THE Great River Race took place in London this month when seven ladies from Cotehele Quay Gig Club lined up alongside 300 crews from around the world.
The team took to the water in the Cream Of Cornwall to tackle the daunting 21-mile row along the Thames, from London Docklands to Ham in Surrey.
Joining them were a vast array of vessels, some there for fun, some for sport; serious athletes and fancy dress-wearing fundraisers side by side embracing the spirit of the day.
Fiona Macinnes, who rowed for Cotehele, said: "What a fantastic event and a very testing race.
"Jerry Lawrence, our cox, did a brilliant job of driving us hard while keeping us motivated.
"There are so many boats on the river that the cox has to be looking ahead and anticipating at all times.
"It is really gratifying to achieve a personal challenge but also to work as a crew and help each other through the last couple of miles when tiredness and pain kick in. The memory of that exhaustion soon faded once we were sitting in the sunshine sipping champagne and comparing blisters."
The women, whose ages ranged from 19 to 54, completed the race in a very respectable 2 hours 53 minutes.
The Cotehele vessel also took to the Thames in June as part of the Royal Thames Jubilee Pageant.
