CHAIRMAN’S VIEW

Congratulations to all crews who entered the Fours Head. To win the club 4+ and 4x with a second in the women's club 4+ is a terrific result. Other crews were also highly ranked.

On the Sunday we had thirteen entries in the Veteran Fours Head with three wins, testament to depth of rowing at LRC below the squad.

The following week I received an email from a member of the LRC 1977 eight that won the triple of Head of the River, Thames Cup and World Championships, saying 'I see London are on the up'. Praise indeed from that particular individual.

On the Saturday, it was nice to name four new boats after illustrious London members Mike Williams, Christopher Woodall, Imogen Walsh and Steph Cullen. Christopher joined the Club in 1947 and is possibly our longest standing member. Loyalties to LRC often endure a lifetime.

The refurbishment of the Resis kitchen has commenced; another significant improvement to our clubhouse ably overseen by Eddie Markes.

I hope we are all looking forward to this evening’s Christmas Party.

The next TLR will be in January so Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Bill Baker
Chairman, London Rowing Club

CAPTAIN’S REPORT

When I look back on my first few months as Captain I have had the privilege to write about our members’ triumphs in each of my monthly reports - this month is no different.

At the beginning of November, George Cowley and Calum Jenkins made their way up to the first round of GB Rowing trials in Boston, Lincolnshire. Supported by Chief coach, Stu Heap, and his wife Rebecca, the two LRC Squad athletes achieved a personal best on their 2km erg tests. George went on to place 9th fastest U23 sculler and has been invited to the pre-Christmas GB training camp at Dorney Lake and Bisham Abbey. London has a strong history of performing well at national trials and it is great to see the blue and white throwing their hats into the ring once again.

Stu hosted an evening technical presentation on the rowing stroke and the championship course racing line. Attended by members across the rowing groups, the first part of the presentation broke down the fundamentals of the rowing stroke and explained the style currently coached in the squad. The second part looked at the best line to steer down the championship course, a helpful lesson ahead of the fours heads.

The middle of November saw 26 crews representing LRC across the Fours Head and the Vets Fours Head. We hosted 10 visiting clubs and the clubhouse was how it should be: full of supporters and competitive rowers with the flag flying proudly. The Fours head pennants were won by the men’s Club coxed and coxless fours with the women’s Club coxless four coming 2nd. The Vets Fours Head pennants were won by the men’s Masters A and Masters D coxless fours and women's Masters A coxless four. The drum was banged successfully down the championship course and at the LRC bar. Congratulations to all those who raced and thank you to all the volunteers who made the racing possible.

To round up a busy month, we had the honour of naming 4 boats - two coxless fours and two doubles. The men’s four was named ‘Mike Williams’ after our illustrious vice president, the women’s four was named ‘Christopher’ after long standing member Chris Woodall who has recently reached his 75th year as a member, one double was named after world champion and former committee member ‘Stephanie Cullen’ and the other double was named after two time world champion ‘Imogen Walsh’. It was wonderful to pay tribute to such fantastic members and even more special to have them all present to christen their boats. Thank you for making London Rowing Club great.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Bang the drum!

Elizabeth Cottrell
Captain, London Rowing Club

THE NORTH WIND DOTH BLOW...

As the air temperature looks set to drop below freezing and the water temperature dropping towards numbing, a reminder regarding the additional dangers of cold weather rowing: capsize, ejection, or swamping and subsequent submersion in cold water is highly dangerous.

The instinctual response to cold water submersion is to take a deep breath, which can result in the inhalation of a large volume of water. If entering the water cannot be avoided, the next thought must be to breath-hold until your head is above the water and you are floating with the aid of your boat and/or oars. Hyperventilation, loss of strength, and hypothermia are your next concerns. It is generally recommended that you stay with your boat until rescue arrives (from other crews or launches or the RNLI, summoned by phone call - all boats must carry a cellphone in a waterproof pouch). Upon rescue, it is important that you be monitored for signs of shock, have wet clothing replaced with dry clothing, and rewarmed carefully with blankets and warm beverages. Heating directly (i.e. with hot water or a heating pad) is not recommended due to the insensitivity of hypothermic skin to dangerous temperatures, and due to the risk of inducing further shock.

