CHAIRMAN’S VIEW

On Thursday, 7th May over a hundred LRC members and guests attended an evening reception at the Club to celebrate and officially open the new balcony. It was a wonderful party and an opportunity to express thanks, once again, to all who had contributed to the project.

In his speech, President Mike Baldwin highlighted the input of architect Stuart Forbes, engineer Alex Fothergill, the contractors Builtain, as well as members of the Club’s project team and fundraising team. Mike also thanked the Club’s donors whose generosity has raised a total of £293,000 (including pledges), which now sits just £7,000 short of our target for phase one. To anyone considering a donation, any assistance in bridging this gap would be very much appreciated.

At the invitation of the Club, we were joined by many of our neighbours from Glendarvon Street, The Embankment and other nearby roads, who had supported the project and had to contend with a level of disruption during the works. The Club was very pleased to be able to thank them in this way.

The evening was also a chance to remind ourselves of just how well the Club had come together, both in the months leading up to the project as well as during the project itself. It was an extraordinary undertaking and LRC now has an amazing new balcony, for us all to enjoy, which stands as another fine example of just what our club is able to achieve.

There was also a very good turnout for the recent General Meeting of London Rowing Club Ltd., and everyone present, together with a good number attending on-line, were provided with a thorough and detailed presentation of the company accounts by Hon. Treasurer Philip Carré. I am very grateful to Philip and his colleagues on the Finance and Administration Sub-Committee for their significant work in producing these accounts.

Simon Melvin
Chairman, London Rowing Club

CAPTAIN’S REPORT

Over the last few weeks members, crews and rowing groups from across the Club have switched their attention from the Head race season to the upcoming side by side Regatta racing season. Crews have started to come together and some early racing and fixtures have taken place. Regattas will start to come quickly and I am really excited to see members from across the Club compete in them.

GB final trials
A short note of congratulations to LRC squad member Jake Birch who was invited to the GB final trials in April and who won the 2x B final. Jake’s crew, an U23 Men’s double, was invited to crew formation at Caversham the following week.

Hammersmith Regatta and UL fixtures (25th April)
Hammersmith Regatta took place over 1000m on the Tideway on the 25th of April. The LRC Op 4x of Keith Cheung, George Calluian, Marco Meloni and Mark Boyd had a straight final against Fulham Reach who they beat by 2.5 lengths.

On the same day, the Women’s Squad continued their preparation for the upcoming regatta season with 3x2.5 minute pieces against the 1st and 2nd 8+’s from University of London. Both UL 8+’s, preparing for the BUCS Regatta, had good starts and held on to their leads over each piece, finishing approximately ¾ to 1¼ lengths ahead.

Wallingford Regatta (3rd May)
The Squad headed to Dorney Lake for Wallingford Regatta on the 3rd May for what was their first multi-lane regatta of the season. The Men’s Squad entered a number of crews across both the Challenge and Club categories. In the Challenge 8+’s LRC placed two 8+’s in the A final. The Challenge 4+ was a straight final and the LRC crew of Chase Lemley, Nathan Luff, Jack MacDonald, Zac Oglesby and Nikita Krivdin placed 2nd, finishing narrowly behind Thames. A second LRC placed 4th in the same final. Earlier in the day the LRC crew of Taryn Birkett, Evan Smyth, Felix Warren, Jack Cope and Chris Finch finished 2nd in the Club 4+ final.

The Women’s Squad competed in both sculling and sweep events across the Challenge and Club Categories. LRC had 4 doubles entered in the challenge event and all 4 boats made the final. LRC’s crews finished 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th. The 2nd place crew of Erin Meredith and Dashley was less than half a second behind the winning crew. The Club also reached the finals in the following events; Women’s Club 8+ (4th), Challenge 1x – Arun Jackson (5th), Women’s Challenge 4- (6th), Women’s Club 4- (5th) and the Club 8+ (4th).

