You'll be invited to join a Whatsapp group with other new rowers where you'll find the basic information you'll need to start. There you will find the details on when and where to meet on the beach ready for your first session. Once you’ve made yourself known to the designated club members leading the session they will ask you to fill in a form with a few questions. This is a requirement by British Rowing, and it is done first and foremost with your safety in mind. During the Learn to row session you’ll be taken through the basics of rowing. These sessions are intended as a gentle and informal introduction to rowing, to give you a chance to try and see whether you’d like to progress further with it. We try to make sure the early sessions are not to physically demanding, but don't worry, if you continue you will find gig rowing can be a great workout! The programme will focus on the basics of blade work, going through the motions of gig rowing and becoming more familiar with the instructions that the coxswain gives you. We aim to have you at a level where you can progress to a Development crew or the Social Rowers Group after 6 – 12 weeks, but this is of course dependent on your ability and how fast you progress. You may be ready to move sooner, but equally it may take longer. Please be mindful that progression is judged by the team of training coxes and is fully at their discretion.

When you progress to the development crew you will keep improving on the same things that you were working on during the Learn-to-Row programme. Getting your timing right is of course key, but we’ll also start to focus on more advanced things such as feathering and we may take you through racing start procedures etc. There is no set duration for being in the development crew, progression is dependent on your ability and commitment. Don’t be disheartened if it takes a while! The devil is very much in the detail with gig rowing and it can take years before you are moving like clockwork!

First and foremost, if the weather is not looking good keep an eye on our Facebook page (LINK) and the Learn-to-Row Whatsapp group. Our rowing sessions are typically in the morning so we try to make the call no less than 12 hours in advance. You will hear from your coxwain if rowing is cancelled, so please always attend the session unless you hear otherwise. Gigs are quite seaworthy and in general, the Carrick Roads are quite sheltered and launching from Loe Beach means we can still row when there is fairly high winds. The only weather that tends to really complicate matters is a strong southerly wind, as this can cause swell to come right into the Carrick Roads, complicating launching of the gigs.

Loose fitting sports clothing or lycra and sensible footwear works well. For footwear we recommend a pair of old trainers that you don’t mind getting wet. Also bring a spare change of clothes if it’s looking particularly wet/windy, and don’t forget a waterproof coat. Fleece jumpers work well if it's looking cold or not particularly rainy. Clothing to AVOID include jeans, tight/non-stretch clothing that restrict movement, wool or other clothing that gets heavy when water-logged. Wellies can be a safety issue so don’t wear them, and of course footwear with heels are not suitable for gig rowing.

You’ll find one or more members waiting for you at the slip on Loe Beach, normally wearing recognisable club kit. In all likelihood there’ll be crews out already so don’t be alarmed if you don’t see any gigs on the beach! Rowing is only possible with a full crew so if you have signed up to a session please do arrive in good time so that the session isn't cancelled for the other 5 rowers. It is good practice to turn up around 10 minutes before the start of your session. Normally learn-to-row sessions are ‘sandwiched’ between slots with more experienced crews taking the boats out, but at times you may be expected to help launch/put away gigs and your coxwain will talk you through how to do this.

We have members (social as well as competitive) with a range of underlying health conditions, but please consult with your GP if you are unsure. For insurance reasons and to make sure we can do everything in our power to keep you safe, we require disclosure of these health conditions to the coxswain or taster session coordinator. We will of course treat this as confidential information.

We pride ourselves in our training programme for junior rowers and have a strong junior section with some fantastically skilled and dedicated young rowers. Having said that, the inherent size of gigs puts a lower limit on age/size of rowers because of the distance between the stretcher and the seat, and the weight of the oar requires a certain strength. The reality is that children below the age of around 10 will struggle, but this is of course to a fair degree dependent on the build and determination of the individual. Ultimately there's only one way to check whether you're big enough to go rowing so if you're not sure, get in touch with us to see if you or your child can go rowing.

As well as the competitive side of the squad, we also have an active group of social rowers. They meet up once per week to go for a gentle row around the Carrick Roads or up one of the various rivers.

During the winter boats are stored in the Loe Beach car park, restricting space available for parking but normally there is enough space to accommodate everyone if everyone parks considerately. If you live locally walking to the beach or lift sharing is encouraged. In the summertime there is more space available, but equally there's likely to be more visitors to the beach. Depending on arrival time you may be asked to pay a £3 fee for parking by the beach owner.

Our training schedule varies throughout the year. There typically is a ladies and a men’s scheduled ‘squad’ training session each week where the the various crews get mixed up to focus on technique. Alongside this there are crew training sessions which depending on the ambitions of the crew could be as often as 5 times a week in all (safe) conditions. The Learn-to-Row and Development Crews go out once a week.

We are one of the most competitive clubs in the gig rowing world, and racing is an important part of our club spirit as well as the sport as a whole. The biggest race fixtures of the year are the World Championships on the Isles of Scilly over the first weekend of May (Yes, you may be competing at world level after just a year of rowing!) and the County Championships at Newquay (early - mid September). Aside from these two events there are also a large number of other regattas throughout the Southwest, mainly in the summer and we try to attend one every weekend during the main rowing season (May – September). While we love having a great club turnout at events, we don't expect all members to attend all events as that would be exhausting! With the exception of the World Championships and some river races, regattas are a triangular or kite-shaped course, and races typically last 8 – 15 minutes. Races are usually separated into categories- so a regatta timetable may be something like this: Ladies B Mens B Ladies A Mens A Ladies Vets/ Supervets Mens Vets/ Supervets Mixed This means there are always a number of people on the beach waiting for their race so regattas have almost a festival atmosphere, and many members camp at the events to make the most of the festivities.

Many of our rowers cross train to keep fitness and strength at competitve levels. We offer circuit training several times per week at our gig shed over the winter period. We also have a number of rowing machines and other fitness equipment that can be used at any time. Ergo (rowing machine) training plans preparing for competitions or selections are set by captains or the rowing officer. Beyond that we encourage our competitive members to do further off-the-water training of their choice in their our own time.

Regattas are fun events, often held in picturesque locations that many people only visit during their holidays. There’s guaranteed to be a barbeque, fruit, cake and other snacks available and in a number of cases there’s a licensed bar, giving you the opportunity to have a well-earned drink if you feel like it. For events further afield we often go camping to make the best of visiting different parts of the Southwest. Aside from these events, we are lucky to have several excellent pubs in the vicinity. Every now and then a rowing session includes a stop-over at the Pandora Inn or off-water training is followed by a catch-up in the Punchbowl and Ladle.