Racing 22 miles down The Thames might not sound like everyone's idea of fun, but it's exactly what two teams of sea rowers from Tenby Surflink chose to do on September 13!

The 'Great River Race' is a colourful annual event, in which around 300 traditional or replica vessels of all shapes and sizes take to the water in London to row from Richmond to Greenwich.

The race always attracts a good number of Pembrokeshire participants, and marks the close of the season's racing for most of the sea rowing clubs.

Tenby entered both a men's and a ladies' team into the race, and both did well. The men's team completed the 22-mile course in two hours and 42 minutes, coming fourth in their class.

The team contained a father and son, Frank and Jon Miller. Both had raced in London before, but never in the same boat!

Frank commented: "The race was, as always, great fun, but 22 miles shouldn't be taken lightly, and we had to work for our good result."

The ladies' team was, perhaps, the surprise!

One of the rowers, Polly Groom, explained: "Due to work and family commitments, two of the original team had to drop out fairly last minute. We replaced one of them, and then Wiseman's Bridge Rowing Club kindly lent us one of their ladies, Sandra Ayris, too. So we set off into the race having never trained together - in fact, we'd never even all met each other before!"

Despite this, the Tenby ladies managed to beat a good number of mixed teams, get a third place in their class and finish just seven minutes behind the men's team.

And, to prove that rowing really can be a family activity, the ladies team included mother and daughter, Helen and Ellie Brewer, with Ellie's brother, Dan, in the men's boat.

Helen said: "Ellie and I only started rowing this year, and racing in London was a real highlight. We can't wait to race again next year. Maybe then we'll beat the men's team!"

The other team members were Imogen Simpson-Mowday and Esther Roberts for the ladies and Gary James and Gordon Miller for the men's.

The Great River Race is the end of a good season for Tenby Sea Rowing Club.

The team, racing in rowing boat ESS Summer Spectacular, brought home a gold medal from Cardiff in the first race of the season and then, in May, the club took part in the Celtic Challenge. This race, 90 miles across the Irish Sea, raised nearly £4,000 for the Paul Sartori Foundation.

Nick Tebbutt, the captain of the sea rowing club, said that the club was very pleased with these recent results in London.

He added: "The club wouldn't survive, though, without generous local sponsorship. ESS has sponsored us now for three years, and it's made a huge difference. We've also had very loyal support from the Tenby House Hotel, and during the Celtic Challenge, Prince's Gate Water and Kilgetty Co-op provided essential supplies."

The club would also like to thank N. D. Toy and Hurlow Construction for their sponsorship.

The rowing club is always keen to attract new members. Longboat rowing is a very accessible sport, and participants will quickly see improvements in their fitness. No previous experience is required - go along and try it out! The club meets on Sunday mornings, 9.30 am, in the car park by Tenby South Beach - just go along, or 'phone Helen on 07870627744.

* Photographs of all the Pembrokeshire boats competing in the Great River Race, can be found on Pembrokeshire Photography's website - http://www.pembs-events.com">www.pembs-events.com