounting the many people not on the committee whom help out nonetheless including the Tucker family for the use of their forecourt, Steve Adams for his help with the Seine boat races, Drew Astbury for help with the Otter racing, Dave Thomas on the rescue boat team and other friends and supporters. He finished by once again mentioning that after the funding from the Lottery next year would see six splendid new Regatta dinghies joining the fleet.
So after a difficult start to the week event.s when torrential rain and heavy winds postponed a number of events it was wonderful to see the sunshine come out for the three days of the bank holiday weekend which was one of the best in living memory. Crowds were up, entrants were up and all the events were played out in the spirit expected of Shaldon Regatta. It was especially gratifying to have record entries for the King Kanute competition and at one point it was almost impossible to walk from one end of the beach to the other due to excited children building their castles and sea defences, and the spectators watching the proceedings.