CHAIRMAN’S VIEW
Last week I joined many other Club members to remember Doug Melvin, our former President, coach, sculler and a key member of the London veteran crews of the 80s and 90s. Whilst tinged with great sadness at the loss of Doug, it was a wonderful evening and showed our Club and the LRC family at its best. The gathering included many world champions, winners of the Wingfield sculls, Olympians and members of London Rowing Club who wished to pay their respects to Doug and thank him for all that he did for so many of us. Listening to John and Simon, the names of individuals with whom Doug rowed and raced was a roll call of London’s finest including a Dutch sculler who managed to beat Doug at the European Championships – Robbie van Mesdag. Regardless of the level of our achievements, we were all united by the love of the sport of rowing and the talented young sculler from John O’Gaunt in Lancaster who came to London to train “with the big boys” almost 70 years ago. The evening encapsulated all that is great about our Club and our vision to be a club for all, a club for life.
Your committee continues to work to move the Club forward on all fronts. I am grateful for the support of the Club officers and those who are able to spare some time to work on one of the subcommittees. At times, decisions have to be made for the benefit of the Club as a whole which can lead to some frustration. A frequent example is the need to use our facilities to build our commercial business, the income from which underpins our rowing activities. Please bear with us, respect the decisions made on behalf of the Club and support those who give up their time for the benefit of all at LRC.
Simon Harris
Chairman, London Rowing Club
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
I would like to give notice that the Annual General Meeting of London Rowing Club will be held in the clubhouse at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 6th July 2022. It is intended to provide access via Zoom for those not able to attend in person. Zoom access details will be circulated beforehand.
The customary business of the meeting is to receive a report from the outgoing Captain and to elect a Captain for the coming year. Details of the nominations and any additional items of business will be circulated nearer the time. Please note that the accounts of the Club for the year ended 31st July 2021 were presented to members at a general meeting of London Rowing Club Limited on 28th February. The Hon. Treasurer will update members on the financial position of the Club at the Annual General Meeting.
Andrew Boyle
LRC, Hon. Secretary
CAPTAIN’S REPORT
You would be forgiven for thinking that, after all the madness that March’s various Heads of The River brought, April is a calm and sedate month in the rowing calendar. Though there may be some truth in that from a racing point of view, behind the scenes our senior squad have been through probably the most intense period of testing and selection of the whole season.
After back-to-back weekends of seat racing at Dorney, the LRC senior squad loaded up the trailer and set of for training camp on Lake Varese, Italy. This was the first international camp our squad have been able to attend in three years, so the excitement to get out on some flat water in sunny conditions was palpable.
Though the conditions were glorious, the training was intense. Three uninterrupted sessions a day, every day for a full week, gave plenty of opportunity for Chief Coach Stu Heap and his team to trial different combinations and put them through their paces over the international 2k course previously used for World Rowing Cups.
Lots of good quality miles have been clocked up and the groundwork laid for the summer racing season to come. The squad now return to the Tideway in preparation for the Met Regatta, where they will get to test their speed against the best from across the country.
LRC Senior Men’s VIII training on Lake Varese.
LRC Senior Women’s VIII training on Lake Varese.
LRC sculler Nathan O’Reilly training on Lake Varese.
LRC Senior Squad and coaches (right) on the final day of camp.
Back in Blighty, other rowing groups have been making the most of the less congested river to get some good training and racing in. Hammersmith Regatta took place on 23rd April and LRC was represented by a strong showing of crews from across the Millennials and Young Irregulars. The regatta itself was marred by unfavourable wind conditions and a resultant delay to racing, but none the less it was great to see so many of our members racing side-by-side for the first time this season.
Further upriver, on Dorney Lake, the first of the major summer regattas took place on Sunday 1st May. Though LRC representation was limited due to the squad still being away on training camp, the blue and white was dutifully on display thanks to single scullers Rob Leonard and James Sanders, competing in the Challenge Single Sculls event. Competition was fierce, with GB senior lightweights and U23s also competing. Both LRC scullers finished 3rd in their respective heats, with Rob making it through to the final, having completed the course in the 5th fastest time (7:18.72) of all the scullers across the three heats. Rob went on to finish 6th in the final, having lined up against some of the best talent in the country.
With the squad back and regatta season picking up, we can all look forward to the racing to come. I hope to see as many of you as possible cheering our crews on at the local regattas as well as the Metropolitan Regatta, on the 4th and 5th of June.
Bang the drum,
James Sexton-Barrow
Captain, London Rowing Club
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
21 May: Nottingham City Regatta
27-29 May: National Schools Regatta
28 May: Twickenham Regatta
04-05 June: Metropolitan Regatta
05 June: Vogalonga, Venice
11 June: Barnes and Mortlake Regatta
11 June: Marlow Town Regatta
11-12 June: British Rowing Masters’ Championships
11-12 June: Reading Amateur Regatta
14 & 15 June: Hadaway Harry at LRC
17-19 June: Henley Women’s Regatta
18 June: Marlow Regatta
24 June: Henley Royal Regatta qualifying races
28 June-03 July: Henley Royal Regatta
06 July: LRC Annual General Meeting
08-09 July: Henley Masters Regatta
09-10 July: Kingston Regatta
16-17 July: Molesey Regatta
19 July: Doggett’s Coat and Badge Race
23 July: Home International (Docklands)
30 July: Henley Town and Veterans’ Regatta
See more detail for these events, visit our Calendar of Events…
IRREGULARS’ REPORT
Sunday, 1st May saw a healthy number turning up for an outing and we got out three quads and an eight and had a nice calm row – the river was pretty empty and the water was good. Most of the clubs squads, including our own, were on their summer camps so there was a pleasant absence of launches.
