Staines Boat Club's Latest News
Archive 1/12/05 - 30/6/06
30th June 2006 Rob Oades sends this
link to the Kodak
website where he has uploaded some photos of the Staines crew competing at Henley yesterday.
30th June 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle emails ----- Just to say what a pleasure it was to watch our Wyfold
4- of Mark Ansley-Watson, Ian Grant, Joe Wood and Andrew Thomas race on Wednesday and Thursday
of this week at Henley Royal Regatta. The guys raced well both days and are already thinking
ahead to next year. Well done guys, we are all very proud of you! A big thanks also to everyone
who came along and supported.
Some more Henley related news. Congratulations to Mark and Siu Cashen who became parents again
on Tuesday when identical boys Frazer and Christian were born ... 6lbs 13oz and 5lbs 12oz respectively.
The labour was a shade over 1.5 hours as Mark had to get home in time for the footie. Both
mother and sons are doing well. Mark rowed in the Thames Cup 8+ in 2004. Frazer and Christian
join 18 month year old Cameron and so only one more needed for a family crew in the Wyfolds
of 2026!
29th June 2006 Unfortunately our Wyfold crew at Henley
Royal Regatta lost today to Belfast RC 'A' by 2 1/4 lengths. The race was timed at 7 mins 31
secs. Full details on the official website.
28th June 2006 Good news today as our Wyfold entry at Henley Royal
Regatta beat City of Sheffield RC by 2 1/2 lengths in a time of 7 mins 38 secs. They
will race Belfast RC 'A' tomorrow (Thursday) at 5.40 pm.
28th June 2006 Rob Oades (snr) advises ----- A quick report from the
SBC Juniors at the Egham Regatta - four more wins to report: Andrew Frost J13 1x, Emma Corless
WJ15 1x, Emma Parkes & Charlotte Morrison WJ16 2x, Charlotte Morrison WJ16 1x. I also believe
Emma P and Charlotte won the Womens Junior Skiffing event representing Wraysbury.
27th June 2006 Liz Bernard sends this reports on behalf of the Sir
William Perkins's School rowing team ----- A
limited number of SWPS
crews were entered for this regatta, and the WJ15’s won both the events in which they
competed. The
WJ15 4x+, Charlotte, Emily, Emma, and Ingrid coxed by Heather came first and both the WJ15
2x won their semi-final race. This resulted in a Perkins’s final, and a win for
Charlotte and Emily. It was a very important event for our WJ12’s who have only
been sculling since Easter. This was their first regatta and we had two crews competing
in the J12 4x+. No winners this time!
27th June 2006 Please note that the time of the Staines Boat Club versus City
of Sheffield race at Henley tomorrow (Wednesday) is 2.15pm. Please support the crew
if you can.
25th June 2006 Due to the annual row from Staines to Henley
during Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th June, this website will not be updated. If anyone wishes
to post any information urgently, please ensure that I
receive it by 9pm tomorrow (Sunday).
24th June 2006 The draw for Henley Veterans
Regatta that takes on the 7th-8th July has been drawn and will be published here shortly.
Staines has 2 crews entered. (Vet C coxed and coxless).
24th June 2006 The draw for Henley Royal Regatta that takes place this
coming week has now been published here. Staines has one entry in the Wyfold Challenge Cup
racing against City of Sheffield.
22nd June 2006 Boat Maintenance Officer, Ian
Grant emails ----- Further to Craig's note about equipment damage, I will
be leaving a boat damage log book in the store room to allow people to inform me of any damage, from
paint being scratched off to anything more serious. This will also aid our Safety advisor,
Mark, in re-assessing any safety issues on our stretch of river.
22nd June 2006 Secretary, Murray
Litvak sends this plea he has received
----- Hi there, my name is Mark Moriyama. I am a videographer based in the Co. Cork and London.
I used to work for Assignments, the Sign Company in Lightwater when we were invited to participate
in the Staines Boat Club Pubs and Clubs Regatta in September 2002. Basically I have some
DVD's of the day which I made obviously at the time but they got packed and lost when I moved
to Ireland. I wondered if it was possible to get in contact with our cox of the time, Caroline;
who took us to 2nd place against the team called The Real McCoy (made up of Aussies). I had
such fun and I get a rush of adrenaline just watching the day again! I'm afraid I don't
know Caroline's last name and she may not even come to Staines Boat Club anymore but
I'm sure she'd be interested in seeing her efforts all over again. I have some still
shots with her in if a mug shot helps in identifying her!! thanks for your help, Mark
21st June 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle emails
----- When people damage equipment it would be appreciated if they owned up and reported
it. During the last couple of weeks my sculling boat has twice sustained damage within the
boathouse. First there was chunk taken out of the stern and then last night I discovered scrapes
and a partial puncture on the bow canvas. There has also been a general rise in instances of
damage to club boats and, although accidents do happen, people need to be more careful. End
of rant!
20th June 2006 Rob Oades (snr) writes ----- Whilst most of Staines Boat
Club de-camps to Henley for a week at the end of the month, another event is happening that
perhaps will get SBC a little more support in the future from a "higher place". Debbie Oades
(mum of junior squad members Rob and Tom, and long suffering wife of Rob (snr)) will become
the Revd. Debbie Oades when she is ordained a deacon in The Church of England. This will take
place at 5pm on Saturday 1st July in St Paul's Cathedral, London. This service is open to all
so if you wish to support Debbie (and are not going to Henley) then you are most welcome. Debbie
will be serving as deacon in the parish of The Good Shepherd in Hounslow West, so we will still
be seeing Debbie down at the club and at regattas, but don't be surprised if her shirt collar
is slightly different.
20th June 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle writes ----- As we're now nearly a third of the way through the current
membership year, it's appropriate to remind the stragglers who have not yet renewed their subs
that they need to do so NOW. Please note that you will not be allowed to compete/cox for the
club until you have renewed, and also note that membership of Remenham Club is conditional
on you having CURRENT membership of SBC. Terry, myself, Leanne and Michelle don't like having
to chase people for subs and so we'd be grateful if you could 'settle up' ASAP. Thanks.
20th June 2006 The draw for Egham Regatta which takes place this Sunday 25th
June has been published on the
official website.
Several Staines and Sir William Perkin's School crews are competing.
20th June 2006 Steve Tassell emails
----- Hi everyone, usually by the weekend of Henley Regatta interest in the rowing is waning
as the call of the bar grows ever stronger! So this year I thought why not make things
more interesting with a sweepstake. Please
read the attached
word doc and
if you fancy taking part send your form back to me by Tuesday 27th June, 2pm latest. It
sounds complicated but all you need to do is pick eight clubs. Please
feel free to forward this on to others. thanks Steve
19th June 2006 Social Secretaries Di
& Anna write
regarding PUBS AND CLUBS ----- The Pubs and
Clubs Mini Site is
now online. Please see this for details of how to register and enter. In due course, details
of boat booking, the draw and the results will be posted here. There is a quicklink on the
front page of the SBC website. ATTENTION ALL CLUB MEMBERS - We do have a number of crews who
would like to enter but are without a coach/cox.
Please could anyone who can cox or coach a crew, please let us know ASAP by emailing sbcpartyon@hotmail.co.uk.
It only involves spending 5 extra hours on the water between now and the event! Thanks, Di
and Anna
19th June 2006 Ian Grant sends this report ----- The men's 4- went
to the hot and sunny Marlow Regatta at Dorney Lake on Saturday. In the second S2 4- heat the
crew had a strong race but just missed out going straight into the final by half a length to
LRC to finish 3rd to go into the Rep. This, at 14:30 in the afternoon, was another strong race
where the crew took the lead straight from the word go to leave a closely fought battle
either side for 2nd place between Rebecca and York. Unfortunately, the extra afternoon race
took its toll for the final and after another good start, the crew were unable to maintain
a challenge for a top place. A great improvement in racing from the crew in the past 3 weeks,
with the hope of continuing success for Henley on the Wednesday. Thanks to those who came down
to support and to Bob who we hope will be back on his bike very soon. Full
results on the Marlow Regatta website.
19th June 2006 Rob Oades (snr) sends this report from Thames Valley Park
Regatta ----- Sunday saw the Staines
Boat Club Juniors (along with a brand new flag (see
photo's) kindly made by Jill Corless) compete
at the Thames Valley Park Regatta against strong opposition. Out of seven events entered, five
finals were reached and two more victories added to this years total. Charlotte Morrison won
the WJ16 1x event and narrowly lost the 2x final partnered by Emma Parkes. Rachel Edwards won
the WJ final putting in two very strong races. Andrew Frost and Tom Oades narrowly lost the
MJ14 2x final to Reading by 1/2 a length - a great row seeing they were competing up a year
and Jenny Goldswain came 3rd in the WJ15 1x final. Rob Oades came 2nd in his his semi-final
of the MJ16 1x event as did the S4 4+ crew of Nick Pollen, Andrew Rozer, Tom Ryan, James Kell
and Emma Corless (cox).
Many
thanks go to the coach's Ted Dyos, Jeremy Pollen, Bob the Dog & Carol Goldswain
and thanks also to Roy Frost and Jill Corless for towing. Thanks as always to the many parents
who helped and supported on the day and a special thanks to Steve Kell for his training work
with the boys. Next Regatta is Egham were we hope to add more pots to our seasons total. Full
results will be available here shortly.
18th June 2006 From Bob Slade ----- GOOD NEWS! SBC club members will
have a crew to cheer on at Henley Royal Regatta. The mens 4- crew
were preselected (do not have to qualify) as
a result of their excellent racing at Marlow
Regatta yesterday.
18th June 2006 Adam Gill sends his report from Henley Women's Regatta -----
The women's intermediate four (Ali Lake, Nikki Browning, Katie Cran, Liz Lake and Rachel Lafbery)
reached the climax to
their season competing at Henley Women's Regatta. The girls had had a good week training at
Henley in preparation for qualification on Friday morning, and were looking forward to the
racing. Qualifying was going to be tough as 49 boats were to be reduced to 32 for the knock-out
phases, but the girls really attacked the course pulling away from Star Club who started behind
them. Holding 44 strokes per minute for the first 250m, it was no surprise they nearly
caught up Sons of the Thames who had started in front of them. Sure enough, qualification was
confirmed, with the 1st round that same evening against Maidenhead RC. We knew nothing
about this crew, but Maidenhead are a strong club, so it was going to be a nervy race.
Some mis-timed shenanigans above the start led to Staines being late for the start and
receiving an official warning, but this simply served to inspire the girls who led by the
end of the island, making clear water on Maidenhead at the barrier with a massive push.
From there on the girls dropped their rate and just sat in front of them, crossing the
line barely out of breath - but were doubly surprised to find they'd clocked the fastest
Intermediate Four time of the day at 5.33, just four seconds off the course record!
Saturday afternoon saw the second round match against Star Club. Whilst we were quietly
confident as we'd pulled away from them in qualifying, you can never be complacent, especially
at Henley. But the girls again delivered a storming start rattling out at 45 1/2 strokes a
minute and had a lead by the end of the island, gaining clear water well before the barrier.
