River Teign Rowing Club were able to send a strong squad to Dart's regatta at the weekend.

Four men's, four women's and three veteran crews enjoyed an excellent afternoon's racing in fine, bright weather with minimal tide. First away were the ladies B crews. Teign's Rachel Holgate, Jacky Forte, Paula Horrill, Kate Barczok, Jo Haydon, Kelly Inness and cox Andy Forte had a good start from the middle of the line and soon drew out a lead, with Caradon in close pursuit. They rowed strongly to the turning marks in the mouth of the river where Caradon managed to sneak through on the inside and start to pull through. The two crews stayed close to the finish line, but Caradon crossed first. After the race, Caradon sportingly declared their crew had three A crew rowers and so their result was void, giving the honours to the Teign B girls. Equally thrilled with their result were the Teign C girls – Jane Bourne, Kate Yeo, Ruth Holgate, Claire Schiller, Felicity Rawlings, Sam Westlake and cox John Holgate – who rowed a magnificent race as the only C crew entered and came in third, just behind Salcombe's B crew. Next to race were the men's B crews. Teign's Fletcher Larkin, Paul Free, John Hingston, Tom Holgate, Dave Schiller, John Holgate and cox Rachel Holgate had a tricky start with all the bow side's oars locked against Tamar Tavy's gig Jeanette. After a faltering initial five strokes, they managed to get clear and then got away strongly, pulling their way up through the fleet. By the first buoy in The Bight, they and Dart were vying for first place, and by the first turning mark Teign had established a lead. They worked well together and held this advantage to cross the line in a well-deserved first place, with Dart crossing the line 14 seconds later. Teign's C crew – Rod Pash, Ray Edworthy, Alfie Winfield, Ed Rawlings, Nic Bourne, Nigel Evans and cox Andy Forte – had started behind the line as the only C entry, but quickly pulled their way through with strong and efficient rowing, finding gaps where they needed them to cross the line in a 13.1 to take third. The junior race followed, but sadly, the Teign juniors had to pull out the previous evening, sorry to be missing this regatta. Salcombe's junior crews won both the U14s and U16s trophies. The ladies A race followed, and Teign's strong crew of Jayne Gallagher, Wendy Blackburn, Lucy Barczok, Kate Barczok, Kerrie Potter, Sue Heath and cox Steve Mortimore had a good race, despite clashing oars with Cattewater – who were later disqualified for the offence – and looked likely to take the lead for some time. However, they were unable to catch the Caradon girls and crossed the line in a creditable second place. Teign's D crew – Julie Cranwell, Jacky Forte, Lisa Pash, Julie Walton, Rowan Cranwell, Kelly Inness and cox Andy Forte had a hard-fought race, holding on well to the pack as they had started behind the line. They finished in ninth place, particularly good as Julie Walton's painful hand – due to a fall immediately before the race – was later found to be broken. The squad wish her a speedy recovery and will miss her strength in the team over the next 10. The men's A race followed, with Teign's crew of Lee Blackburn, Mark Peters, Paul Morgan, Craig Cheevers, Paul Walton, Ivan Tabbernor and cox Steve Mortimore lining up with the best crews around. It was a hotly-contested race with the Teign crew chasing hard, but it wasn't to be their day and they crossed the line in 12.52 and fifth place. Caradon were first in 12.25. Teign's D crew – Dave Schiller, Paul McMurray, Fletcher Larkin, Ed Rawlings, Ian Mitchell, Ollie Hind and cox Lisa Pash – started behind the line as the only D crew entered and to limit the congestion in the confines of the river. They too rowed a great race, finishing ninth behind the disqualified Penryn crew in 14 minutes. The veteran entries were so high that a separate lady veterans race was rowed. Teign's Rachel Holgate, Jacky Forte, Jo Haydon, Jude Chilvers, Felicity Rawlings, Kate Yeo and cox Andy Forte managed a good, strong start and, despite being 'dropped' into six at the last minute, Kate set a great stroke to follow and the ladies settled into a powerful rhythm, pulling out a lead by the first turn. Sadly, they were unable to quite hold onto it as Salcombe rowed through on the inside at the second turning mark and pulled out a lead, which they held to cross the line in first place. The Teign ladies had to contend themselves with second, but saw several strong crews behind, giving them hope of a good result in the World Championships at the end of the month. The men's veterans race was hotly-contested, with Teign putting two crews out. Both the vet's A – Nic Bourne, John Holgate, John Hingston, Mark Peters, Paul Walton, Ivan Tabbernor and cox Sue Heath – and vet's B – Ian Mitchell, Paul Free, Alfie Winfield, Ray Edworthy, Rod Pash, Nigel Evans and cox Rachel Holgate – had strong races, with Teign A achieving second place and Teign B fifth. Teign boasted two mixed crews in the last race of the day, for a hard-fought battle at the end of an excellent afternoon's racing. Results were not available, but suffice to say that the Teign crews did well enough to ensure that the club won the overall winners trophy for the day.