Bladesmen from Exmouth Rowing Club last week paid tribute to one of their most cherished members.

Peter Todd came to the club thirteen years ago after a move south from his native Yorkshire. An accomplished fine-boat oarsmen and ex-Chair of Sheffield Rowing Club, Toddy had won both national and international honours in a Sheffield veterans crew and brought a wealth of experience to his new shipmates at ERC.

“Toddy held our feet to the fire,” said ex-ERC Chair Graham Hurley. “He had an extraordinary talent for feeling every little shiver that went through a crew on the water, which worked miracles for our technique.”

But coastal water was a novelty for Toddy and he confronted this new challenge with a characteristic mix of good humour, fierce commitment and a lifetime’s fund of stories. Coastal rowing is very different to performing at Henley or on the Thames but Toddy – never one to pass a half-open door – made himself thoroughly at home.

“He was a huge addition to the club,” said current Chair Richard Robinson. “He served as Vice Chairman and helped make possible the move into the new boathouse. As an ex-solicitor, he knew his way around the trickier legal issues but his real contribution was always on the water.”

Toddy came to love ERC ways and Exmouth water and was at his happiest enjoying a mid-row break with stickies, coffee, and much laughter on a variety of estuary sandbanks.

“Exmouth rowing is something I’d never have even dreamed about,” he confided to friends recently. “It was the present I never expected and it keeps on giving.”

Toddy leaves a widow, Isobel, a son, a daughter, and a growing tribe of grandchildren. He will, says ERC, be sorely missed.

The love and thoughts of everyone in East Devon and rowing community go out to Toddy’s family and friends.

On the weekend, hardy crews from ERC were out on the water, defying the chilly conditions with crew training at 8am on a Sunday and six new starters enjoying their induction at 9am. It is a level of dedication that makes rowing such a fabulous sport.