Again the massive push coming to Remenham Farm only served to confirm their lead and the
girls backed off to conserve energy winning the race comfortably. This set up a Quarter-Final
race against University of Southampton on Saturday evening. We knew this was going to be
a tough match (Southampton themselves were overhead talking nervously because we'd looked
so strong) and knew we'd have to find our best row, so the girls went into it determined
to prove they were the best. But some appalling marshalling at the start rattled the girls,
and they mis cued their start which is their usual strong point. They had managed to pull
it back to level by the end of the island but couldn't quite cling on and Southampton slipped
away. Southampton eventually went on to reach the final on Sunday afternoon.
This was a fantastic performance by all involved; the girls never dreamt they'd get this
far (last 8 from 49) when we started 3 months ago and are really inspired to go onto
bigger and even better things. The time put in by all (including Claire Lovelady and
Emma Corless) definitely reaped rewards. There are many many people we need to thank
including all the support we had over the days at Henley and previous regattas (especially
the invaluable gazebo erectors), Robin and Dunc for their advice, Gideon for finishing
coaching and last but by no means least Bob for his help on all things rowing! Many, many
photos to follow - Graham! Full details on the official
website. Also see Photographs
Page.
17th June 2006 Henley Women's Regatta continued today with
the Staines Lwt 2- racing against Aberdeen University/Glasgow University.
They unfortunately lost the race by 3 lengths in a time of 5 mins 57 secs. The Staines
Intermediate 4+ continued their success of yesterday by beating Star Club by 3 lengths
in a time of 5 mins 47 secs. They then raced in the quarter finals against the University of
Southampton but lost by 4 1/2 lengths
in a time of 5 mins 46 secs.
16th June 2006 Henley Women's Regatta began today with the Staines
Intermediate 4+ successfully qualifying in the top 32 crews of the 49 that raced. In theafternoon
their first round race was against Maidenhead RC. The Staines crew suffered a loose rigger
on the way to the start and only just made it to the stakeboat on time. They were given an
official warning for their late arrival but allowed to race nevertheless. They took an early
lead and increased this with a push at the barrier. They finished 1 1/2 lengths clear in a
time of 5 mins 33 secs, the fastest time of all the races in their event. They race tomorrow
against Star Club at 3.30pm. Also racing tomorrow is the Staines Lwt 2- who are drawn against
Aberdeen University/Glasgow University. Their race is at 11.46am. Full details on the official
website.
16th June 2006 Jenny Page writes regarding the Nat Vets last weekend
----- Just a quickie to say that 3 past and present old Staines Girls (emphasis on ‘old’ here!) managed
to scoop a VetC 4- win at Nat Vets last Sunday – an interesting race since one of the
opposition crews was a VetD and accordingly were awarded a 9 second head start! The crew, rowing
for UTRC, consisted of Gurli Medcalf, Jenny Page, Melanie Reichelt (UTRC) and Jo Wilby.
16th June 2006 Congratulation go to Steve and Sarah
Tassell for the birth of their first baby named Zac. A baby boy, Zac was born last Monday 12th
June, 2 months early and at a weight of a little over 4 pounds. Zac is still in hospital but
Steve and Sarah say that his lungs are well developed and they have been told he is healthy
and well.
16th June 2006 Found near the landing stage, a gentleman's
engraved gold ring. Please contact Captain, Terry
Moore.
14th June 2006 Social Secs Anna & Di write
- You can now sign up for the SBC Junior Summer Ball using this
link on Saturday 15th July 2006 at the Clubhouse, from 6.30pm. Please the attached
poster for more details! Hope to see you there, Anna and Di
14th June 2006 The draw for
Egham Regatta that takes place on Sunday 25th June has now been published.
13th June 2006 Captain of Boats, Robin
Dunlop writes again ----- Another whinge - if you take club equipment away to
regatta's etc please return all elements (riggers/seats/blades) of said equipment asap (this
means before the next timetabled outing) so it can be used by others. Make sure it can be easily
found by others too. Any club equipment taken away over night or longer needs to be cleared
with Ian and myself. Thnaks Robin.
13th June 2006 Captain of Boats, Robin
Dunlop writes ----- Can I remind EVERY club member if you wish to use a
club boat then you need to clear it with your relevant co-ordinator who in turn clears it with
me. The Den Shelton 8+ was being prepared for sale, it now needs to be repaired THIS BOAT IS
NOT FOR USE UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED until further notice. Please be helpful to Ian who
may need to borrow people to move boats around as repairs are needed. Many thanks Robin.
13th June 2006 The draw for
Marlow Regatta that takes place on Saturdayday 17th June has now been published.
13th June 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle emails ----- 1) The Men's S2 4- had a very good row at Reading Regatta
on Sunday and were unlucky to lose their first race by just a canvas to a Curlew crew who'd
been half of the S1 winning 8+ on Saturday.
2) Good luck to our Women's Intermediate 4+ and
Lightweight 2- at Henley Women's Regatta at the end of this week. Go Girls!
3) A big thanks to "Griff" Griffiths, the coach of the GB Women's Dragon Boat team,
for last night's excellent presentation on motivation. Also a big thanks to Bob Slade and Trish
Corless for helping to organise the presentation. I'm sure everyone who went along found it
very useful.
4) I'd like to repeat Jeremy Pollen's appeal for the immediate return of a number of safety
throw-lines that have gone walkabout from the club.
These are essential for the coaching of juniors. Thanks.
11th June 2006 Jeremy Pollen reports that the club has only 3 safety
throw lines left of the 9 we had a couple of years ago and this has become critical to the
teaching of juniors. To save the club the expense of buying new ones, please return all throw
bags from your car boots etc. immediately.
10th June 2006 Bob Slade has arranged for one of this country's
top GB International coaches to visit the club on
Monday 12th. June,to tell us how he motivates
his crews,for competition.
This will be inspirational "Stuff" and I urge all
members who race to come and hear "GRIFF", the
GB International Coach of the GB Women's Dragon Boat
team. Meeting starts at 7.30pm.
9th June 2006 This from an email from someone called D
Frazer ----- Dear
fellow rowers, I with 2 of my mates have started a web site called www.sportsmatesreunited.co.uk or .com
it is a web site that will hopefully put former sports mates back in touch
with their old mates that they might have lost contact with over the years,
it covers all sports with over 30,000 clubs listed i would be very grateful
ifyou could inform all your members & friends about this exiting new site,
there is a link on the ARA web site, & hopefully there will be more links
to come, is there any chance of a link from your club site if so we would
be eternally grateful,
yours D Frazer AKA Fraz, Old snake hips, from Northwich RC
9th June 2006 A timely reminder now that the regatta season is in full
swing about publishing photographs. If you have a digital camera and wish to share your photos
with us all then why not post them on your own webspace? An easier way is to use one of the
free dedicated websites that allows you to upload your photos for all to see. An example is
Kodak Easy Share Gallery which is used
by several club members and works well. Once you have set up and tested it then just send me
the link and I will add it to this site.
9th June 2006 Captain, Terry
Moore writes ----- Due to last month's bad weather the landing stage work
was put back. The work is due to start on Tuesday next week (13th June).
8th June 2006 Murray Litvak writes regarding the Staines Regatta Meeting -----
It has been decreed by our esteemed President that the next meeting of the committee will take
place at 8pm next Wednesday 14 th June. Please try to make the effort to attend.
8th June 2006 STOP PRESS: Social Secs, Anna & Di write
to announce that the SBC Junior Summer Ball will be held at the Club on Saturday 15th July.
More information and how to get your tickets will be posted on the website next week and posters
will be put up in the club house, so watch this space and put the date in your diaries. We
hope to see all of our SBC Juniors & SWPS too (and no doubt the odd parent & coach
too!)
8th June 2006 Adam Gill emails ------ The draw for Reading
Regatta is out where the men's four and women's four are racing this weekend. The
draw for Henley Women's Regatta is also
out where the women's four and women's pair will be racing.
6th June 2006 Congratulations go today to Paul Hopkins who is celebrating
his 49th birthday.
6th June 2006 Rob Oades writes ----- It was
Ted's 75 Birthday last Sunday - here are a few
photos of our celebrations in the Swan.
5th June 2006 Liz Bernard sends this report ----- SWPS attended Weybridge
Ladies Regatta on Sunday . We had some very good heat wins with Emma and Charlotte getting
through to the final of the WJ15 2x, and Emma, Charlotte, Ingrid and Bertie, cox Heather getting
through to the final of the WJ15 4x+; but the only win of the day was Vicky Deyong-Burgess
in the WJ13 1x. Vicky had to race three heats, a semi final and a final!
5th June 2006 Adam Gill writes ----- Here's the girls
report for the Met: The Women's Senior2 four (Ali, Nikki, Katherine and Liz) had two
full days of racing a the Metropolitan Regatta at Dorney Lake this weekend. Thankfully,
unlike at Twickenham two weeks ago the summer weather seemed to have appeared with light
winds and blue skies.
First race was a semi-final of Senior 2 coxed fours (3 to go through,
Rachel Lafbery coxing) against some tough competition such as London, Marlow, Nottingham
University and Molesey. The girls were first out of the blocks and to 500m pushing for
2nd place. At 1250m were still just holding off the London crew who eventually proved to
strong and managed to beat them by just a length pushing the girls back into 5th place.
For Ali and Nikki this was their first 2k race, and first multi lane race so a very very
credible performance. Next race was the Senior 2 coxless, which was a straight 7 boat final
against more big names of Thames, AK, Reading and Furinvall. The girls have only had a
brief coxless outing before this race so it was a real test and they didn't dissapoint.
At 500m they were 3rd, and rowing down Thames for 2nd. At 750m we had passed Thames and
still going strong, with the more experienced crews pushing hard and pegged Staines back
at 1000m. Still pushing hard though the girls started having steering problems as the rudder
yoke had worked loose the the rudder jammed hard right; poor old bowside had to row harder
and strokeside row light to just get to the finish. Two races with a lot to take forward
to Sunday.
Sunday's coxed event (with Emma Corless coxing) was a much bigger
affair than Saturday with twice the number of boats (24!) entered. The girls again found
themselves in a fast heat, but at 1000m still in touch with the pack. At 1250m Staines
were still in touch but in 5th with some work to claim 3rd, so they made a move first rowing
down Trafford RC then Loughborough Students who had led the race until 1500m, claiming the
3rd spot in a thrilling final 200m where a just length seperated 1st place and 5th place.
The girls only had an hour to prepare for the next round, where they'd been drawn against
Molesey, Thames and Agecroft - another toughie! At 1000m places 2,3,4 and 5 were still
overlapping with the girls pushing for that 3rd spot. At 1500m its was still an overlapped
race with the girls moving up on 3rd place slightly but unfortunately couldn't quite cling
on in the final 200m missing out by couple of lengths in the end. Another very spirited
row producing their fastest time of 7:42. This left the coxless event in the afternoon;
the competition was the same as the Saturday race, but a few other clubs dropped out leaving
Staines to race against two Thames crews and MAA. Determined to put right the steering
failure from Saturday the girls did that and rowed out another good 2k clocking their fastest
time of the weekend (7:38) in the slowest conditions, but the personal battle of the two
Thames crews proved too strong.
A superb weekends racing where the girls showed their speed
to a level of competition above the seasons aim, leaving them just outside the final six
in the coxed events on both days. All learnt a lot from the weekend, and are looking forward
to taking it next weekends regatta at Reading where another large draw faces them including
several Irish and American crews. Well done all and many thanks to Bob (first car at the
regatta on Saturday) for all his help.
