CHAIRMAN’S VIEW

I recently attended the Club as a guest of my friend John Pritchard to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his skiffing the length of the Mississippi River, a distance of some 2,340 miles and a feat which took three months. John raised over £2m for his charity Right to Play which supports disadvantaged children across the world. I was struck by how good the Club looked and how well we were served by Geraldine, Suzanne and Helena. All credit to Annabel and the Events team; it’s no wonder we get so many glowing reviews and events form the major part of the Club’s income.

I was on holiday and sorry to miss the Thursday night talk by Jerry McCarthy on his decades on the river. Jerry was a professional waterman, international sculler and rower, having competed in the 1972 Olympics and subsequent World Championships. He was a national champion and represented LRC in the 1962 Thames Cup. He related fascinating stories and facts about his time on the river as waterman, member of Poplar District and Blackwall Rowing Club and LRC. The differences between the two clubs were quite marked!

If anyone has ideas for talks or other members’ events at the Club please let me or Mike Shasha, Chair of the Membership Sub Committee, know.

Last Saturday, I single sculled at 8.00, peak time for outings with what seemed like every launch in existence on the river. I was bobbing about the Championship Course like a cork at sea. Mental note to self: pick less busy times.

Afterwards I had a coffee with some of the Young Irregulars and on the Sunday the Masters group. The latter had just boated over 30 athletes, all of whom are at racing level. Our rowing numbers are growing, which is excellent for the Club but there are resultant competing demands on equipment. We must try and be more flexible on outing times so everyone can be accommodated. Can I request that those using non-squad boats book them on My Clubhouse to avoid clashes and disappointment?

Bill Baker
Chairman, London Rowing Club

CAPTAIN’S REPORT

With the nights rapidly drawing in earlier and the mornings feeling noticeably cooler, it is fair to say that we are fully in the throes of autumn.

Whilst that means extra layers on the water, it also means we are well on our way to the head season races in the run up to Christmas, including Pairs Head (12th October), Upper Thames Head (27th October), Vets Fours Head (23rd November), Fours Head (24th November), Upper Thames and the coveted Remenham Challenge (14th December).

I am really excited to see how LRC performs across all these races, particularly the Vets and Fours head races and, of course, the Remenham Challenge. Not wishing to tempt fate, we are sure to dominate categories entered and come away in some top positions. Thank you to all who are coordinating the preparations for these races. Your work does not go unnoticed!

With it being this time of year, it would be remiss of me not to ask members to be extra vigilant when cleaning rowing and gym equipment to prevent illness. Please ensure that your follow correct cleaning protocol of washing boats (inside and out) and blades with soapy water, sponges and a hose down with water before drying with towels.

Likewise in the gym, please thoroughly wipe down equipment with the blue rolls and spray provided. If you are unsure where cleaning provisions are kept, please ask!

In the past month, we have seen all rowing groups return to the water and the gym for training sessions. The Thames is abuzz with activity particularly at the weekends, which serves as a good reminder to all members to be vigilant whilst rowing or coaching during busy periods, particularly of new and less experienced tideway users. In the event of incidents or near misses, please be sure to report to the LRC safety officer.

Onto more fun recent happenings… In a somewhat unusual occasion for LRC, the top two VIIIs from the senior squad took a trip across the channel to Amsterdam three weeks ago to race the Amstelbeker. It was a privilege for LRC to be asked by K.A.R. & Z.V. De Hoop to take part and a great opportunity for LRC to race the Dutch in their home country, particularly having raced De Hoop on numerous occasions at Henley Royal in recent years. Both the men’s and women’s VIIIs came away victorious from the event – which was certainly an added bonus. Speaking to a number of the squad following the event, they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and spoke highly of both De Hoop’s and A.S.R Nereus’ hospitality towards us. Thank you for representing us well. A full write up has been provided by George Christian below.