If you witness a capsize and submersion, it is your duty to do what you can to help even if the extent of the help you can give is to call the RNLI and wait near the capsized crew. Please refresh your knowledge further on cold water shock using the RNLI page: https://rnli.org/safety/respect-the-water and the British Rowing RowSafe document: https://www.britishrowing.org/about-us/policies-guidance/rowsafe/ ; the more often this is done, the more automatic your response will be when encountering a crisis on the water.

Rui Xu

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

See more detail for these events, visit our Calendar of Events…

IRREGULAR’s REPORT

It has been a quiet month with outings taking place as normal.

Vet Fours Head day passed off well on Sunday 20th November. Those of us who were not racing had an earlier outing for which we put out a two quads and a double and had a great paddle in good conditions.

We had three crews racing in the Head, to be added to the 12 crews overall that were competing from the Club. There were some great results from the Club but they came from other areas – suffice to say that we took part and crews were generally happy with their results.

*Andrew Boyle, Matt Thorogood, Eric Moe and Keith Coni setting out for their Vets Fours Head Race.*

A number of us clapped out the crews and there was a great atmosphere at the Club which was added to by good results from the squad the day before. Well done everyone!

Eddie Markes

THE FOURS HEAD 2022

The Fours Head is arguably the squad’s biggest and most anticipated race this side of Christmas. With limited boats, there is strong competition within the squad to secure a seat. Despite this, LRC still managed to enter 13 crews, one of the largest entries this year, to take on the championship course.

With three wins under our belt from 2021, the pressure was on. The Club had four crews racing in the championship categories this year, demonstrating the depth at the top end of the squad. The first to take on the 6.8km course was our Champ Mens 4x. This Crew comprised of U23 International Champion and recent Pairs Head Victor Matt Curtis, Bermudian Olympian and previous Cambridge President Dara Alizadeh, Jamie Gare of Bath University and GB European Beach Sprints Finalist Gregor Maxwell. A strong perfomance placed them 6th amongst strong crews from Leander and Twickenham.

Next up our Champ 4+, coxed by Heather Scott, which saw Louron Pratt join Ed Davies, Calum Jenkins and Matt Reeder who raced together in the final of The Britannia Challenge cup at HRR this year. Placing 15th among a stacked start list saw them finish 15th with over 20s clear of the remnants of Vestas strong coxed four from the summer season.

Our Champ Womens crews both put down strong performances. The Champ Womens 4x placed 11th and our Champ Womens 4- containing Club Captain Elizabeth finished 6th. A great result as we have overturned Vesta and closed the gap on Thames in the Womens Coxelss Four.
After winning the Club Mens 4x in 2021, Nathan O’Reilly returned to defend his title with George Cowley, Adam Randall and Edoardo Marshall and this strong unit did just that! Even with a 5s time penalty for being late to the start, this crew finished 8s clear of strong club quads from Agecroft and Molesey. Congratulations!

London entered 3 crews into Club Coxless four who all put down strong performances finishing 6th, 9th and 14th. These are promising results demonstrating the depth of our squad.

Defending the Club 4+ win from last year were Rosie Margolis, Harry Smallman, James Clarke, Tom Westbrook and Zac Baxter. This crew came together relatively late due to injury and illness however due to the superstar bowman without whom LRC would fall apart and an expert line by Rosie, we managed to secure the win over Thames by a mere 0.4s and over 25s clear of Molesey in 3rd. Setting off first with Thames behind us, there was some serious stress when we crossed the line thinking Thames just pipped us. After rowing back in silence and shame, we were ecstatic to hear from Stu that we were on the right side of a very close race. A big shout out to the Clubbies for an epic block of training.

Our Club Womens 4-, 4+ and 4x all placed well amongst some competitive crews with the Club womens 4- placing 2nd to a very strong Thames crew and again ahead of the likes of Vesta and Marlow. Congratulations once again to all the winners and everyone who raced, once again showing that we, as London Rowing Club, are on the rise and we are not going anywhere. We are now back in the 8s as we turn our sights to The Remenham Challenge.

Racing was not the only thing we won either. Once again LRC has put on THE best afterparty on the Embankment with over 200 rowers from London and afar coming down to the clubhouse to enjoy a cold VK and a go on the Bouncy Castle. Stu Heap was on top form celebrating the clubs success and is rumoured to have been out later than most of the squad! A big thanks to the legends on the Unofficial Party Organising Sub Committee for another successful night (I believe we took just shy of £9k) and a personal thank you to all the Vets for your congratulations and understanding as we attempted to clean the Ashton room on Sunday morning with some very sore heads! I hope you all had a great race.