5th June 2006 Rob Oades (snr) sends this report ----- Staines crews were invovled
from the very first race to almost the last at this years Walton & Weybridge Regatta. James
Kell had a row over in race one of the day but the N 4+ mens crew were not so lucky with a
defeat to Sons of the Thames in race two. In the second round of the MJ15 1x James Kell was
beaten by Hazine of Maidenhead.Rob Oades won his first race at S4 1x by beating Carter of Ardingly
but lost in the semi-final to Dombrowe also of Ardingly by a length. Dombrowe went onto win
the event. The mens S4 4+ were beaten by HSBC in the first round but Nick Pollen and Craig
Twaddle both got through the first round of the N1x event by beating competitors from Ardingly
and Essex University repectively. Nick went on to win his semi-final but Craig, suffering from
a painful back lost his race. In the final Nick put in a great performance to get within a
length of Cowley of Burway but the 18 year old held on to win. Not bad for Nick who was giving
away 2 years in age and sculling at Novice for the first time..The womens N4 4+ lost the straight
final of the event to Curlew but the WS4 4+ crew gained revenge with a victory in the straight
final against the same club. Coxing was Emma Corless. This was Emma's second pot of the day
as earlier she had teamed up with Jenny Goldswain to win the WJ15 2x beating Weybridge and
Burway on the way. Tom Oades & Andrew Frost won the MJ13 2x event with easy wins
over Weybridge and Dragon School crews. This was Tom and Andrews third win out of three
for the season. A good way to end the day.
5th June 2006 Captain, Terry
Moore sends this advertisement ----- Naked Ambition is the graphic account
of Richard Wood's epic quest to row
the Atlantic Ocean. Available in hard back only, illustrated throughout with
the Author's own exclusive photographs. Written by the Author over several
years the publishing of Naked Ambition marks another milestone in his love
affair with the oceans of the world. A 'must read' for those who are
captivated by adventure on the high seas, or anyone planning an ocean row
who wants to know how it is really done without the celebrity hype!!
Richard Wood¹s stunning account of his successful Atlantic Solo row is now available exclusively
through the Row Extreme website. Please click
here to order your copy.
4th June 2006 I have posted a few photographs taken today
at Weybridge Ladies Regatta. See Photographs Page.
4th June 2006 Rob Oades has uploaded some nice photographs
that he took at Walton
and Weybridge Regatta to his Kodak Easy Share Gallery website.
4th June 2006 Roy Frost emails with the good news from a recent
regatta ----- I have attached a copy of the
letter we received from Coate Water Regatta Committee for
winning the Jean Richards Memorial Trophy (and £200!). It would be great if
you would put it on the website - Roy
3rd June 2006 I have posted a few photographs taken today at Walton
and Weybridge Regatta. See Photographs Page.
1st June 2006 Rob Oades submits 9 photos taken by "Nature's
Images" of
SBC crews at this years National Schools Regatta. See Photographs
Page.
1st June 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle emails ----- Could you post the attached
letter (Word doc) from Bristol Empire Dragons.
They recently did a charity dragon boat challenge from Westminster to Bristol and we let them
park their boat at SBC on the evening of the 24th May - they stayed overnight in The Swan and
The Anne Boleyn.
1st June 2006 Captain, Terry
Moore writes ----- Huge thanks to Duncan Speight who held the steering
briefing on the 21st May. Everyone who attended (over 50 people from all sections
of the club) found it useful and informative. Anyone who missed it and still wants to cox or
steer safely should check the 'black spots' map which Duncan will put on the safety page of
the website shortly.
31st May 2006 Di
Gill emails ----- Missing! One blue gazebo. Last seen at an SBC event last
year. If
you have seen it at the Club or have it hiding in your boot, please return to one (not so careful)
lady owner. Thanks Di
30th May 2006 The swan lives!! - The cygnet rescued from its cold
egg in the nest in the corner of the club grounds on Sunday is alive, healthy and well and
is currently in a special warm box with 3 slightly older birds that were rescued from being
entangled in wire fencing put up to protect their nest. You can see it in
this photo. It is the one on the top
and looks very different from its
condition on Sunday. It will spend its
early life at the Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton and will then be released back into the 'wild'.
The sanctuary also cares for goslings, ducklings and
other small birds in the hospital
building.
It contains pens for the birds as well as
a fully equipped operating theatre. There is also a large
pond outside full of swans and other wildfowl. Dot Beeson who runs the sanctuary with her
partner Steve said that her biggest concern of late is the increase in vandalism and unbelievably,
people purposely setting their dogs on swans. She also said that they need more funds to continue
with her work and if you feel you would like to donate to this worthy cause then please go
to the donation
page.
30th May 2006 Ian
Grant emails ----- Other places to see Staines crews racing this weekend
include the two day Metropolitan Regatta where the senior squads have entered
I believe, 13 different events between the two days. Adam Gill adds that there is amongst others,
a Men's Four, Women's Four, Men's Pair, Women's Pair and a Men's Lightweight Single Scull competing.
See draw and details here.
29th May 2006 The draw for Walton and Weybridge Regatta has now been published
on the official website.
Several Staines crews are competing.
29th May 2006 Bob Slade sends this report from the National Schools Regatta
----- Friday, was the J152x of Jenny Goldswain, and Emma Corless,in "stinking weather",
they qualified thru.the processional/ time trial,in the semi-final they were placed fourth,
(12 seconds off a final place). Saturday, was the turn of Charlotte Morrison and Emma Parkes
in the J162x They failed to Qualify thru.the processional/time trial. Sunday in the Championship
Sculls, Rachel Edwards was overwhelmed by the event and the headwind and failed to qualify
thru the processional/time trial. Also on Sunday young Rob Oades competed in J161x and failed
to qualify thru. the processional/time trial,but sculled an "honest" race, just losing
the cut by 5 seconds, he kept on trying right to the finishing line, well done. My thanks go
to parents for their support in getting everyone to the starting line. Special thanks to Sir
William Perkins's staff and parents for towing the boats and their hospitality,"Much
Appreciated!
28th May 2006 Craig Twaddle sent a text today to say the the club's
swans had hatched their cygnets so I arrived at the club about 3.00pm to take a few photos.
The adults were eventually found with 4 cygnets on the water. I then looked at the nest and
found, as happened last year, that 3 eggs had
been abandoned. On closer inspection I found that one of the now cold eggs had a small hole
in it and I could hear the faint noise of a chick calling inside. I broke open the egg and
extracted a very cold cygnet. I spent
the next hour warming it in my hands just to keep it
alive and, knowing that the parent birds would kill it, I took it to the swan santuary at Shepperton
where it was put in an incubator. Hopefully it will survive but I will not know until Tuesday
when I will post an update.
26th May 2006 Bob Slade emails ----- The SBC.Junior Girls Squad are
racing at the National Schools Regatta May26/27/28.
We wish them great success,WIN,WIN! to;
Emma Corless, Jenny Goldswain, Charlotte Morrison,
Emma Parkes, Rachel Edwards. Young Rob Oades is also racing in the J16x1
division, GO ROB!
24th May 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle advises ----- Our friends at Weybridge RC are hosting a Pre-Henley
Ball on the evening
of Sat 24th June which includes a buffet, champagne & Pimms bar, live
band, and fireworks over the river. SBC members are very welcome to
attend. Further info can be found here.
23rd May 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle emails ----- A very big thank you to John Morrison, Mark Lafbery and
rest of the team who have done a great job painting and rearranging the club office - the
new shelving, cox box rack and swiss ball storage are excellent. Also a
big thanks to everyone who has been sorting out the big storage
container.
23rd May 2006 Mark Ansley-Watson has added a few photos taken at Twickenham
Regatta. See Photographs
Page.
23rd May 2006 From our calculations (35 days from the last egg laid), the breeding
swans on the club grounds should be hatching their cygnets between Wednesday and Sunday this
week so please keep an eye out for them and report the
number of healthy youngsters to us. Please also take a photo if you catch them on the way to
the river.
22nd May 2006 Captain of Boats, Robin
Dunlop writes -----
Please could everyone pay particular attention to boats on trestles and more importantly on
the exterior racking. Please when ever a boat is going to be left over a few mins can you
tie the boat down. I will try and get hold of some bungee's for the outside racks. We have
had a scull, 'polycarp' only recently purchased by SBC blown off the rack in the recent high
winds and now damaged - already! Couple of other
points there will be a new landing stage constructed in the next few weeks, the new one just
like the old one is NOT a bumper for landing your boat into the raft area. Please come ashore
at a safe speed and not colliding with any rafts or moored boats. We need all our equipment
intact please look after it this includes various baldes and sculls left down at the landing
stage over the w/e and other times. Any damage to any SBC owned equipment please report directly
to Ian Grant or myself, in lieu of us not being
around email me directly. Also a gently reminder that boats need to be booked out with me particularly
1x,2x,4- Thanks Robin.
22nd May 2006
Secretary Murray Litvak forwards this request
from ITV's Emma Ford ----- I hope you don’t
mind me contacting you like this but I found your contact details on the UK Rowing Contacts
webpage. I am working on a new TV show for ITV featuring Trinny and Susannah, whose names you
hopefully will recognise from their previous BBC fashion show What Not To Wear. We are currently
looking for lively, outgoing couples to take part which is why I contacted yourselves as I
thought you probably had quite a few outgoing characters in your rowing club who might be up
for putting themselves forward. We are looking for people who need
both a style makeover and a bit of a relationship revamp as well, possibly they’ve
been with their partner for a long time and have gotten a bit too comfortable with each
other, or maybe something has happened lately to change the dynamic of their relationship
like having a child. We’re not claiming to work miracles but we’re going
to be doing our best to put a bit more spark and oomph into people’s relationships
alongside their fashion overhaul.
I have attached a flyer here and
pasted the information onto the bottom of the email and would really appreciate it if
you could take a copy along to your next training session or email it out to some of
your members. It has our contact details on for anyone who would like to apply to take
part. Please drop me a line or give me
a ring if there’s any more information that I can give you or if you have any people
in mind that you would like to put forward. I would be extremely grateful for any help
that you would be able to give me. Emma Ford, Associate Producer – Trinny
and Susannah ITV Productions, 9th Floor,
LTVC, Upper Ground, London SE1 9LT Tel: +44 (0) 207 737 8515 Email: emma.ford@itv.com See flyer (Word
doc)
22nd May 2006
Ian Grant emails his report from Twickenham
Regatta ----- The
Men's squad had 3 crews racing at Twickenham on Saturday. In the S2 1x, Tom G, comfortably,
mastered the conditions in the S-Final whilst his opposition capsized, but he lost out in the
final by two lengths to Thames RC after hitting a couple of buoys near the start. In S2
4-, the Staines-Brunel Composite of Nick H, Gary LJ and Tom S & Duffy (Brunel) had
a bit of a scrappy race having to take the long way around the final bend and were unable to
hold off Marlow RC to loose by 1 1/2 lengths. In the Second S-Final of the S2 4- of Mark
AW, Joe W, Andrew T & Ian G had a slow first couple of strokes but soon got going up with
a rating of 42 to slowly move through the Thames/Sons/ London crew to gain clear
water by 400m and to win by about 3-4 lengths. In the final the racing was a bit more
scrappy due to a stronger head wind, but again the crew moved off the start to pull about
1-2 lengths clear water by about 500m and move on to take the race for the second win
of the summer season. Lets hope this success continues.
