On 7 December a Special General Meeting was held to set subs for 2009, captain can't remember the figures so you'll have to wait for Richard dP or Ronnie to confirm. The SGM was followed by the BBLRC annual quiz - plenty of attendees, lots of disputes and a lovely roast put on thanks to some of the wonderful BBLRC ladies.

This weekend just passed plenty of us attended the BBLRC/Cygnet end of year christmas ball - bond themed with lovely ladies in posh frocks and most of the lads in black tie (even the captain managed the bow tie bit). It was held a short walk down river at the Blue Anchor in Hammersmith and was followed by drinks back at the bar - plenty of alcohol consumed and a fair amount of mess left to clean up afterwards. The captain understands there were a fair few people still too ill to cope with work on Monday but the lads who managed to get down for the 8 on Sunday did manage a fairly good outing considering the sore heads. Thanks to Sarah for coaching - We're pleased to advise that Sarah has agreed to coach the lads, she has done a couple of sessions already and is pleased with the progress being made, she has agreed to both days of the weekend for the lead up to the 8s head - its not long till the new year and the seniors will have to start getting serious about the 8s head campaign, we want to try and retain that top 150 place we managed this year. The build up will start with a showing in the Quintin Head on 24 Jan.

One further important note - the civil service has approved some repair works to the club house, to repair some leaks and the exec have approved some renovations to the kitchen/clubroom area so works are under way and if you are about you will notice the works in progress, please be careful. The ramp and part of the boat house floor is being re-asphalted on 29 December so it wont be possible to go for a paddle that day but it should only restrict boat use on that day.

Merry Christmas all, we hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.

Pete, Kath & Jacob.

Keeping Warm This Winter, 16/12

Our very own Dr. Gibbons Ph.D. with some top-tips on loft insulation and trolley etiquette. Follow the link, scroll down and hit play.

No He Can't.

Saturday Waddle Details, 10/12

From The Whipman...

Gentlemen,

It's that time of year again; yes the Cygnet Waddle is nearly upon us. For the uninitiated amongst you and to remind the seasoned veterans, The Waddle is an opportunity for you to lightly oil your wit, spruce up you repartee and generally improve your chances of being even more charming and debonair than usual when you finally arrive at the BB Ladies Christmas Ball. It is not, as happened last year, a chance to get totally hammered and arrive 45 minutes late thus missing the welcome drinks and the first course. So with that in mind the itinerary for this year's Waddle is set out below. You will notice that the number of establishments has been reduced and that it starts a little earlier so that there is a respectable amount of time allowed in each establishment for you to consume you chosen imbibition at a leisurely and gentlemanly pace. You will also observe that the locations are in the vicinity of the Ball so that in case of emergency we can cut immediately to the chase. Plus it's handy for Naylor.

17.00 hours - The Brook Green - http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/41/4120/Brook_Green_Hotel/Hammersmith

17.30 hours - The Old Fire Station - http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/26/26052/Old_Fire_Station/Hammersmith

18.00 hours - The Stonemasons Arms - http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/98/987/Stonemasons_Arms/Hammersmith

18.30 hours - The Blue Anchor - http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/16/1644/Blue_Anchor/Hammersmith

Rules of The Waddle

Finish    In Divison    Time        Division    Number    Name
143       7             22:32.15    S4          51        C Davidson
218       23            23:10.89    S3          189       N Pickford
303       18            24:02.86    VetC        388       C Jillings
390       10            25:12.50    VetE        486       N Wylie
434       28            28:16.69    W.NV        427       M Israel

Full results here.

Captain's Report, 28/11

Hi everyone, lots to report on this week.

Charlie Ford's funeral will take place next Wednesday (3 December) at 11.00am for Requiem Mass. The church is St James Church, Martin Way, Merton. Then to the N E Surrey Crematorium, Morden which is off Grand Drive if you wish at 12.30. Then back to the Church Hall. No flowers please but there will be a collection box in the church hall for donations to the RAF Benevolent Fund. If you are not attending and wish to donate send a cheque made out for the RAF Benevolent Fund to Shirley Ford at 30 Thurleston Avenue, Morden, Surrey, SM4 4BW.

Last weekend we had a couple of crews attending the Kingston Head - a novice coxed four and a senior 2 coxed four as well as Neil and Davo in singles. Bitterly cold conditions but all good work. Special thanks to Richard dP for towing our boats out their and back as the club is without the use of the ute since its unfortunate demise.

Active squad guys - please note you can change the nights around for your training to some degree if a particular night doesn't suit you but please be aware that the girls' program is for weights on Monday nights and they have priority on the ergs on Tuesday nights. We have priority for ergs Wed night. In other words you can erg on Tues nights but if the ergs are full and more girls show up then you have to give up your erg - the girls ought to do likewise for you on Wed nights. It is for that reason we will try and have the long ergs programmed in on Wed nights.

Also please remember to add your availability to the respective spreadsheets as early in the week as possible - if you have not put in your availability for outings you wont get one, its not hard! Also bear in mind its only 9 weeks till the Quintin head, the precursor to the all important 8s head. If you are hoping to make a crew for either of those heads bear in mind we've only got 2 boats and likely a lot more people than 16 rowers available so get on with your training, especially as no doubt christmas and new year festivities will preclude training over a couple of those weeks.

Please note that works will be commencing on Monday for the repairs needed to the boathouse (floor of boathouse/ceiling of downstairs lounge and kitchen ceiling, re-asphalting the hard) Works will take approx 3 weeks and I'll try to keep disruption to minimum.

Coming Up:

Cheers,

Pete.

Xmas Quiz, 26/11

A reminder that the now-traditional Boathouse Xmas Quiz will be taking place from 12:30 on Sunday 7th December.

A cover charge (TBC) will include food (TBC). Friends and family welcome. Teams of no more than four.

Gold Star For Ronnie, 21/11

We hear that our very own Ronnie Lambe has received an award from the TRRC. Here are the details in his own words:

Yesterday evening I was at the Thames Regional Rowing Council AGM. Much to my surprise a presentation was made to me. In this case whisky glasses inscribed with the TRRC insignia for my services to rowing on the Tideway. Who put me up for this I have no idea but possibly Putney Town Regatta where I have been on the committee for over 50 years and am now the President. But I was very surprised. The TRRC make these presentations every year and are normally these gasses. So perhaps they are hinting that I have been doing it for too long.

I think we'd all agree that Ronnie hasn't been doing it for nearly long enough. Congratulations to him. All he needs now is some whisky to go in them!

Fours Head Win For Cygnet, 20/11

It turns out that Cygnet had a win in the 4s Head. In the "guess the winners" competition, our very own Geordie beat all-comers. Cunningly, he didn't include any Cygnet crews in his prediction. His prize was to attend the prize-giving: a celebration of rowing excellence at which Geordie's presence wouldn't normally be expected. However, the prize-giving was held at the Fullers Brewery. With a free bar.

Charlie Ford, 20/11

Sadly and after being unwell for a few days Vice President Charles Ford died peacefully this week in St Helier Hospital, Sutton. He was 86 years old.

Charles, a Civil Servant, became a member of the Club on 2nd October 1950. He remained a loyal member and friend for all his days. He won Juniors (now S3) at Chiswick in 1953 then possibly the oldest man in the crew... This was the first club win in an open event since Molesey in 1939. He married Shirley Coomer of the Alpha RC in 1955.

Charlie was always a great friend of the club bungalow on Hamhaugh Island... He holidayed there with his family in the 1960s. Later he continued as a stalwart friend and worker joining the Bungalow Management Committee soon after its foundation in 1988. He was always hard working and skilled. In recognition of his long and devoted service at the Bungalow he was appointed a Vice President in 1998.

He will be sadly missed and our thoughts are with his family.

BBLRC Win, 11/11

Extracted fron the BBLRC News email:

For the second year running, Barnes Bridge Ladies won the Senior 2 coxless four event at the Fours Head of the River race, which took place on Saturday. Despite the horrible conditions, the crew of Jo Byrne, Zoe Guiniven, Annabelle Hall and Rachael Beaumont romped home with a winning margin of 23 seconds over their nearest rivals, Osiris. A fantastic row and huge congratulations to them. A bit thank you also to Ed White and Tom Edwards-Moss for helping out with the coaching.

Well done to them.

Those of us married to Barnes Bridge Ladies can, without embarassment, bask in their reflected glory.

Captain's Report, 11/11

Morning all,

Sat 1st November saw our own Andy Naylor wed Barnes Bridge lady, Poppy Ahern in a lovely ceremony in Buriton - it was well attended by a number of their cygnet and bblrc friends. Congratulations Andy & Poppy.

Sat 8th Nov saw a wet and wild morning for the four's head - it did clear during the morning but most of our guys came off the water looking very wet. We had four crews entered, two coxless fours, one coxed four and a coxless quad, certainly the most we've had entered in a few years. The soggy racing was followed by some celebrating/commiserating in the bar eating, drinking and watching rugby and fireworks. Well done Pete for organising - thanks also to Sarah Denmark for helping me with the catering.

Sun 9th saw much nicer weather for the vet's fours head and we had a coxless four entered and Jacko in a composite quad with his AK mates. Well done gents.

Most of the active members have now completed the steering test but there are a handful of people still to complete it, Neil has already contacted you and is trying to set up one final date for you to complete the test - it must be completed if you intend to steer or cox any boats marked with a Cygnet number. Its not hard, get on it.

The weather is closing in for winter so no more senior squad evening outings during the week - they'll be reinstated in lead up to 8s head so the focus is now on building fitness with long ergs, and long rows on the weekend with focus on fitness building and improving technique which may involve some mixing up with the more experienced guys from the novice squad. The weekend rows will be longer so please bring drinks and warm kit.

Coming up -

Well thats all for this report folks.

Regards,

Kathryn.

Short Captain's Log, 03/11

Hi all.

Four's head is on this Saturday and the club will be a hive of action. Racing starts at 10.30 but all the action occurs at the club before that as we have dozens and dozens of visiting crews. Several novices volunteered the other night to assist in the boating of visiting crews (I think Pete G was one, and maybe Paddy was the other?) If you were one of those two volunteers you need to be at the club at 8am and ask for Mike Collier or me and we'll get you going on the ramp organising boating. We can always do with more volunteers so novices, if you are available this Sat morning it would be fab to see you down the club - as I say ask for Mike Collier and I'm sure he'll need your help. The girls usually do a big effort with cake stall and bbq etc and they always need help too.

We are planning a few bevys, perhaps some food and fireworks for later in the day so it might be worth sticking around or getting your partners to head down and join the fun.

Captain's Log, 15/10

Hi all.

Well an action packed few weeks to report on.

Sunday 5th Oct saw a large number of the squad participating in the rowers revenge triathalon at Marlow. Our lads were alongside esteemed company in wave 1: James Cracknell and his new partner for the Antarctic race Ed Coates (not exactly a loafer - well known to Barry from his days representing your nation in decathalon). Well done to all who participated.

Sat 12th Oct saw the membership split between attendance at the Rhine Marathon - we had two crews entered, a men's coxed four and a seegig four. Both crews won bronze in their respective categories and from what I understand enjoyed the german hospitality to the max!

Also on Sat 12th here in a very sunny and warm London we had the Pairs Head. I think pundits agree it was the best ever conditions and we had three and a half crews on the water: two senior 3 pairs, a senior 2 pair and Jacko in a composite double. Unfortunately our vet double had to pull out on the day due to illness of half of the crew [1 person - Ed] - bit of a shame since it was the crew that had trained the most. Special thanks go to Josh for all the work he did helping out on the day, he alone of the non-competing members stepped up to volunteer to help the running of the Pairs Head and was seen directing affairs for car parking, boating and manning the bar later on, he was particularly good at drumming up business for the bar so thanks Josh.

Coming Up:

Steering Test - 18 Oct 10am - after morning outings - for all of you who didn't sit it at the earlier session, please let me know if you are planning on attending.

Vets Lunch 25 October.

Fours Head - 8 Nov crews to be announced shortly but we have 2 coxless fours and a coxless quad entered, and are likely to add a coxed four. Novices and anyone else not racing, fours head is another big day in the calendar for our club with dozens of other clubs boating from our clubrooms - this raises funds for the executive and therefore your facilities. Please mark the day in your diaries and volunteer to assist if at all possible.

Kingston Small Boats Head - 22 Nov - we are considering entering this head, which is singles, doubles, fours and quads. Expressions of interest please!

