Canoe Boat Plans | Skiffing with the Olympic Torch Relay

Canoe Boat Plans

Rowing has provided me with many fantastic experiences, and one of the best was taking part in the final stage of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay. 

Despite the (very) early hour, the riverbanks were lined with people. The brand new Royal barge Gloriana, launched for the Queens Diamond Jubilee River Pageant, only a few weeks earlier, and crewed on this occasion by former British Olympic rowing medallists, had had a special flame cauldron installed in her bows, ready to take the flame when Sir Matthew Pinsent arrived with the torch. 

But this wasnt a voyage that Gloriana would be making alone...

The swan and the ugly ducklings
The official plan was that the flame would travel from Hampton Court to the Olympic Park in Greenwich, on board Gloriana. For the first part of this river progress, as far as Richmond, this majestic craft, covered in gold twiddly bits, including a couple of heraldic lions, and with eight flagpoles mounted on her indescribably ornate cabin, was to be accompanied by Thames Skiffs; from Richmond, her escort would change to junior rowers in quads (I think); and finally some cutters, possibly associated with various.

When you see a skiff on its own, many people remark on the beautiful wooden craftsmanship. But next to Gloriana, we were definitely the "ugly ducklings". But that was the point. So, whilst Gloriana was moored right outside Hampton Court Palace, we mustered above Hampton Court Bridge as part of a flotilla made up of about 30 skiffs from the racing skiff clubs, and also including private boats, some of which were definitely traditional, wooden, and rowed, although not actually Thames Skiffs (one was a Shetland yole, for example). 

After the whole flotilla set off, a few plastic kayaks tried to join in, and were swiftly removed from the fairway by the Police boat!

My club, Thames Valley Skiff Club, owns seven double skiffs, and numerous members had expressed enthusiasm for being there at 5.15am to take part. Rather than leave anyone out, we crammed four to a boat, or in the case of my boat, five, but the girl squeezed in the bows was only 11, so we were only a little bit low in the water.

The skiff in the foreground contains our clubs
Olympian in his previously-unworn shorts.

One member of our club rowed at three Olympic Games (1984-1992), and turned up for the event wearing some casual shorts that were official GB team issue from Barcelona. "How appropriate!", we remarked, and he explained that today was the first time hed taken them out of their packet – exactly 20 years after hed competed. Perfect.

Colour scheme
Every boat had been issued with a white and gold flag – the theme colours of the torch relay, and wed been instructed to wear tent-sized white shirts that had been issued. Keen to stand out in pictures, Id managed to buy a bulk order of yellow caps (our club colours are yellow and black), which proved very useful for distinguishing us from the other boats full of white-shirted skiffers. 

Royal progress
The torch was behind schedule arriving on Gloriana, which was quite an achievement given it was the start of the day, but before arriving at the river bank it had been taken, iconically, round Hampton Court maze. Presumably someone got lost?

Spot our yellow caps in the foreground.

But we were eventually off, the river churned with so many boats vying for position, whilst also taking photos, and waving to the vast crowds lining the banks, not just at Hampton court, but on down the river. 

We were all under strict instructions NOT to pass Gloriana, who was to remain at the head of the Royal progress; inevitably, our former Olympian skiffer felt that this was a "challenge" and almost made it before being "marshalled" back.

We were more than happy sitting near the back of the pack, soaking up the atmosphere and pointing out the sights. All of the cruisers and narrow boats that are permanently moored along this stretch are usually deserted – but today every single one seemed to be hosting some kind of breakfast party, most were decked out with bunting and balloons, and we particularly like a baby that someone was holding up, which was dressed as a Olympic Torch with a "flame" hat. And dont forget, this was before the games had actually started, and Britain developed Olympic fever. It was definitely a taste of things to come.

Gloriana at Teddington Lock.

Five kilometres or so later, we got to Teddington lock, which has two chambers: Gloriana had a private one, and us skiffs crammed into the next one. Even there, the crowds were three deep, and it wasnt even 8am yet. 

Some flapjacks were shared out in our crew - and with neighbouring skiffs. The whole flotillas was buzzing with excitement, and some drizzle did nothing to dampen our spirits.

How many skiffs can you get into a lock?

there were still TV helicopters buzzing overhead ass we left the lock, and swept on past Ell Pie Island, Ham and eventually through Richmond Bridge, where the heavens opened and just as we sadly, but obediently, left Gloriana to continue down river on her historic journey.

Unexpectedly, I spotted a friend, who works in nearby Sheen, on the bank at this point, taking photos and running along with the skiffs. "Shouldnt you be at work?", I called: it emerged that his patriotic boss had decided to open two hours later than usual that day so his staff could enjoy the spectacle: a great example of the Olympic spirit of bonhomie that was soon to take over London, and much of the rest of the country. 

Of course, this isnt an example of expedition rowing that is likely to be repeated in any of our lifetimes, but I hope youve enjoyed reading about how much a few ordinary rowers enjoyed taking part in just a tiny piece of what definitely became the biggest show in the World in 2012.