22nd May 2006 Rob Oades sends this report ----- The Junior squad was out in
force on Saturday at this weekend's Bradford and Avon County Regatta, held at Coate Water Park,
Swindon. In very difficult conditions the squad came home with six pots and the Victor Ludorum
prize of £200
for the most successful club on the day.The ball was set rolling by the girls. Charlotte
Morrison won the WJ16 1x event and then teamed up with Emma Parkes to win the J16 2x. In
the WJ 15 1x event the final was contested between Jenny Goldswain and Emma Corless with
the win going to Jenny. They then doubled up in the WJ15 2x event which they won easily.
All these events involved victories over, amongst others, the SWPS girls. This was
good since on the last occasion the squads met (at Burway last July) SWPS had the upper
hand. The boy's then got in on the act with James Kell losing the J15 1x final in a close
race. Rob Oades, rowing in his first S4 event lost his semi-final on the staggered finish,
to the eventual winner of the event. A good first effort at
this senior level. The first boys victory came in the J16 2x final were Nick Pollen and
Tom Ryan won their first pot together as a double. This was soon followed by Tom
Oades & Andrew Frost winning the J14 2x event in great style. This was a good victory
for this double as they were rowing up a year against bigger crews. As Bob the Dog says; "Size
isn't Everything". So the Squad ended up with 16 points in the Victor Ludorum, 4 more
than the 2nd place Sir William Borlase School. Well done to all scullers and many thanks
to the coach's Jeremy, Ted, Carol and Bob who had a very long day. Thanks to all parents
for there help and support and to Jeremy for towing. PS - I believe Rachel Lafbery won
a pot coxing the women's S2 crew at the Twickenham Regatta. Well done to all. Does this
count as a Junior pot ????
22nd May 2006 RowTV now has video footage available from Saturday's
Twickenham Regatta.
21st May 2006 Captain, Terry
Moore advises ----- Just a reminder to all club users that the landing stage
will be having work done on it for the next couple of weeks starting on Monday, weather permitting. Please
take extra care when using the stage. Thanks Terry
20th May 2006 Adam Gill sends this report from Twickenham Regatta which
took place today ----- The girls today battled with tough conditions
of a strong tide, swirling gusts of gale force wind and lashing rain to compete in a straight
final of Senior 2 fours against Warwick Boat Club. After some good starts in training this
week upsetting some club stalwarts, the girls again produced a solid start to pull away from
Warwick quickly gaining clear water with an aggressive row, having to row round the outside
of the long Twickenham bend. Coming into the enclosure for the final metres the girls still
had clear water, but the final sharp curve came to Warwick's advantage and a big push from
their opposition meant Staines had to fight to hold onto the lead, but they did, winning by
half a length. They really don't do my heart any good... Oh and of course, the rain and
wind disappeared after the race, and the sun even made an appearance at one point! See Photographs
Page.
19th May 2006 Graham Deyong-Burgess sends three photos from Dorney when
the SWPS team recently won the Ball
Cup. The girls for some reason didn't believe that coach, Nick Wilde, could walk on water as
he claimed so he set out to prove it!! See pic1 & pic2.
19th May 2006 The River and Rowing
Museum at Henley has a lecture on
Tuesday 13th June by Katherine Grainger. The time is 7 for 7.30pm. Cost
£7.50 (£6 members). It is described thus - An
Olympic silver medallist in 2000 & 2004, World Champion in 2005 and currently training
for the World Championships at Eton & the Beijing Olympics, Katherine will talk about the
rise and rise of women’s rowing in Britain.
17th May 2006 Rob Oades advises that the Staines Junior Squad
plus SWPS are racing at Coate Water Park on Saturday and the
draw has now been published.
17th May 2006 The draw for
the 1250 metre Twickenham Regatta that takes place this Saturday 20th May has been published
on the official regatta website. Staines
entered 8 crews but only 6 are racing due to the high number of entries.
15th May 2006 Duncan Speight advises ----- Steering Briefing - Over
the past few weeks there have been a number of near misses and one accident reported by members
of the club. It has therefore been agreed that for everyone's safety and to help members understand
the river a little better, that a steering briefing be held on Sunday 21st at 10am. The briefing
is aimed at helping all steersmen/women and coxes to understand the river and how to limit
the chances of being involved in an accident. I would ask that anyone who steers the river,
from a single to coxing an 8+ attend the session and it may help to keep you and the rest of
your crew safe.
15th May 2006 Good news from Steve (Oz) and Helen Smith who met at
SBC and were married last Christmas. Steve says they are expecting a baby and it is due to
be born on 28th September.
14th May 2006 Social Secs Anna & Di write to say a BIG thank you
to everyone who came to the Annual Dinner Dance last night. We had a fantastic time and hope
that you all enjoyed yourselves too! Congratulations to all whose achievements were recognised:
Honourary
Membership: Graham Carey
Women's Lightweight Four Henley & Nat Champs Winners: Jodi
Davis, Jenny Page, Sarah Flynn & Alison Rolt
Most Improved Rower: Cath Blake
Club Person
of the Year: Ian Grant
Thanks also to all of the helpers and to everyone who donated raffle
prizes, including Roshni's Restaurant and The Outback. We now look forward to the Junior Summer
Ball, date to be announced very soon! A&Dx
14th May 2006 The SBC Annual Dinner Dance took place last night at Laleham
Golf Club. No doubt there will be reports from others but in the meantime, thanks from everyone
attending to the organisers Di and Anna for the fantastic effort that went into preparing
for the event. Each person had a named blade to identify their seating position and the rowing
themed table decorations and flower displays were superb. See
Photographs Page.
13th May 2006 For those of you that have been concentrating too hard
when returning to the landing stage and missed the wildlife, here is a photo of
the coot's nest on the boat next to Timms Boat Yard.
13th May 2006 Mark Lafbery writes ----- Please could you put a notice
on the website telling everyone that
there is a brand new vacuum cleaner for the club and it is requiring a test drive!
12th May 2006 Liz Bernard sends these 2 reports from SWPS racing in
recent regattas ----- 1. The rowing squad competed at Marlow Spring Regatta on Bank Holiday
Monday. We had some close heats and two wins. Emily Lombardo and Helen O’Hara won the
WJ13 double event and Victoria Deyong-Burgess won the WJ13 single event. Well done to all competitors.
2. On Sunday 7 th May 2006, the Rowing Squad competed at The Ball Cup, heldat
Dorney Lake. We had a very successful days racing, and SWPS were the overall winners and
were awarded the Ball Cup Trophy. We had some good event wins. WJ13 single
Vicky Deyong-Burgess . WJ13 coxed quad Helen O’Hara, Emily Lombardo, Vicky Deyong-Burgess,
Kirsten Hilliard, cox Heather Stevenson. WJ15 double Charlotte Jackson and Emma Townshend.
WJ16 single Rachel Martin. WJ16 double Rachel Martin and Vikki Wardle. These crews together
with those which were placed in the first three in their event gained points towards The
Ball Cup Trophy.
10th May 2006 Entries
Coordinator, Cath Moore emails ----- Regatta
entries are mostly being done through OARA this year. If you wish to enter a regatta, please
go through your co-ordinator. Make sure you check availability of boats with the co-ordinator
AND Robin before you commit to spending money!! If you are using a private boat you MUST let
Robin know if you want to be able to use the trailer!
10th May 2006 Jeremy
Pollen emails with the results for
the Ball Cup that took place at Dorney Lake last Sunday 7th May.
8th May 2006 Entries Coordinator, Cath
Moore advises ----- Egham International
Regatta has deceided to run NO senior events this year, so is now a purely junior event. Personally
I think this is a regretable decision as I was looking forward to rowing there this year!
8th May 2006 Rob Oades (snr) reports ----- The Staines junior men competed
in this years Ball Cup and Junior Championship's at Dorney Lake. The younger members competed
as Staines Boat Club in the Ball Championships (J11-13). The Ball Cup however was only open
to school competitors so the older boys represented their schools. Andrew Rozer (J18 1x Strodes
College) came 4th in his semi final, as did Rob Oades (J16 1x Thamesmead School) so missed
out on their finals. Rob lost on the line by a canvas.
James Kell competing for Magna Carta School qualified for the final of the J15 1x event and
came a very good 5th. Nick Pollen and Tom Ryan (also competing for Magna Carta School) won
their J16 2x semi-final but narrowly lost the final.
In the Championships Andrew Frost gained a bronze medal in the final of the J13 1x. Tom Oades
was again close behind in 4th place. The success of the day was a gold medal for Jonny Pettitt
in the J11 1x final.
8th May 2006 While we are awaiting a report from the Staines junior
squad, the brief news
from the Ball Cup which took place yesterday at
Dorney Lake is that the Ball Cup itself was won by the girls from Sir William Perkins's School.
6th May 2006 SBC Social Secs write
----- Information and virtual tickets for the Dinner Dance have now been issued
via email to all those attending. Do email us is you have any further queries or if this information
has not reached you at the email account specified. We look forward to seeing you next weekend
at Laleham Golf Club for a great dinner dance and the chance to celebrate the club's achievements
of the last year. Best Wishes Anna & Di
6th May 2006 Jim Pettitt has uploaded some photos to his Kodak
website that were taken by his wife Pat at the recent Evesham Regatta weekend.
5th May 2006 Boat Maintenance Officer, Ian
Grant emails
----- Can everyone make sure that all equipement is put back in its proper place
as we are finding life jackets and blades left out by the landing stage, cox boxes
not plugged in to charge and the petrol can for the launch not re-filled after use.
The latter is more important in case someone needs picking out of the water quickly.
5th May 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle writes
----- From the Weybridge RC website -
St John Ambulance are organising a free life-saving course tomorrow (Saturday). Details
here (breathoflifeflyer.pdf).
5th May 2006 Jeremy
Pollen emails with the updated singles draw for
the Ball Cup that takes place at Dorney Lake next Sunday 7th May. and this message from Graham
Middleton ----- Dear All, Enclosed a final update on singles draw. The others do not vary.
First three races, please, at control by 8.00am. The rest at 5 min intervals thereafter. If
anybody attending the first session could lend us megaphones for the day, we would be grateful;
also any first session helpers would ease things before the world wakes up. We have to clean
the site of litter after the event. Please do your bit. Thanks.; Finally, there are still over
20 clubs not yet paid. Please. No paperwork on Sunday except scratchings. Looking forward to
seeing you Graham Middleton.
4th May 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle advises ----- There are always a number of odd jobs that need doing
around the club, e.g. grass cutting and hedge trimming, and we have a number of people who
are willing to help out. I'm putting up a blank list in the clubhouse and the idea is that
if you see a task that needs doing then put it on the list. If someone can then do the task
(not necessarily the person who suggested it) then they should write their name next to it.
Thanks in advance to everyone who is helping out.
4th May 2006 SBC Social Secs, Anna
and Di write ----- As the Dinner Dance
approaches (Sat 13th May, Laleham Golf Club), a note to remind anyone still hoping to attend
to sign up using this link by Friday
5th May. We have over 70 SBC members and friends attending and are looking forward to a great
occasion. Further info and 'virtual' tickets will be emailed to all those attending at the
end of the week. Also a plea for further donations of raffle prizes - do email Anna
and Di if you have any queries or a prize to donate.