Well that's all for this report folks.

Big Boys, 07/10

We were amused by a line in the latest (thrilling) edition of the BLLRC news. James Cracknell had started in the same wave as most of the Cygnets in last Sunday's Rowers' Revenge. To quote:

We are also running a poll on whether Crackers was bigger or smaller than we thought he would be. Current opinion: Bex Newton was disappointed "not really that big at all", Ali Elliott impressed: "he is a big guy".

Hardly surprising since Bex is married to an ex-GB decathlete whilst Ali lives with a small van driver.

Jacob, 07/10

Somewhat delayed, but here's an early shot of Jacob, Pete & Kathryn's new arrival.

Pete was spotted going out in the eight last night "for a rest".

Sculling Camp Report, 30/09

From Rob:

Well, what fantastic weather - all the better for a bit of swimming...

Thank you to everyone who came over to the camp at various times over the weekend; it was great to see a lot of old, new and non members (and some very new with little Jacob "Bob " "Thor" Pengelly) basking in the unseasonably warm September sun.

Both days kicked off with some very dense mist; fog horns were thought to be heard, but it just turned out to be Alan C's loquaciousness carrying over the water. And on both days the mist suddenly lifted in the space of 10 minutes to reveal a very bright and sunny rest of the morning and afternoon, although this did lead to a rather chilly night for those in the tents. There were even reports of one camper heading indoors in the wee hours, despite encouragement to persevere from their tent mate. Disgusting.

Mister Keyser made an appearance along with Nick who somehow managed to stay away from the boats...you won't get it so easy next time! Ronnie, who it must be said is the foundation of all sculling camps past, present and future (thank you very much for the helpful advice!) came to say hello - I hope you haven't been contacted about any noise on the Saturday evening!

One of the new additions to the club, Anthony, came and brought along Andrea (who will be sculling next time I'm sure!) and their son Oliver who is looking good for joining Tideway Scullers soon and hopefully not dishing out too much pain to Cygnets in the future!

Sunday brunch was brightened up with a visit from Mike, Theresa (who squeezed in a pretty impressive outing to the lock) and their Dan, along with Peter, Melissa and little Adam. Great to see a future Cygnet pair getting to grips with the bungalow! It was also great to have a quick visit from Rubina who I think was very pleased to see the bungalow in such good use.

The most important part of the weekend - the food - was expertly brought over by the newest Cygnet/BBLRC parent team of Kathryn and Pete and lovingly prepared by many, although a big thank you should go out to the two Sarahs (Rollinson and Wyatt) for the excellent salads and potatoes to complement some Michelin quality steak cooking from a certain Mr Wyatt. It should also be noted that this was done while watching the cultural delights that are Saturday night TV so how it all ended up tasting so good remains a mystery. The brunch was also a gastronomic success thanks to The Grobler producing the bbq sausage/bacon combo from heaven and Josh "it aint the size of your tent" Fagan dominating the eggs.

The second most important part of the weekend - the booze - was a hybrid of bar staples (including an appearance from the Killerpitsch [sp?] substitute Uttertje [sp???]) with a bit of extra go-go juice flown in care of a trip in The Grobler's fancy-dan new car to The Biggest Budgens In The World. The evening was very well lubricated and, apart from a few disgusting outbursts of shocking language, was a most sedate evening of polite conversation. Disappointingly for any spectators the Sunday morning sculling didn't seem to have been affected by the evening's frivolities.

As for the sculling; it started off well, got a bit wet and then blossomed into a masterclass of poise, technique and power. If any GB coaches were there to witness the improvement we'd have a squad of BBLRC/Cygnet representing at 2012 I'm sure - especially when the BBLRC/Cygnet quad stroked by Ciara stormed past another quad from a different club! Total crew sculling outings: about 15. Thanks must go to the Sculling Coaching Team of Justice of Marj, Alan and Neil. I think everyone would agree that their time standing in the river and very calmly teaching was invaluable.

Also a very big thank you again to Marj, Matt and Neil for their superb organisation with boats/trailering/keeping the schedule on the straight and narrow. If it weren't for them I don't think any of the boats would have made it back to the club!

And now to the Autumn 2008 Sculling Camp Awards:

The Rebecca Addlington Award, each to receive a Rainbow 25m swimming badge:

Was that everyone??

The OED/William Shakespeare Award for services to the English Language:

Katherine Coyle

The Fuzzy Duck Award:

Ciara Mullan

The Captain Scott Award for Perseverance in the Face of Adversity and General Coldness:

Rebecca "Toasty Warm" Rangecroft

The Rob Henderson Award for Superior Sculling:

The Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan Buddy Award:

Matt B and Jennifer for sticking together around the W - most impressive work guys especially Jennifer who I think is still only in single figures when it comes to sculling outings - there's no way you'd catch me going around there on my own: a) I'm too rubbish and b) too lazy.

Hero of the weekend Award:

There are many contenders (Josh surviving the night in his Early Learning Centre class tent, Pete G managing to right his scull and get back in after a quick dip, Peter L managing to rescue victory from the jaws of defeat on various occasions in the scull, Elle and Sue for getting two very handy gents in the form of Al and Nic down, Matt B managing to persuade everyone that he wasn't interested in Strictly Come Dancing even though he blatantly has a shrine dedicated to Brucey and Tess at home), but the stand out winner has to go to Raph for not just being one of a small band of novice scullers to not fall in over the weekend, but to have actually survived his first outing with one gate the wrong way round! By the end of the weekend he was skipping the boats back to the trailer in double-quick time!

There also needs to be a thank you to Sarah B of previous BBLRC and now MAA fame for providing us with trailerage and Weybridge Ladies for donating us their club space to store the trailer.

Well, I think that's it from me; thanks for a fantastic weekend - everyone pitching in with the rigging, cooking, cleaning was fantastic; an absolute team effort which made for a relaxing, fun and successful time - any pictures to the website please!

Also, I sincerely hope I haven't missed anyone off here - if I have please feel free to scream and shout at me and I apologise - I can't quite concentrate 100% due to the annoying reality of being at work!!

Roll on next April,

Rob.

Bob, 25/09

Big congratulations to Kathryn and Pete:

"Bob" finally and reluctantly made an appearance at 10.45 this morning, all 8lbs 12ozs of him. Hands like softball gloves apparently.

Sculling Camp, 25/09

Final Sculling Camp instructions from Rob. See you at the w/e:

Afternoon all,

So the sculling camp has really shifted up a gear, excitement is building and this is quite possibly the biggest thing to happen all year. Except a very dirty rumour I heard just now that Busted might (just might!) be thinking of getting back together - could you imagine?!!

Anyway, you'll all be pleased to know that we've got something and someone to tow the trailer from MAA who have been very kind in helping us out since our ute was "lifted" (that is the street-lingo to steal, I believe) a few weeks back.

The plan is to get everyone who can make it down for 10:30am on the Saturday morning for the safety briefing before letting you all loose on the river. We're aiming to have a veritable armada of singles and a quad there, but no doubles due to training for the pairs head on the Tideway.

This will be followed by lunch and more sculling/newspaper reading/discussion of the state of the world until the early evening. We'll then (weather permitting) get a bbq going outside and proceed to get slowly drunk and generally have a good time.

Everyone is more than welcome to stay overnight, although there is a very limited number of beds, so if you do have a tent that would be great.

The Sunday will be more sculling, some brunch and then a general tidy up.

The money:

This does totally depend on numbers - the more we have the cheaper it will be - but the general idea is this. If we don't get enough numbers it might be a little more though:

What a bargain!

This doesn't include booze (but there will be booze available at a very reasonable price there).

Any profit we make goes to the bungalow, the club and me*

What I need from you:

If you're coming over, please email me to let me know as well as when you're planning on coming. This is to get an idea of numbers for food/cost. Friends, WAGs and the male equivalent (HABs?) are more than welcome too.

A few of you have mailed me before, but if you could just confirm again that'd be great as I know plans can change!

Also, if any of you are hippy vegetarians or have any other food requests please let me know! Any offers to help out with the food will be much appreciated as my hippy vegetarian girlfriend will vouch that I'm pretty rubbish.

I think that's it; there is a map to the bungalow and safety details attached to this message. If you have any questions/need to know more info/want to mail me so it looks like I've got some friends then please feel free!

Rob

*profits will not go to me.

End Of Seasoners, 24/09

A couple of (perhaps the only) snaps from the EoS dinner last Saturday. All very civilised.

Pretty-Boy looks to be having the time of his life.

Those Magnificent Men, 23/09

A nice shot taken by Julian Kinal (ex-sculling member) as he came into Heathrow. Perhaps we should start waving, just to be on the safe side?

Captain's Log, 16/09

END OF SEASON DINNER

Geordie needs a few more bods to have enough for it to happen. I think there are 16 already confirmed but he needs at least 20. Please contact him asap on mobile if you can attend, so that it can go ahead. It'll be a great opportunity to mix and mingle with other guys from the club and enjoy a lovely meal and no doubt more than a few drinks!

BUNGALOW WORKING COMMITTEE

Derek Bush, who is the Chairman of the Bungalow Maintenance Committee and Ronnie Lamb have discussed the working bee scheduled for w/commencing 22 September. Derek and Ronnie plan to have the materials there on Monday/Tuesday 22-23 September the only days that Derek can be there. The materials are for the kitchen lobby. The drawing will also be there so any work can continue whilst he is not there and will be up to other volunteers. If the lobby is not completed some of us will be there the following week. The shed roof is leaking badly and will need repair possibly re-felting. Materials will also be needed for this which they also plan to have delivered. Please let Ronnie know ASAP if and when you can be there to help.

COMPULSORY STEERING TEST

25 September - Neil has done a ton of work on safety/steering/Tideway Code and has put together a discussion document "test" to help us all learn the Tideway Code. You ALL need to sit the "test" (in other words attend one of the discussion evenings). The ARA/PLA need to come and give us a briefing and distribute the new pocket guide so we are teeing that up for the first of the sessions, on 25 September. That's a Thursday evening - we will have a shortened circuits to be followed by the session.

If you can't make or don't want to make circuit before hand that's ok but PLEASE make every effort to attend the steering discussion. Please RSVP to Neil so we can get an idea of who is attending and cater appropriately, at this stage he's only had RSVPs from 2 people so there are plenty of you who won't be rowing or sculling if you don't pick and attend one of the dates. If you absolutely can't make that date please confirm to Neil whether you can make the alternative date 18 Oct.

PAIRS AND FOURS HEAD

Pairs head - 11 October - we have three boats allocated - Shea/Rawkins in a vet double, Pete/Bates and Andy/Barry in pairs. That leaves one spare boat - I haven't seen any other combinations out or had any requests for use but if you want to throw together a late combination get on with it, it's 3 weeks away - let me know if you are getting out on the water and let me know this week if you want to be entered.

Fours head - 8 November - entries open today and fill up fast so we need to enter soon. Can you each confirm to me if you are interested in being in a crew (for the regular fours head not the vets head - we'll deal with that seperately). If you are going to tell me you are interested in being in a crew that means you need to be available for outings in advance - in other words you need to be available for most of the weekends between now and then, not compulsory all weekends but most and you need to be doing most of the training on the program. Don't bother telling me you're interested if you dont meet that criteria, and don't bother telling me your life stories and what you are spending your time doing. If, after allocating boats to the serious crews that meet that criteria we have a spare boat or boats I will let those of you who dont meet the "serious" criteria know and you may be able to put together a scratch crew.

Vets - vet fours head on Sun 9th Nov - if you're interested in entering a crew in that please let me know if you have a crew organised for yourself or whether you are interested in being allocated to one.

Finally, I am still having trouble with the email distribution lists - my stupid system doesn't have facility for setting up a group email address so if there is someone you can see has been missed off the list please forward it on to them with my apologies, I have a computer wizz coming to help me sort things out so hopefully it won't continue after this week.

EoS Waddle Details, 12/09

Here is the timetable for the EoS Pre-Dinner Waddle to be held on Saturday 20th September 2008. Nice n'short n'easy.

"YE IDLE BROWN TREE" WADDLE TIMETABLE:

5:15pm to 5:55pm - The Idle Hour 62, Railway Side, London, SW13 0PQ

6pm to 6:40pm - The Brown Dog 28, Cross St, Barnes, London, London, SW13 0AP

6:45 to 7:25pm - The TreeHouse 73 White Hart Lane, Barnes, London, SW13 0PW

7:30pm - Ye White Hart The Terrace, Barnes, London, SW13 0NR

Be there or be square.