Upcoming regattas and squad training camp
The remainder of May and beginning of June will see more side-by-side racing for the Club and Squad. The Squad has a busy period with Poplar Regatta on the 17th May, quickly followed the next week with the annual training camp in Varese, Italy. On return from their training camp, the Squad finish the month with both days of Metropolitan Regatta (30th and 31st May). This is a busy but important part of the season for the Squad as crews gain further training time and more side-by-side racing experience. The Club is also preparing to have crews racing at the Twickenham and Barnes and Mortlake Regattas.

Matt Reeder
Captain, London Rowing Club

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

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

MEN’S MASTERS REPORT

With the Heads season out of the way, we are moving quickly into the sharp end of the season. Two major events on the horizon (British Masters Champs in June, and Henley Masters in July) and all competing crews are gearing up for the challenge.

Meanwhile, some of our sections took to the water and competed at Hammersmith Regatta. We are delighted to report a win in the Open 4x!

Race report, courtesy of Mark Boyd, follows:
To kick off the LRC Men’s masters regatta season, a pair and quad headed upstream on Saturday, 25th April forHammersmith Regatta. Unfortunately, Charlie P and Brooks were informed by the start marshal that their race had been scratched earlier in the week (word hadn’t quite made it back through the official channels), so they paddled back quietly in a mood. Meanwhile, Mark / Marco / George and Keith went up against Fulham Reach BC in the Open 4x- straight final. With a solid start and an early lead, we had some stern words of encouragement on our steering from the umpire to separate the crews, which had us go too wide at the Hammersmith bend, costing us a length. Retaining our 2025 title was suddenly under threat, but with a solid push, we cleared with a 2 1/2 length win. IPA Pint in a Pot: delicious!

George Caluian, Marco Meloni, Keith Cheung, Mark Boyd.

Hopefully, a successful Master's Champs report will follow in the next edition!

Jason Bowyer

IRREGULARS REPORT

The Irregulars have been enjoying a busy time and with the spring upon us and some lovely weather the long johns have long disappeared. We have been getting some good attendances on Sundays: four quads and a double on a particularly sunny Sunday!

We continue to accept requests from visiting rowers from overseas. A particularly good outing was the day after the Boat Race – Clare Lyons-Collins, Miles Preston, Eddie Markes and Katy Laub from S. California. Katy professed herself impressed (she would though) and has extended an open invitation for any of us visiting that part of the States.

On the rowing front, Clare Lyons-Collins has now certified as an advanced Bow Steer - many thanks and congratulations to Clare. Our bow steering numbers are now up to a reasonable level but more volunteers are always welcome – we can never have enough!

The Club Dinner on the 23rd April was well attended by many Irregulars. An overseas member, Linn Ney, was visiting from Stockholm and managed to persuade me to have an outing prior to the dinner. It was a most beautiful evening and very benign water – we had a great row.

Our first coaching session of the summer took place last Tuesday, 5th May and we got 2 quads out – those who attended all said how useful it had been. I was unable to attend unfortunately. I got the impression that Cam concentrated on just a couple of basic techniques – no doubt he saw multifarious bad habits and decided to keep it simple. We are looking forward to the next one on the 19th May.

The Drinks Party celebrating the balcony was a great success with many Irregulars and past Irregulars attending. We are all very proud and so many thanks must go to all who had a part in it.

The racing season is now well upon us and we look forward to supporting our crews at the various regattas and of course culminating at HRR. May the Club build further on its already impressive achievements!

Special thanks to Moff for helping us out and coxing us for this race. Head Season is now officially over and we are looking forward to Regatta racing.

Eddie Markes

TOM SOLESBURY VISIT 9TH JUNE

In April our Chairman, Simon Melvin, and I attended a regional clubs’ meeting that was an introduction to the incoming CEO of British Rowing, Tom Solesbury. Tom said he wished to make some significant changes in the organisation. He recognised that British Rowing had become somewhat distanced from the operations and priorities of clubs.

We took the opportunity to invite Tom to visit LRC. We have arranged an informal Q&A with Tom in the Long Room at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 9th June. The bar will be open from 7:00 p.m.

