FIFTY YEARS ON

This is to give advance notice that after the Club’s AGM and associated elections on 19th July, it is proposed to hold a small celebration to mark the fact that it is 50 years since the Club won the Wyfolds and the Doubles at Henley and our eight got within a quarter of a length of the winners of the Grand. It will be a celebration for me, particularly, as I was Captain at the time, and by the time of this party, I won’t be President any more. My predecessor, Mike Williams, retired after just over ten years in the role, and I think this is a good precedent to follow.

I hope that those who were around in those days in the mid 1970s will be able to come along, and relive some really good memories. And everyone else will be welcome, of course.

Mike Baldwin
President, London Rowing Club

CHAIRMAN’S VIEW

My congratulations to all our winning crews at the recent Metropolitan Regatta. It was a strong performance overall from the squad who had just returned from training camp and one that will build confidence and momentum for the racing ahead. A special mention for our W8+ who won their event (both days) for the first time in LRC’s history. Very well done..!! I’d like to send my best wishes to all our athletes competing over the coming weeks at Henley Women’s, Marlow and Henley Royal, as well as our Masters men and women heading to Nottingham this weekend for the Brit Masters.

I made it along to the Met on the Sunday and very much enjoyed following our crews. I also saw an extremely well run regatta, so a mention here too for the organisers, officials, umpires and marshals, together with those manning the trophy tent, all doing a fantastic job.

The Metropolitan Amateur Regatta has now been running for 160 years – something LRC can be very proud of and great credit goes to all who make it happen.

Following on from the completion of the balcony works the front of the Club continues to benefit from improvements. The original bollards have been repaired and restored and are now looking very smart indeed. These have been neglected and left broken for some time and it’s very good to have them back! Please do take care when reversing your car into the area – the bollards are vulnerable to being hit in this way. Also, the Club now has a new flag. The old one had been looking rather worn of late and had certainly seen better days. Following a very kind donation to the Club from members Isabel Davies and David Whitten – for which huge thanks – the Club has taken delivery of a brand new flag which will be seen flying over the Club very soon. Do look out for it.

Simon Melvin
Chairman, London Rowing Club

CAPTAIN’S REPORT

Since my last report the Club as a whole has been busy competing at a number of regattas and a number of the Squad have been away on a productive training camp. The weather and water outside the Thames have also been challenging recently with some extremely hot and some extremely wet weather. As we move further into the regatta season it is important that all club members continue to train and boat safely on the Tideway. Recent changes in weather and low water levels are a reminder of the importance of checking conditions before boating and when planning outings as well as ensuring crews and boats are in the right place on the river and looking out for other crews, clubs and river users during outings

Twickenham Regatta
A number of LRC club crews competed at Twickenham Regatta on the 23rd May.

Congratulations to the Open CD 4- (David Law, Adrian Turner, Jason Bowyer, Matt Poulsom) who won their event, beating Kingston by 1 length in the final and to the BC4x (Charlie Pryor, Mark Boyd, Kiril Anurov, George Caluian). I wish these and our other club crews the best of luck for the upcoming British Masters Championships and Henley Masters Regatta.

Poplar Regatta
Poplar Regatta was held on the 17th May at the Royal Albert Docks. For the Squad this was the second multi-lane regatta race of the season and a good opportunity to gather some further racing experience. There were some highly variable and extremely challenging conditions in some of the races. There were a number of wins for the Club including the Womens 4- Gold, Womens 4x Gold, Open 8+ Trophy, Open 4+ Trophy and Open 4+ Gold. The Club also came away as winners of the Victor Ludorum for Open crews.

Squad Training Camps
The majority of the Squad travelled to Varese in Italy in late May for their training camp. Squad remembers who remained at London took part in a Putney camp, ensuring all Squad crews continued to prepare for the remainder of the regatta season. The crews in Varese developed and formed over a high number of kilometres, with much of the distance covered undertaken in very hot weather. A mixture of long paddles and high intensity pieces were undertaken and the crews should start to see the benefits of their hard work in the upcoming regattas.