Calendars, 12/09

Please note that the Coming Up list on our homepage has been amended to Calendars: Cygnet Exec with links to the new Cygnet & Boathouse calendars. Enjoy.

Boatshop Floor, 09/09

A note from the Boathouse Captain:

The ceiling in the clubroom and possibly the kitchen at the boathouse is being taken down this coming Friday, the 12th. This work is necessary to establish the extent of any water damage to the boathouse floor and hopefully to effect any necessary repairs at the same time. The work is being done on a Friday to minimise any disruption but, depending on what is discovered, repair work might continue beyond Friday. Please let your respective members know that this work is taking place and forward our apologies for any disruption.

Captain's Report, 08/09

Week one of the new training schedule came and went - don't forget first 5km erg text is only weeks away, conveniently timed for a few days before the Rowers Revenge tri to make the 4k erg in that seem short and simple. Wyatt is entering the names for the tri by Tues (I think) so get your names to him if you haven't already committed.

If you're an active member and want access to the senior squad's training spreadsheet please email Kirsty so she can give you access. You'll find the training schedule and senior squad outings listed there. Novices have there own spreadsheet which will continue for a wee while until the senior one is up and running and then we'll look at combining them.

Coming up important for all novice, senior and vet members who go out on the tideway, you will be expected to attend one of two sessions to cover off the steering navigation "test". All active members are expected to attend one of these two sessions, 25 September (Thurs night 8pm) or Sat 18th Oct post outing approx 11am. We'll probably put on some grub after/during both sessions to ease the pain of this academic experience. Please email Neil Pickford and confirm which you will be attending or if you absolutely can't attend either. If there is a significant number who can't attend either we will look at adding another date in November. The "test" is not a pass/fail test but you will be expected to have attended a session if you intend being a steersperson, or rowing in pairs/or sculls. Even those of you who may have rowed on the tideway for years this is a chance to ensure you are up to date with rules and to help in the discussion for those less experienced members.

Safety pointers - low low tides/neap tides so please be careful with the navigation at these times - even though its not our usual course, we suggest you go down towards Putney at low tides as we have several boats damaged sustained from outings at low tides. Particular care needs to be taken near Kew Rail where there is some debri under the water which has damaged one of the girls 8s and at the crossing over point just before chiswick bridge where the scholls go out a fair way and have caused several deep scratches on one of our coxless fours.

Also don't forget lights on evening outings, nights are closing in fast and it's dark by just after 8pm so lights are required!

If you want a new all in one in time for the pairs head you need to order this week. Link is on the website. Entries are now open and we will need to finalise pairs/doubles crews this week so please confirm to me if you want to enter a crew so we can work out boat allocations etc.

Events up and coming:

That's all folks.

Socks, 04/09

Apparently socks have now been added to our DiBi kit page. Nice!

Kit-tastic, 02/09

The website's kit page has had an overhaul and now points to our new kit supplier - DiBi. It's not long to Xmas [yes it is - Ed] so why not put some items on your list?

The Cygnet 300 Club, 02/09

A gentle reminder to all active oarsmen of the existence of the Cygnet 300 Club. It's the club's main vehicle for boat fundraising and it's considered good form for active rowers to hold a handful of tickets to contribute to the effort.

More details can be found on the website's 300 Club page, or you can speak to anyone who has been around the club for a while and they'll point you in the right direction.

The 300 Club is administered by Alan Cox - mainly because he owns a large bag of ping-pong balls.

Captain's Report Supplemental, 27/08

The kit guy is coming down to the club on Thurs night at 8pm - if you want to come and check out the kit before ordering please do so. Pete will ask him to leave some samples of an all in one, gillet and splash top, so hopefully you can see the stuff on the weekend if you cant make Thurs but thereafter you'll basically be able to order the stuff on line.

As we are nearly into Sept I'll need to do a new availability spreadsheet shortly.

You should be keeping your fitness levels ticking over with a variety of aerobic workouts, ergs running cycling etc keep it interesting. If you're aiming to be bigger/stronger you need be starting on a more serious weights training program - not the circuit type low weights high reps all over stuff but the high weights low reps work outs focusing on one or two muscle groups per session so you'll need to be doing several sessions a week and should be very sore the next day - if you're not sore you haven't worked hard enough. If you dont belong to another gym and want help with what sort of exercises and how hard you should be working ask Pete to do a session with you. Between now and christmas is the time to really focus on weight/strength gain if thats appropriate for you.

As far as I know so far we have Bates and Petey trying out a pair and murmers from some of you about possible combinations so let me know if you want me to allocate you a pair into the outing plans otherwise if you're going to use a pair outside of normal outing times let me or pete know so we can keep track of boat allocations and have an idea of what you're up to.

Captain's Report, 26/08

Can you believe its nearly the end of August??? Well rowing is obviously pretty quiet at the moment and the bank holiday weekend was no exception but the novices did manage to get two coached outings in over the weekend - good going guys, its great to take advantage of the coaching resource we have. They and a small handful of small boats managed to get out and stay upright despite all the gin palaces trying their hardest to churn up the water.

The other rather exciting or should I say notable event of the weekend was the ute got stolen friday night. Its ok dont panic, it has been found and is now in police custody. Not sure when/if we get it back and in what condition its in.

A polite reminder, you need to be a cygnet member and an ara member to take out one of our club boats. If you're taking out a single or steering a boat you need to be an approved steersperson. If in doubt please check with one of the captaincy whether its ok to take out a boat. Also the nights are drawing in (sunset just after 8pm this week) and especially so with the gloomy weather. Please take this into account when deciding whether to squeeze in an outing and if you do go out it might be worth considering lights on the boats and certainly light coloured clothing. Ideally outings need to start before 7.00pm if possible.

For your diaries:

Thats all folks.

Captain's Report, 16/08

Well whats been happening of late?

Some of the cygnet senior squad attended the Henley T & V regatta on Aug 2nd for the first time in at least a few years and the guys report that they enjoyed the regatta with competitive racing over a 1000m course and a very pleasant day. We entered an s2 8+, several fours and a single and all crews performed respectably. Many thanks for Pat Sly for his cheers and support to the crews. The highlight of the regatta though was the tug-of-war, officiated by Peter and Pat Sly which our boys won - even earning themselves a pot (labelled for 2007 but who's quibbling when its a pot!). The guys are busy planning for a return to defend their title next year and discussing how best to train and compete in the illustrious event.

The following weekend we had our very own Nick Wyatt competing in the London Tri and he finished 58th in his class of 196 with a time of 2:15:15 - well done Nick.

The seniors are now taking a bit of a break for Aug after what has been a big season. The novices are still about though and are able to enjoy the benefit of some coaching. A very odd phenomenon does seem to be occurring though, unusual vet outings - maybe its a fair weather thing or perhaps they're hoping to storm the pairs head this year but there have been a number of vets spotted out in doubles and pairs - nice to see you out and about gents.

What's coming up then tons and tons of social events after a hard season's racing:

Well till next time.

Pete.

Henley Town Not Gown, 07/08

From our Communications correspondent (Specialist):

It was a good fun regatta, with some of the trappings of the Henley Royal (lovely course, beautiful umpire launches, over-expensive parking etc), but without all the ridiculously big strong rowers. Heavy rain all morning followed by glorious sunshine all afternoon. Quite a lot of competitive racing, even if we did come away without any pewter.

So an encouraging if potless regatta for Cygnet. Except... Lunchtime saw the well-acknowledge blue-ribband event: the tug-of-war, open to all those crews who had been bullied by the slightly mad tug-of-war organising woman. Four men's teams entered. Cygnet team selection was nerve-wracking (based entirely on footwear x weight). Andy and his trendy flip-flops were rejected, Petey and his gnarled Kiwi bare feet made it through, and we had to summon Rob back from his pub lunch. Barry, Stu, Rob, Psycho, BDF and Petey (anchor), with Bart as Shouter. Semi final was genuinely exhausting - went on for far too long, before we found a rhythm and won through, with blisters and elongated arms. Final was never in doubt. Pots were presented by Chas Newman (a cynic might have suggested that they were last years regatta pots with "Tug of war 2008" hastily etched on).

Not only that, but the girls competition was a straight final, into which Kirsty has been corralled. Which she won. Another Cygnet pot.

And finally, the official tug-of-war umpire, showing no favouritism whatsoever, was none other than P Sly, who was presented with a memento. Another Cygnet pot.

New Captain's Report, 30/07

Captaincy Elections:

Captaincy elections have come and been and now the mantle for reporting on news falls to me. As some of you will know captaincy elections were held last week and the new captaincy of myself, Rob Henderson and Matt Byrne were duly elected. Thanks to the out going team of Richard and Marj who have done a fantastic job over the last year/s and who I am sure will continue to be actively involved around the club, their contributions being very much appreciated and necessary for the smooth and successful running of the club.

In terms of who's going to do what going forward Matt B is to going coordinate entries, money issues etc Rob is going to assist me (or should I say Kathryn) with anything she might need help with as well as organise sculling camp and if possible experienced rower recruitment, Richard is going to continue with the great job he has been doing with the novice squad and Kathryn will continue to coordinate squad outings, crew selections and coaching resources (budget approval pending), and Marj will continue as liason with Benrath so dont forget to ask her for details of the rhine marathon and centenery celebrations planned for Oct if you haven't already signed up.

A plan for the coming months training and goals will be sorted shortly and circulated to the active squad but basically August is going to be pretty low key with lots of folk holidaying and no serious regattas to train for so take the time to relax and enjoy the summer, you've earned it, but start thinking that this is the time to get into a weights programme and keep your base fitness up with lots of UT2 work - long slow ergs and runs. The heads season will roll around pretty quickly and we want to maintain the good results we have achieved this year with solid performances in the heads.

New Arrival:

Last week, in the wee smalls of Sunday 20th July, Damien Cooke became a proud Dad. Tanith and baby James are reportedly both well. Congrats and best wishes from all of us here Damo.

Recent Racing:

Weekend just been, 26 & 27 July we had a successful and enjoyable trip up to St Neots. Lovely day, lovely spot - ridiculous bend in the course, some bad sportsmanship from the double that Neil and St raced but otherwise several pots won on Saturday, the s2 coxed four won a straight final, 2 mixed fours won in style and a men's quad surprising us with a rough & ready looking win in the first round and a slightly tidier win in the final to collect a pot and sculling point. Chris Jillings was also game for the vicious st neots bend and gave cygnet a showing in the vet c single.

More vets in action on Sunday with Shea and Rawkins in vet double at Burway regatta - sorry not sure on results but well done for getting amongst it. You must be getting serious as think we saw you out training last night as well - isn't training for vets cheating?

Coming Up:

Happy Hunting Ground, 28/07

Another good weekend at St. Neots. See Marj's report below:

On Saturday we had the following wins:

S4 quads - Cygnet beat St Neots in semi final and York City in final for qualifying win - Bart de Groot (stroke), Peter Humphries, Richard Keyser and Neil Pickford (bow)

S2 coxed fours - Cygnet beat St Neots in straight final: David French (stroke), Andy Naylor, Nick Bates, Stuart Gibbons (bow), coxed by Marjorie Israel

Mixed S2 coxed fours - Cygnet/BBLRC beat Maidstone Invicta in straight final: Zoe Guiniven, Annabelle Hall, Peter Humphries, Nick Bates, coxed by Bea van Hoorn Alkema

Mixed S3 coxed fours - Cygnet/BBLRC beat Sudbury in straight final: David French (stroke), Andy Naylor, Poppy Ahern, Charlotte Hine-Haycock (bow) coxed by Marjorie Israel

The S3 four made up of Rob, Ricky, Matt B and Chris Dunhill convincingly beat a Lincoln composite in the semi final but lost their final against Newark. The novices made their first appearance in a regatta and did not disappoint us although they did not get through to the next round: Andrei, Tim, Josh and Raf, coxed by Marj rowed the course without any major disasters. Our previous captain made his first appearance as a cox, coxing the S4 eight on Saturday, skilfully rounding the notorious bend without mishap.

