Charity rowers create new record

l Home at last: the Charlestown Rowing Club team — led by St Austell head brewer Roger Ryman — that rowed all the way around the coast of Cornwall

May 30, 2007: A team of rowers led by St Austell Brewery head brewer Roger Ryman are celebrating setting a new record after completing the first ever row around Cornwall.

The team, from Charlestown Rowing Club, set off from Charlestown harbour, near St Austell, in their traditional Cornish gig Tormentor,on Friday, May 18. They arrived back at Charlestown at 6pm on Friday, May 25, after a 300-mile odyssey which has seen them tackle:

l More than 270 miles of rowing in often rough seas and strong tides on both the north and south coasts of Cornwall
l Rounding some of Cornwall’s most notorious headlands, which have claimed many a shipwreck, including Rame Head, Trevose Head, Gurnnard’s head, Cape Cornwall, Lands End and the fearsome Manacles rocks at the Lizard
l A 30-mile overland leg in which they hauled their gig and trailer, with a combined weight of more than half a tonne, from the upper reaches of the River Tamar to the Bude canal and the north Cornwall coast

Speaking amid celebrations at the finish, Roger Ryman thanked everyone who had supported the row, including the St Austell Brewery pubs which held fundraising events along the way.

He said: “It’s been an absolutely fantastic week and we have a mixture of emotions now — elation that we have completed the challenge and sadness that what has been a very special week in all our lives has come to an end.”

Roger, currently the UK’s Brewer of the Year, came up with the idea as an alternative to having a mid-life crisis on approaching his 40th birthday this! He was part of a team of nine rowers that included an RAF Hercules engineer recently returned from active service in Iraq, a firefighter, fisherman and a mines manager.

Roger added: “It was a tough challenge and we had some very hard days, particularly day seven (Thursday) when we rowed 32 miles from Penzance to St Mawes with a very hot sun on our backs. It has been strength sapping at times, but the training paid off and we’ve all come through it and done something that has never been achieved before”

The Row Round Cornwall challenge has been raising money for the RNLI’s Train One, Save Many campaign, as well as Charlestown Rowing Club’s new boathouse project.

The team spent the evening stop-overs at St Austell Brewery pubs in each of their ports of call around the coast, with the brewery meeting the cost of the accommodation and working with each of the pubs to throw a special party and fundraising event to coincide with the team’s arrival. The final welcome home party and fundraising event took place at St Austell Brewery’s Rashleigh Arms, in Charlestown.

Shane Sullivan, chairman of Charlestown Rowing Club, said: “I’m incredibly proud that a team from Charlestown should have taken on and completed such a daunting challenge. We’ve had tremendous support from the Cornwall community, the RNLI coxswains and crews, pubs and the rowing fraternity who sent boats out to greet us at virtually every stopover. We also saw some fantastic scenery along the way and even though I’m Cornish it has reminded me just how beautiful and special Cornwall is.”

Dave Nicoll, RNLI area fundraising manager for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, says RNLI volunteers right around Cornwall are full of admiration for the rowers on achieving their goal and for supporting the Train One, Save Many campaign.

He added: “This has been a magnificent effort by the rowing team and we are all delighted at the successful conclusion of their row around Cornwall. Not only have they achieved a first as no one else has ever followed this course in a gig, but they have also highlighted the role of RNLI crew volunteers and the importance of their training — training that helps them save lives at sea.

“The rowing team have shown great determination and dedication in planning and achieving this challenge, similar attributes to those shown every day by RNLI crew members. I know everyone involved with the RNLI in Cornwall wishes to say many congratulations to the team and thank you for supporting the RNLI.”

You can donate to the rowers' fund at www.rowroundcornwall.co.uk