Bang the Drum!

Harry Smallman

VETS FOURS HEAD 2022

This year the London Masters matched the squad in number of entries in the Vets Fours Head, with 13 crews racing on Sunday 20th November over the championship course. At least two more boats were filled with London members, the winning Wimbleball F4- and, all the way from Belgium, the UN De Liège/RC Nautique Dinantais C4-.

The A4-, made up of “ageing” squad members created a great benchmark for all the London Masters, winning their field and finishing 4th overall behind 3 quads.

Finishing 11th overall, was the D4-, steering a great course, weaving through the field. They said afterwards that it wasn’t their best race but sufficient to win their category.

*Master D4-, James Brown, Jonty Williamson, Chris Leonard and J.P. van Tiel.*

The third victorious crew was the W A4-, beating their competition by a significant margin.

The C4x field made for a very tight race; only 6 seconds separated the number 1 and 3, with the London crew finishing 2nd.

The other results were also very encouraging and promising for a very competitive line-up in the Remenham Challenge on 18th December.

Jean-Pierre van Tiel

NEW MEMBERS

We would like to welcome the following new members to the Club:

Charis Hunter
Gary Hunter
Jessica Hunter
Lauchlan Hunter
Jack Keech
Charlie Noel
Lisa Pillmore
Paul Pillmore
Charles Twallin

We hope you will enjoy being part of the London Rowing Club community and will help us build an ever happier and more successful club.

We are always pleased to have more members so, if you know of anyone who think might like to join the Club, please either let us know or encourage them to get in touch with us themselves.

There is information on becoming a member on our website: https://www.londonrc.org.uk/membership-enquiries or you can contact the Club’s Membership Secretary, Jessica Salter, whose email address is membership@londonrc.org.uk

Andrew Boyle
Honorary Secretary, London Rowing Club

INVITATION TO TAKE PART IN VOGALONGA 2023

Could you imagine rowing down the Grand Canal in Venice? Well, for many years the Irregulars have made this possible by championing LRC’s participation in the Vogalonga. This is a rowing and boating festival at which unpowered boats of all shapes and sizes take over some of the main waterways of Venice for one day a year.

At the sound of a cannon, crews set off on a 30 km round trip from St. Mark's Square to Burano and back via the Cannaregio and Grand Canals. Taking part rather than racing is the objective, although completing the course provides a real sense of achievement.

*Vogalonga 2022: one of LRC’s six crews making final preparations before setting off on the 30km row.*

The Irregulars make sure that other aspects of Venice are enjoyed.  Dinners are arranged on the Friday and Saturday evenings of the weekend and a drinks party is held after the event on Sunday. Non-rowing supporters are very welcome.

www.vogalonga.com

In 2023, the Vogalonga will take place on Sunday 28th May. Although this is a long way off, it is necessary that we start the planning process now.

As things stand, it looks as if we will be able to take only four coxed quads from LRC and that it might not be possible to borrow boats from local clubs. This is likely to mean that rowing and coxing participation will be limited to 20 people. So far, around ten people have put their names down. The point of this article is to invite other members to express interest. This will not be a commitment at this stage, but it should be an expression of serious intent.

Participants pay their own travel and accommodation expenses directly. They also share the costs of transporting the boats to and from Venice. Last time, this cost was around £350 per person.

A second call to action is for anyone willing to help in the organisation of the trip to let me know so that they can join the team. This includes driving the boats to and from Venice. The 1,000 miles trip with two overnight stops certainly adds to the adventure.

If you are interested in either rowing next year’s Vogalonga and/or helping with organising the trip, please will you email me on Secretary@londonrc.org.uk

Places will be reserved on a first come, first served basis so please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Finally, we will be holding a meeting at the Club towards the end of January to discuss the trip for those who have expressed interest.

Battere il tamburo!

Andrew Boyle
LRC, Hon.Secretary

WINTER WARMERS

This is an invitation to members to come to the Club to support our crews and enjoy some winter cheer together.

Trial VIIIs will be taking place on 11th & 12th December. We will be serving tea, coffee and mince pies from 11am for spectators.