Compared to the successful Saturday where it all went very well, Sunday brought us down to earth with a big thump, the S3 four losing to a Peterborough four in their heat, the S4 quad (a different one from Saturday, for alert readers!) of Neil, Andy, David and Stuart losing to a very tidy looking (different) York City crew. In the S2 final we valiantly defended our title from 2006 against a Maidstone Invicta eight but they won by half a length. Well done to Ricky, Matt B, Chris and Rob for keeping up with our rate monkey Neil who stroked the eight in a belting 39 strokes a minute.

All Change Please, 23/07

A new-look captaincy was elected at last night's AGM [or was it an OGM? - Ed]. For the record:

Peter Humphries is now captain, deputy captain is Rob Henderson and vice captain is Matt Byrne. The meeting thanked the previous captain, Richard Keyser and his team of little helpers for a job very well done.

Big Cooke Little Cooke, 21/07

Big congratulations to Damo and Tan, who's little boy James was born on Sunday 20th at 00:50. All are reported well (but a bit tired).

A Gentle Prod, 21/07

A reminder that the Cygnet AGM is tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd) at 8:15pm in the boathouse bar. Be there or be square.

Henley Videos, 14/07

Click here for a selection.

Captain's Table, 10/07

HRR: Tough luck guys...you drew the short straw being up against Tideway Scullers and all, but by taking second place (my glass is half full) at 2.5 lengths behind and still rating 34 over the finish you did great guns! Well done. Maybe two Cygnet boats next year eh? Now that Henley is done & dusted we can retreat back to relative normality, for a little while anyway. The intention now is to take a well earned rest and some time to reacquaint yourselves with your families. Feel free to sit back and enjoy the sport whilst having some relaxed fun at St Neots & Peterborough Summer, there is talk too of possible entries at Henley Town. Peter & Kathryn will be drumming up interest over the next few weeks as we draw closer to these event dates so let them know your availability to race ASAP.

Novices & Beginners: The club's novices continue to do well and the prospect of an entry at St Neots for a first race for some is highly probable for at least four and if not maybe more. Bring it on boys. Guys, may I ask of you as members to keep your eyes and ears open for seeking out new potential beginners & novices (especially if they're tall!) If you get a sniff that someone in your circles may be interested please feel free to hand out my phone number & email address.

Training & Outings: Kathryn is away on Holiday now until next Monday and has sent out training & outing plans for seniors for this week, if you haven't received them let me know and I will forward them on. Be advised that there are no plans for next Monday and encouragement is given for you to arrange for yourselves in singles, doubles, or maybe a quad or four. If anyone is intending to put together a crew for next Monday please let me know so that I can allocate boats fairly between Nov's, Vet's & Seniors to avoid any wasted travel and disappointment.

This Weekend:

This weekend we have racing to be done at Kingston Regatta:

Best of luck guys. Spectators & bank-side support is ever more appreciated, & maybe some attempts to exceed the decibels recently exercised by our very own Mr Wylie!

For Your Diary:

Navigation Test:

I'd like to suggest, weather permitting that we plan a social event on the afternoon of Sunday 20th July after to cover the test and get together for a beer (or two) and a BBQ??? Watch out here for more details.

Cygnet AGM & Captaincy Elections:

There seems to have been a little confusion, the meeting date and time is in fact Tuesday 22nd July at 8:15PM and not as previously suggested as being on Sunday 20th. The location is the boathouse bar. Please make a note of it in your diaries and please come along to vote in your new captain & his team.

Next stop I guess...the Head season commences!

Rich.

The Cygnet Guide to HRR has been updated, colourised and can be found here (MS Word format).

More HRR, 03/07

The Cygnet Guide to HRR has been updated, colourised and can be found here (MS Word format).

Captain's Table, 30/06

Henley: By some way shape or form I'm sure you've probably heard the great news of the week, that being that Cygnet qualified and will be racing in the Tames Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta this week. The draw is out and can be found at www.hrr.co.uk. Cygnet are drawn against Tideway Scullers and racing at 3.30 PM on Wednesday. Please come join us to cheer the crew on...

Whilst this is a great opportunity for the guys (and cox) rowing in the boat we also recognise this as a huge achievement for the club as a whole and must not forget the spent efforts, sweat and blood lost of the other guys in the squads. I myself have been encouraged by the continuous support and involvement of the coaches and the commitment from the active guys over the past six months and am full in the knowledge that without their focus, drive and ambition this probably wouldn't have happened this year. Racing or not everyone deserves to wallow in a share of the success and I'm not sorry to admit that I am proud and grateful (whole heartedly and selfishly of course) that this is happening in my year as your club captain!

The crew for the Thames Challenge Cup are:

We wish them the best of luck and I for one shall be raising a glass or two of Pimms in their direction as they speed towards the finish (no matter what position so long as it's to be first!) Photograph (attached) is courtesy of Philip Beckett.

Thank you to the committee (and club) for giving us the funding we needed for our coaching. Upwards and onwards eh?!

Novices: I'm not sure if it's the good old British climate or fair words about Cygnet that are travelling along the length of the tideway however, regardless, we've managed to accrue a decent number of Novices and beginners of late, in fact enough to fill up an eight, they are doing remarkably well and are looking to enter their first races shortly at St Neots and Peterborough Summer.

Kit Update: The sample is being delivered to me tonight and I bringing it around with me all week so as you get a chance to see the new design.

PLEASE NOTE - the kit has not changed yet so any supporters this week at Henley should look out for the classic white with hoops that you are so currently familiar with!

This week: Henley Royal Regatta starts Wednesday 2nd July - other training includes:

Henley Friday: Boys bring booze & Cheese, enough for your own consumption and that of everyone else too. Girls bring booze and salad. Please go easy on the lettuce!

Taxi's are also an option, average cost is 100GBP for a round trip, I'd say avoid driving and expect roads to be pretty congested and road journey times to be fairly endless! On that note train times from Paddington are below:

...and so forth...

Coming home:

Forthcoming Events:

Agh, this feels great!

Rich.

Good Luck, 26/06

Best of luck to all involved in the Cygnet eight going to the Henley Qualifiers on Friday afternoon. The guys G...G...GO at 6:30pm and we'll be keeping our collective fingers crossed.

Live With Esme, 23/06

Do YOU want to live with an ex-BBLRC Captain? We do...

One double bedroom flat - Earlsfield/Southfields SW18:
A newly decorated 2nd floor, double bedroom furnished flat in quiet residential complex opposite park. New kitchen w/new white goods, gas hob, extractor and Smeg on the oven, spacious lounge/diner, neutral decor and large bedroom with new en-suite bathroom, double glazing, communal gardens, 10 mins Southfields tube/10 mins overland - 14 mins to Waterloo. Available end July (flexible). £875 per calendar month. Please contact Esme[dot]Wingrove[at]fsa[dot]gov[dot]uk.

Captain's Table, 23/06

[The reports for the last couple of weeks - Ed]

Last Week: This weekend saw the active squad in training back at the club after a few weekends of regattas and trips. A bit thin on the ground with plenty of guys away getting the jump on holidays before the school kids perhaps. Saturday saw an 8 and coxed four from the senior squad out early followed by a novice four. Sunday saw only a coxed and a coxless four out from the seniors and unfortunately a novice outing had to be scrapped as it was one man short.

A great outing for the novices the best to date, coxed by Marj and without a raised voice! Keep it coming guys, it's a tough call the learning malarkey, it'll be worth it in the end. Make space in your diaries for your first races this year in St Neots & at Peterborough Summer (dates below).

The novice squad is growing and improving and I am very pleased to welcome Matt Chapman, Ernest as and finally Andrei as official members after they were approved at the committee meeting held yesterday. New comers to the club this week include Dustin and for a fleeting moment James so lets hope they both come back next week.

My thanks go to the committee members and others for attending in force at the meeting on Sunday, and for their proactive involvement in Club Management to date.

This coming weekend we have our last regatta at Dorney for the season for the seniors, 2k racing on Sat and 1k racing on Sunday afternoon. The girls are off to Henley this weekend too so its all action away from the club. Good luck to everyone!

Kit Update: Final draft kit design attached (Please omit "CYGNET" which is on the back) [Removed - Ed], a sample all-in-one will be with us some point next week.

Bungalow Maintenance: the planned week (23rd June) was cancelled due to a low voluntary commitment, not your fault(s) I know as you're all pretty buggered from the hard training and with real-life jobs to do as well. The new date is confirmed as the week commencing Monday 15th September which is the week before autumn sculling camp weekend. You new captain will be thrilled if you could help out so please feel free to consider yourselves obliged to come over!

This week: Look out for boat loading instructions

Also it's a big week for the ladies at Henley, good luck Girls, us Cygnets will be cheering you on from a distance.

Forthcoming Events:

Safety: If you're a steersman (person), Sculler or Coxswain in charge of any boat, club or private which bears a CYG registration you are obliged to do the steering test ASAP, I can email it to you or alternatively I am planning a social event on 20th July after the Cygnet AGM where we can do it together. It's your call, your new captain may just say no test no boating! We are only a small club and don't have much room for error when it comes for accruing points, regardless if acquired through naive mishaps or blatant stupidity.

The tideway is a dangerous place to be, especially if you're in the wrong place on it at the wrong time!

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Rich.

Blog Break, 06/06

The blog's on holiday until 23rd June. Happy rowing.

Captain's Table, 03/06

Regatta & racing results, The Met:

The quality of our racing over 2k distances has improved greatly since Wallingford, this time you knew what to expect and what was needed. At The Metropolitan Regatta this weekend the club's first heat on Saturday was indicative of this when a relaxed crew took fourth place and made it through to the repecharge.

Well done to everyone who took part, a 2k race is by no means a walk in the park, and the results are a promising improvement all round - so keep it coming.

Also, thank you to Kirsty & Kathryn.

S2 8+ Heat       1.30.09 3.03.59 4.40.28 6.16.47 
S2 8+ Repecharge 1.35.20 3.09.66 4.47.15 6.25.31 
S3 4+ Heat       1.42.44 3.30.03 5.19.78 7.12.82 
S2 2- Heat       1.47.40 3.42.67 5.43.15 7.40.71 

Sunday Results

S2 8+ 1.34.16 3.14.52 4.53.80 6.29.57 
S3 8+ 1.35.22 3.13.85 4.53.26 6.33.17

Back at home:

Only one outing for the novices this weekend, not the best but still improving two steps forward and one step back! Lesson to be learnt is that everyone needs to move together and do the same thing at the same time! Hand heights are crucial too! Hey ho, frustrations aside, we had some fun and can look forward to our next outing this Thursday.

Kit update:

This is a likely design that we're reviewing and a sample has been requested. If we do change our strip, the new design will be in addition to our Classic hoops. Kit review / new designs & reasons are to be added to the agenda of our next meeting which I believe planned for 15th June? Views either way will be appreciated if not always taken on board!

This week:

This weekend is Peterborough spring, instructions to follow shortly.

Forthcoming Events:

Have a good week:

Rich.

The Met, 30/05

The draw for The Met is now up and we've pairs, fours and eights racing over the weekend.

Good luck to all crews.

Captain's Table, 28/05

Very late this week and not much to say either!

The weekend was unusually quiet at the club despite it being the last training weekend before the Met. Kirsty was down to coach two fours on Sunday whilst most of you seemed to be grabbing the chance for a break with the bank holiday in toe, if that was the case I hope you had a great break, if it wasn't, where the hell were you??

Last weekend the novices took over as main in attendance so far as outings were concerned and boated eights on both Saturday and Sunday, unfortunately the wind on Saturday saw to it that any novice outing was going to be challenged and our without exception our paddle sure had it's moments! Sunday's relatively flat water worked to our advantage and the boat ran quite smoothly beneath us. This week, welcome on board to Ernest, our latest recruit. A big thanks to Si, Damien, & Jen for jumping in, & also to Alan for coaching, same time next week eh?!

This week:

Coming Up:

Safety:

If you're about sculling this weekend please remember the Hospitals Bump races, Friday, Saturday & Sunday between MAA & Syon.

Have a great week, well what's left of it anyway!

Rich.

Captain's Table, 21/05

Many congratulations are due to Mike and Theresa who got married last Saturday. I hear that a great time was had by all and especially some little ones! Particularly impressive was the Wedding Bus organised to take guests to the reception and where Iain G & Ruth's Sarah was the main entertainment with her many renditions of "Do Re Mi" on the top deck. It was also great to hear that many Cygnets and Barnes Bridge Ladies had arrived from all corners of the globe, especially Simon and Eleonora driving in from Greece, and Ruth Wilson and Dave Grimshaw flying in from Singapore. Congrats Mike & Theresa.