Following outings, a lunch had been organised by the members of the Vets Head Eight primarily to thank those that had contributed and made it all possible, namely, our young cox, Juliette Hanford, our coach, Miles Preston and launch driver, Diana Bartley. Other members of the Irregulars showed their faces as well and were very welcome.
In all, there were upwards of 20 of us and a wonderfully varied and delicious array of food was laid out in the Members Room for an exceptional buffet lunch. We even stretched to tablecloths! It was a great occasion – small gifts were presented to those named above
The crew and supporters start to gather for lunch.
Eddie gives his presentation speech thanking everyone for participating and, in particular, Juliette Hanford for coxing so well.
Juliette wearing the jacket presented to her by Eddie at the lunch.
A special mention must be made of our wonderful young cox, Juliette, who will be departing in September for McGill University in Montreal to study Physics and Chemistry. She was totally unfazed by the presence of some fairly prominent club members in the boat and did not hesitate in giving out coaching advice/orders during outings as well, of course, as lots of encouragement and spirit lifting utterances. She was still at it last Sunday! The St Lawrence river and more success beckons.
I know that I speak for all the crew when I wish her the very best of luck. We look forward to news and regular updating via her father Tim.
Eddie Markes
METROPOLITAN AMATEUR REGATTA 2022
The organising committee of Metropolitan Amateur Regatta (the MET) is seeking volunteers to assist with the smooth running of this year’s regatta which is being held on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June 2022 at Dorney Lake. As with prior years, the usual inducements of bacon sandwiches and the volunteers’ gin bar will be provided. If you are able to assist, it would be greatly appreciated if you could please contact Jason Gray via email – jason_gray1811@hotmail.com.
Jason Gray
AN OUTING WITH TWO OLYMPIANS
Last December Tim Hanford and I attended a dinner at Leander hosted by Rass Randall at which Olympians Vicky Thornley and Jack Beaumont were the speakers. Those of you who remember Rass’s speech at our annual dinner in 2018 will appreciate that the evening was great fun, particularly when Rass acted as auctioneer to raise money for the Leander Trust. Tim and I were lucky to secure an outing with Vicky and Jack as Rass offered them “for sale” as the last lot!
On 1st May we had our opportunity. The first thing to say about the occasion was how warm and welcoming Jack and Vicky were. Jack explained that upon retiring after Tokyo he had done all the rowing he had to do and was now doing the rowing he wished to do. He is busy working with a tech start-up called BetterSpace, that helps large companies manage employee benefits, while Vicky is working on Boys in the Boat, an upcoming film directed by George Clooney. It was a rare opportunity for them to get on the water.
As it happened, Rass was in the process of boating with his Rentacrew quad. He showed us to the changing rooms and then told Jack that there was some cannon fodder waiting for him. At least this gave us an opportunity to out-perform!
We took the Empacher in which Jack won the Queen Mother Challenge Cup at Henley last year. With Vicky at stroke and Jack steering at bow we started arms only, built up to a full stroke and then we were off down to Hambleden Lock.
Editor’s note: In real life Andrew and Tim are larger than they appear in this photo!
To our relief the boat ran level, although I would give Vicky and Jack the credit for their solid connection with the water. We would have had to do something to upset the boat. Their catches were precise and even gentle. There was a steady acceleration, fast hands around the turn and then a definite pivot from the hips before the legs came up that gave us a chance to reset.
On the way back we met Rass’s crew. Jack wanted to do a piece from the regatta start for old time sake. Apparently, there is a byelaw that allows you to do this before the booms are in place if you have won at Henley as many times as Jack and have Rass in the other boat! Having thought we had the outing under control, Vicky then proceeded to take us off at 41. Not having rated this high for more than 30 years it was like riding a horse that had bolted. We just tried to stay in the saddle. Fortunately, things calmed down and we enjoyed a majestic row up the regatta course. With Rass’s crew two lengths behind and the regatta infrastructure partially in place, it was easy to imagine we were enjoying a comfortable win as we came into the enclosures.
We had breakfast with Vicky and Jack after the outing and spoke about the balance between having a relaxed blade entry and deploying substantial power during the stroke. Vicky said that upon entry into the water, her only movement is a flex of the leg angle at front stops. This is enough to take hold of the water. Jack said we should remember that the catch is the slowest point of the stroke and that a hard catch can slow the boat further. He maintains his forward body angle for two thirds of the way along the slide so that he can then “give it some” and exert maximum power when the blades are at the perpendicular. In this way all his force propels the boat forward. A quick search on YouTube will bring up several videos of Jack and Vicky talking about rowing and exercising techniques. They are very worthwhile.
It was a fantastic experience. Tim and I are grateful to Vicky, Jack and Rass for their warm welcome and for sharing their obvious love for our sport.
Andrew Boyle
Honorary Secretary, London Rowing Club
NEW MEMBERS
We would like to welcome the following new members to the Club:
Benedict Hunter
George Irons
Charlie Pryor
Mike Newsom Davis
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
HADAWAY HARRY 14TH AND 15TH JUNE
It is now only just over a month before Hadaway Harry returns to the Club. If you haven’t already bought tickets for one of the three performances, do so now. This is a play that no rowing enthusiast should miss.
You might also like to read about Hadaway Harry’s previous visit to LRC.
https://heartheboatsing.com/2017/02/20/hadaway-harry-the-knot-retied/
Enthusiastic applause for one of the performances of Hadaway Harry at the Club in 2017.
All the information can be found on the links below:
Direct link to the event: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/VonFox/e-dxaeeq
General tour dates: https://www.hadawayharry.co.uk/tour-dates
Alternatively, here's a QR code directed to the event page:
Don’t miss this.
Kate MacDonald
LRC, Business Development Manager
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