Met Regatta
The Squad travelled to the Met Regatta a couple of days after their training camps. The Club achieved a number of wins over the weekend with results looking promising for the upcoming Henley Women’s and Henley Royal Regatta. Congratulations first go to the Women’s 1st 8+ (Tally Gullidge-Jones, Jemima Harbottle, Victoria Lacey, Claudia Turley, Elizabeth Cottrell, Jennifer Arthur, Ella Thomson, Isabel Jones, Phoebe Teale) who achieved the first Club Women’s 8+ win at the Met Regatta. The crew followed up on this achievement on Sunday by winning the category again. Elsewhere the Open Club 4+ and Open Club 8+ won their categories on both days and the Open Club 4- won their event on Saturday. The Squad is now looking ahead to Henley Women’s Regatta and Marlow Regatta. A huge thank you should go to all the volunteers from LRC who supported the organisation and running of a successful regatta.

Upcoming regattas
We are now nearing the some of the biggest regattas of the season for the Club. Over the course of this month and into July the Squad will compete at Henley Women’s Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta and the Club will compete at British Masters Champs in Nottingham and at Henley Masters Regatta. Good luck to all those competing in the upcoming regattas. I look forward to a busy and hopefully successful next few weeks for the Club.

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

Twickenham Regatta - Men's C4-,C4x, and D1x
Whilst the squad were away on camp, the Men's Masters attended Twickenham Regatta last weekend for a bit of sprint race practice ahead of the British Masters in the middle of June.

C4- Adrian Turner (S), Jason Bowyer (3), Matt Poulsom (2), David Law (B)
Kingston started with a handy six-second handicap and made the most of it early on, quickly getting up to speed. It's quite difficult sitting on the start when you hear the word "GO!" and having to hold back for what felt like an eternity.

"6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (ish...), GO!"

With some ground to make up, we shot off in pursuit of KRC.

For the first part of the race, Kingston held their advantage. We knew calm and composure would serve us well during the first half. By halfway, it was game on. Both crews - feeling the pressure - employed some abitious steering and various warnings from the race umpire to stay out of each other's way. We were clearly moving faster through the water, and you could feel the momentum shifting as we started to draw level. From there, we pushed on, finding another gear in the closing stages.

Matt (2) called us up a gear in the final 200m, and we settled into a strong sprint for the finish, comfortably rowing through Kingston and crossing the line several seconds ahead to take the win.

Composure and a strong finish can turn things around, even when you’re starting on the back foot!

C4x - George Caluian (S), Charlie Pryor (3), Kirill Anurov (2), Mark Boyd (B)
In the first round, the MasC 4x came up against Twickenham Rowing Club. Despite their home advantage, we started to pull away quite early on. Once we had some decent, clear water, it was a case of holding the lead and preserving our strength for the final. We found a shady spot under a tree to get out of the sun to wait for our next race, then lined up against a dangerous-looking crew from Poplar, Blackwell and District.

Kirill and George recognised their middle two from a gruelling doubles race at the British Masters last year, which Poplar had won. We had a four-second handicap and managed to hold onto that gap. At about the three-quarter mark, both crews veered towards the middle, and the umpire had something to do. They started to gain on us before we pushed away again to finish with about the same gap as we had at the start. Officially, it was a length’s margin, and we knew we’d been in a race.

D1x - Richard Benton
Twickenham was my first race in a single since 2022, and the lead-up provided more excitement than planned, when a routine ECG on the Wednesday showed ST elevation, or in English, “we think you’re having a heart attack”. Not quite the pre-race preparation I had in mind. Fortunately, the cardiology team were extremely helpful, the consultant a rower himself, and, despite being on the receiving end of a defeat to our masters B quad at Hammersmith Regatta, showed little bitterness. After further assessment, I was considered healthy and could turn my attention to rowing.

My race culminated in a final against a master's E opponent, which meant conceding a seven-second handicap from the start. Watching your opponent head off down the course before you've even taken your first stroke is a challenging way to begin a race, but I set off in pursuit, trying to claw back the deficit. Despite making inroads, I ultimately ran out of river and crossed the line second. The result may have been a loss, but by the end of the week, I was grateful to have raced the single again. The experience confirmed that both my sculling and my cardiovascular system might still have a bit of fight left in them.

Not a bad weekend!

Matt Poulsom, Jason Bowyer, David Law, Charlie Pryor, Mark Boyd, George Caluian, Adrian Turner (Kirill Anurov, unfortunately, not featured)

Jason Bowyer

WOMEN’S MASTERS REPORT

The Masters Women have been thoroughly enjoying the summer rowing and making the most of some great conditions on the water over the past few weeks.