3rd May 2006 Congratulations from all at SBC to Bonny & Dom, the
new Mr & Mrs South, who were married on Saturday at The Crazy Bear in Stadhampton. A lovely
day and the very happy couple are now honeymooning in Mauritius. See pic
1 and pic 2.
3rd May 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle emails with a few points from the recent
committee meeting for members to be aware of -
* SBC had a very good weekend at Evesham Regatta and won the Victor Ludorum
(£250)
on Saturday and narrowly missed it on Sunday. Well done to everyone!
* Landing stage work will start in the next few weeks but it should still be operational.
Safety Advisor will be implementing new hygiene procedures for the new landing stage.
* No more news on Bird Flu except that the Fife swan was a migratory Hooper that was washed
up, not a local Mute as first thought, and the Norfolk outbreak was the 'wrong' strain. Everyone
should still be aware of any dead birds and report them.
* Please park in the car park and not on Riverside Drive if possible. We're looking at a
better arrangement for parking trailers as parking them in their old spots is not space efficient.
* Old furniture removed from clubhouse. No more furniture is to be brought to the club without
checking first - PLEASE!
* Please make sure that riggers & seats are put back in the boathouse following return
from regattas and not left outside. Please put seats in the bread baskets provided.
* Anyone who needs to renew their membership for 06/07 needs to do so NOW in order to avoid "naming
and shaming".
A copy of the minutes will go up on the noticeboard shortly.
3rd May 2006 Helge Neumeister writes ----- I would like to have it noted that
Tyson the swan took a flying attack at me in my single early one morning last week. Perhaps,
if scullers are out alone early in the mornings/evenings it might be safer to avoid down-stream
of the church? The attack happened after he pecked at my blades whilst passing, then when over
100metres up-stream of him I
decided to stop to have a drink, perhaps it was my white top making him think I was another
swan, but either way seeing this mass of white fly at you is quite disconcerting. Lucky for
me, he hit my riggers rather than slide up the canvas (where he would have ended up sitting
on my lap).
2nd May 2006 Ian Grant adds his report from Evesham Regattas
----- Well, I’ll keep this report short if I can. On the Saturday, the
S1 4- of Ian, Gary, Joe & Mark lost out in
a straight final against Llandaff after suffering some dodgy steering to collect local bank
side plants and wildlife. In the S2 1x Tom also took the scenic root but still managed to take
victory. Mark managed to win his N 1x event after gaining clear water in most of his races.
Max and Fikret lost in the S3 2x and unfortunately lost the final of the S4 2x. On the Sunday
the same four again lost to the same Llandaff crew at S1 4- but by only ½ length with
a much straighter course. At S3 4+ with Jonny Pollen coxing, suffered quite a lot with a bad
start, then a spectator shouting go from the bridge just before the starter umpire, having
to wait for an hour for opposition to turn up, but managed to stay focused & improved with
every race to win the event, jonny’s first every pot. The double suffered the same fate
as Saturday and Tom G missed out of a second victory by just 1ft in his S2 1x final. Thanks
go to BTD for his coaching, jonny pollen for coxing, all the juniors, seniors, and junior parents
for their support. (videos of all Saturday's
races can now be found on RowTV)
2nd May 2006 Tyson, the viscious swan has been up to his
evil tricks again this weekend, firstly attempting a low level flying attack on a veteran
eight and secondly, pecking at the blades of a passing scull. Be warned - it is dangerous out
there!
1st May 2006 Full results from The Evesham Regatta weekend will be available shortly from the Evesham
RC website.
There are photographs available for viewing from Graham Carey, Adam Gill, Jeremy Pollen and
Rob Oades. See Photographs
Page.
1st May 2006 Jeremy Pollen emails
with the draw for the Ball Cup that takes place at Dorney Lake next Sunday 7th May. Here are
the Singles,
Doubles, Quads and
Instructions to competitors.
1st May 2006 Jeremy Pollen writes
regarding Evesham Regattas ----- Congratulations to all who competed at Evesham, it was a fantastic
display of team work and support from everybody on and off the water, which was an honour to
be part of. Well done to all the winning crews and scullers who did the club proud both in
and out of their boats, and a special pat on the back for the boys Novice Four who managed
to give Ted a little tear in the corner of his eye when they went across the finish line. Massive
thanks to everyone involved. P.S Has anyone found a bank jacket with Pollen wrtten in the label,
think it was lost on Saturday?
1st May 2006 Adam Gill adds his report from Evesham Regattas -----
Report of the intermediate girls (I lost track of the juniors
wins and goings on as there were so many - they were mostly responsible for winning the
Victor Ludorum on Saturday). I'm sure others will submit reports of other squads
The girls had a succesful weekend at Evesham Annual and Sprint
Regattas despite being majorly hit with injury problems; Nikki is suffering cronic asthma
and Ali is on doctor's orders to rest an ankle injury. So supersub Claire Ansley-Watson
took a break out from university in Bristol (no-one likes revision anyway) to step in for
Saturday's racing. It left us overpointed for the Senior 3 event which we had to unfortunately
scratch, but this left the girls with a chance to concentrate on the Senior 2 coxed four
event. In the first round they stamped authority all over Llandaff, winning by clear water,
winding down at the half way point and then just sitting ahead. But in the final they met
a very classy and well drilled Bedford who got the better us.
Sunday saw the return of Nikki to the crew which meant we could
race both Senior 3 and Senior 2 events. A 500m sprint means starts are important and
whilst winning the early rounds of both events, the girls knew they had to step up a gear
for the finals of both events, and they didn't dissapoint. The Senior 2 was first and whilst
getting a clean start, the experienced crew from Ross just got the better of them by a
canvas. Determined to put things right in the Senior 3 final, the girls delivered their
best race just when they needed it beating Warwick by clear water, cox Rachel Lafberry
celebrating in superb style as she crossed the line first - her first ever pot!
Well done to all - big thanks to everyone who helping with the
organisation for the weekend at a complicated event, the largest ever Evesham regatta.
1st May 2006 Rob Oades (snr) writes this report from the weekend's racing
at Evesham ----- Evesham Regatta and Evesham Sprint Regatta took place this week-end.
For me it was great to see all sections of the club coming together to compete as one united
club, helping supporting and competing with each other. And what a club we were. On both days
we took over most of the river bank with three gazebo's side by side. The noise generated by
the support on the bank was fantastic and I'm sure spurred on the Staines crews, particularly
on the second day when this area was right next to the finish line. My own voice is very sore
this morning !!
In this report I'll be more concerned with the Juniors but I'm sure someone
will fill out the detail on the Senior side, but I must say how supportive the "bigger people" were
to the juniors and I hope we race together at another Regatta soon.
On the Saturday we say
some fierce racing and four victories. Mark Ainsley-Watson won his novice single sculling pot
(or goblet I should say) and Tom Goldswain had a stormiing race to win the S2 1x final. Tom
managed to hit almost every thing on the river including the bank, a four and an eight before
rowing through his opponent from Evesham. But the performance of the day came from Rachel "the mighty atom" Edwards
who won the S4 1x final and then teamed up with Emma Corless to win the S4 2x pot. This was
Emma's Novice sculling win and took Rachel to S3. A win in the S3 2x the following day would
give Rachel her S2 sculling classification. Could she do it ??? The rest of the crews performed
well reaching many semi-finals and finals and this resulted in Staines winning the Victor Ludorum
for the Saturday Regatta.
In the previous two Evesham regatta's I have attended, Staines have
always faired worse at the Sundays Sprint Regatta, so with only 4 pots in the bag from the
Saturday I must admit I was a little worried. However I should not have doubted the Staines
team as they came out of the blocks with all guns blazing. Victory after victory came and before
we knew it we had nine pot's and this could easily have been more as we had several losing
finalists.
Rob Oades got the pot count rolling on the Sunday with his Novice pot victory in
the single sculls. Rob also reached the J16 1x final where he was beaten in a close race by
Tom Walker of Evesham Rowing Club, the Midlands inter-regional champion. Then Jonny Pettitt
followed this up with his first regatta win at J11 1x. Charlotte Morrison & Emma Parkes successfully
renewed their partnership in the double sculls with a victory in the J16 2x and Tom Oades
and Andrew Frost easily won the J13 2x final. Tom and Andrew then had to become "enemies" for
a short time as they both raced in the final of the
J13 1x event. In a great race, victory went to Andrew by 3/4 length.
The "bigger people" then
got in on the act with both the mens and womens S3 coxed four crews winning their events. I
apologise for not knowing all the crew members names but I'm sure another report will put this
right. But I would like to mention that both crews were coxed by Junior members - Jonny Pollen
and Rachel Lafbery who both won their first pots.
Could Rachel Edwards win her third pot of
the week-end and achieve S2 status. You bet she could. Partnered by Charlotte Morrison they
put in a fantastic effort to win the WS3 2x event. This gave Charlotte Morrison her novice
sculling victory.
The regatta finished off with a great victory for the Junior boy's in the
Novice Coxed 4 event. Stroked by Nick Pollen the win gave first pots to Andrew Roser, Tom Ryan
and finally after three hard years trying James Kell.
In these years James has been so close to winning and it was fantastic to see him get that
first pot - and on his birthday as well. Not forgetting the great coxing of Rachel Lafbery
who won her second pot of the regatta. Of course these boys are all now S4 rowers !!
I must
mention and thank the coach's - Ted Dyos, Jeremy Pollen, Bob "the Dog" Slade
and Paul Goldswain. It must be great to see so many of the Juniors - Rob, Nick, Tom, Andrew
R, James, Charlotte and Emma C get their Novice wins and become "S4 oars-people".
And again I must mention Rachel Edwards achievement in winning 3 out of 3 events over the
two days to move from S4 to S2 status.
Finally I thanks all the parents and club members who
came to help and support the Staines competitors. They created a unique atmosphere on the
bank-side which enhanced Staines BC's reputation as the noisiest club as well as one of the
most successful. I look forward to the rest of the 2006 season, but now I'm going to have
a lie down !!
28th April 2006 The following information comes directly from Rachell
Quarrell's New Rowing Information page
and may be of interest to the Staines members who participated last year ----- By popular request,
entry forms for the Rowers'
Revenge Triathlon (UK) are now available from the website. If you do want to race,
get in there early - entries are limited to 500. It will be the last race in the Concept
2 Rowathlon series.
27th April 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle emails ----- Good luck to all crews and scullers racing at Evesham
this weekend and make sure you bring home lots of pots!
26th April 2006 Captain, Terry
Moore advises ----- Great news the car park lines have be repainted this
week! Can we all please try to use them before we park along the road. Thanks Terry
26th April 2006 Boat Maintenance Officer, Ian
Grant emails ----- Can
everyone taking boats up to Evesham at the weekend please check to make sure everything is
in order so would pass inspection and also clean, before loading them onto the trailer
on Thursday, rather than waiting for an umpire to find something wrong 10mins before
your race.
26th April 2006 The draw for Marlow Spring Regatta that takes
place this coming Monday 1st April has been published on the Marlow Events website.
Several Sir William Perkins's School crews are competing.
23rd April 2006 The draw for Evesham
Annual and Sprint Regattas, taking place respectively on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th
April, has now been published on the Evesham RC website.
