Weymouth Rowing Club is a phoenix risen out of the ashes of a tragedy. On the 22nd September 2000 Tristan Douglas-Johnson set out from his home excited at the prospect of a day out at the Southampton International Boat Show. He never returned. At the age of twenty, he was killed by the runaway RIB that had minutes before thrown all its occupants into the sea whilst on a demonstration run. Tristan was an affable young man, and it was his colleagues at Kingfisher Marine who came up with the idea of building not one but two Cornish Pilot Gigs as a long lasting memorial to him. The Tristan Project was born. It did not take long to raise enough money through a sponsored parachute Jump, a benefit gig at Paul’s nightclub, a raffle, and many kind donations from family and friends. Sponsorship and donations of materials meant that the first Gig was launched on the 2nd of June 2001. It was named Sir Tristan, making a neat connection between Tristan, through Arthurian legend, to the Celtic origin of the boats design.

A Cornish pilot gig is a long, 6 man rowing boat, 32 feet in length overall, with a beam of 4 ft 9 in. and is clinker built with Elm on Oak. Their specification is based on the "Trefry", a gig built in 1838 and still in regular use by Newquay rowing club. Their original use was to take pilots out to incoming ships in the Atlantic Approaches, the fastest gig having the best chance of securing the pilotage fees. Originally a commercial venture, now the sport of gig racing has become established in the West Country and is spreading to Holland, France, The Faeroes, Australia and the USA.So that the boats were not just museum pieces, Weymouth Rowing Club was formed.

The aim of both the Tristan Project and Weymouth Rowing Club was that as many people as possible should be encouraged to enjoy the benefits of rowing these magnificent boats. We encourage all to have a go, especially the young, disabled or disadvantaged. The Tristan Project remains to fund anyone with particular needs who might wish to try rowing.The second boat, like the first, was built by Alan Hanger at Kingfisher Marine, where of course, Tristan had worked. It was launched on the 2nd March 2002, and named after Tristan’s friend Simon Penny, who died nine months before him. He too had worked for Kingfisher, and since there, as among all his other friends, Simon was known affectionately known simply as Penny, so too our second boat was thus named.

The success of the Tristan Project has been matched by the enthusiasm of the Rowing club, which started growing even before the launch of our Sir Tristan. With the boat launched every rowing session became very popular, with evening outings taking full advantage of the long summer evening daylight. Racing crews soon evolved and training became serious. A trailer was kindly built and donated to the club by Richard Giles, who knew Tristan from work, as he used to be the proprietor of a crane hire company that was used by Kingfisher Marine to lift boats from the water. As soon as the trailer was delivered, we were mobile and were off racing!

The club at first kept the gig at Kingfisher Marine, launching from the public slipway, with the Angling Society affording us clubhouse facilities. The arrival of the second Gig meant that we no longer had room to store the boats at Kingfisher. We obtained permission from the Council for a temporary compound on the public slipway, along with permission to build a boat shed on the Nothe side of the Harbour. We now have our clubhouse facilities at the Royal Dorset Yacht Club and have nearly finished our boat shed.

As a new club we were made to feel very welcome at all the regattas that we attended in both Devon and Cornwall. By the end of the season we were not coming in last, something we were told to expect! The vets (over forties) top scoring by coming in 5th from a field of 11 at Fowey.

Over the winter we managed to row virtually every week end. The weather was kind to us, and it was for that reason we started the 2001 racing season so well at the World Championships which, as every year, were held at the Scilly Isles. The Ladies A coming half way up the ladies competition, and the men coming a quarter of the way up in the men’s competition with an emphatic win in their final race - both teams doing exceedingly well for a first attendance. We held our first Regatta over the Queen’s Jubilee Bank Holiday Week end. It was attended by Caradon, Dartmouth, and Cattewater. Racing took place off the pleasure pier with prize giving and a reception held at the Royal Dorset Yacht Club. All who attended agreed that it was a great success and expressed a desire to return next year.

During the season the men made steady progress with successively better results, the ladies although doing well all year, could not match their early season success. The vets continued their very respectable form, consistently being placed in the top half. The under 16s and under 14s had their first taste of racing at our own regatta, the Under 16 were hampered by a lack of numbers whilst the Under 14s had several good results missing out on winning the plate by half a second at the Under 14 Championships at Hale.

Fun is the most important aspect of this club. Rowing success will be a natural consequence as long as we can remember that without fun and enjoyment, any results are only shallow. All who would like to row, at whatever level, are welcome. With tolerance and understanding I am sure that our club will grow and be a fitting tribute to the memory of my beloved son Tristan.

Heddon Johnson