COMPETITIVE rowers from around the world battled against the elements as much as themselves at the weekend. Centred around Havelet Bay, Guernsey hosted the FISA Coastal Rowing Challenge 2006 – the biggest rowing event ever to be staged in the Channel Islands.

Gale force winds and very rough seas saw several boats swamped and a few capsizes in the British Championship on Saturday and the World event yesterday was only slightly calmer.

But to compound matters the fleet then had thick fog to contend with.

But Guernsey rowers held their own with a string of successes.

‘We had to deal with very rough conditions, but all went as well as could be expected,’ said Guernsey Rowing Club captain Joe Paul.

Both days saw women race an 8km course in the morning followed by the men racing 12km in the afternoon.

Each was intended to follow a triangular course heading south from the start off Castle Cornet to Fermain before heading east into the Little Russel and returning to finish in Havelet Bay.

But only Saturday morning’s women’s race went to plan.

The full course was raced in very difficult conditions but the weather deteriorated so much that the men’s race was altered to a two-lap course hugging the east coast.

‘By the time it got to making a decision on the men’s race it was deemed to be unsafe to send them offshore,’ said Paul.

Both yesterday’s races also took lapped courses closer to shore.

Guernsey rowers performed well in the British and international women’s race with coxed fours Geomarine finishing second in 47min. 15sec. and twodegreesnorth finishing fourth in 50.28.

The former included Atlantic rowers Kathy Tracey and Sarah Day at the bow. They were joined by Margie Jorgensen, Sarah Stonebridge and cox David Le Page.

Guernsey women dominated the British and international singles. Paula van Katwyk won in 1-04.51, with Carol Le Page in second and Odette Duerden third.

‘The conditions were very rough. Boats were disappearing into troughs and filling up with water,’ said Paul.

Duerden, his sister, got swept out of her one-man boat near the eastern buoy.

She was quickly picked up in a guard boat in the only incident of the first race.

The men’s was more eventful.

‘By then the wind had picked up and had veered southerly, blowing straight up the Little Russel,’ said Paul.

A single Frenchman and a coxed four both got swamped before the race start.

Once it got underway boats had to slog south against the wind to a buoy laid off Fermain.

‘The first leg felt like rowing uphill, punching against the surf. Boats were almost going underwater so it favoured the pairs with self-draining decks.

‘Once we turned to head north it was much more enjoyable,’ said Paul.

Sarnian Ben Byrom claimed the British international men’s title in 1-10.29 with fellow local Stuart Briggs a close second in 1-10.42.

The British and international master and senior fours was also won by Guernsey boats Hash Anchors in 1-00.04 and Nova Group in 54.43 respectively.

Yesterday both races ran close to the coast and there were a string of notable Guernsey successes.

Briggs came second in the world singles with a time of 1-09.24 and the Ozannes team won the world men’s pairs with a time of 0-59.13.

Guernsey dominated the world men’s senior fours claiming the first four places with Nova Group winning in 53.50 and Thames River Capital, Royal Bank of Scotland and Close Funds 1 placing second to fourth respectively.

Van Katwyk came third in the world women’s singles in 58.44 and Geomarine took third in the world women’s fours in 0:47.15 with twodegreesnorth in fourth place.