Staines have 22 boats shown as racing on Saturday and 22 on Sunday.
22nd April 2006 The red eared terrapin spotted just
above Truss's Island last week was there again this afternoon on the same log. The great crested
grebe eggs have now hatched so very soon you will be able to spot the chicks taking a ride
on their parents back.
22nd April 2006 Our secretary, Murray Litvak advises
that there will be a Staines Regatta committee meeting this coming Monday 24th April at 7.30pm.
Murray also says he has some short term computer problems so if anyone wishes to contact him
he would like it to be by telephone. His numbers are home: 01784 449393 work: 01784 453145.
21st April 2006 Luc Wilson emails ----- For Sale: 1 set of Xcell sculls.
Adjustable length, Stamfli grips, Smoothie type. Hardly used so still stiff and very light,
only three years old. £200
ono. They are in the boat house at SBC if you would like to try them. Contact 6393wilso@armymail.mod.uk Regards
Luc
21st April 2006 A change in photographs has been requested for the
Goo Game and Chinese Puzzle game. You can find them on the Games
Page.
20th April 2006 Captain, Terry
Moore emails ----- It has come to light that some post has gone missing
from within the club. If you have mistakenly picked up post that is not addressed to
you, please can you return it to the correct tray. Thanks Terry
20th April 2006 For Steve Redgrave fans, the Tideway
Slug reports that
' The nice people at LEH are hosting "an evening with Steve Redgrave" on Friday
5th May at 7:30pm, at the LEH school buildings in Hampton.' For details on how to book,
see the poster.
19th April 2006 Evesham Annual
and Sprint Regattas take place respectively
on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th April. With always a good turnout from Staines Boat Club,
we will be looking closely at the Victor Ludorum prize money which amounts to at least £250
for each of the two days. Entries close this Saturday 22nd April at 2.00pm.
17th April 2006 Social Secretaries Anna & Di write with a reminder
that you have 2 weeks left to book up your tickets for the Annual SBC Dinner Dance on Saturday
13 May at Laleham Golf Club. Tickets can be reserved using this
link, or by calling Anna (07980
615905). They will be issued at the end of April, when we need to confirm final numbers. Also,
if anyone has raffle prizes to donate for the event, please let us know (sbcpartyon@hotmail.co.uk).
Thanks!
16th April 2006 The latest news on the nesting
swans from Bob Slade
----- "Mum"swan
has laid two eggs. Spot the dog was chased by "Dad" swan this morning
when the swan stood up to his full height (6ft)
and spread his wings (awesome sight!). Spot the
dog did a runner, followed by Emma, Anthony
Parkes and Charlotte. I wish I had a camera!
15th April 2006 Another swan story. This time it is
the good news that the SBC swans are again nesting in the corner of the club grounds.
Reports confirm there is currently one egg in the nest.
15th April 2006 TYSON IS BACK -- Ian Grant reports
that Tyson the vicious swan is back with a vengeance after attacking a men's pair and a single
sculler this week. Be careful out there!
14th April 2006 Liz Bernard forwards this information ----- You
may have heard that the future of the National Water Sports Centre at Nottingham is under threat. Notts
County Council is canvassing views about the NWSC's future and we all have a chance to
comment on their proposals. Please click on the link or
go to the home page of Nottinghamshire County Council.
13th April 2006 Captain, Terry
Moore forwards this information on increased funding for UK sport including rowing -----
** Cash
boost for British Olympians** UK Sport awards an additional £65.3m to Olympic and
Paralympic events in the run-up to London 2012.
12th April 2006 Further news on the exotic species
living in the Thames from a water engineer is that red eared terrapins can be seen quite often
all along the Thames. Look out for them on any branches coming out from the water and coot's
nest are a particular favourite for basking. Along with mitten crabs which live along the Staines
stretch there are also Wel's Catfish. These catfish normally live in Europe where they can
grow to a staggering 300kg although none have been found that big in British waters yet. They
can devour birds and small mammals easily. All these animals have a devastating effect on native
Britsh wildlife. So when you are next out sculling, keep an eye open for the unusual and don't
dip your toes in the water!
11th April 2006 Jeremy Pollen writes to say he believes
the identity of the Truss's Island turtle to be a red eared terrapin as he saw a similar one
last year further upstream when out coaching on the launch.
9th April 2006 The results of Bedford Small Boats
Head that took place today have now been published on the Bedford Rowing Club website.
Staines entered 4 crews and the results are as follows -- VetC4+ (Wood) jnt 132nd
overall (4th of 5 in category) in a time of 7 mins 39 secs, VetD4+
(Carey) jnt 65th overall (1st of 3 in category) in a time of 7 mins 22 secs, VetD4+
(Wood) jnt 145th overall (3rd of 3 in category) in a time of 7 mins 43 secs, VetD4-
(Carey) jnt 36th overall (2nd of 2 in category) in a time of 7 mins 11 secs.
8th April 2006 Spotted this afternoon on a log just
upstream of Truss's Island was a turtle basking. It's carapace measured approximately 200mm
front to back and it's width was approximately 160mm. It was darkish brown overall but the
top of it's head had a dark reddish hue. It did not appear to be the common 'pet shop' red
eared terrapin nor the European Pond Turtle. If anyone can identify it then please let
us know.
7th April 2006 Captain, Terry
Moore emails ----- On 21st April is the Annual Dinner of Remenham Club. This
year it will be held at Kingston Rowing Club. Please contact Roland
Wood for tickets
and further information. Look forward to seeing you there.
7th April 2006 Here is the latest
statement regarding bird flu from the
ARA taken from the ARA website.
6th April 2006 The ARA website has
this regarding the Water Safety Consultation -----
Following the request for your comments and ideas on buoyancy aids,
clothing capsize drills, staying with the boat message, throw bags
and written logs, we had a very good and constructive response. ----
Having gone through several drafts we are asking again for your
input before finalising and publishing the guidance, which will
also include photos and illustration. See Guidance
for beginners and Immersion
and hypothermia. -- (Please note that this is an abbreviation of the full text.
Please read the full details on the website).
6th April 2006 With the first case of bird flu on
the UK mainland confirmed,
now is the time to repeat the previous message from our Safety Adviser, Mark Ansley-Watson
----- Please will anybody who has seen a dead bird on the river from the 1st March onwards, contact
me as I am in communication with Defra regarding the current Bird Flu situation.
5th April 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle writes ----- I am delighted to announce that Graham
Carey has accepted the committee's award of Honorary Membership for his services to the club
over the years, both on and off the water. The official presentation will take place at this
year's Annual Dinner Dance on the 13th of May and I'm sure there'll be many of us there to
help him celebrate! Awards will also be made to the "Club Person of the Year" and "Most
Improved Rower". Tickets and further information for the Dinner Dance can be obtained
from Social Secretaries Anna Blackman and Diane Gill or via the online form on the Social
Calendar Page.
4th April 2006 Membership Secretaries, Leanne
Johns and Michelle O'Riordan write ----- Please
note that all membership cheques have only just been handed over to the treasurer. This
means that any post dated cheques for 1st March will come out at the same time as the 1st April.
Apologies for the delay/inconvenience. Also a reminder to those that have yet to pay.....PAY
NOW...please! Thank
you
4th April 2006 Some older members may remember Sheila
Harrington who was a SBC member from 1981 to 1983 before leaving for Australia. Sheila has
written to say hello to everyone who remembers her and to say that she intends to pay a visit
to us next year and also to go to Henley Royal Regatta.
4th April 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle advises ----- Members are again reminded to keep
the clubhouse tidy. In particular, when you have finished your post-outing meetings in the
bar area, please clear away cups, pint glasses, water bottles and empty food packaging etc.
Also please return training equipment to where it is stored. It doesn't make a good impression
on visitors and potential new members when it's as messy as it was at the weekend.
3rd April 2006 Our Secretary, Murray
Litvak writes
----- Coxing
Course -- The Committee has decided that due to the delightful steering that is witnessed out
on the river every week we will be holding a coxing/ steering course at some future point.
Yours truly of the scary yellow mask will be running it. I envisage it will take no more than
a couple of hours. Email your interest to steerme@otterproperty.co.uk
3rd April 2006 The
draw for
Bedford Small Boats Head that takes place this Sunday, 9th April 2006, has now been published.
Staines have entered 4 crews, a VetC4+, a Vet D4- and two VetD4+.
3rd April 2006 Captain, Terry
Moore emails
----- As regatta session approaches, the committee is trying to reduce the pressure on some
the the kit, namely Cox Boxes and Lifejackets. I would ask that all racing crews please only
take the Cox Boxes and Lifejackets that you NEED after 20:30 on the Thursday before
you race and return them when the trailer returns. Many thanks for your cooperation in
this matter.
3rd April 2006 Boat Maintenance Officer, Ian
Grant emails ----- Can people please remember that if you wish to train on the
lower section of river that you have to turn by the bandstand, especially with the faster
flowing river, NOT just after leaving the landing 10m above the bridge, as seen
by one veteran coxed four on Sunday morning.
3rd April 2006 All rowers that intend training during the coming few
days will realise that the Easter Training Camp for new rowing recruits from Sir William Perkins's
School, takes place from Wednesday to Friday inclusive. Staines coaches will be on hand to
guide them though the first tentative steps to an enjoyable sport.
2nd April 2006 Rob Oades (snr) writes ----- Yesterday evening (1st
April) saw the Ceremony for the Spelthorne Youth Awards take place. Rob Oades (jnr) was presented
a certificate for his achievements in Rowing by Athens GB rowing silver medalist Alison Mowbray
(see attached photograph). Rob was
also recognised for his school sporting achievements in rugby, athletics & cross
country, swimming and weight lifting in which Rob won the national under 60kg gold medal.
31st March 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle sends this quote from the Tideway
Slug re. the Boat Race weigh-in
-
"The heaviest rower was Thorsten Engelmann at 104.8kg; though to put this into perspective,
he's still lighter than Nick Wilde, (the Molesey women's cox at the vets head...)"
Nick is also to be seen at Staines as the coach for Sir William Perkins's School!
30th March 2006 Social Secretaries Di
& Anna confirm
that the Pubs and Clubs Regatta will take place on 10th September 2006. Please see the Pubs
and Clubs page for more details.
29th March 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle writes ----- Just a reminder that there will be a meeting of
the Men's Squad at 7.30am on Saturday morning for all those who want to race this summer. If
you are not at the meeting then Joe will assume that you do not want to be involved in plans
for the summer. After the meeting there will be an outing.
29th March 2006 John Walton sends a few
photographs of the boat naming
ceremony in his name that took place on Sunday 19th March.
29th March 2006 This information is direct from the Weybridge RC website
----- Due to injuries, there are now 2 places available on this weekend's sculling
course. Contact Peter
Morley if you are interested. It is open to anyone, from any club, who has a bit of single
sculling experience and wants to move up to another level.
28th March 2006 Ian Grant sends this report from last weekend ----- The
men's squad were up bright an early to a nice sunny Saturday morning for the HORR,
but having to start in the second half of the 420 strong crew, the clouds, rain and wind began
to move in. The S2 crew starting at 226, again with 2 subs sitting in due to injuries, put
in a good & uneventful race to hold their position to finish 222. The S4 crew,
the first race on the tideway for all members, had a few clashes over the course and finished
383. Thanks to Bob an Jeremy for their help and support. Focus now turns to a hopefully
less injury/illness prone summer season.