Training has been focused on preparations for Brit Masters and Barnes & Mortlake Regatta which are taking place this weekend (13th–14th June). We have also been lucky enough to have some coaching sessions with Moff, which have been both enjoyable and really helpful as we continue to build race pace.

We had hoped to race at Twickenham Regatta at the end of May, but unfortunately our opposition scratched before the event, meaning we didn't get the chance to race.

Looking further ahead, we are all excited for Henley Masters Regatta in July. The plan is to race a WC8+, and we are hoping to defend the title from last year. There is still plenty of work to do between now and then but the crew is looking forward to the challenge.

Finally, we would like to wish the main squad the very best of luck at both Henley Women's Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. We look forward to cheering you on and following your racing!

Saskia Gill

THE GOLDILOCKS APPROACH

There are 140 racks in the boathouse (give or take a few), leaving members with a reasonable number of choices when planning a row. Choosing the right boat, however, might be more difficult. The Rowing Sub-Committee suggests taking a bit of extra time to find just the right fit, not unlike Goldilocks herself.

To do so, please ask yourself the following questions when choosing a boat:

1. Are you racing or training?
In an effort to keep our newest shells in the best condition possible, we hope to keep those shells for crews who are being coached and crews who are aiming to race at one or more events. If you are out for a casual row, or don’t intend to race in the line up being boated, please book boats with two or three-stay riggers as a rough guide. Boats with carbon, wing, or another type mounted to the top of the saxboards are generally newer and racing shells.

2. Approximately how big are you?
While most of the shells in the boathouse should have the weight listed in MyClubhouse (visible when you go to book the boat, but not when viewing the fulling booking calendar), all boats should have a “crew average” weight listed in pounds or kilograms somewhere on the inside of the shell. Aiming for a shell with a listed weight similar to your own will not only mean a more comfortable rowing experience, but also improve your technique (free speed!).

3. What is your steers level?
Some of our shells are limited to Expert Steers only. This is to limit accidental damage and repairs that tend to be more costly than those on older shells. If you are unsure of your steers level, please check your MyClubhouse profile, which should say, “Approved Steers: Expert” or your steers level.

When in doubt, please ask.

Devin Ward
Vice Captain, London Rowing Club

VOGALONGA - CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

Three LRC crews participated in the 50th Vogalonga on Sunday, 24th May. This year's event featured both familiar elements that have become cherished traditions and notable changes to our logistical arrangements.

Miles Preston once again organised an excellent social programme. The Friday evening dinner took place at Terrazza dei Nobile.

Forty of us ate together on the Friday evening.

And thirty on Saturday evening.

Saturday evening's gathering was at Antica Locanda Montin. After completing the row itself, Miles and Nick Blair-Fish hosted a drinks party for sixty at Ca Malcanton. We were joined throughout the weekend by friends from Upton RC and several other clubs. Our thanks go to Miles for his excellent planning and to Nick for his generous hospitality.

This year saw two significant operational changes. The first was hiring boats from the Swift distributor in the UK. Its service included trailoring the boats to Venice and the provision of iced drinks after the row— luxury indeed! The arrangement eliminated the need to patch up our stable quads before departure and undertake the potentially hazardous 994-mile journey to Venice.

The second change involved the boats being delivered to Punta Sabbioni instead of the Vogalonga Park at Mestre. On the anti-clockwise Vogalonga route, Mestre sits at 9 o'clock, the starting point in front of St Mark's Square at 6 o'clock, and Punta Sabbioni at 2 o'clock. This new starting point meant we joined the row late as the first crews came into sight, allowing us to row down the Grand Canal with relatively fresh legs with few other crews

Eddie Markes’s crew just after the finish at Salute.

We made it!

L to R: Mike Baldwin, Jamie Ross, Miles Preston, Rory Ross, Peter Baker, Paul Bachler, Stuart Harries, Jason Danciger, Nini Markes, Martin Quinn, Eddie Markes, Abraham Mertens, Andrew Boyle, Helen Frykman.

However, the return journey from Salute to Punta Sabbioni was extremely challenging. It seemed that every water taxi and vaporetto barred from the centre of Venice was wreaking revenge in the open lagoon. We felt admonished as we bobbed around and had to stop frequently to bail out. We took back all the moaning about the trip over from Mestre in previous years and hope to boat from there again next year.

