Regatta 1969

We’r gystadleuaeth ‘greasy pole’ yn werth ei gwylio hefyd.  Fel arfer, dim ond y bechgyn we’n ddigon dewr i fentro ar hyd y polyn i gydio yn y faner ar ei diwedd. We Terry O’Leary, o dyn ifanc o’r Cwm, a thipyn o dderyn, yn gystadleuydd blynyddol rheolaidd. Byddai’n cymryd rhediad hir tuag at y polyn, gyda momentwm yn ei gario tua’r diwedd mewn symudiad chemistry, yn aml, yn fwy llorwedd na fertigol! Roedd anafiadau’n gyffredin, ond bydden nhw byth yn ddifrifol.

Mae’r hysybysebion yn y daflen yn datgelu manylion am fusnesau’r ardal yn 1969.  Dilwyn a Morwen George we’n cadw tafarn y Ship yn y Cwm ar y pryd. Mr & Mrs Henry we yn y Ship & Anchor a Mary Thomas yn y Farmers.

Bydd nifer yn cofio am y ‘Miss Kelsey’, cwch yn perthyn i’r teulu Brooks, ac wedi ei chlymu wrth wal y Cei am flynyddoedd. Byddai ymwelwyr wrth eu bodd yn cael mynd ar hon.

Byddai’r gystadleuaeth rhwyfo yn aml yn cynnwys her gan y ‘Bonnie Doon’, cwch pren yn perthyn i Mr Willie James a oedd yn byw gyferbyn â’r ‘Ship’.

Today it’s surprising to remember the ‘smash a piano’ competition (deconstructing a piano with an axe and plenty of elbow grease – until every piece fitted through the hole in the middle of a tyre!’)

The ‘greasy pole’ competition was also worth watching. Usually, only the boys were brave enough to venture along the pole to grab the flag at the end. Mr Terry O’Leary, of Lower Fishguard was a regular annual competitor. He would take a long run towards the pole, momentum carrying him towards the end in a movement, often, more horizontal than vertical! Injuries were common, but seldom serious.

The advertisements in the leaflet reveal details about businesses in the area in 1969. Dilwyn and Morwen George kept the Ship Inn in Cwm at the time. Mr & Mrs Henry were at the Ship & Anchor and Mary Thomas at the Farmers.

Many will remember the ‘Miss Kelsey’, a boat belonging to the Brooks family, She was moored at the Quay wall for years. Visitors would love to go on fishing trips on the ‘Miss Kelsey’.

The rowing competition would often include a challenge by the ‘Bonnie Doon’, a vessel belonging to Mr Willie James who lived opposite the Ship.