Events 2026
Round Hayling Island - 28th June
The round Hayling Rowing Race is acknowledged as one of the toughest coastal rowing races in the rowing calendar, a real test of stamina and seamanship for all the entrants. The race is open to any fixed seat coastal rowing boat and we sent a mixed crew in our Cornish Gig Pilot Gig ‘Sea Spirit’. In total there we were 18 boats entered in the various classes.
Due to adverse weather conditions on the day with wind strength above Force 5 the race organisers, with safety in mind, decided to shorten the course to an 11 mile race within Langstone Harbour but this was still a long course in tough conditions. The race started and finished at North Hayling and the first leg, rowed to a section of Mulberry Harbour near Eastney was very challenging indeed with the return leg being somewhat easier with the lessening wind and tide behind.
In a very competitive race ‘Sea Spirit’ finished in an impressive time of 1 hour 24 minutes, gaining 2nd place in the Cornish Pilot Boat class, and 2nd overall in the “Super Vets”.
Bembridge Gig Fest - 30th/31st May
What an absolutely fabulous weekend we had when more than ninety rowers took to the water for a weekend of racing and celebration! We really seem to have established an Isle of Wight event of note with the Bembridge Gig Fest. As well as Cornish Pilot Gigs, we managed to have five Solent Galleys out on the water with their own races, which is probably the first time that has happened anywhere for a long time.
This year also saw the debut of the Solent Spirit Trophy, awarded to the club with the best overall performance across the weekend. Wittering Rowing Club took home the inaugural Solent Spirit Trophy after delivering the strongest combined results of the weekend although we came a very close second.
We had many positive responses from all of the participating clubs, best summed up by Bev Whitley, of Langstone Cutters Rowing Club, who wrote: "Thank you so much for an excellent weekend of racing and entertainment. Everything was fantastic, the racing, the catering, the party, the stunning location and the weather. It was lovely for us Langstone Cutters to line up with five Galleys on the water together in the Solent where they are meant to be." Well done YGRC. They’re all coming back next year!
Cockleshell Challenge - 24th May
Organised by the Eastney Cruising Association, the annual Cockleshell Challenge is held over an approximately 14km course which takes in Southsea Seafront and then out to Horse Sand Fort before heading back to the ECA Clubhouse.
Sea Spirit completed the course in under 1 hour 30 minutes which is a very competitive time and won the in the open category.
Crew: Sarah F (stroke), Geoff, Andy,Terry, Alistair, Clive and Bill (cox)
Hamble River Raid - 16th May
Yarmouth complete successful raid on the Hamble
The Hamble River Raid is now a long established annual rowing event and takes place over a 7km course starting at Hamble Quay going up the river and back again. The race is open to various classes of paddled or rowed vessels from Cornish Pilot Gigs to Kayaks all of whom have to navigate the very busy course up the river. We entered both our Cornish Pilot Gigs – ‘Sea Spirit’ and ‘Spirit’ - with mixed crews and were in a field of 8 Cornish Pilot Gigs out of total entrance of over 65 craft. Both crews made good starts but it was Sea Spirit who pulled away and eventually won the race quite convincingly.
Sea Spirit not only recorded the fastest time of any boat on the day but in a time of 40 minutes 01 second was one second off the course record – a brilliant achievement by this very talented crew.
Three Harbours Event - March 14th
We enjoyed a splendid start to the 2026 season taking part in the first 3 Harbours event of the year in Chichester Harbour.
Seventeen boats and one hundred and fifty rowers from several southern clubs assembled for the March fixture, “Head of the Harbour Regatta”, hosted efficiently and warmly by the Itchenor Sailing Club, offering their delightful setting and extensive facilities on the banks of this beautiful haven.
Fourteen rowers from YGRC set off on Saturday, together with our Cornish Pilot Gig, Sea Spirit, on the 08:20 ferry from Fishbourne to Portsmouth. One crew to row in the mixed race (crews with at least three ladies) and one in the open (crews of any composition).
The weather was perfect, light winds, blue skies and sunshine, if a little chilly. The course was a simple, ten-kilometre circuit starting in front of Itchenor Sailing Club, racing to East Head, rounding a buoy and returning to finish at the start line.
Both crews had a most enjoyable and rewarding row, each feeling that they had done their best. In both races they were competing in the fixed seat category and the results were as follows:
Open: fastest Cornish Pilot Gig and first overall
Mixed: fastest Cornish Pilot Gig and fourth overall
Open crew: Sarah Forster(stroke), Nick Mills, Terry Simms, Geoff Olden, Andy Woodbridge, Clive Kite and Bill Freshwater(cox)
Mixed crew: Fiona Thorpe(stroke), Rosanne Martin, Mark Farrar, Caroline Pakel, Paula Mills, Keith Campbell, and Sam Hotchin(cox)