Please come along to what will be a fascinating evening. Besides learning about his plans for British Rowing and letting him know about developments at LRC, we will be able to discuss his experiences of both rowing and athletics.

Tom learnt to row at the University of Warwick and Mortlake Anglian before representing GB at four World Championships and two Olympic Games. He also represented Oxford in the Boat Race. He joined British Rowing after serving as COO of UK Athletics.

Andrew Boyle

MET REGATTA: CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

The Metropolitan Amateur Regatta (“the MET”) will take place on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May 2026. As in previous years, the Organising Committee is calling on the longstanding support of London members to help ensure the smooth running of this year’s Regatta.

We are seeking volunteers across a variety of roles, including the timing and commentary teams, landing pontoons, and prize tent. This usual inducements of bacon sandwiches, lunch and a restorative gin or two (together with vegetarian/vegan and alcohol-free alternatives) will be provided.

The MET is extremely fortunate to benefit from a dedicated group of long-serving volunteers. This year, however, I would particularly encourage newer members of the Club, together with Millennials and recently retired members of the Squad, to consider volunteering, as many of our regular supporters deserve a well-earned break.

If you are interested in volunteering at this year’s MET, please contact Jason Gray at entries@metregatta.org or on 07729 710178.

As always, your support is not only essential to the running of London’s home regatta, but is also greatly appreciated by both the Organising Committee and the athletes competing.

Jason Gray

HENLEY SUCCESS 50 YEARS AGO

At Henley Royal Regatta in 1976 London Rowing Club achieved superb wins in both the Wyfolds and the Double Sculls. These victories marked the club’s first success in two events at a single regatta since the 1930s, and would be the start of a sequence of wins for LRC that would continue into the 1980’s.

Sitting at bow in the double that year was Bobby Prentice, and he and I met for a drink and a chat about the ‘76 regatta as well as the build up to it. The following is an account based on Bobby’s recollections, as well as one or two of my own. Next month I’ll cover the Wyfolds win together with how the ‘Ealing Four’, as they were then known, came to join LRC.

Temperatures for the regatta that year would reach in excess of 90 ˚F and the lack of rainfall over many months meant there was very little stream, giving rise to fast conditions. The wind was favourable too with a gentle breeze coming in from the North-East.

Bobby and Martin Spencer, both Doggetts winners and originally from Poplar, Blackwall & District Rowing Club, had made the trip across town to join London in the early 1970’s. Together they had competed for LRC in the Double Sculls at Henley in 1975, reaching the semi-final. For 1976 their ambition had been to gain selection for the Montreal Olympics but, despite strong performances, notably in the Scullers’ Head (held in the spring), both missed out.

It was my father, Doug Melvin, who, having coached them in ’75, encouraged them to get back in the double and to have another crack at the event for ’76. This they did but there were one or two decisions to be made before committing to the task completely.

For the ’75 regatta Martin had also competed in the Diamonds– it was agreed that there would be no ‘doubling up’ this time around. There was also the issue of the boat. Previously they had used Dad’s own double which, they realised, was too large and too heavy to have any realistic chance of success. Step forward club member Theo Nomicos (many will remember him) who kept his own double at the club. By contrast this was just the right size and weight, and it was also a beautiful boat in which Theo took great pride. This was the ideal solution, and it is a wonderful detail in the history of our club that Theo gave his consent, vey happily, for his boat to be used that year.

A few tweaks to the rigging were needed, including fitting wooden blocks to extend the span out to where it would need to be. LRC Boatman, Frank Sims, took care of this and even amended them when it was discovered the first set of blocks were problematic in choppy conditions.

Bobby remembers vividly Dad’s approach to training and planning, and much time was spent at the Royal Docks and Millwall Dock, as well as on the Tideway. I still have Dad’s times and notes from these sessions. Another important aspect of their success was the close bond the three of them developed.