28th March 2006 Cath
Moore, our Entries Coordinator writes to say that the Entries
Page has been updated again with new event details.
28th March 2006 Steve Ballantine has sent some photos from both the
women's HORR and men's HORR which have been added to their respective pages. See Photographs
Page.
27th March 2006 Alan Douglas sends this report from yesterday's Veteran's head
----- A fine, but windy day greeted us all as we gathered on Sunday. After minor adjustments
to the boat we had borrowed from IC (Andy Murphy was too tall to fit in), we had an uneventful,
if bumpy, row to the start. In
the race itself, we settled well, despite Star flying past us almost immediately, and enjoyed
the strong tail wind which pushed us quickly down to St Paul’s. A thank you
to the lone voice on Hammersmith Bridge - obviously, I don’t know who you are as
we all know not to look up at the bridge, (but thank you Tim C). Sadly, after Hammersmith,
it descended into a long, hard slog of attrition into a head wind all the way to the
finish. Net result was overtaken once, passed two. We finished 13th in
Vet C, the same as last year; took about 1.5 minutes longer than the Vet C winner, about
the same as last year and beaten by one women’s crew, the same as last year. Consistency,
if nothing else. A big thank you to Clare for steering, encouraging,
hounding and cheering throughout the race (and the winter leading up to the race as well). Another
thank you to Bob T Dog for his coaching and help. A further thank you to everyone
else who has kindly “volunteered” or “been volunteered” to cox
for us as well. Finally, thank you to IC and Bill Mason for the loan of one of
their boats for the race and technique tips.
27th March 2006 Jo Wilby writes ----- I would like to send a special
thanks to Staines Boat Club for the support and help our
crew received with both the loan and
occasional use of the Alan Hawes 8. This helped us train and race in the WHORR and importantly
help prepare us for the Vesta Veterans Head. As a result our crew won the Women's Veteran B
pennant in at time 20.43.93. Five past and present SBC members were in the crew: Jenny Page,
Gurli Medcalf, Trisha Corless, Jules Reichel and Jo Wilby. Thank you Staines for all your help.
27th March 2006 Rob
Oades senior sends
this link to his Kodak site
where he has posted some shots of the 2 Staines crews who rowed at the Eights Head of the
River Race.
26th March 2006 The
Vesta Veterans Head of the River took place today over 4¼ miles on the ebb tide from
the Mortlake to Putney in which Staines entered just one crew. The results show Staines
Vet C start 56th, finish 60th (13th of 26) 20 mins 38.73 secs. Full results
are available on the official website.
25th March 2006 The
results for the Eights Head of the River Race which took place today are
now available on the official website. The
Staines '1' S2 8+ came 222nd overall (started 226) (64th of 83 in category) in a time of 20
mins 0.96 secs and the
Staines '2' entry S4 8+ came 383rd overall (started 291) (70th of 76 in category) in a time
of 21 mins 58.24 secs.
25th March 2006 Liz Brett sends this
link to her Photobox site
where she has posted some shots of the 2 Staines crews who rowed at the Eights Head of the
River Race today.
23rd March 2006 The ARA have redesigned their website.
Great, except that it doesn't render properly on the Firefox browser so please dig
out your old copy of MS Internet Explorer to look at it!!
22nd March 2006 Social Secretaries Anna & Di write
----- Please remember to book your place
for the Staines Boat Club Dinner Dance using this online
form, which is also available
on the home page. Thanks
22nd March 2006 For those crews racing at the HORR this weekend, the
Thames Regional Rowing Council has this information --
Prior to the river closure for the Head of the River Race on 25th March, The Thames Regional
Rowing Council will have four large launches patrolling the Tideway between Isleworth and
Putney offering advice and guidance on the current Tideway Rowing Navigation Rules and practice.
Full details can be found on the TRRC website.
20th March 2006 Boat Maintenance Officer, Ian
Grant submits
this report from Kingston Head ----- The men’s squad entered two 8’s
at KHORR in preparation for the Eights HORR at the weekend. Unfortunately things didn’t
start off too well as, like a few other clubs, both crews boated late due to 3 different
sets of road works on route. With the officials determined to start the race on time the
S2 8 started directly behind the S4 8 along with 10 or so other eights, behind a back field
of J4x+’s
and WN4+’s.
The S4 8, after putting in a strong effort to hold off the S2 8, continued to race well all
the way down the course, weaving around the various slower boats to finish 7th of 10 in their
category and 61st overall in a time of
20:51.6. The S2 8 pretty much stormed its way through the back field/late starters, with numerous
slower boats to work off. This also meant that out of the 10 or so crews overtaken, we
suffered 3 clashes, one of which almost caused a J4x+ to capsize after 1000m gone, and
2 WN4+’s
between the bridges and finish. This gave a finish result of 12th of 14 in their category
and 26th overall in a time of 19:22.3.
A better performance by both crews from Burway Head and thanks go to everyone who subbed
in last minute due to illness etc. and supporters for braving the cold. Our apologies to any
members of other crews who we scared during the race. Full results can be found on the Kingston
RC website.
20th March 2006 Kristina Frost announces
the SBC 'Photo Contest', a
competition with great prizes offered by our sponsor Snappy Snaps. With the theme of 'Our Local
River' the link to the entry details poster will again be found in the list on the left of
this page and will be left there until the closing date of July 1st. The winning photos will
be put on display in the clubhouse and at Staines Regatta on 22nd July.
19th March 2006 The
results for the Kingston Head which took place yesterday are now available.
The Staines BC 'A' S2 8+ came 26th overall (12th of 14 in category) in a time of 19
mins 22.3 secs and the Staines BC 'B' entry S4 8+ came 61st overall (7th of 10 in
category) in a time of 20 mins 51.6 secs.
19th March 2006 Kristina Frost has asked for a new
page called 'Friends of SBC' which tells us
all about the individuals and companies are helping Staines Boat Club by providing goods and
funds by way of sponsorship. The page can also be found from the link on the left of this page.
18th March 2006 Liz Brett sends this
link to her Photobox
site where she has kindly uploaded' Some shots of the 2 Staines crew who rowed at Kingston
Head today. Mostly of the S4s a composite senior/junior crew and some random shots of other
crews racing.'
17th March 2006 Vice Captain, Craig
Twaddle writes ----- There
are still places on the UKCC Level 2 Coaching Course being held at Weybridge Rowing Club in
May - see website.
Anyone who is interested in attending should contact myself, Terry
Moore or Steve Ballantine and we
will look at SBC funding your attendance.
17th March 2006 The start
order for the Veterans Head of the River Race has now been published on
the official website.
Staines Boat Club have entered one crew, a Vet C eight starting at No. 56. The race takes place
on Sunday 26th March at 1.30pm over the 4 1/4 mile course from Mortlake to Putney.
17th March 2006 The start
order (Excel format) for the Kingston Head of the River Race has now been published on
the official website.
Staines Boat Club have entered two crews, 'Staines A' S2 eight starting at No. 15 and 'Staines
B' S4 eight starting at No. 43. The race takes place tomorrow Saturday 18th March at 2pm over
the 5300 metre course from Hampton Court to Kingston.
17th March 2006 Robin Dunlop advises ----- You may have noticed a strange
looking contraption in the club house. No it's not a torture machine (some might disagree!)
It is a rowperfect! We have it on loan until Friday 24th. Make use of it! It is perfect for
analysing technique, quick clue - the seat should stay as still as possible and yes there is
meant to be a bend in the rail!
15th March 2006 Social Secs Anna & Di write
----- Just
a reminder that we are looking forward to seeing everyone at the clubhouse on Sunday (19th
March) for the John Walton Boat naming. We will be cooking an SBC Big Breakfast, available
from midday and the naming ceremony will be at 1pm. Please come along and join us for this
important club occasion.
15th March 2006 Mark Ansley-Watson submits more photos of the Women's
Eights Head of the River Race. See Photographs
Page.
15th March 2006 Ian Stagg advises of the funeral
arrangements for his father, Bill Stagg -----
My fathers funeral will be held on Monday 20th March 2006 at 10.15 am at Randalls Place Crematorium
which is up the Seven Hills Road near Cobham. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers/gifts
that donations be made to the Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club. Note that I will not be
able to attend this ceremony as I intend to come over for the family interment later on, I
hope then to be able catch up with some of you that I was not able to see during our trip to
England last year. Please will post this at the club and pass this on to those that I know
personally.
15th March 2006 Our secretary, Murray Litvak ask that you read this
Word document from
the ARA about nominations for the 'ARA Volunteer of the Year Awards 2006'.
15th March 2006 Some photographs from the Women's
Eights Head of the River Race have been submitted by Ian Grant. See Photographs
Page. Commercial images are available from Bigblade, Jet
Photographic and Nature's Images.
14th March 2006 Vice
Captain, Craig Twaddle emails ----- Just a reminder that anyone racing in the HORR
or Vets Head at the end of March must have renewed Full Rowing membership for 2006/07. No pay,
no race!
13th March 2006 Jenny Edmunds writes ----- Those of you who
remember Carine Marshall (super sculler), now known as Carine Muir, might be interested to
know that she gave birth to a baby girl this weekend. Amelia was born Fri. 10th at
20:55 weighing 6lbs 13oz.
13th March 2006 Cath
Lake emails ----- The womens squad
would like to thank everyone who came to give their support at the weekend's WEHORR. The nice
big shouts from Hammersmith Bridge were great! Also thanks to Ian Grant for having the best
shoe bag on the river bank, better than a bin liner any day. But the biggest thanks of all
must go to Clare Wood for stepping in to cox. A job well done, thank you Clare.
13th March 2006 The results for
the Weybridge Junior and Veteran Head which took place yesterday are available on the Weybridge
RC website.
The sole Staines BC entry, a J16 4+ came 19th overall (2nd of 2 in category) in a time of
13 mins 9 secs.
13th March 2006 Craig Twaddle advises
that our Boat Maintenance Officer Ian Grant, took a swim to test the temperature of the Thames
on Saturday when out in
his sculling boat. Rumours of his boat have a hole in it from over cleaning are apparently
untrue!!
12th March 2006 Peter Smith emails -----
The Swan Hotel is re-opened.
The front bar overlooking the river has a SBC theme with lots of photos of past and current
crews racing. There is also a set of blades on the walls and the big doors have a sign
written with the words 'Boat House'. This is where SBC stored their boats many years ago. Pop
in your face may be there!
11th March 2006 The provisional results for
the Women's Eights Head of the River Race which took place today are available on the official website.
The Staines S2 eight came 196th overall (35th of 35 in category) in a time of 23 mins 11.1
secs.
10th March 2006 Social Secretaries Anna and Di write to announce details of
the 2006 Staines Boat Club Dinner Dance on Saturday 13th May. This year’s venue is Laleham
Golf Club, just a short trip downstream from SBC. The evening will begin with a drinks reception
on the terrace from 7pm, followed by a 3 course dinner with wine. After dinner, guests can
dance the night away with help from our resident DJ Dave or relax over an after dinner drink
with friends in the lounge bar area. Tickets are £45 each (price fixed from 2005) and
available now from Anna & Di.