Elsewhere at the Club, a good deal of work is going on behind the scenes to help run LRC. Recently at General Committee and subcommittee levels, we have been discussing things ranging from fundraising to club socials, governance, rowing structures, code of conduct and singles racking. I would like to thank everyone who has participated in these discussions, brought ideas forward and taken on actions. Their work is really appreciated.

With that, I wish you all a pleasant month ahead and hope to see you down at the Club, be it racing in the events coming up, clapping out racing crews, supporting from the bank, or general training! Stay warm, stay healthy and of course…

Bang the drum!

Rob Porter
Captain, London Rowing Club

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

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

IRREGULARS REPORT

The Irregulars have gained three new members this month, Jonathan Irroni (an OOT member), Steven Schulz (who is here for a few years from the States) and Edward Gormley (a nephew of existing member Michael Gormley). They are all very welcome and all are enthusiastic and competent rowers keen to partake on a pretty “regular“ basis, it seems – although this is, of course, entirely up to them!!

New members Steven Schulz...

...and Ed Gormley

Outings have been continuing on Sunday mornings with an average attendance of 12 to 15 and we have had some great outings. When numbers are not even and there is not a willing single sculler we have taken to three in a quad, which has worked extremely well. Ever adaptable us Irregulars!

A beginning of the rowing year meeting was held on Sunday, 22nd September in the Ashton Room, which was attended by some 15 members . The meeting was hosted by Andrew Boyle, Miles Preston and me.

The purpose of the meeting was to outline the various racing opportunities over the coming year and also some of the touring events that are on offer. This was, hopefully, to inform and get a better idea of interest among members so that we can do some advance planning. The possibility of coaching and even dedicated gym sessions was also mentioned. General enthusiasm was shown. The minutes and some timetables and details of tours were circulated to all members of the Irregulars and several responses have been received from those who were unable to make the meeting.

Should any other members of the Club be interested in any of the foreign touring opportunities, please contact me eddie.markes@londonrc.org.uk and I will send you details.

Please note that there are always articles in the TLR when these occur. The Holland Touring event was in the May edition and the Vogalonga was in the June edition. La Traversée de Paris took place last month with a number of Irregulars taking part. There is an article about it in this edition.

In answer to my call for interested potential bow steers, George Dimitropoulos has put his oar into the ring and is now genning himself up on the PLA Code of practice before doing some practical sessions. Well done George. Any more volunteers?

Last but not least, the Club Supper last Wednesday, 2nd October, was very well attended – 50 club members – and another excellent meal was served up by Annabel Lawrence and her wonderful team of helpers.

Eddie Markes

MASTERS REPORT

After a relaxed summer break for most, The Masters have restarted the racing year.

That being said, some of the women's masters took to the water and raced at World Masters 2024 in Brandenburg, Germany during Summer. We are very happy to report we picked up the following medals in the women's races:

1st Place in W.B2-
2nd place in W.A4-

Caroline Newbury (s) & Chloe Ramambason (b) picking up gold in the W.B2- at World Masters 24’. They will race W MasB/C 2- at Pairs Head (Crew 480).

A huge congratulations to those who raced, and put in a stellar performance.

Thinking ahead: Our major change this year was to combine men's and women's Masters groups into one collaborative effort. Both groups have historically trained separately on both land & water, however, the opportunities ahead of us by pushing forward together cannot be ignored. Along with several new additions from further afield, we have retained many members from the previous years and look forward to building on our success of the '23/'24 season.

Racing-wise; with the unfortunate cancellation of the Scullers Head, we have a large (10) entry into Pairs Head across both men's and women's, including mixed crews.

Basil Amin & Kirstyn Luton enjoying a break with picturesque scenery, training to race Mx 2x at Pairs Head (Crew 260).

Michael Cannon & Bob Silver (photographer) during a beautiful sunrise session. They will race Op MasC 2x at Pairs Head (Crew 281).

We wish all crews competing the best of luck, and look forward to bringing a few wins back for the club!

Immediately after Pairs Head, we will mark the beginning of the monthly "Masters Time Trials" race where crews across the entire group will take to the water to get a head start on the heads racing pieces over the championship course. This is a great opportunity for us to test racing lineups, benefit from our continued session coaching from Dave Loveday, and maximise our time on the water.

