CHAIRMAN’S VIEW

During the last month some of our members have been able to take advantage of the easing of certain lockdown restrictions and make a welcome return to the water. The feedback that I have had is that the conditions have been excellent with fantastic sunny days, calm water and no coaching launches. We must all continue to operate in accordance with our procedures which have been developed to comply fully with guidance from the Government and British Rowing. In parallel, your committee is working on plans for wider use of the facilities, crew and squad rowing as soon as permitted. Please may I remind members who wish to go sculling or use pairs to read and observe the procedures that have been put in place to ensure everyone’s safety. In particular:

Sign out before going afloat and sign back in on your return – even if using a private sculling boat.
All scullers and bow steers must be approved – this can be on a self-certification basis.
If you are using a Club single, please treat it with care and as you would your own boat.
Report any damage to a Club boat immediately – we may then take action to initiate any repairs and avoid the frustration of preparing to go afloat only to find that the boat is unserviceable

Members who have been on the Embankment on recent weekends will have seen that we have set up a coffee stall outside the Clubhouse working with Tim Grant and 79 Collective (perhaps best known to members as The Grind). The coffee is excellent and I would urge members to call in and encourage others to do so. The initiative is aimed at generating some revenue for the Club whilst our events space remains closed. Thanks are due to Tim, Colin Christie, Chris Goodfellow and others who have given up their time and energy to make this happen.

Finally, in last month’s London Roar, I drew your attention to our plans to hold a General Meeting in June ahead of the Annual General Meeting in July. More detailed planning and review has led your committee to conclude that it would be preferable to postpone both meetings in the hope that we will be able to hold some form of meetings at the Clubhouse in a few months’ time, as the lockdown eases. We will provide further details and proposed dates in next month’s edition of The London Roar.

Simon Harris
Chairman, London Rowing Club

PERFECT SCULLING WEATHER

With the resumption of sculling on the Tideway on 15th May one of the most pleasant features has been seeing so much LRC sculling activity.

On the most recent Sunday more than 25 LRC scullers signed out as well as some family doubles. The kind weather and the complete absence of launches (with the exception of the PLA) and crew boats has reminded us that sculling on the Tideway does not always have to be a battle for survival. So much of the club’s training is typically done in crew boats and it has been a welcome sight to see so many singles out.

*Gregor Maxwell, Matt Reeder and Harry Smallman carry singles down to the water.*

*Gregor Maxwell and Harry Smallman in the double with Eddie (son of former head coach Paul Reedy) in the foreground.*

In 2019 there were splendid performances with Meg Jackson achieving 5th overall while Hugo Storey and Christopher Revell finished within the top 20, while others of us at the back of the field seemed to be practising social distancing before the concept had been invented. Whatever your standard, it is the perfect race for LRC with the shortest journey home when the race is finished. Hopefully, the Vesta Scullers Head will go ahead on 5th December 2020. If so, it would be good to try and boat more than the 16 entries we had for the 2019 race.

Richard Metcalf

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

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

SIMON RIPPON

Simon enjoying the sunshine at Henley in 2018. Photo: Sally McPherson — Simon enjoying the sunshine at Henley in 2018.
Photo: Sally McPherson

In a recent issue of the Weekly Brief, we were sorry to announce the death in April of Simon Rippon, a former Captain in the 1960s.

Simon’s full obituary can be read here in Obituaries. Members may also like to read two reminiscences we have received in the last couple of weeks.

The first is from Hugh Burkitt, a Life Member who rowed with Simon in the 1963 Thames Cup crew. Hugh is a second generation London member; his father R W Burkitt won the Thames Challenge Cup in both 1931 and 1932.

“Dear Julian,

Sorry for my slightly slow response on this, but I do remember very fondly my year rowing with Simon in the LRC Thames Cup Crew of 1963.

Peter Morris, the stroke man, and myself at bow were innocent young men recently graduated from the Latymer Upper School first eight and Simon Rippon and Steve Royle were the gnarled old veterans from up river rowing - I think Reading RC? Elsewhere in the boat we had a motley collection of Colin Smith from the LMBC third crew, Desmond Hampton who had last rowed for the Trinity Hall second eight, Keith Edwards a slightly overweight LRC junior and Cameron Crouchman, a docker who had failed to make the Argosies crew.