The Remenham Challenge will take place on 18th December:

The Club will be open from 10am for breakfast baps
The bar will open at 12pm and continue to serve food
It's a coming Ho Ho Home! We will be showing the World Cup Final at 3pm – members, friends and family will all be welcome.

Kate MacDonald

VETS HEAD - NUMBER 171 - XTO

*Crew No 171. Mike Baldwin (Str), Tim Leppard (3), Zena Howard (2) and Alan Foster (Bow).*

“Ne’er nowt nae some’at”, as my Yorkshire on-looking chums would have said. Placed amongst the H Category Vets in the Start Order, we had no Category, having tried to change Category from H to G through a late substitution after the Final Order had been published: hence the ‘X’. ‘TO’ obviously meant ‘Time Only’. Additionally, we were ‘Mixed’ but not ‘Mixed’ enough. Just to add another complexity, our 4x had an age-span of 20 years. Thus personal aspirations and capabilities were in marvellous conflict, pleasantly smoothed out during the few outings we managed together.

Race day provided sun, a sharp (mainly following) wind and a strong tide underneath us. In our personal post-mortems we agreed that we had a good solid row at a rating probably a couple of ‘pips’ above any achieved in training. The pursuing pack crept up on us at the Start but then seemed to fade or be held behind us for most of the rest of the Course. Our final leg from Barn Elms to the Finish in fact showed us edging away a little, indicating (at least) that there was no lack in our fitness. Also, I am told that we looked good as we passed the Club. The beer, burger and chat afterwards upstairs in the warmth were very welcome indeed.

Alan Foster

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Hello Miles,

I just came across this article on HTBS:

https://heartheboatsing.com/2022/11/29/aylings-the-racing-blade-experts/

It's about Aylings but also talks about the significance of the establishment of LRC in Putney in the move of the rowing community from Lambeth to the Putney embankment.

Have a lovely day,

JP van Tiel

ON A NOSTALGIC NOTE…

Hugh Burkitt, a regular at our 6s and 7s gatherings and a proud member of a London crew that once reached the semi-final of the Thames Cup writes…..

"I spent the lockdown writing a book: “Swallow Another And See If It Rattles” about growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s. My family say it includes ’too much rowing”. But for LRC readers what could be more perfect than sitting in the comfort of your own armchair and re-living my sometimes painful account of:

Watching Oxford sink in the 1951 Boat race
Struggling to meet the expectations of my father William who had been part of LRC’s glory days in the ‘30s
Being beaten into shape at the LRC by George Plumtree in the Arctic Winter of ’63
Arriving late at regattas reeking of engine oil after another epic journey in Simon Rippon’s car
Meeting with Triumph and Disaster on the Tideway, the Cam and at Henley with Latymer, London and Pembroke

Julian Ebsworth has described it as “Wry and entertaining”, Christopher Dodd as “Lively” and our own Vice President, Mike Williams has called it “A hoot from page one”.

If you would like a copy just email me your postal address at h_burkitt@icloud.com and I will send you one and tell you how you can in return let me have £10 plus postage – but only if you feel it’s worth it.

Hugh Burkitt

CORRECTION TO LAST MONTH’S ARTICLE

Sharp eyed readers of the article “Memories Lunch” in the last TLR spotted that the lady in the group photo taken at a London Dinner was not the much loved and respected Lillian Eagle, but Tessa Miller.

Peter Halford, who was Captain at the time, wrote from Orkney, showing the reach of TLR. He said Tessa came to the Club as a coach in 1994. There is video of her coaching the four of Ben Helm, Nick Strange, Ian Watson and Andy Butt. She can be seen on the water most weeks with I.C. who she now coaches. Before London she was at Kingston, and prior to that rowed at the 1984 Olympics when the distance for women was a rather patronising 1000m.

Hugh Dulley

REPORTING SAFETY INCIDENTS

All members are reminded that if you are involved in or witness a water safety incident, you are required to report it using the following email address – safety@londonrc.org.uk
The Club will file any necessary reports on your behalf with British Rowing and the PLA. Members should not submit reports directly to either body.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

My thanks to everyone who has contributed to this edition of the London Roar. If you have an idea for an article or would be interested in submitting a piece for inclusion in a future edition, please email me on miles.preston@londonrc.org.uk

Please do not submit an article without first liaising with me.

Miles Preston
Editor of The London Roar