That's all for now. Much more to follow.

Jason Bowyer & Cecilia Collins-Taylor

DEFIBRILATOR MAINTENANCE FUND

You may have noticed that we have a Defibrillator back on the wall by our side entrance in Spring Passage. A big heartfelt thanks goes to London Hearts and The Childwick Trust for funding this replacement for the defibrillator that was stolen and for providing a fully secure cabinet in which to house it.

With so many people now visiting Putney Embankment to row or purely to enjoy this unique location, having life saving equipment at hand is an essential safeguard for us all.

Back in May, Simon Melvin kindly helped me install and wire in the new cabinet to enable this public access AED. Simon also helped kick-start a Defibrillator Maintenance Fund with a generous donation. This Fund will pay for new pads, which need replacing at a cost of £70 once used, and a new battery every 2-5 years at around £350. If you would like to contribute to this fund, you can pay directly to the club bank account with reference "Defibrillator Maintenance Fund".

Thank you for your support.

Bob Silver

JOHN THIRKETTLE

News has reached us from Atlanta of the death of John (M. J. G. A.) Thirkettle, who had been a member of the Club since 1963.

John joined from Bedford RC. His sole appearance at Henley for London was in the Grand in 1966. Work then took him to Georgia in the USA where he worked for GEC Marconi and BAE Systems.

His widow (who has kindly sent a donation to the Club in his memory) has written to say John continued as a keen oarsman, entering regional competitions in the south eastern United States until he was in his late 70s. He also taught people to row with the Atlanta Rowing Club throughout his life in Atlanta.

He attended Henley every year (barring two years, first when he was waiting for a Green Card and could not leave the USA, and on the second occasion when the regatta was cancelled due to COVID). She says he always wore his London blazer and cap proudly.

AMSTELBEKER

Recently the club was invited to sent a men's eight and a women's eight to race the Amstelbeker in Amsterdam. The Amstelbeker is a 750m side-by-side regatta organised by K.A.R.& Z.V. 'De Hoop', the Netherland's premier non-student rowing club, and K.N.S.R.B., the Royal Dutch Student Rowing Association. The course starts by the A.S.R. Nereus boathouse and finishes at De Hoop's, on a picturesque stretch of the River Amstel. The racing is organised into 'general classification', where both LRC crews raced, and 'student', with separate draws for each, before combining into a super-final at the end of the day where the fastest students race the fastest taxpayers.

The crews were last years' Thames Cup A and Wargrave Cup A Henley lineups, with a few substitutions for those unable to make it, and travelled out on the Friday. We were lucky to be hosted by Nereus, who kindly lent us some good equipment, even though the women's eight were forced into a last-minute bow rig. The Nereus boathouse is steeped in both history and stolen artefacts, with a 'Stoke Row, Henley-on-Thames' road sign from a previous Henley campaign taking pride of place in the gym. The men were also kindly warned by our hosts that anyone using a specific bench in the changing room would result in our bags being thrown into the Amstel, for we had not won the Dutch Varsity race. How considerate.

And so, onto the racing. The women's event started with a time trial where they finished first of the eleven crews by 2.4 seconds, safely taking them through the preliminary rounds and to the quarter-finals. Facing Utrecht's U.R.V. Viking, the women easily dispatched the club in green and black, to meet our new friends De Hoop in the semi-finals. And once again, they were beaten, taking the women to the final against Willem III. This race was the big one, and rising to the challenge LRC won by 1.7 seconds to win the category. However, the fun didn't stop there, as the women then lined up to face our hosts, Nereus.

For the super-finals, there was an offset start similar to a masters handicap, where each crews fastest time in the previous side-by-side rounds was considered, which gave LRC a 6.4s head start over the Nereus crew. You may think that this seems like a lot for 750m, and it is, but given Nereus' legendary status there were no complaints to the officials. While Nereus were undeniably fast, London sprinted ahead and gave the Dutch too much to do with too little water, and so with room to spare the women won the Fortunabeker - named after Fortuna, a beautiful Dutch rowing club which no longer exists.