A cold grey drizzly day for Racing at Putney Town Regatta on Saturday. The s3 4+ and s3 8+ didn't progress past their heats. There were the usual complaints regarding the rather arbitrary lining up for the start line and impact of the stream. The s2 coxless fours both reported good races with one narrowly losing their race and the other winning (somewhat to our surprise after their build up in training had not been the best). That four then withdrew from the final in part due to illness, Wilson had valiantly raced on through the 8 and 4 despite vomitting pre race. Neil Jackson and partner also raced their vet double and won the first round. They then showed up for the second round only to sit, very cold and miserable, on the start line waiting half an hour for their opponents to show up. They were rowed through but Neil reports that he was pleased with their race spririt and we look forward to seeing more of the vet double in future.

Saturday, unfortunately two late withdrawals meant the novice four did not get an outing so the three lads that did show up had to do ergs instead. Please remember the importance of showing up - it's a team sport, it doesn't work without the whole team, not like footie or rugby where you just plow on one man short - doesn't work that way with rowing. Some people have to travel quite some distance to get to the club and it's very unfair - and frankly disresepctful and rude not to make every effort to be there. There's very little we can do on the day to round up a sub so late notice is just not good enough.

Sunday outings for the 8 and coxed four, both seemed to enjoy good productive outing. The 8 experimented with a new start which added nearly 10 points to their rating off the start and generally had them looking much more lively and aggressive and competitive. Let's hope to see them firing off the start at the Met in 2 weeks.

Sunday after outings Marj started an attack on the very overgrown and stinging nettle infested bank formerly called a garden. Please remember that clubs do not run themselves, the majority of you do nothing extra to help support the running of the club you turn up to training do your training and go home. There is plenty to do around the club, open up those eyes, use some initiative and contribute every now and again - clean the bathroom/changing room, put dishes away or load the dishwasher, restock the drinks fridge, take a load of bottles to the recycling, help with the gardening, refill the petrol for the coach boat, take out the rubbish.

There is a meeting for the Boathouse Exec on 4th June, please note the comment that clubs don't run themselves...we need volunteers for various roles within the exec and I would be grateful of anyone who is keen to stand for a position. Marj has placed a nominations sheet on the door into the bar, so go ahead and add your name.

This week:

Coming Up:

Safety:

A note to warn all that the United Hospitals will be holding their series of bumping races next week between Friday 30th May & Sunday 1st June.

They have 2 distances, the long finish is the MAA flagpole, so there will be some marshals situated there. Also be aware that there will be more crews on river around race times, right up to Syon. (the numbers on the wall around Kew are the individual start numbers for crews - so if you do go up river at their start time expect that there will be crews parked along the bank).

Friday 30th May:    Women's Division 12.30  Men's Division 16.30
Saturday 31st May:  Women's Division 13.30  Men's Division 17.30
Sunday 1st June:    Women's Division 14.30  Men's Division 18.30

The races are held between the pink lodge and UL/MAA on the ebb tide.

Rich.

Exec AGM, 16/05

The Boathouse Exec has set a date for their AGM. It's on Wednesday 4th June at 8pm in the boathouse bar. All welcome. Here's the agenda.

Captain's Table, 08/05

This weekend saw the first of the 2008 main events, Wallingford Regatta at Dorney Lake and for the first time in a while Cygnet was amongst the tough competition. Before I go further may I just remind everyone that within our three year plan the sole and main purpose of entering these events this year is to experience the level of competition and standard over a 2K distance and get a grip on where were now aiming at in the long term. With that in mind I am more than happy to report that we didn't get through heats but we did make a start in accomplishing what we've set out to do this year. If you rowed in the regatta and have come away having learned about why you're training so hard then you will have achieved on a personal level & I hope it gives you clarity on why you're training so hard and helps with the self motivation you need carry on with the regime - if you don't I'll set Kathryn on you, & those hormones of hers seem to be flying high at the moment.

Having said that it has to be noted that the S3 8+ did exceptionally well and came third I their heat. The times for our entries are below and are recorded at 500m, 1000, 1500m and the finish:

Crew                   500m    1000m    1500m   Finish
S2 8+              01:35.82 03:18.27 05:04.23 06:50.86 
S3 4+              01:50.86 03:52.30 05:54.74 07:58.70 
S3 8+              01:35.16 03:13.82 04:50.96 06:29.24 
S3 1x (G Edelston) 02:18.01 04:47.85 07:09.74 09:29.98

We've now just under four weeks now to hone the techniques again before the Met on 31st May. Think Henley...

Iain Golder will be passing around some squad members asking to see who may be up for some racing at Henley Vets on the 11th & 12th July, If you haven't already thought about it, then please do and give him an answer ASAP. Time passes by quite quickly and he'd like to put the wheels in motion soon as poss.

Novices, with myself included in numbers we've now managed to recruit enough for an eight! However having that eight in the boat at the same time will not be a pleasant experience for the cox's nerves let alone the new crew! Whilst I fully appreciate your training schedule being full-on-hectic and altogether knackering the club does need your support to bring these guys along. Any pledges to jump on board as an oarsman, cox the boat, & coach, both on the water and off is gratefully desired and very much appreciated.

If your thinking about a short break during the summer please bear I mind that the Club Bungalow on Hamhaugh Island has some late availability for summer lets. The weeks beginning Sunday 11 & 18 May, 22 June, 6 July and 7 Sept are still available for booking. Anyone with interest should contact Ronnie Lambe: ronald[dot]lambe[at]btinternet.com ASAP. You never know, if there is interest and if it helps we may even allow the competent scullers amongst you to borrow a boat or to complete your break.

Most of you will have heard a stir around the club over recent two weeks about the possibility of changing kit suppliers. The main instigator behind the thoughts is because current kit available from Godfrey's requires an art to keep white and looking good, & let's be totally honest and frank, washing clothes is not generally an art that us gents have a good grasp of eh? Modern fabrics makes "colour management" far easier to maintain, and if were upping-the-anti on the level of event, and arising our profile then we have to look good in what we wear as well as how we perform? Please note, this is not a pre-decided decision to move it's just an idea in progress for which your input and thoughts either way is much appreciated. Di-Bi Sport have supplied us with a sample kit in our colours which Matt Denmark is currently putting through its paces. I'd like to canvass your opinions and also give you a chance to speak out when Matt (Di-Bi Sport) comes over to the club on Tuesday 20th May to show you the full range of his wares and have a chat with anyone who has a question or two. If you think we should be talking to other suppliers then please give me some contacts.

This week:

This week's training / outing plan for seniors (as sent out by Kathryn on Monday) is attached [not any more - Ed]. Novices, your final plan will be sent out by Friday, it will cover for this weekend and next as I am away (again!!), but it looks very much like we have outings on Saturday & Sunday both weekends.

Coming Up:

Safety:

You've had my safety point this week by separate email but for those who may not have properly read it yet here's a short reminder:

We can't afford & don't want to injure one of you through a silly accident nor as a small club afford to accrue any points either.

1. Good navigation and conduct must prevail over any pieces or exercises. Do not continue with either if you are in the vicinity of a bridge with other boats however frustrating that may be.
2. Good navigation and conduct must prevail over any coaching instruction. The cox/steersman is the master of the boat and must act according to their own mind, not that of the coach.
3. Do not stop, turn or overtake within 75m of a bridge.
4. Do not take the wrong arch in order to overtake another boat.
5. If you are in doubt around the turn of the tide, keep to starboard (right/bow side).
6. Keep to starboard when proceed with the stream...
7. & keep a good lookout at all times.
8. Report all incidents & near misses in the incident log. As a crew member take a look in the book from time to time and if necessary remind your Cox or steersperson to make the report if its entry has been forgotten. It's also a good habit to keep a dairy for yourself.

If you have any questions on this subject please contact our club WSA (Neil Pickford) or myself.

It’s nearly Friday.

Rich.

Three Year Plan, 08/05

We at the blog have searched our rowing dictionaries and almanacs to come up with the definitive definition:

Three-Year-Plan, n. Brit. /fre-y~%r-p&!***n/.

1. a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance and lasting for the defined period.

2. a scheme hatched by a rowing club where said club's coaches consider the current crop of rowers, estimate how many years they have left in them, add one year to that and keep their collective fingers crossed in the hope that some younger, fitter specimens join before plan's end.

Bungalow Stop Press, 06/05

Please note that some weeks at the Cygnet bungalow are still available over the summer. This is very unusual, most years the bungalow is booked solid all summer long, so why not take advantage?

Click here for all the details.

Ergo Schmergo, 01/05

It's all been going on in The Shed with many ergo PBs and some new members of the sub-six-thirty club over the last few weeks. Big Dopey French (BDF) outlines the milestones below:

Some Bits, 30/04

Some Olympic rowing news.

Also note that plans are afoot for a social on Sunday after all the crews have got back from Wallingford. It'll be a BBQ if the weather is nice.

Lastly please be aware that the pilings work is starting at Kew Pier, so please be careful out there.

A Call For Drivers, 29/04

From Rich:

I'm looking for drivers to tow the trailer to;
A) Dorney for racing next weekend, as I am away, and
B), another person (or the same if you so wish) in the near future to drive to Simms in Nottingham with Marj and the two eights for the day.
Volunteers to me ASAP please.

Captain's Table, 29/04

A weekend of many seasons or just typical April weather; sunshine, rain, lightning, and often all at the same time! A good weekend to report on with various staggered outings of all forms and Hammersmith Regatta, the first of the season and the main focus of the day.

Many thanks to Bart, Rob, Neil, Matt D for making themselves available for the 8:30am novice eight outing on Saturday morning, a great outing overall, working up to rowing in 6's and a first outing for Josh who with only one and a half tank sessions under his belt did very well indeed, for those not in the know Josh is the latest recruit to the Cygnet Novice Squad. Welcome on board Josh.

Back at the boathouse the S3 coxed four was ready to take to water to trail a boat kindly on loan from Thames Tradesmen, one which could cope with the heavy weight of the crew and one which posed a lesser risk of sinking in the murky waters of the tideway! The S3 crew (Jennifer, Rob, Stuart, Simon and Damien P), despite great efforts unfortunately came second to IC Medics in their race, Brownie points to Kirsty who braved Joe Public on the towpath on Dawesy's bicycle with Jake on a leash alongside to support the four as they raced. For those of you knowing Jake, it's a miracle nobody got injured, Kirsty included!

Whilst talking about Jake, if you have a few hours to spare between Monday & Thursday this week maybe you could give something back and help Kirsty out with a spot of dog sitting, if you can please drop Kirsty line ASAP: kirstysimpson88[at]btinternet[dot]com.

Towards the end of the afternoon Cygnet showed off their colours as the S2 eight (Marj, Bart, Mark, David, Barry, Nick B, Stuart, Simon and Matt D) stormed up the river to convincingly beat the AK S2 eight, thus kicking off the regatta season in style with the first win for our club. It seems our very own Mike Collier was also very pleased to be handing out the pots to his own club too.

Two Cygnet composite doubles also took part and raced, these being Dr Jackson and Mick from AK, and Chris Davidson with Noel von Kaltenborn a former Cygnet now rowing with Furnival. No wins here regrettably but great effort by both crews for coming second in their respective events.

It was almost back to normal by Sunday. A slightly damper early start for the novice four at 8am, which welcomed Tim Moloney back into the group, and at 10am Kirsty coached both the four and the eight. Both coached crews reported of improvements made during the outing which is always good to hear.

This week:

Instructions will be sent out to racing crews later this week. I believe there may also be a BBQ back at the boat house on the return. Watch this space...

Coming up:

Safety:

A short note for the scullers and steersmen among us. Kew Marine will be placing some additional piles and pontoons from Monday 28th of April which will roughly double the length of the current pontoon. The message for all is to make sufficient allowances with your steering to accommodate these new changes. An extra hazard warning is given to anyone who habitually rows in the area during the evening and at night. So all please take a good look and be very careful indeed.

Until next week.

Richard.

Dog Sitting, 27/04

From Kirsty:

A plea from me for anyone who might be able to dog sit Jake ie give him a room to sit in and let him out in the middle of the day (I doubt anyone wants to come round my house in Molesey!) on any or all of Monday to Thursday next week or during Chiswick, Wallingford, or Marlow Spring regattas (bank holiday weekend) as I've agreed to help out Dulwich college who desperately need some organising but it'll be very long days for me and far too long for Jake to be home alone (the dogs trust'll be after me!). Even if someone can only do one day or just agree to be dragged round Dorney by him that would be a massive help.