Training and preparation went very well and, with a win at Marlow in the bag, it was then to the royal regatta itself. The first two rounds on Thursday and Friday were negotiated well, despite the baking temperatures. Then on the Saturday, they were to meet the Leander pairing of Locke and Bramfitt in the semi-final. The LRC double would win this by three lengths and Bobby particularly remembers Club President Farn Carpmael’s delight at beating Leander. The other semi was won by the Dutch crew of van Drooge and Nolet, of A.S.R. Nereus, in a time just one second faster than the LRC double. In fact, intermediate and finish times for both crews, throughout the regatta, were all within a few seconds of each other. It was likely that the final would be close!

Dad had done his homework during the rounds and, producing graphs for prospective fades covering both crews, could see that the Dutch would likely lead in the early part of the race. The advice was that, if so then the Dutch would be hurting and probably overrating Bobby and Martin, and that the boys should just scull well, watch their rate and bide their time. Sure enough, as predicted, van Drooge and Nolet had opened up clear water by the Barrier. That was when things started to happen. Shortly after the marker, and with the greater boat speed of the London double, the Dutch stern started to reappear. Steadily Bobby and Martin began to move through and by Fawley they were ahead. From there they kept up the pressure and continued to build on their lead. It was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish and, with a verdict of 2 lengths, the Double Sculls trophy was theirs…….and London’s!

At Bobby’s request Dad had followed the final on his bike – or at least had attempted to. Given the Finals’ Day crowds, he had just about reached Remenham by the time the race had finished. There he saw Ted Porcher (incidentally Theo’s long standing doubles partner) who was able to pass on the news that the boys had won.

Of course, there was delight all round and an emotional reunion took place when the three of them met up again at the boat tents. It was an extremely satisfying conclusion for both Bobby and Martin after what had been a somewhat frustrating couple of years.

For the prizegiving Bobby recalls that neither he nor Martin had a club tie – thankfully Jeremy Hudson and Club Captain Mike Baldwin came to the rescue enabling both of them to collect their medals and the trophy. A very proud moment for the two of them and for LRC.

Simon Melvin

BLED TRIP

Earlier this month a group of master rowers from various squads were in Slovenia for a training camp on Lake Bled. Objectives were individual and varied: re-committing to active training, improving racing techniques for the regatta season or getting back into a single after 46 years.

Across the board objectives were achieved: 100km per person rowed, rate 57 recorded in a mixed quad and approval earned from the Slovenian national team - "you guys can actually row! Not like some of the groups we get here....".

Above all, the biggest success was the fun we had and the enjoyment of rowing in such stunning conditions. The group took work hard, play hard to the next level. Garmin commented that our approach to recovery was "shorter than ideal, non-restorative"; but in our defence, nothing will motivate a push to the finish like the promise of Aperol.

Back in London we are already seeing the benefits. James improved his 1x stroke length by 48cm. The whole group's 007 trivia knowledge is greatly improved. And we are all looking forward to getting more water time and the next rowing excursion - whether that's to Nottingham, Munich or back to Bled!

Tom Whately

THANKS TO AMY JOHNSON

A huge thank you to Amy Johnson who has served as Club Welfare Officer for the last four years. Amy did a fantastic job during her tenure and the Club is very grateful to her for her leadership and counsel in this role.

Charlotte Bawn (Women’s squad) remains as Club Welfare Officer and is joined by Clare Lyons-Collins from the Irregulars.

They can be reached on welfare@londonrc.org.uk or around the Club (you may find Clare often singing to Tay Tay in the gym!)

To find out more about the role of Club Welfare Officer, have a read here … https://www.britishrowing.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/British-Rowing-Safeguarding-Handbook-1-the-Club-Welfare-Officer-28.08.2025.

Charlotte Bawn (above) and Clare Lyons-Collins (below)

ENGLAND TO FRANCE, OR A SMALL BOAT GOING THE OTHER WAY

On 25th April I rowed the English Channel, but the crossing was not quite what I expected when I agreed to it. I have rowed the Vogalonga and sculled the Boston Marathon. So, the 21 miles from Dover to Calais would surely be no problem. What I was not aware of was that the French authorities do not like small boats crossing from England and thus no rowing boats are allowed near Calais. So, my crossing would be from Ramsgate to Dunkirk, a rather longer distance of about 38 miles!