Please let me know if you would like to participate in next year’s Vogalonga on 16th May 2027.

Andrew Boyle

HENLEY CELEBRATION ROW, SATURDAY 4 JULY

If you happen to be by the river at lunch time on Saturday at HRR you may spot on the course the London Rowing Club/Nottinghamshire County Rowing Association composite 4- celebrating 30 years since their victory in The Stewards Challenge Cup. There is a bit of a story behind the win.

In 1996 the GB squad lightweight eight raced in The Ladies Plate doubling up into coxless fours for The Stewards Challenge Cup. One four comprised Chis Bates (NCRA and father of our own Laura), Ian Watson (LRC), Jonty Williamson (LRC) and Andy Butt (LRC). I had stepped back from GB rowing in 1994 and was still training at club level, although not racing in ’96. I had been subbing in the four for Chris during the week as he was based in Nottingham and unable to get to London. It was a joy for me to row in this very classy crew and the boat seemed to run and run.

HRR came round and I was happy to spectate having competed in the previous twelve regattas. Little did I know what was to happen next.

In the first round on the Friday, the crew beat Commercial Rowing Club, Ireland by 4 ½ lengths. Ian had helpfully warned the crew that his steering was erratic, and they were likely to hit the booms, which indeed they did, the blade handle causing gouges down Andy Butt’s shins (just visible in the photo below). I was staying with friends in Henley on the Friday night and was woken early on Saturday by a call from Jonty. ‘Were you drinking yesterday?’ he asked. ‘No’ I replied (well, I had only had a couple). ‘Where are you and can you get to the boat tents, NOW?’ ‘In Henley and yes’ I replied and jogged over Henley bridge. Andy’s wife Lain had gone into labour on Friday evening and Andy had rushed to London to be present at the birth of their son Jack. Kit was lent to me, and Chris switched to stroke, me taking the bow seat. Off we went to our semi-final against Notts County and Auckland, New Zealand whom we beat by 3 ¼ lengths.

In the final we met Goldie comprising four of the ‘96 winning Blue Boat and winners of that morning’s Ladies Plate. Half way down the island the crews came together in a heart stopping clash. Ian broke the tense atmosphere by shouting over to Goldie, ‘It’s a bugger this steering, isn’t it?’ We were called back to the start, the umpire judging both crews at fault. Our second attempt was a clean start, and we gradually moved away to a 4 length win in 6 minutes 44 seconds.

I have Jack Butt to thank for entering this world at a favourable time for me. And I send my (purely rowing) commiserations to his dad Andy. The five crew members and Jack will be meeting at this year’s regatta.

For a brief period, I enjoyed the dubious reputation as the jammiest ba***rd at the regatta but what a joy and privilege it was to be part of a top class crew. And Andy, it would have gone faster with you in it.

Bill Baker

Andy Butt strokes the crew to their first round win over Commercial, Ireland. The crew look pleased to be leading.

From bow, Chris Bates, Ian Watson, Jonty Williamson and Bill Baker.

Back row left to right, Bill Baker, Chris Bates, Jonty Williamson, Ian Watson.

Front row: Coaches John Deakin and Lennie Robertson.

HENLEY SUCCESS 50 YEARS AGO - PART II

The final of the Wyfold Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 1976, between London Rowing Club and Potomac Boat Club, turned out to be an absolute classic. It was a ‘real humdinger’ explained London’s coach Sir David Tanner when he and I met for a chat recently. David’s young crew were lined up against a highly experienced and battle hardened four from the USA who, in many people’s eyes, were favourites to win. The New York Times had them as ‘heavy favorites’ with our own Rowing magazine seeing it the same. The Americans had looked good all week, were a strong unit and had broken the course record in their quarter final win on the Saturday morning.

David, however, saw things a little differently. A closer look at the times and verdicts across the regatta indicated, certainly to him, that the LRC four would give these guys more than a run for their money. Also, despite their youth (they were all just 19 years old) they had plenty of experience themselves. Three of the four had won the Visitors’ Cup at the regatta 12 months earlier and had then gone on to win a marvellous silver medal at the World Junior Championships a month later, so he knew his boys were quick too. That the final was to be rowed on 4th July just added spice to his already fired-up crew.