All good samaritans email kirstysimpson88[at]btinternet[dot]com.

Captain's Table, 22/04

Despite shocking weather the spring sculling camp at the Cygnet Bungalow prevailed in normal fashion and was a huge success for all those who attended, & believe it or not despite the weather the total made the upper 20s.

I'm most appreciative to Marj for her help organising the weekend and very much also to Neil P, Neil J, Davo, Matt & Alan for standing out in the cold for what for felt like (and probably was) hours on end to coach the brave guys & gals who hadn't been in a single before. As for you guys in the boats, thanks for making the effort and being part of a fun time weekend, but let's face it, the odds were on that you were likely to get wet so standing in the rain seemed pretty much irrelevant anyway! To our amazement only one swimmer (I recall) out if eight, the rescue mission made for good daytime entertainment too.

No raging bonfires to report back about, not because the wood was too wet to burn but because we were obliged not to embarrass the Island Chairman by breaching new island rules. Ronnie, your reputation remains safe for another season! Alas no burning trees nor 20 foot flames but still a great BBQ with much booze consumed making for some quality drunken behaviour to reminisce over in a few years to come.

Meanwhile back on the tideway we had an 8+, 4+ and 2- out on Saturday morning, very cold and windy, not nice at all, coaching rather difficult as lads were freezing any time we stopped for a chat and loads of singles out on a low tide made it all a bit of mess with our wake.

Pete, Kath & Kirsty then spent a couple of hours setting up the 8+ so no more excuses for poor rowing. Sunday afternoon was much nicer with milder weather and the first sun we've seen in what seems like months. The 8+ and 4+ had outings after unloading, some what wind affected in parts and certainly lots of bailing required for the poor heavy lads in the lightweight four. The boats have gone in for repair so hang in there in the four, hopefully we'll have our heavier boat back in a couple of weeks.

Ergs & training schedules for this week will come directly from the two K's under separate cover.

Coming up:

Have another good week.

Richard.

Mister Wyatt Weds, 16/04

Huge congratulations to Nick & Sarah who got married last Saturday at St. Paul's Cathedral. We hear that a very good time was had by all.

Safety, 16/04

From Neil, WSA:

There will be a cleanup of the foreshore in the vicinity of the Harrods Depository on the 19th of April. Two yellow baskets will be placed in advance of this date and will be taken away the following week. The should be as close to the shore as possible, but please be extra careful when navigating in this area.

Could be awkward that close to the bridge on a half tide! Low water around 11.00ish on Saturday.

Marathon, 15/04

Congratulations to Mr. Collier who completed a Concept2 ergo marathon last Friday. He and a colleague at work managed to raise over 2,500GBP for the Huntington's Disease Association. His bottom is "very sore".

Captain's Table, 14/04

Saturday morning saw an early start for the 8+ as half the squad were due to attend Nick Wyatt's (and Sarah's) wedding. This outing was followed by a later one for the 4+, Geordie & Adam's pair and a bit later again a vet's coxless four.

We hear Nick's wedding went very well and the sun shone on the steps of St Paul's as the wedding party and guests posed for photos, much to the delight of the dozens and dozens of tourists. Congratulations Nick and Sarah, we wish you all the best.

Sunday, and despite our more than reasonable start time, we still manage to have stragglers holding things up by late arrival. The 8+ and 4+ were out only to be scared off by the mass numbers of single scullers, makes coaching rather difficult with our coach boat and its super wash. Also making an appearance was a captains quad, and a pretty decent one at that too if I may say so myself. The 8+ and 4+ turned to row down stream thinking it best to avoid the mass of single scullers only to be caught in torrential downpour and lightening strikes. Deciding it really was best to call it a day the crews turned to head home and left coaches Kirsty & Kathryn stranded without fuel. Fortunately a knight in a nice big RIB saved them from floating out to sea and towed them to safety and the torrential rain had ceased avoiding any hypothermia and a further knight in bright high viz cycling kit rode in with spare fuel.

This week is a HARD week in the training plan so be prepared to be very tired and make sure you eat plenty. There are three land sessions on top of the two evening outings. The ergs are as follows:

As you know its sculling camp this weekend so we will be having an earlier outing on Saturday to allow you to head off to the bungalow after the outing and Sunday's outing will be at 4pm to allow people to attend sculling camp and stay over. Pete has volunteered to do a BBQ after the outing since it's an afternoon one and of course because there will be boats to unload. Let Pete or Kathryn know this week if you're up for that. If a 4pm row on Sunday changes your availability as previously advised to Kathryn please let her know sooner rather than later.

Coming up.

Safety.

The Cygnet Steering test papers have now been completed and agreed by the committee, all Scullers (includes private and all boats on CYG registrations), coxswains and steersmen are required to sit it, so you have a choice:

A) Ask me for a copy electronically so you can you it in the comfort of your own home?
B) Attend a pre-organised session (date TBA) and do it whilst having a social beer in the bar?

Either way I'd like to say we'll have the exercise completed by the end of April, and before setting about doing some practical tests during May.

Also, a comment from the PLA.

"Just a reminder that with the motorboat silly season clearly having started it is worthwhile filling in incident report forms if you get hosed down. Please try and get the name of the boat, as we get quite a lot of white hulled boats with white cabins! However if the boat is distinctive in look it is possible we will know it and be able to track it down, so give it a try anyway."

Have another good week.

Richard.

Captain's Table, 08/04

Snow and lots of it - a bit of a change from last weeks log which started with a note to the lovely mild spring weather, how fooled can we be!

Saturday was reasonably fine in terms of weather & squad boats included an eight and coxed four coached by a currently not-so-well Kirsty, later our novices took to the water, thanks Marj for staying on to cox.

Sunday we awoke to a white world with snow still falling heavily however just about easing in time for a healthy array of boats to take to the wet stuff. The days antics included a Vet double, me in my single and squad boats forming an eight, a four and a double doing some fartlek interval training. The novice guys also had a turn in a mixed 8 with the girls novices...a great success that we’d like to repeat. Kathryn thanks for your help & coxing.

This week we have outings on Monday and Wed nights. For any of you not in the crews those nights the ladies have their 2k erg tests this week and will have priority for the ergs on Mon & Wed. Otherwise the training plan including ergs for Tues and Thurs will be released by Kathryn later today or tomorrow.

As most of you know its Nick & Sarah Wyatt's (to be) wedding this Saturday and as a fair number of the squad are attending we will make the outing for the 8 earlier to ensure everyone gets away in time to get their glad rags on. To that end the 8 will have a 7.30 outing. The senior 3 coxed four can have a bit of a sleep in to make it easier to coach the crews separately (since we don’t imagine you'll be too keen on the earlier outing if you're not involved in the wedding dash). Kathryn will release outing plans later in the week as per usual.

On Friday this week Mike Collier is doing a Concept2 ergo marathon for the Huntington's Disease Association and is aiming to do the 42,195 metres in less than 3 hours. Some moral support and cash for the cause would be gratefully appreciated.

Coming up:

Safety:

The extra low tides this weekend have revealed a rather large heap of gravel at the bottom of the boating hard and some dips which you could disappear thigh high into by just taking one step! Be aware & tread carefully especially when manoeuvring heavy boats above your head.

Where gravel has moved from the hollows are some raised areas which could quite easily damage your boat whilst boating or landing so please take good care of yourselves and club equipment.

Have a good week.

Richard.

Water Safety, 07/04

A note from the PLA via Neil, WSA:

Please be aware that there are spring tides this week and they are running above prediction. In other words for the next four days the tide is likely to get up and into most of the boathouses on the putney embankment.

Check our tides link (at the top of the homepage) for exact timings.

Captain's Table, 31/03

It feels like spring/summer is on its way after yesterday. So what happened over the weekend? A bunch of the regulars were off adventuring for Wyatt's stag do, apparently very successful (shows the virtue of having two female best men). Back at the boathouse Saturday morning saw a revised plan due to some late changes to availability - an 8 and a pair went out rather than the expected 8 and a four followed by a first on the water outing for our new novices with Kirsty coaching both sessions.

Sunday saw further revisions to the plans with more late changes to availability and only one dopey rower who forgot to change his clocks. So the planned 8 and four was changed to an 8 and luckily for our new novices it meant another outing in a four. Also a range of vets and singles took advantage of the mild sunny weather. Special thanks to Jennifer, Marj, Rob, Stu and Chris for their outings with the novices this weekend, it is appreciated - the rest of you may be requested to help them out in future weeks so please do your bit to help us get them up to speed.

This week we will only have one evening outing on Wednesday since a fairly large number of you were absent over the weekend we didn't think a Monday outing was feasible. If you are available for an outing on Wed please let Kathryn know ASAP and she will release outing plans.

Otherwise the ergs for this week, there are three to make up for the one outing we're short:

Kathryn will send out to the active squad today a coaches report following a meeting of the coaching team yesterday which will address plans going forward. There won't be seat racing at Dorney this weekend as too many of you couldn't attend and we got wind that Thames (all several hundred of them) are planning on seat racing at Dorney this weekend and we thought it best to hide our talent! Therefore if you are available for normal outings this weekend please let Kathryn know and she will release outing plans.

Coming up.

Safety.

Neil (as our new water safety Advisor) is in the final stages of developing the steering tests which all our coxes, steersmen & scullers will have to undergo imminently, and pass in order to carry on as your are. To help with your revision there will be some Navigation Steering Guides posted around at strategic places, probably the loos & the crew room!, for you to tweak up on you’re knowledge.

Until tonight (for those of you gymming, sculling or erging)...

Richard.

New Baby, 28/03

Congratulations to Kostas and his wife who gave birth to a son on 24th March at five past seven in the morning. He was eight pounds and fifty three centimetres long. All are fine and very excited with the new family member.

Ergo Test News, 27/03

Breaking news from this week's erg tests:

Bates knocks Wyatt off the top spot with a blistering PB of 6.28. Not the most classic of techniques but damned effective. Wyatt is yet to test but with his impending nuptials dominating his every waking hour it could be the end of an era.

Casting the blog's feelers back a few years, does anyone remember 16-Jun-03 2k 6:27.0. We do. Nearly Nick, nearly.

Big Boys, 26/03

From Neil, WSA:

In case you're out steering or sculling, just a reminder that they've put some additional (and very large) mooring buoys in the river in preparation for the Boat Race on Saturday. They're on Surrey, along the brewery wall and the one furthest up-river is actually on the crossing point - right in front of the Budwiser sign. Hopefully they'll be removed early next week.

Captain's Table, 25/03

The Easter weekend was unusually quiet around the boathouse in comparison to the past few months with only the "fab four" Batesy, Bart, Barry & Stu (minus cox) out in the cold & dire conditions for a bit of fun with a very small pod of scullers, Greg, Martha and Myself who also bravely the snowy conditions for a couple of hours of enjoyment yesterday AM.

With the Head season and Easter is behind us we now need to knuckle down to the business of the regatta season which in reality kicks off tonight (& tomorrow) with your 2k erg test. Erg tests must be done at the boathouse and results be witnessed by Kathryn &/or Kirsty. Please consider that the Ladies have priority on the ergs on Wednesdays so I'd like where possible for most of us to do the test tonight. Failing tonight or tomorrow you'll have to make time before or after outings at the weekend, be warned, if you leave it till then you're likely to be erging alone!

You should have all seen Kirsty's plan outline, distributed yesterday & also attached [not on the website, sorry - Ed], it shows the other training you need to be doing and includes the regattas we are looking to attend. If you are planning to put yourself up for selection for the crew we hope to try to qualify for Henley you will be expected to be available to attend the significant regattas (ie at least all the 2km regattas at Dorney). I have one amendment to the plan which is that Sculling Camp is on 19th / 20th April and most club activities will be based from the bungalow on Hamhaugh Island for that weekend.

You’ll see from the plan that we're intending to get on the water in the evenings from next week when we move to British Summer Time. If you are not available for Mon or Wed night next week please let me know by the end of the week. Also tell me by Wed end of business at the latest if you are NOT available for this weekend's outings as I'm aiming to release outing plans on Thursday, If I hear nothing then I'll assume I can rely on you to be around.