The reason for the crossing was that 2026 marks the 700th anniversary of the foundation of Oriel College, Oxford. It has been said that Oriel regards rowing as almost more important than academics and former college rowers thought that a cross-Channel row would be a good way to mark the anniversary. One of those ideas that seems a good one until you find yourself boating in the dark before dawn to head out into waters which your pilot boat skipper describes as “lively”.

Luckily, we were boating in a Cornish pilot gig, which proved to be a reassuringly stable boat, with wooden oars, which were a novelty for the younger members of the crew. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the day was the composition of the crew, blending rowers from five different decades – male and female – and including two who had rowed in the Boat Race.

We had one training session to familiarise ourselves with the gig. This had been enough to recognise the differences from river rowing. The most significant one is that it is fixed seat rowing, seated on a wooden bench, feet pressed against a wooden stay, the length of the stroke coming from pivoting on the hips to reach forward. The most confusing one was the vocabulary – what we river rowers call stroke side is bow side in a gig, and vice versa.

The water was bouncy at times, but never wild, and with the inherent stability of the gig we soon got used to the swell.Two moments of excitement came in traversing the English and French shipping lanes – the maritime equivalent of crossing the M25. I had hoped to see a shadow oil tanker accompanied by a Russian destroyer, but no luck. Shipping in the English lane was well spaced, and we kept rowing across without alarm.

Again, it was the French who made life difficult. French regulations stipulate that you may not row across the French shipping lane. We were required to climb into the pilot boat, tow the gig for a distance before being allowed to row the last stretch. The final French edict was that we could not land in France. So, after almost 10 hours we approached to within 100 metres of the beach and easied. No gendarmes in sight on the sands, just a large colony of seals.

A comfortable ride back to Ramsgate in the pilot boat and a promise to self not to complain about Tideway wash in the future.

Richard Metcalf

THE MILE POST

The Club is very grateful for the contribution of the Steve Fairbairn Memorial Trust to the balcony fundraising. The Trust was also a significant contributor to the gym.

In return, an informal group of members has been formed to maintain the Fairbairn Memorial at the Mile Post. Some pre-growth season work was conducted recently.

The Memorial seems to be known as the Mile Post today. Mike Baldwin explains “back in the 1960s, there was indeed a milepost. It was a green-painted metal post set in concrete, but it rusted through and collapsed. For some years, a residual stub was visible, but even that has now rusted away. I think the Memorial does a very good job in its stead.”

Mike wonders if the distance from the Putney Stone at the start of the Boat Race near Putney Pier to the Memorial is indeed one mile. Perhaps a Victorian boatman with a click wheel measured it as such. My AI assistant measured it as 0.96 miles using the Haversine formula, which takes into account the coordinates of two points. I would be happy to give a bottle of champagne to the LRC member who can row the distance closest to one mile as evidenced by Strava. Zig zagging and/or cutting corners are allowed!

Andrew Boyle

CASAMAJOR CLUB DRAWS

Two draws have been done at the same time. The results are as follows;

£75 winners:
Tim Grant
Aisling Green
Hugh Samuel
Simon Smithson (X 2 – both draws!)
Georgios Dimitropoulos
Mike Shasha
James Evans
Henry Wheare
Jonathan Andrew
Christopher Grainger
Terence Kennedy
Mark Lucani
Henry Pelly
James Roslington
Julian Ebsworth

£30 Winners:
Matt Burrow
Nick Cooper
John Pearson (X2 – Both draws!)
Peter Halford
Giles Chichester
Henry Dunlop
Dan Pring
Ann Newman
Andrew Lawrence
Stephen Wright

£15 Winners:
Robert Lowson (X2 – Both draws!)
Chris von Patzelt
John Hobson

John Auber

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