George Plumtree took on the job of coaching us right through that hideously cold winter of 62/63 and he really beat us into shape. He brought together our disparate styles by getting us all to open up the angle and throw our shoulders back at the catch - in order not to waste any leg drive by shooting our slides - and of course trained us extremely hard both on and off the water. By the summer season, we were much fitter than many up-river clubs that had been prevented from training by a frozen river. George endlessly buzzed around us in his own little launch alternately mocking and encouraging us, as the spray from the Tideway froze in icy droplets on our kit.

Simon on the grounds of age, temperament and quiet determination was the de facto captain of the crew. He must have been at least a decade older than me and Peter and we took our lead from him when it came to agreeing how tough our training would be. We must have been one of the last LRC crews not to use ergos (I am very happy to say) but we rowed that bloody tank a good few feet further up the river.

There were many occasions in training when we managed to get alongside the LRC Grand Eight, which contained such luminaries as Peter Coni and Bob Marks and I don’t recall a single one where we didn’t beat them - such was our furiously competitive urge to show them what conceited poseurs they were. This may have also had something to do with their coach H.R.A. “Jumbo” Edwards, the legendary Oxford coach and only man ever to win all three major Henley prizes - the Grand, Stewards and Goblets - all on one day rowing for the LRC in 1931. Jumbo’s fastidiousness as a coach meant that he was always fussing about precisely where his crews were putting their little fingers, while all we wanted to do was show them how rubbish they were.

When it came to the summer, Simon had an important role in getting us to up-river regattas because he was one of the few crew members with a car. Unfortunately, it was an extremely ancient Rover with severe reliability issues. I vividly remember an incredibly tense drive out to Reading after work for a Friday evening heat of the senior eights event. Even on what there was then of the M4 we could only manage a rather graunchy sounding 40 mph and we were belching so much blue smoke from the exhaust that it is a miracle we didn’t cause a motorway pile up behind us.

We arrived at the Regatta and rushed into the changing tent, to the simultaneous relief and abuse of the rest of the crew (this was long before mobile phones). Smelling strongly of engine oil, we paddled firm all the way down to the start. Our opponents Eton College were waiting nervously for us, and when we did start the race our nervous energy levels were still so high that we shot ahead and remained comfortably ahead for what in the end turned out to be a glorious summer evening row. The sound of those Eton boys clunking backward into the distance on their fixed pins waving their effete light blue oars, as we swung, swung together - opening up the angles and opening up the gap between us and them - lives with me still.

The following year I went off to Pembroke, so I didn’t row with Simon through his time as Captain of the Club, but many of that Thames Cup crew (which was beaten in the semi-final at the wettest ever Henley by the winners Queens College by just three quarters of a length) went on to row for the LRC first eight, and it was always a pleasure to see Simon when I came back to the LRC. My own father William Burkitt has been a keen member of the LRC Thirties Club so the creation of the 6’s and 7’s always appealed and I am very grateful to Simon and his successors for doing that.

Our Pembroke coach James Crowden once gave us a much-quoted speech from the bank that indicated that he didn’t think some of us were trying hard enough. “You know, boys, rowing is like life. You only get out of life what you put into it. Rowing is like that too. That’s why rowing men are good men.”

Simon Rippon was unquestionably a good man and I am very fortunate to have rowed with him.

With very best wishes,

Hugh”

The second reminiscence is a nice story from Simon’s eldest brother, Hugh Rippon.

“Hello Julian,

Thank you for the script re Simon. I knew he did a lot at the LRC but I never realised he did that much. We had a number of barn dances but only one Morris session with volunteers: it lasted about fifteen minutes when the sticks were rapidly broken.

I can't remember but did I tell you the funny story about how he missed a place in the Veterans race. Here goes. He had been to a conference to do with nuclear energy in Tokyo and was due to fly back to London just in time. Unfortunately the flight was delayed but Simon managed to speak to the Flight Captain and explain the situation. The Captain, who was obviously a sporting character, said he would do his best to make up lost time. Unfortunately it was not quite enough. As you know the flight path for planes coming in from the Watford stack pass over the LRC. As the plane came in over Putney Bridge, Simon looked out of his little window and saw the eight already launching their boat with somebody else IN HIS PLACE. The Flight Captain was full of apologies and Simon of course said "not to worry".