The successes of 1975 were a fine way for them to see out their last season as junior oarsmen and thus they were faced with the difficult transition to senior level. Originally it had been agreed that the crew would disband at this point leaving each to try to break into the senior GB set-up individually. It was, therefore, with some surprise that David heard from them a short while afterwards to be asked if he would consider continuing as their coach. They had decided to remain as a four and to see just what could be achieved together. This was agreed and, with 3-man Robin Roberts deciding not to continue, Derek Bond was drafted in at bow to join Ian McNuff (2), John Beattie (moving to 3) and Martin Cross (str), and it was this line up that would progress into the 1976 season – with David as their coach.

The plan had been for the crew to base themselves at Thames Rowing Club. Sadly for Thames this didn’t work out and they found themselves short of a club. It was during this period, autumn 1975 whilst boating out of Chiswick Boathouse, that they were spotted training in pairs by the then LRC Captain Mike Baldwin. It just so happened that this was Pairs Head day and, oddly, these two crews were rowing from Hammersmith down towards Putney. All other pairs and doubles on the river that day were going the opposite way – up to the start. Mike and David, both on bikes, struck up a conversation with Mike enquiring what they were doing and why they weren’t racing. The club’s history ‘Water Boiling Aft’ records this chance meeting and conversation and it was not long afterwards that the crew joined London.

David had been keen to find the right club for his crew and, meeting Mike and then visiting the club, saw very quickly that LRC would be a good fit. Unlike Thames, Mike was prepared to back them as an established coxless four and to offer the club’s support where required. David also saw the set-up at LRC with the developing Lightweight squad run by Ron Needs, and concluded the environment at the club to be just right for his young and similarly developing crew. Crucially London could also offer a boat – the recently purchased Karlisch four would be just right. The crew managing to run the boat aground a short while later is but a minor detail as it was here that the story of LRC’s Wyfold win at Henley 1976 begins.

With a new base from which to train, together with a Henley win and a Junior World silver from the previous year, the crew targeted the coming season with confidence high. In the run up to Henley they secured a number of wins including Nottingham International (x2) and Reading, together with a trip over to Ratzeburg, Germany, for more senior level international competition.

Henley Royal Regatta at that time took place over four days – Thursday to Sunday – and, as mentioned in my article last month, 1976 remains famous (or infamous!) for the extended heatwave and dry conditions throughout that summer. Five rounds of racing – quarters and semis both taking place on Saturday – lay ahead for the Wyfold finalists. Arguably, Potomac had the more straightforward passage through the early rounds but both crews had tough quarter finals with margins of just over a length for each. London then met Trident RC, S.A. in the semi winning this by one length, whilst Potomac came up against USA counterparts, Cambridge BC, who they beat by 4 ½ lengths.

For the final David’s instruction was concise and to the point…..start fast! In the semi, Trident had led London to the Barrier and he did not want a repeat of that in the final. As it turned out both crews were very quick off the start with, David recalls, each of them rating much higher than he had expected. Thankfully, this time it was London who held the advantage at the Barrier – albeit slight. From this point Potomac fought hard to get back on terms. Time and again Potomac pushed but to no avail – every time they attacked, London held them off. It was a blistering final and an extremely tight race which London led from start to finish crossing the line ½ length ahead. The time of 6.56 was their fastest of the week and was just 2 seconds off Potomac’s record set the day before. Coach and crew knew they were going up against strong opposition and, despite being the so-called underdogs, they had won! It was a great win and a truly gutsy performance.

The four continued in this combination for the 1977 season, rowing-over for the Stewards’ trophy and claiming 10th place at the Amsterdam World Championships. The following year saw one further change to the line-up with David Townsend of London University replacing Derek Bond who had decided to stand down. David came in at 3 with John Beattie returning to bow. In this combination they would claim a bronze medal at the next two World Championships (’78 & ’79) followed by bronze at the Moscow Olympics in 1980.

This London four were an outstanding crew who achieved remarkable success. They rose from schoolboy oarsmen to world medallists in the space of just a few short years and their determination and utter competitiveness, as demonstrated that July day in 1976, would become part of their make-up and be evident every time they raced.

Simon Melvin

NEW MEMBERS

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

Carmela Jabaloyes
Jamie-Rose Larkin
Nathan Luff
Mateo Navarrete
Gigi Peizer
Charlie Plein
Matthew Rafferty
Alex Steventon
Becky Tuke

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 you 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: membership@londonrc.org.uk

Andrew Boyle
Honorary Secretary, London Rowing Club

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