Cygnet Rowing Club

The Head of the River Race, 31st Mar 2007

A collection of photos below to remind us all how truly terrible the whole thing was. Thanks to Jet Photographic, Neil, Dave & Martha for the shots.

The tea stall was well manned all afternoon...

I don't think you want to be doing that...

We are always a popular boating spot...

Hard at it...

One of these women makes cake from a packet...

Cakes plus tea plus pretty BB Lady equals Stuart...

Seen it all before...

Neil's comments from his Captain's Log:

When is a head race not a head race? When there is a gale force north-easterly blowing over the top of the ebb it seems. We knew that it would be nasty around the Barnes Bridge bend and along Chiswick Eyot but there were reports of good water elsewhere on the river so afloat we all went, our keenness tempered with a tinge of trepidation, straight into some of the nastiest water seen on the Tideway in ages. It was quite frankly carnage out there as even experienced crews struggled to cope with the conditions, many succumbing to the inevitable forces of physics and hydrodynamics. The race did eventually start about 15 minutes late but as several of the crews in Division 1 also succumbed to the conditions, the inevitable call came that the raced had been abandoned. That call was the cue for more chaos as 350 boats broke ranks and began their perilous journeys back to their trailers. Only 29 of the 45 boats that did manage to start actually made it to the finish still racing. It's no yet known how many of the rest survived the journey back. There will undoubtably be repercussions.

Both of our crews made it home safely and the obvious disappointment was tempered by a certain amount of relief, the frustration soon subdued by a certain amount of beer. Indeed it was a good result for the bar which was [ironically] looking decidedly dry by closing time. Many thanks for all the help and support particularly those who sacrificed dry trousers to help beleaguered returning crews.

It doesn't look much fun out there...