With best wishes and thanks once again,

Hugh Rippon”

Julian Ebsworth

IRREGULARS’ REPORT

The Irregulars continue to make a big contribution to the One Degree of Sport initiative. PPE packing is still popular making a difference as well as exercising not only the arm and shoulder muscles but also the jaw muscles. It is a great opportunity for a chin wag (churning out the packing at the same time of course), meeting new people and making new friends. It provides a good focus and structure for the week but is now slightly toning down – I suspect it will be missed by some!!

Other tasks have included food deliveries to the isolated in Roehampton and Fulham and driving NHS District Nurses to their various appointments.

*Our very own Fiona Young setting out on her trusty steed to deliver food parcels for The Smile Brigade in Fulham.*

*Jonny and Laura Akehurst – Father and “engine” (Jonny’s words) – same household of course.*

The feeling of togetherness and willingness to help was exemplified one weekend when one of our members put out a call requesting a food shopping collection – some family members, having taken ill during the week (and, therefore, the whole household of 7 were isolating) were unable to collect their extensive weekly shop!! The call was made and accepted by a member who, it transpired, was planning to hire a Zip car to do the delivery. Now that is service! I am glad to report that help was not actually required in the end as test results came through negative a few hours prior to the pre-arranged collection.

Now that rowing on the river is slowly returning, albeit singles or doubles only, there has been a demand to get certified as steerers. Congratulations to Rory O’Sullivan and Keith Coni who are both now certified Advanced Steers and both have plans to take their even more expert offspring out on the water in the near future. New young members have accordingly joined the LRC ranks – bravo!!

Let us all hope that restrictions will continue to be eased and that we can all take advantage of these wonderful rowing conditions.

Eddie Markes

LOCKDOWN IN KAZAKHSTAN

Dear Irregular friends,

I hope you are all holding up well in these difficult times. Since I left London to go to Almaty (Kazakhstan) now nearly 3 years ago I have not been able to row at all unfortunately. Rowing is not a sport Kazakhs do. They are very good at boxing and wrestling, however. Traditionally they practiced nomad games, such as the one vaguely resembling polo, where opposing teams have to wrestle each other for a dead goat. But those were the good old days. Nowadays Almaty is a wonderful place for hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. I never did the latter, because I was warned that Kazakhs ski just as recklessly as they drive their cars, resulting in a high number of accidents and near misses on the ski slopes, without there being any proper infrastructure for first aid etc.. Not my cup of tea.

I was due to leave Almaty and return to the Netherlands in September, but things went differently due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. The first cases in Kazakhstan were reported in the beginning of March. The Kazakh authorities quickly took very strict and effective measures to contain the virus, comparable to the measures taken by their big neighbour China. This included completely closing the borders of the country, suspending all international and internal flights, completely sealing off the big cities, with police and army manning roadblocks and even controlling pedestrian traffic in the cities. People were only allowed to leave their houses to go buy food or medicines. As a result, I was holed up in my flat for nearly 3 months. There was one big advantage of the lockdown however. Air quality in Almaty improved dramatically. Normally Almaty is covered under a blanket of smog. In these months we were finally able to fully enjoy the beautiful panorama of the Tian Shan mountains (see picture).

Although I was not at great risk of contracting the virus, the doctor of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs still advised me to try to return to the Netherlands, if possible, in view of my age (64). The quality of the healthcare in Kazakhstan is generally OK, but IF you have a serious or complicated illness such as COVID, it is a lot better to be in Europe. That was easier said than done, however. It was impossible to leave Almaty until a week ago when the ban on internal flights was lifted. This made it possible to finally get on a flight to Amsterdam via Atyrau. Atyrau is the centre of the oil and gas industry in Kazakhstan. Even during complete lockdown the authorities allowed international oil workers to enter and leave the country. Kazakhstan desperately needs its oil dollars; with the present oil prices more than ever.

So here I am, finally back in the Netherlands since this Wednesday. Because Kazakhstan is still considered to be a 'code orange' country, I have to 'self-quarantine' for 14 days and can only see my children and my two grandsons on WhatsApp or Facetime, nor can I go yet for a walk on the beach, of which I dreamt all those months. I am still locked up as are you, I believe, but being so much closer to those who are dear to my heart makes all the difference!