Please fill in the online
form to confirm attendance or talk to Anna (07980 615905) or Di
( 07974 774268). Dress: Black Tie or Club Blazers - Carriages: Midnight! Anna and
Di also confirm that details of the Junior Summer Ball will follow! Watch this space.
9th March 2006 Cath
Lake emails ----- Hi everyone, The women's squad are competing at the WEHORR
this Saturday at 2pm, would be great to see as much support there as possible, the more cheering
the better. We are racing at position 70!!! please come along and support us and cheer us to
the finish line.
8th March 2006 A wet Pauline Martin has emailed with news of the 2 SWPS
crews entered in the National
Junior Sculling Head which took place today at Henley. The J14 4x+
came 9th out of 36 and the J15 4x+
came 7th out of 36. Full results can be found on the Mikrotime website.
8th March 2006 The start
order for the Weybridge Veteran & Junior Head has now been published on the Weybridge RC website.
Staines Boat Club have only one crew entered, a J14 4+ starting at No. 21
in Division 1 (11.00am) Division 2 starts at 1.00pm. The race takes place on the 3000 metres
upstream course from Miskins Wharf, Walton, to D'Oyly Carte Island, Weybridge on Sunday 12th
March.
6th March 2006 Our President, Don Moore asks for this sad letter he has
received from ex member, Ian Stagg to be published here ----- re. William Charles Stagg (Bill)
----- Dear Don, I am writing to you to let you know that my father passed away on Tuesday 28th
February, please would let people at the club know and maybe put up a notice. I don't know
what the arrangements will be yet but I hope to be there for them, I will stay in contact and
let you know what the arrangements will be as soon as I know. It has been a long time since
we have talked and I was sorry that I missed you when I was in England last year, I hope that
Ted and Smithy who I did manage to meet passed on my regards to you all. You and others can
contact me by return E-mail: danian@sunwave.net or
by telephone: Home 250-832-4437 or Work 250-832- 7116 ext 2337 with of course your appropriate
dialling code for Canada in front of these. Please note that we here in Salmon Arm, British
Columbia Canada are eight hours behind you. If people wish to express their condolences to
Bill's wife Elsie they can telephone her: 01932-223459 or write to her at 17, Trenchard Close,
Hersham Walton-on-Thames, Surrey KT12 5QT. Thank you for calling back it was nice talking
with you and if I had known that you were going to be in this neck of the woods you would have
been most welcome to come and stay with us. Please also remind people that I have known through
the club that there is an open invitation for them to come and visit. Regards Ian and Danella
Stagg
6th March 2006 Following yesterday's spectacle where
the entire line of cars in the centre of the club car park was too far back, forcing cars out
on to Riverside Drive, please be thoughtful of others when you park. As has been said before
- When parking, please start at one end of the car park if you are the first to arrive and
if not first, park adjacent to an already parked car. When starting the middle row, just leave
sufficient room in front of you for cars to drive in and out thus leaving room behind you for
another line of cars. Please also park really close to the next car with the passenger doors
next to each other. The car park may not be full when you arrive but please think carefully
when you drive in.
4th March 2006 The start
order for the Head of the River Race has now been published on the official website.
Staines Boat Club have entered two crews, a S2 eight starting at No. 226 and a S4 eight starting
at No. 291. The race takes place downstream from the University Stone, Chiswick Bridge, to
Putney Bridge (4.25 miles) at 11.30am on Saturday 25th March.
3rd March 2006 Nick
Hadwen emails
the latest 100 Club results: The draw for the 100 Club has taken place for January and February
2006 and I am pleased to announce the winners: R. Moulding. Lucky Number: 42
and A. Malkin. Lucky Number: 76. The drawer was Suzanne McKenner.
Each person wins £25 Well done! For those of you who don't know the 100 Club is a currently
open to all members of the club. Each member has a number which goes into the draw once a
month. The current cost per number is £1 per month and we ask you to pay for a year
at a time. So if you fancy a number drop me a line or speak to me down at the club! Hurry
though as the March draw will be on the 21st.
2nd March 2006 Will the person or people responsible
for removing the 8 club owned Cat Eye TL-LD260 LED boat lights from the clubhouse, please return
them immediately to the coxbox room. Last week a crew was prevented from boating due to these
lights being missing.
1st March 2006 The Thames Regional Rowing Council website
announces the Junior Rowing Survey and details of Junior Inter Regionals, Thames Upriver Trials.
1st March 2006 Safety Adviser, Mark Ansley-Watson writes ----- Please
will anybody who has seen a dead bird on the river from the 1st March onwards, contact
me as
I am in communication with Defra regarding the current Bird Flu situation.
28th February 2006 A german shepherd dog was lost from Chertsey
on Saturday morning and was last spotted in Laleham on that afternoon. If you were at Burway
Head and spotted this dog please telephone 07967 727875. You can see a photo of Barney here.
28th February 2006 The Thames Regional Rowing Council website reminds
us ----- Coxing a Tideway Head - 10 March - The Thames Regional
Rowing Council are grateful to Thames Rowing Club for hosting the Coxing a Tideway Head presentation
on Friday 10 March and also prior to the School's, Veteran's and Men's Head of the River races.
The evening will cover all aspects of visiting the Tideway, including reminders and hints on
practice outings and non-race navigation rules. There will be comprehensive advice on how to
steer the course in the race (please note that this will
be an expanded version of the TRRC seminar given last year).
28th February 2006 Cath
Moore, our Entries Coordinator writes ----- Hi Folks, the Entries
Page has been updated again with new event details.
27th February 2006 The start
order for the Women's Head of the River
has now been published. Staines Boat Club have entered one S2 eight starting at No. 70. The
race takes place downstream from the University Stone, Chiswick Bridge, to Putney Bridge (4.25
miles)at 2pm on Saturday 11th March.
26th February 2006 If you have walked through the men's changing room
this week you will have noticed the renovation that has been carried out. Here are just some
of the things that have been worked on - new ceiling vent and drain for the showers - new urinals
and feeder tank - new WC cisterns - new hand basins and taps. The organisation of this was
done by John Morrison and thanks must go to him for this work. John has some excellent plans
for renovating the club and he would very much like to hear from anyone who would be prepared
to provide a little help to make the clubhouse a better place for us all. I don't have contact
details for John but if you email/speak to Captain, Terry
Moore,
I am sure he will happily pass the word on.
26th February 2006 The results of Burway Head that took place yesterday
with 9 Staines and 2 SWPS competing, have been published on the Burway RC website.
I have also published some photos to be found from the link on the Photographs
Page. Cath Lake reports on behalf of the women's squad ----- It was a very cold
and windy day on Saturday, but the Women's Squad were out in force for Burway Head of the River.
Despite the weather conditions all crews put in a good solid row, including four very nervous
novices taking part in their first event. The first division saw the women's eight
of: Liz, Ali, Nikki, Katherine, Anna, Cath M, Suzanne and Claire competing at WS3. The wind
hampered them about half way down the course but they managed to come in second with a time
of 11.17 missing out to Maidenhead with a time of 10.54. The second division saw the girls
take to fours with a WS2 crew of Nikki, Katherine, Liz and Claire,with a time of 12.07 missing
out to Maidenhead again who came in at 11.25. A good row though and lots more to come from
this crew....so watch this space.....also a lot more to come from our women's novice four of
Sarah, Lorna, Corina and Cath B. The very first event for the girls who'd only had four outings
together as a crew and generally have only been rowing for the past few months (with the exception
of Cath B). They put their nerves aside and took on the task of the shortened 3K course with
a mix of dread and enthusiasm. They put in a good solid row and managed to come 9th out of
11, beating Royal Holloway and University of Essex with a time of 15.28. Well done to them
and all crews that took part.
23rd February 2006 Boat Maintenance Officer, Ian
Grant writes ----- A small
request to all crews that are racing this weekend at Burway. Please try not to damage
the boats while taking them in and out of the water as at Henley 2 weeks ago, and if a crew
comes charging in then try to move out the way so our boats don't get stuck between their boat
and the pontoon.
23rd February 2006 Rob Oades (snr) sends this snippet ----- Rob
Oades was nominated by his school - Thamesmead in Shepperton for a Spelthorne Council 2006
Youth Award. This has been successful and Rob will be recognised for his achievements in rowing
at SBC, by the presentation of a certificate at a ceremony to take place on Saturday 1st April
at the Spelthorne Leisure Centre. Rob will also be put forward for the main Spelthorne Youth
Award which will be announced at the ceremony and presented by Alison Mowbray who was
a member of the GB women's quad that won the Olympic silver medal in Athens and gold at
the World Cup in Poznan Poland in 2004. Congratulations to Rob and good luck for the main award.
22nd February 2006 Sarah Goldswain writes ----- Could
you please put this on the website; its from a uni friend needing rowers to fill out a questionnaire
for her project. The message she sends is below and the questionnaire is attached. Could questionnaires
be sent back to laurafn@hotmail.com --- Hello,
I am trying to get feedback on rowing devices from as many rowers/coaches etc as possible,
so if any of you could spare a couple of minutes to fill in the attached
questionnaire (it's
really easy - promise!) I would be extremely grateful. It's for my final year project
looking at developing a technical feedback device for use in a boat.Where it says to circle
an answer, just highlight it or mark it somehow, then save it and email it back to me. thankyou!!
Laura - P.S Please feel free to forward on to any other rowers that may have a minute to spare.
22nd February 2006 Club members may like to find out more about the town
of Staines from the online 'encyclopedia' Wikipedia where you will find Staines Boat Club mentioned
in the chronology section and also a link directly to this website.
21st February 2006
Michelle O'Riordan emails ----- Here is the Defra Helpline that people can call if they
see any large number of dead birds on the river. The Tel. is 08459 335 577 and has been set
up as a result of the bird flu reaching France. ( also note that the ARA
website is reiterating
it's previous statement concerning
bird flu).
21st February 2006 Cath
Moore, our Entries Coordinator writes ----- Events forms and details of the events
that the club is thinking of attending are on the website (see regatta
entry form, head entry
form and event
details. Please use these forms if you wish to put in a entry via Cath Moore.
If you think we should be attending other events, please let me know when and where! Thank
you Cath M
20th February 2006 The start order for the Burway Head of the River
that takes place next Saturday, is now available on the Burway RC website.
Staines Boat Club has entered a total of 10 crews in the 2 divisions (12 noon and 2.30pm) and
Sir William Perkins's School has entered 3 crews. Will all
competitors please be aware that the
Environment Agency has released details of
the lock closures due on the Thames in the early part of 2006 which indicate that Penton Hook
lock will be closed between 9th January and 31st March 2006 for work on a new tail layby.
All boats therefore will need to arrive by trailer.
20th February 2006 The Thames Regional Rowing Council website reminds us -----
Applying British Rowing Technique - You have until 27th February to sign up
for the course on British Rowing Technique which takes place at London RC, Putney, on 5th March
2006 -- (see poster (Word
doc) - Full details on this
page)
18th February 2006 The results for
the Molesey Veteran and Junior Head which took place today are available on
the Molesey website. The Staines
Vet C eight came 12th overall (5th of 7 in category) in a time of 10 mins 11.8 secs. Bob Hopkins
has submitted four photos of the Staines eight which can be found from the link on the Photographs
Page.
On a sadder note, the sympathies of all at Staines Boat Club go