Burnham-On-Sea Gig Rowing Club has announced that it is hold its first Regatta this Spring.
The Regatta will take place over the Easter weekend on 11th April from 8am -2pm.
The event is expected to attract gig clubs from across the Somerset area and will feature nine races, followed by an Ergo machine rowing championship in the yacht club.
“Rowing will take place along the estuary, with boats starting from Burnham yacht club and racing up to the Pavilion and back,” says a spokesman.
“Hospitality will be available throughout the event with the club’s bar open at its conclusion. Monies raised will be used by the Gig Rowing Club, a part of Burnham Motor Boat and Sailing Club, to grow this healthy sport in our area.”
“The Cornish Pilot Gig is a six-oared rowing boat, built of Cornish leaf elm, 32 feet (9.8m) long with a beam of four feet ten inches.”
“It is recognised as one of the first shore-based lifeboats that went to vessels in distress, with recorded rescues going back as far as the late 17th century. Burnham’s first lifeboat in 1836 may well have been similar to this.”
Burnham’s rowing club was established in September 2015 and has two Gigs; the ‘Brue’, a wooden competition gig, and ‘Jayne Campbell’, a fibreglass training gig.
New rowers always welcome regardless of age (18+ years) or ability! Please contact: BOSgigs@outlook.com if you’d like to join or see them on social media.