All the best to you all and I hope we can all return to our normal lives soon. Tom (Blackett) told me that rowing on the Tideway is restricted to sculling for the time being. I hope those of you who prefer rowing can go out as well before too long!

Best wishes,

Fred Olthof

JOIN CASAMAJOR CLUB AND WIN!

Are you among the almost 50 members who have signed up for Casamajor Club? Thanks if you are - if not, please join us here today.

For just £5 per month, you're entered into a monthly and an annual draw for cash prizes - and you're providing some much-needed fleet maintenance funds for the Club.

Join here now - it takes a few minutes to set up a Direct Debit, and that's it. Thanks.

John Auber

VIRTUAL WINE TASTING

Following on from the success of both recent tastings, our resident Master of Wine, Tim Jackson, will be hosting another virtual wine event at the end of June.

This will take place via Zoom on Friday 26 June and Friday 3 July from 7:30pm.

We will be tasting three Australian and three New Zealand wines over the course of the two sessions – likely a white and two reds from each.

To take part in this event, please transfer £110 to LRC and email events@londonrc.org.uk with your name, mobile number, and delivery address.

You will then receive six bottles of wine direct from our supplier, Liberty Wines.

We ask that all ‘bookings’ are in no later than 19 June to ensure timely delivery of wines.Please not that due to delivery limitations, your delivery address must be in the United Kingdom.

We will pass tasting notes to those taking part.

Should you have any questions, please contact events@londonrc.org.uk.

Shane Dorsett
General Manager, London Rowing Club

ROWING ON THE THAMES IN THE 50s & 60s
PART 2 – BOATS AND BLADES

At Westminster School novice oarsmen started off in tub pairs and fours. These were clinker-built boats with the lines of a skiff. The seats however were fixed, so we wore shorts with reinforced seats. This static position meant that the stroke was much shorter, but when in a scull, balancing the boat was much easier. The other difference was that the School still had fixed pins, as against the current swivel gate.

*A Tub Four navigating sailing dinghies; note the driftwood in the foreground.*

The ‘gate’ for the fixed pins was akin to that of a traditional skiff with two wooden uprights, at the end of a metal rigger. To hold the blade in place, the fixed pins had a thick string fixed across the top of the ‘gate’. To place the oar in position, the tip of the blade was inserted into the inboard side of the ‘gate’, and then pressed out. The button was formed so as the oarsman moved forward, the blade automatically squared, at the finish there was a very distinct clunk as the hands were moved away. The Westminster and Eton crews, who both still used fixed pins could be heard coming from a distance. The button on the oar was made of leather, so it was very important that it was greased before the outing. The senior school crews rowed in shell eights, but the rest of the crews rowed in clinker fours and eights, all with sliding seats.

The oars were, what was called conventional, and at the tip were about 6 inches wide. The style had changed very little, I have my father’s oars used 1928, which are very similar to those used in the 1950’s. However, all changed in the 1960’s with the trial of many types of oars including the popular spade blades. One of the great experimenters at this time was Jumbo Edwards, the Oxford Coach, every year there would be a different rig for the Boat Race crew. This changed when later Dan Topolski became coach and the emphasis was on fitness, which will be covered in a later article.

Hugh Dulley

Part 3: ‘Boat Builders and Boatmen’ will be published in the July edition of The London Roar.

ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION!

Exceptionally high tides during the second week of May.

After the success of the competition featured in the April edition of The London Roar, I am pleased to announce another competition.

The subject matter of this is 'LRC, its members and the Tideway since lockdown started on the 23rd March 2020’.

What we are looking for are photographs of anything connected with LRC over the period since lockdown commenced - shots of the Clubhouse, the river bereft of activity until sculling was allowed to commence, the exceptionally high tides in mid-May, the river after sculling was sanctioned, members taking part in the One Degree of Sport initiative, members of the main squad training on their own at home and the cafe which has been set up outside the Clubhouse.

Members who want to take part may submit up to three photographs, each of which should state the date on which it was taken and have a short caption. I do hope you will take part in what, I hope, will create a source of interest for you now but also an interesting record for the future of the strange world in which we have been living for the past two and a half months.

Please send your entries to me at miles.preston@londonrc.org.uk by midnight on Sunday, 5th July.

The results will appear in July’s edition of The London Roar.

Miles Preston Editor,
The London Roar

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 on 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