Fortunabeker winners - Chase Lemley (c), Hermione Brewster (s), Kate Griffiths, Gaby Morton, Claudia Turley, Kat Barnhill, Jemima Harbottle, Georgia Hellard Timm, and Laura Bates (b).

The men had no time trial and went into the first of our six races in heats, aiming to win our first three races to progress into the semi-finals. The heats were no real challenge, taking the rate and pressure down for all three, and progressing to face Spaarne, a club from the city of Haarlem. We won comfortably by 1.6s in a time almost six seconds slower than the other semi-final where De Hoop beat Willem III - it was starting to get real now. The meeting between De Hoop and London had been spoken about all day, with plenty of the other Dutch clubs hoping we could take it to the local big boys. The clubs have met three times in the last two years at Henley in the Thames and Wyfold Cups. The race was a scorcher, with London taking a quick 3/4 of a length off the start and resisting a De Hoop surge to 1/2 a length by halfway. With 300 to go, De Hoop were running out of water, and everyone in both crews knew it. The Ed Thomas sprint strategy of "row as hard as you can off the start, then when you get to one minute just row as hard as you can again" prevailed as we approached their boathouse to win by half a length.

Palmbeker Winners - Rosie Margolis (c), Sean O'Mahony (s), Ed Thomas, Ben Dickens, Laurence O'Connor, Calum Jenkins, James Clarke, George Christian, and Matt Reeder (b).

One more to go, and it was against the frankly comically large students from U.S.R. Triton. With a 1.4s headstart, we held their margin for most of the course, not surrendering an inch of the gifted lead. Triton started to flag at halfway and the race started to open out, with a win just shy of clear water (and at 1.8s, greater than the head start) to secure the Palmbeker, a wooden trophy symbolising of the resilience of Dutch rowing associations: just like the LRC crews under pressure, the palm bends but it does not break.

London member Jean-Pierre Van Tiel spoke to rowing news website "NLroei", who reported that we "had a nice city trip this weekend".

After the racing, we changed tentatively into our blazers, slightly concerned about their structural integrity going into the evening, and received our awards to a Dutch audience seemingly more concerned about their next drink than watching some British crews sweep their event. Excluding some Triton supporters who missed the final and refused to believe their Olympian-filled crew had lost to some short tourists, the Dutch were a very friendly bunch and made sure we were well looked after. The organisers were very pleased we attended as the only international club, and despite not winning, De Hoop were thankful for some meaningful competition on their home water. Job well done.

George Christian

TRAVERSÉE DE PARIS 2024

The Traversée de Paris is a rowing event that takes place on the river Seine in Paris, France. It was first held in 1947 and is now run annually. This year’s row took place on Sunday, 15th September.

Many LRC members have hit the Eurostar over the years to join other clubs in this memorable, bucket list row. This year London took two crews to take part in their own right.

The row offers breathtaking views and sightseeing along the Seine. Rowers pass by landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the National Assembly, the original statue of liberty, Louvre and Notre Dame and so many more.

Crews row under 33 historic bridges, each with its own history and architecture.

This year over 3,000 rowers competed.

The boats were set up and prepared with a briefing on the Saturday afternoon ahead of the epic 26km outing. That evening saw the London crews dining at La Bullion, perhaps one of the hottest & trendiest eateries in Paris with queues snaking along the trottoir…

Jason briefs the crews on the Saturday afternoon.

5 am on the Sunday heralded café and croissants and it was hands on at 6am. Impressively organised, a trolly arrived and an army of volunteers aided in launching the boats that sat together like an armada in the dark, awaiting the trumpet heralding start.

A honk echoes across the water and, given the vast number of boats, the beginning is akin to ‘Wacky Races’ (Remember Mutley & Dastardly) weaving through the crowds with precision, bravery and finesse - it didn’t take London (well blue boat anyway!) long to weave through the traffic, find open water and then fly along to the Eiffel Tower.