Now, I've heard from most of you (the active squad) regarding seat racing at Dorney, however if you're one of the very few still yet to drop me a line please do so as a matter of priority so coaches can sort out what a plan for that weekend (5th & 6th April).

Coming Up:

Between now and this evening remember to eat well, choose the brown rice and pasta options for lunch and avoid the processed sugars!

Richard.

Captain's Table, 18/03

What a fantastic weekend for the senior squad! The HoRR was held on Saturday and as you are all probably aware the senior 2 crew got the best result in years jumping an awesome 50 places off that achieved three years ago finished comfortably in the top 150 at 127. The S3 crew also jumped a significant number of places finishing 313th. I am sure you are all very pleased with your results which are born from of lots of hard work on your part in terms of weeknight outings, ergs and regular, more consistent outings in your crews and of course coaching. A huge thanks to Kirsty and Kathryn for their efforts here.

Saturday afternoon saw large numbers of members, guests and visiting crews enjoying post race celebrations at the club, thanks to Pete and Kathryn for putting on a fabulous BBQ to ensure we were not drinking on an empty stomach. Plenty of drinking occurred long into the evening and I think I can safely say a good time was had by many - although one notable evolution is taking place at the rowing club - results of the many cygnet/BBLRC dalliances mean we may have to make a corner of the bar into a creche soon. Thanks also to Martha, Pete and Kathryn for tidying up afterwards!!!

Unfortunately the vets head scheduled for Sunday was cancelled so the vets crew, after all that fantastic training, did not get a chance to show off their honed skills. Unfortunate too for the visiting vets from Germany but they did console themselves with a row and a few drinks in the bar afterwards. Don't forget it is R G Benrath's 100th anniversary this year in October and there are plans for a Cygnet contingent to visit and share in their celebrations. Talk to Marj if you're interested.

No time to rest on your laurels though - we are very encouraged by the head performances and are now really looking forward to a fantastic summer campaign and are determined not to let momentum fade from the heads campaign. We have 2k erg tests next week (after Easter) to begin the process of selecting crews for the summer season. The erg must be performed at the club next week if you want to be considered for senior squad crews and must be witnessed by Kathryn or Kirsty - one or both of whom will be at the club next week on Tues and Wed nights. Time slots of 6.30 and 7pm are available, please confirm to me which night and time slot you prefer. If you cant make those sessions let me know and we will try to arrange something else maybe Thursday. This weeks training is therefore geared towards practicing for the 2k erg test next week.

Two ergs this week:

a) 4 x 500m at the average split appropriate for your 2k time - don't do the first flat out much harder and faster than you can manage all 4. Settle onto the rate and split you want to aim for for the test.

b) 2x 1000m same as above.

If any of you seniors/vets want an outing this week on Wed night please email and let me know and I'll see if we can put together something sensible.

I don't think we will have full scale organised outings this weekend as it is Easter so if you are away you should aim to do some general cardio work, whether it is running, cycling, erging or biking. If you are not away for the weekend and would like an outing please let me know and we will see what we can arrange, the two new novice guys have been very patient in waiting for an appropriate chance to get out on the water so if there are some of you around who could volunteer to help get them an outing this weekend I would be grateful and you would of course be doing your duty to the club in helping it recruit new members.

Coming Up:

Until next week, have a great Easter, Please don't eat too many eggs!

Richard.

More The Baby Stephenson, 11/03

Big congratulations to T & Geordie, proud parents of George Eric, who was born at 7:20 on the 7th, weighing in at 7 lbs 5 ozs. All are reported to be tired but well.

It may be too early to start thinking about nicknames, but with his father having so many (Geordie, Vidal, Denim, Git-Wizard, Ian, etc.) it's not totally innappropriate.

How about "Rocket" as a starter for ten?

Stranger Danger, 10/03

Be Aware:

We had an incident at the boathouse on Saturday whereby a random stranger strolled in, apparently on his phone, and disappeared into the gents toilets. Fortunately he was spotted and challenged and despite claiming that he just wanted to use the loo, he was obviously up to no good. The police were called but didn't respond.

The important point is that we must stay alert, as this was done in broad daylight and in front of a boathouse full of members! With the Head coming up and loads of visitors around it will be hard to spot people who aren't there for the rowing but it might be worth having a review of security after the Heads are over.

Time Wasting, 10/03

A couple of "fun" bits from NZTV & You Tube.

First here's heat 3 of the Drysedale v. Waddel scull-off for the single single [sic.] place for this year's Olympics.

Second how about this for a quick 500m. Funny thing is I'm sure I've seen it done faster at 2am in the boathouse changing rooms.

Baskets, 06/03

Warning from the PLA for this weekend. Don't get caught...

Baskets for Barnes event Sat 8th March. Some baskets have been put in today for a rubbish collection going on this weekend. I am assured that they will be as flush to the bank as possible, but please keep a good lookout when rounding the Paul's bend. They will be removed on the 11th.

Hamming It Up, 03/03

Great to see 3 Cygnet VIIIs in Sunday's Hammersmith Head. Full results can be found here.

Also a BIG well done to Barnes Bridge for their 35th place overall in Saturday's WEHoRR. A really fantastic result for them, and for those of us that live with them, even if our ones weren't the exact ones in that crew. If you know what we mean.

New Blood, 29/02

The club's new committee details are on our (much frequented) committee page. Be still your beating hearts.

Enthuelling 100 Jahre, 27/02

A shot of the recently unveiled RGB 100-year celebration logo. I know which merchandise we'll be buying.

Crunch, 27/02

Results from last Sunday's World Indoor Rowing Champs (the CRASH-B sprints) can be found here. We note with interest that a 65-year-old managed 6:46.9 for the 2k. How much faster than YOU is that?

Treeeee, 26/02

There is an open meeting being held at LRC at 6:30pm on the 18th of March, if any of you have anything you wish to get of your chest in an open forum this is the time.

The main topic of conversation is likely to be tree-cutting along the river banks, something that is popular with river users but less popular with those who look at the river bank - so if you are in favour of it please come along prepared to say so. They will also be discussing the rowing code and the issues that have arisen from that. Any other topics of interest can just be brought up on the night.

Here's a link.

Captain's Table, 25/02

The recent trend of 8s training for the upcoming Hammersmith and HoRR heads continued with our two senior squads out on Saturday with for coaching and of course the now regular vets 8 crew graced the tideway too.

Sunday saw our two senior 8s out for a pleasant paddle down the HoR course with coaches Kirsty and Kathryn looking on with watchful eyes. Thanks to all of you who are subbing into these crews as you're making the regular training outings possible and the results are starting to show for all. Watch out though for those Cambridge boys (and their public lavatory) just the other side of Chiswick bridge mid fairway!

For the first time in ages I managed to swap coach launch for sculls and had a great outing in a double with Iain G, thanks Iain.

The crews made it back just in the nick of time for the AGM - thanks to all of you who attended. Minutes/Reports etc will be circulated in due course but the main news is that your new committee was appointed without any fuss.

This week's schedule:

I am off to South Africa on Wednesday this week and wont be back till 12h March as usual Pete, (& Kathryn) and Kirsty will hold the fort in my absence so please bat any queries or concerns in their direction.

Events/dates for your diaries:

Please take note...the date for the Spring Sculling Camp weekend at the Bungalow has changed to Saturday 26th April and I'd be grateful if you could all amend your diaries.

Safety:

Despite my note last week it has surprised me that many of you still didn't take water or isotonic drink with you in the boat. Come on boys, you're working really hard at the moment with and you need to keep suitably hydrated to stay fit, strong & healthy.

Richard.

Accounting, 22/02

Here are the 2007 approved accounts. The Club's financial examiners have approved the account, which the Hon Treas will present at the AGM Sunday 24th February 12noon. Do please study it. He will not be embarrassing us all at the meeting with a vast armful of dead forest; please print yourself a copy if you wish.

Captain's Table, 18/02

Saturday was a very frosty start to a fabulous weekend and another busy morning for Cygnet which as always is very pleasing to see. We had both the Head crews out with just one sub required for Square Peg and none for Round Hole. Is that a first whole crew outing for Round Hole? The general feeling is that more "on the water" time is still improving the crews, even if a sub or 2 is required.

Both Senior crews had coaching from Kirsty on Saturday morning which consisted of much technical work and three times eleven minute pieces holding high ratings. The now almost regular Vets had another outing in their 8, it's starting to look like you too are doing some "serious hard core training" is that allowed in the vets?

Sunday was perhaps the finest conditions ever seen on the Tideway with mill pond like water rarely seen and as the dedicated cygnets that we are we squeezed in outings for both the head crews prior to the start of Hammersmith Women's and Junior's Head race. Whilst on the subject of the heads I'd like to say thanks to those of you who stuck around to support the ladies in their head and of course help prop up the bar. Incidentally The Barnes Bridge senior 3 crew won their division (by a cool 0.1 second) so Congratulations to all of you!

Don't forget this coming Sunday is the Cygnet AGM meeting and all members are encouraged to attend.

This week's schedule:

For your second erg - feet out technical rowing use the mirrors etc or give each other technical feedback. Then do 1x3m, 2x2m, and 3x1m flat out (rest between no longer than the piece) before a full technical warm down.

Events & dates:

R G Benrath celebrating their centenary this year which falls on the weekend after the Rhine Marathon. Whilst we have some ideas in the thinking pot we're are still open to suggestion so long as they include much rowing and of course beer. To avoid disappointment I suggest now could be a good idea to reserve these dates in you diaries:

Safety

It's possible to loose up to two litres of fluid and maybe more during a one hour stint of hard training, if these fluids aren't replaced facts enough then symptoms of dehydration may kick in causing your muscles to tire quickly and furthermore painful cramps, and if you're not up to your best you'll be no good to yourself or your crew. Protect yourselves by:

You're working especially hard with the current training plan so spare a thought to your body and of course to the rest of your crew!

Richard.

Captain's Table, 12/02

A slow & somewhat miserable start to Saturday for both the senior crews but after a few honest words of encouragement from Kirsty (and may I say so eloquently delivered) the guys saw sense, acted like competitive rowers and seemingly grew some balls! Square Peg gets the achievement award for giving us a continuous piece rating 28 from Richmond loch to Hammersmith Bridge, the unofficial time I recall was just over 28 minutes. Despise such a lethargic beginning by the end of the morning we’d seen three energetic eights and a coxed four afloat and we smiled upon you again!

As for Sunday, "Square Peg" gave way to a sculling pod but for "Round Hole" there was no rest, the training regime demanded technical up to the Loch and a piece with rate changes back to Chiswick Pier.

Pancakes galore followed, all who ate are now on average 3.6 kilos heavier! Thanks Martha!!!

This week's schedule:

Events/dates for your diaries:

Safety:

Get plenty of rest, you'll need it!

Richard.

Topless, 07/02

Our very own Chris Shea is a page 3 model. Page 3 of the Feb. 08 Rowing & Regatta magazine that is. Fortunately for all concerned he kept his top on.

...ALSO...JUST IN...

Martha is on the cover, white cap looking over her right shoulder. Nice.

Captain's Table, 05/02

Saturday was a busy morning for Cygnet with the two Head crews out (plus some able subs). Both of which had coaching from Kirsty (and Jake the dog). I addition a Vet 4- and with thanks to some who some extras we managed to give our newest novices an outing with the coach. Your contributions to fill the Novice training boats are appreciated!

On Sunday, despite the lovely clear skies the water was most definitely rougher and again our two senior 8s made it out to struggle through. Unfortunately Round Hole had to pull in a last minute sub as Cygnets latest recruit suffered and accident en-route and could not make the outing. It seems everyone is appreciating organised outings with consistency in the crews so keep please keep on putting in the effort to help make this work.

Also on Sunday, & after outings Cygnet had the committee meeting, minutes will be circulated in due course.

We have been given approval, and as intimated last week intend to introduce some evening outings for the Head crews. Whilst circuits conclude for the winter season these outings will take place on Wednesday evenings at 7.15 for 7.30 on the water, starting this week. Please let me know ASAP if you can't make, or are not happy to boat after dark, alternatively I'll assume your availability and expect to see you on Wed. Please don't be late, Early birds please unlock the boat shop, get the blades & launch boat so we can get going soon as

This week's schedule:

Events & dates for your diaries:

Safety:

I'm assured that our steering test is to be with us very soon so now might be a good time to brush up on the Navigation code.

