Most of them had never been in a coastal rowing boat in their lives ? and Bermuda?s results at the World Coastal Rowing Championships in Guernsey over the weekend clearly reflected that.

Former Oxford university rower Tom Linford, Nicola and Lawrence Bird, Nicola Wilkinson and Caroline Gledhill made up the five-strong team who braved the treacherous seas off the Channel Islands in high winds and rain.

Coastal rowing is a fledgling sport in Bermuda, with organiser Lawrence Bird revealing before they left last week that only two of them had any experience in the much heavier boats designed for the open ocean.

Bird said he had originally planned to fly to Guernsey to buy a collection of boats for use in Bermuda and perhaps then establish an association.

But on discovering his visit would coincide with the inaugural World Championships, he managed to persuade other keen rowers to come with him and take part.

On the Saturday, meanwhile, the regatta was split into two categories, with the British teams and the international teams battling it out in their own groups ahead of the full international competition the following day.

And it was in the former event that Bermuda enjoyed their one and only success, with Lawrence Bird and Gledhill finishing first in the mixed senior pairs division ? completing the arduous race in a time of one hour 25 minutes and 39 seconds.

The duo beat the only other boat competing with them in their division by over 15 minutes.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Linford was forced to retire injured from the six-boat international singles division while Wilkinson and Nicola Bird were also forced to abandon their efforts in the women?s senior pairs.

And the full international regatta involving all teams on Sunday proved just as fruitless for the Bermuda team.

Wilkinson and Nicola Bird came last out of six boats in the senior women?s pairs in a time of 1:16.47 ? over 20 minutes behind the fifth-placed finishers.

And Lawrence Bird and Gledhill fared little better in the senior men?s pairs either, coming in last out of nine boats in 1:16.18.