Watching sunrise to the clunk of oars was magic in itself and layers came off as the day warmed up.

Epic scenery of dreams realised and all crews turned around the now rather shiny Notre Dame and headed back with firm at the end, flying past numerous Parisians with calls of encouragement and a spirit entente cordiale. With impressive organisation, the boat was lifted off the water at lightening speed and then de-rigged and on the trailer just as London’s second boat returned!

This was France so lunch was, of course, sensational with, ‘naturellement’, a bottle of wine & baguette for every crew followed by a well-earned siesta in glorious sunshine.

Huge thanks to Rachel, Camille, Chris, Martin, Fiona, Tim, Keith, Anne and Phil who were simply amazing, supportive, charming and looked and rowed like seasoned champions on the river.

Cheers to the hugely supportive Eddie Markes and Frank ter Voorde and our new friend Arnaud of Gravelines Rowing Club (Les Ch’tis!) where many more rowing adventures are to be had in Europe.

Bravo LRC. Je lui tire mon chapeau!

Capitaine Jason

WHAT A PRIVILEGE

When I turned up at the Club shortly before 7pm on 12th September to hear Jerry McCarthy’s talk, I was wondering if I would recognise Jerry, who I hadn’t seen since 1972 when we were both in the National Squad seeking to qualify to row in the Munich Olympics. To my delight, I recognized him immediately and introduced myself to him as I wasn’t sure if he would have a clue who I was after such a long time.

We immediately chatted as if we had last met a couple of weeks ago. I was a very junior member of the squad, being 22 at the time. Jerry was at the top end of the squad, being then aged 31. The ultimate difference between us was that Jerry was selected to row in Munich and I was not! There were twenty-five members of the men’s squad that year, of whom seventeen were selected to row and eight were not. In their wisdom, the selectors chose not to send an eight.

At about 7:15 we sat down in the Long Room to listen to what Jerry had to say. I had thought that his talk would focus on his rowing conquests and experiences but I was wrong. Instead, he told us about his upbringing in Wapping and his schooling at a very strict Roman Catholic school, where physical punishment was a daily occurrence.

That lead on to a fascinating description of his training as a waterman and lighterman on the commercial part of the Thames. He told us about his experiences on 80m long self powered barges delivering coal to all the power stations, going up as far as Lots Road except for Bankside which was oil powered.

One of the most memorable moments was his description of the barges managing to get under the bridges by dropping in the water just before reaching them, thanks to the enormous draft they created.

I also enjoyed his description of delivering a very valuable of cargo up the River Lea to a perfume manufacturer based there.

Jerry also told us about joining LRC in 1958 and the contrast between life there and Poplar Blackwall and District Rowing Club and Lea Rowing Club, where he also rowed.

It was such a privilege to hear what he had to say, particularly about the commercial life on tidal Thames in the 1950s and ‘60s. That world has now gone so it was fantastic to remind ourselves about it.

Miles Preston

NEW MEMBERS

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

Katy Buttle
Ryan Cheale
Aurelia Dixon
Beltran Field
Christopher Finch
Edward Gormley
Bryony Gough
Tally Jones
Laura Kulagowska
Vincent McGovern
Samara O'Hagan
Lizzy Saary
Steven Schultz
Fenella Steventon
Andrew Whitbread
Tristan Wiese
Danielle Willcock

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.

Read here for information on becoming a member on our website, or you can email the Club’s Membership Secretary.

Andrew Boyle
Honorary Secretary, London Rowing Club

CASAMAJOR CLUB DRAW

£75:
Mike Baldwin
Bethan Corlett
Chris Dodd
Ciaran Hayes
Caroline Keat
Simon Smithson
Oliver Nutt
Kate Pearson

£30:
Jason Danciger
Dr Bernie Regan
Timothy Cox
Nick Howe

£15:
Richard Parsons

Anyone who would like to contribute towards our boat maintenance for only £5 a month and join in the fun of the club lottery – please follow this link to sign up.

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