Richard.

Yumm Scrumm, 02/02

Rowing. Coaching. Hot showers. Pancakes. It's enough to to give a young Cygnet one of those small erections he can't help getting from time-to-time. Pancakes after outings, 10th Feb. Be there or be, ahem, flaccid.

Head Shots, 01/02

A couple of photos of our S2 & VC crews from last week's Quintin Head. Don't they look nice.

Senior 2: Marj, French David, Rob, Pedey, Damien, Adam, Nick, Neil, Phunky...

VetC: Davo, Geordie, Damo, Noel, Mark, Paul, Andy, Golda-Man, Chris...

Aide Ergo Memoire, 31/01

The captaincy's slight disappointment at last Saturday's Quintin Head result has led to a hugely undestandable move to incredibly complex ergo sessions which only Albert Einstein (or perhaps Derren Brown), would have any chance of remembering. For those members who can barely remember whether they had 6 pints & 10 Snickers or 10 Snickers & 6 pints after training, or indeed how they got home at all, the Blog is proud to present this handy aide-memoire for the aforementioned session. Feel free to adopt/adapt this simple technique for any future ergos which are slightly more complex than GO...PULL...STOP..VOM:

OK dufus, what's not to understand - it's a set of 2 and a half upside-down pyramids, starting at the base of pyramid A with 5 mins, reducing in 1 min steps to the bottom, then climbing a slightly smaller pyramid, twice. Meanwhile, the rating is straightforwardly pyramiding in exactly the opposite direction, starting at 20spm, and peaking at 28spm. If you were primitive enough to forget your spm you can quickly recalculate it during the erg by simply dividing by 2 the result of 5 minus the number of minutes on your current pyramid step, and adding 20 to the result. If you happen to forget how many more minutes you have at your current pyramid step, simply reverse the equation, and take away the number of minutes completed. Remember, we are not here to enjoy ourselves, we are here to ergo.

We at the blog believe this to be a perfectly logical reaction to the motivational "bit of a wake up call and certainly suggests more on the water time & hard work is required from our end".

Next week Nick Wyatt will be giving a fascinating talk on the roots of least squares and interpolation techniques drawing on studies relating to the influence of median and skewness in regression analysis and the field of robust regression & the Laplace distribution. All whilst completing a 2k ergo.

Captain's Table, 29/01

The weekend saw some lovely weather for a change, and the first of the 8s heads for the season. We had an s2 and a vets crew entered - thanks to Mark Wilson who ably stepped in on late notice due to illness in the vets crew. I hear it was a bit of shambles marshalling, presumably because the usual stalwart marshals were racing as there were several vets crews around. Rather disappointing result though, the senior 2 crew got beaten by none other than MAA's "star" novice crew (the one including our former South African member). Bit of a wake up call and certainly suggests more on the water time & hard work is required from our end.

Otherwise a four was able to get an outing and some coaching in before the racing on Saturday and on Sunday with even better weather, a coxless four and an 8+ were out.

For the week ahead the coach/captaincy would like you to move to two ergs a week, especially as we are only rowing on weekends at the moment. We are looking to review the rowing in the dark policy soon and would like to try and get one evening outing a week, not this week as its too short notice but we will discuss in the coming week and may look for an evening outing next week.

This week's schedule:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

**** Stuart is having his Birthday drinks on Tuesday night at The Sun after ergs ****

2 ergs is on the agenda for this week. I am not going to direct which nights you do them, in reality do them when you can fit them in.

1) 45 mins - 5@20, 4@22, 3@24, 2@26, 1@28, 2@26, 3@24, 4@22, 3@24, 2@26, 1@28, 2@26, 3@24, 4@22, 3@24, 2@26, 1@28

2) 30 minutes @ 20 please record distance, average split and rate.

Thursday

19.00 - Circuits. Meet at the boathouse at 6.45PM or at the school for 7PM. I'll be cooking this week.

Saturday

8.00 & 10.00 AM - Double outings (coached). Crews to be set & sent out on Wednesday.

Sunday

10.00AM outings

Events & dates for your diaries:

Safety:

Heavy rain of late has affected the river upstream which means more visitors rowing on our stretch of the tideway thus making for more traffic, and also increases the likelihood that some may not be 100% familiar with the Tideway navigation code! Steersmen, coxes & coaches please keep a good look-out for hazards all around.

Richard.

Rub Them Up The Wrong Way, 24/01

Congratulations to Greg who has secured the role of Sports Massage Therapist to the GB Rowing squad at all their pre-Olympic training camps this year (and fingers crossed, possibly even the big event itself).

Sadly Golda-Man's application for the position of Women's Squad Underwear Launderer (knickers a speciality) was unsuccessful. Maybe next year.

Captain's Table, 22/01

Firstly, Money matters:

The head season is now upon us and as already mentioned we have 2 8s entered for Quintin. There are some amounts long overdue from a number of you - this is not fair on Marj and if the balance is not cleared before our AGM we will consider refusing you entry in the other upcoming heads (Hammersmith and the HoRR) as well as future regattas. Leave Marj a cheque at the club, give her the cash or ask for her bank details and transfer the funds. I'll be sending out the debtors list by email tomorrow so you have no excuse but to pay up.

Rowing matters: despite a rotten forecast we had rain-free outings both days and lots of rowing done. Saturday it was fantastic to see three cygnet 8s boating. Two of which are entered for next weekend's Quintin head - the s2 8+ and the vets. Kirsty has not been scared off and was out coaching Saturday. Sunday saw two eights boating despite the odd illness and injury.

The river has been running hard and fast though and orderly chaos was the order of the day on the Tideway both days. The stream was still running out hours after the time the tide was to have turned and with numerous visiting crews (up river being closed) there was a bit of confusion but I'm pleased to say none of our crews got into any difficulty. Please be careful if you are boating this week as these conditions will likely remain.

Last week saw the 5km tests being done by most - results attached. Some of you improved - well done to you. Others didn't improve, didn't sit it at all or had to sit it twice after stopping in first attempt the general consensus of coach and captaincy was we need to improve our fitness and to that end the erg for this week is 3 x 6km @ 18 rating (2 min break in between max).

This week's schedule:

The draw is out for Quintin Head and the S2 crew is boating at No. 9 and the vet crew at No.24. Crews as follows:

S2                     Vet D
C Marj                 C Chris Davidson
S David French         S Geordie
7 Adam Farley          7 Damian Cooke
6 Peter Humphries      6 Noel Davidson
5 Damien Papworth      5 Mike Collier
4 Rob Henderson        4 Paul Rawkins
3 Nick Wyatt           3 Andy Rawkins
2 Neil Pickford        2 Iain Golder
B Stu Gibbons          B Chris Shea

Events & dates for your diaries:

Safety:

A talk this week on blue light services on the Thames, very much worth a visit... (and there's beer). RNLI Tuesday 22nd at the Peir House, arrive 19.00 for 19.30 start.

Richard.

Velvet Glove, 19/01

A gentle reminder that 2008's subs are now due. "160GBP for the nation's bureaucracy, 228GBP for wealth-creators." Good value, we're sure you'd agree. A cheque can be left in the Treasurer's pigeon hole in the kitchen.

Within The Sound Of Silence, 15/01

Our roving scatteristion correspondent has reviewed the rules for tonight's ergo test and adds a few clarification points below:

18.30 & 19.15 Erg - 5K test. The rules governing the test are that it is to be done at the club and witnessed by someone from the squad. Also there is to be no encouragement and loud cheering on as it is a mental test which you are required to get through all on your own...

Also there is to be no gasping or sweating, as it may disrupt others' mental equilibria.

Also there will be no STAND-ON-ITs, WATCH-THE-RATEs, TAKE-IT-HOMEs, or EMPTY-THE-TANKs, as you should only listen to the voices in your head.

Also there is to be no heating, roof or walls in the ergo room, as there are no roofs on boats.

Also there are to be no grunts or gasps of pain, as what is good for ninjas is good for Cygnets.

Also there is to be no musical stimulation, as it may distract ergers from their individual special mental places.

Also Queen's Greatest Hits and the Top Gun Soundtrack are exempt from the above, as they are playing on a loop in most Cygnet's heads in any case.

Also we are not here to enjoy ourselves. We Are Here To Ergo.

And Touched The Sound Of Silence, 14/01

Some unusual instructions for tomorrow's 5k ergo test, to quote "there is to be no encouragement and loud cheering on as it is a mental test which you are required to get through all on your own". Does this extend to Wyatt Minor's self-flagellation (oh gosh, gosh, golly, golly gosh, etc.), or is this allowed?

We at the blog will be thinking of you all; rather quietly.

George Plumtree, 14/01

George's obituary, written by Paul Rawkins, can be found on our docs page.

Captain's Table, 14/01

Sadly on Wednesday 9th January George Plumtree passed away. George was a valued member of Cygnet RC and coached the squad from 1968 onwards. I understand he will be most affectionately remembered by some for the "George Years" where during the 70s he coached the guys (now our active vets) from "cack-handed" to being Senior A/Elite B oarsmen and introduced them to multi lane rowing regattas and of course Henley Royal Regatta all in the space of two seasons. Rest in Peace George. His obituary written by Paul Rawkins is attached [see above - Ed].

Now seems appropriate time to introduce a new coach to Cygnet RC, Kirsty joined us this weekend and after just three outings in the launch has bought a new perspective and some fresh ideas (and homework!) to our water training plan. Good luck Kirsty, or should that be good luck boys. I'm not sure yet to which. What I do know is that Kirsty is a welcome addition to the family.

Last weekend there was a great positive energy at the boathouse all weekend, afloat were: on Saturday, the senior Quintin racing eight & two coxless fours. A second outing gave us chance to float a rowing virgin who took to the river for the first time and impressed us all, good work Dave! On Sunday, undeterred by the foul weather & water we boated the two eights and a quad. Cheers Bea, Martha & El for volunteering to Cox as without you the 2nd eight would have been beached!

This week's schedule:

Entries will be made this week for the following for Quintin Head crews:

Quintin Senior Eight   Quintin Vets Eight
Marj                   Chris Davidson
David French           Geordie
Adam Farley            Damian Cooke
Peter Humphries        Noel Davidson
Nick Bates             Nick Wylie
Damien Papworth        Iain Golder
Nick Wyatt             Andy Rawkins
Neil Pickford          Paul Rawkins
Stu Gibbons            Chris Shea

Events & dates for your diaries:

Safety:

The weather forecast is not good with plenty of heavy rain which means nasty waters, strong stream and uncomfortable rowing conditions. Please assess the risks properly before any outing and take great care whilst on the water.

Have a great week...

Richard.

Website Outage, 12/01

As you might have noticed, before today there have been no updates on this website since mid-December. This delay was caused by security problems at Freezone, our website hosting company. We'll be catching up in the next few days.

Happy New Year.

Captain's Table, 07/01

What a great start to 2008, both eights out on both days.

On Saturday, to get the muscles working again and to work off some of those festive kilo's Pete set us to do 5 sets of power strokes moving in pairs through the boat. Starting at Chiswick and rowing independently from each other down stream toward Putney both crews finished the exercise within meters of each other at Barn Elms. The outing concluded with a steady row home at full pressure side by side (well almost side by side).

Sunday, pretty much the same with the two eights afloat, one a tad blighted by the presence of an inexperienced 85 kilo cox lodged uncomfortably in the stern (me) doing his best to not zig-zag too much up, down & across the tideway!

An enjoyable & invigorating start to the year, and with the eights season upon us I feel it's due time to christen the names for this years potential Cygnet eights, how does Square Peg & Round Hole sound to you lot?

This week's schedule:

Events & dates for your diaries:

Safety:

Some of you may be aware and others not that towards the end of 2007 Cygnet picked up two points after a collision with another boat when crossing the river at the crossing point. No one was hurt as a result of the incident however as always the potential for injury and damage is always there and learning from the incident is crucial for future prevention.

The learning point in this case comes back to maintaining a good look out particularly at vulnerable spots and at the crossing points where we would expect to be cutting through the path of oncoming craft. Visibility is reduced from time to time thus making it much harder to see these smaller boats so if you're not sure what you see please be sure to stop dead in your tracks in order to get a good look ahead.

From me it's a hats off to our coxswains and steersmen, we all must remember they have difficult task on the water and without them we wouldn't have our boats afloat.

Don't forget, same times this week, & keep the festive kilos falling off!

Richard.