Some of Thames Valley Skiff Clubs Olympic
Torch Relay participants in the rain at Richmond.

The video below shows just a little of the atmosphere of the event: points to note include the a brief view of some of the skiff flotilla at about 20sec in; massive crowds;  and Glorianas side-thrusters in action. We might have been totally powered by oars, but she was built with quite a few pieces of modern technology aboard!

Do you find information about Canoe Boat Plans are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Canoe Boat Plans. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Read More..

Boat Trailer Plans Australia | Going Just Some of the Wey A Mini Expedition Row

Boat Trailer Plans Australia

Expedition rows can come in all shapes and sizes. And fond as I am of more epic challenges, there are only so many of those you can plan and fit into a year. 

But that still leaves the odd spare Saturday when a short, slightly out-of-the-ordinary row can be fitted in. And so it was that a small party of just six of us, including two who had only been rowing a single-figure numbers of times, set off on a 14 mile round trip up the Wey Navigation Canal in Surrey.

Oh, and did I mention it basically involved going to the pub?

The plan was straightforward: to skiff from our club, Thames Valley Skiff Club in Walton on Thames in Surrey, via the Wey Navigation canal, to the Anchor Pub in Pyrford. And then back again. Maybe with a wee stop for refreshment at that turnaround point. 

The group had varied levels of experience: some of us had done numerous skiffing trips including "meanders" down the entire, 123-mile non-tidal Thames, and so for us, this was literally a picnic. Or perhaps a "skiffnic"? But two of the group had only started skiffing 6-8 weeks earlier, and for them, the prospect of the trip was a real voyage into the unknown, a challenge which one had rightly identified as being at least as much mental than physical. 

And it was their achievement that qualified this little trip as an expedition row according to the third element of my definition:

• Takes at least the best part of a day? Check. (Especially after substantial faffing around at locks.)
• On a piece of water you dont usually row on. Check.
• You get a sense of achievement just by completing it. Check for them, and it was a pleasure for the rest of us to help (as well as being a pleasant little trip too).

Slow, slow, slow, slow, slow (note there is no "quick, quick" in that)

The cheery lock keeper, hard at work.

That faffing I mentioned... There were various reasons why the coming of the railways spelled the end for canal transportation, and one of them was that canals were slower. Which is one of the attractions of them when it comes to leisure use. 

True to form, when we arrived at the first lock, the lock keeper had put up a sign saying, "Tending to weir. Back soon." Just in case his definition of soon was different from the one we had in mind, we went to find him, purchased the required licenses, were given the special lock-winding handle that wed need because, after this first one, none of the locks on this waterway are manned (its just too small a canal to justify that), and were eventually released eventually to rise up through the lock.

Despite not needing to find multi-tasking lock-keepers at the other three locks, these werent any quicker, not helped by some less-than-competent boatmanship and sluice management by a couple of narrow boats, and we rather missed the presence of chains to hold on to, which you get in Thames locks. Ah well, served me right for forgetting to bring ropes.

The little black thing at the top of the gable
is a cormorant. Honest.

But when the pace of life is slower, you have time to see things you might otherwise miss, and at Coxes Lock, whilst simultaneously clinging to wet, green stone steps, and eating plums, we spotted a cormorant drying its wings on top of one of the converted mill buildings, and shook our heads in a superior manner at the sight of people pounding on treadmills in the gym there. I mean, it was a  beautiful English summers day (i.e it only rained for about five minutes): what a waste to spend it exercising indoors, not out in fresh air!

Botanical ignorance
The Wey Navigation is a water world quite different from the busy, wide stretch of the Thames we usually train on. The canal is wide enough for two boats to pass but thats about it, its heavily shaded by trees, and the atmosphere is cool and tranquil, in contrast to the energetic bustle back on the main river.

A poor photo of Himalayan Balsam. (Fortunately, Im
better at rowing than I am at photography).

"What pretty pink flowers!", I remarked to my crew-mates, eyeing some tall plants that lined a long stretch of the bank. One of them, a good friend whose wide knowledge kept me entertained on our meander earlier this year, gasped in horror, before explaining that this was Himalayan Balsam, a dangerously invasive weed, only slightly less evil than Japanese Knotweed. I had heard of it, but had no idea what it looked like, and now I do. 

All of which only supports my theory that you always finish up learning something on an expedition row that you couldnt possibly have expected.

Moving on
With narrow bridges to negotiate, and a broad range of back gardens to peer into and evaluate, the miles just flew by, and soon we were there! 

And then, after suitable refreshments, not only of the liquid kind, we set off back, enjoying ticking the landmarks off in reverse order.

All in all, this was a very peasant little trip, requiring minimal planning (sometimes this is a relief after the numerous checklists required for more ambitious expedition rows), enjoyable for all of us, and a great way to initiate two new novices into the Honourable Order of Expedition Rowers. 

Next time, well go "all the Wey" to Guildford. Im quite sure theyll be up for it.

Do you find information about Boat Trailer Plans Australia are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Trailer Plans Australia. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Read More..