News & Events
Cygnet Weekly Update - 6th April
13th April 2015
Afternoon Everybody,
A quieter week after last weekends head racing and I am sure a lot of us have been away from the club enjoying the long Easter weekend so things have probably been fairly quiet. I only know what the weather has been like in Billingham but if it has been anything like as nice down in London then if you did make it onto the river over the last few days you may well have started developing some tan lines... To summarise, not a lot to update you on but a couple of things that are worth mentioning:
Sculling Camp:
You should already know that this is next weekend. If you intend to be there but haven't filled in the doodle poll yet please do so here:
With a lot of people being out at the Bungalow it is likely to be another quiet weekend for us on the Tideway but things should get back to normal the following week.
Race Fees:
I won't name names... but in no particular order Nick Bates, Patrick Boundy, Alfonso Daniels, Noel Davison, Bart de Groot, Mike England, David French, Gareth Furby, Robin Harries, Gavin Hunter, Neil Jackson, Stavros Kyris, Ian Mountain(?!), Jeremy Pugh, Nick Rae, Paul Rawkins, Jim Reekie and Nick Wylie - you know who you are.
Between us we owe Matt £451.00 - it would be very good (especially for Matt) if we could settle this debt now, before we transition from head to regatta season. You can all see the tab on the google sheet showing who owes what. Please let myself or Matt know if you cannot see the spreadsheet or don't have the bank details - don't make us send the boys round!
Tuesday Squad Ergo:
I don't have anything official to give you so I am going to take a flyer and say you can choose - nice and simple, pick a session you have done over the last four or five weeks ideally, then whichever one you choose, do it again and make sure you beat the distance/average split you got last time round. As ever, try and do it with a few others (if you can agree on what to do).
Thursday Night Post Training Social:
These are still happening and I think Cris is looking for a volunteer cook for this week - let him know direct if you want to put you name down.
Think that is all, normal service should resume next week.
Ian.
Cygnet Weekly Update: Tuesday 31st March
31st March 2015
Evening All,
This should just about make it as a Monday night update... First things first, although it was a bit touch and go towards the end of last week, after a couple of disappointing years both the Veterans' Head of the River Race and the Head of the River Race happened at the weekend, and Cygnet were represented on both days.
On Saturday morning, sickness initially left the Masters B crew a man down but we were able to drag Gareth out of his bed to fill the empty seat and enjoyed a decent race, finishing 7th out of 11 in a very competitive field in a time of 20:18. Our Masters F crew also had a good row and finished just under 90 seconds further back, coming in 8th out of 19 in 21:47. On Sunday our novice crew also enjoyed a good row and finished 10th out of 14 in a time of 21:55 - there were quite a few HoRR first timers in the crew, who all did an excellent job coping with some pretty trying conditions while marshalling, racing, and then probably the worst bit - rowing back to the boathouse from Putney (into a wall of wind by all accounts).
From all three crews, a big thank you to everybody who has contributed towards getting them to the start line - coxes, coaches and subs etc. And as ever we need to say a big thank you to the people from both clubs who helped out over the two days doing all the hard work around the clubhouse to make sure everything happened as planned.
It is also worth mentioning that these occasions are just as much social events as they are competitive, and the bar was definitely put to good use once everybody was showered. Our friends from RG Beneath had brought a barrel of alt bier with them, our esteemed Chairman and Mucha enjoyed it so much that they belted out their version of 'Simply the Best' a little later in the evening. On a more serious note we also raised a toast to Peter Sly on the Saturday afternoon - I think I would be correct saying he would have been very happy to see the club buzzing with activity as it was for most of the weekend.
What Next?
Dave has gone away for a couple of weeks to put the results into a big spreadsheet and figure out how we have done once you take account of the overall winner's time, category winner's time, number of Olympians competing etc etc. Once he is back we will (I think) be arranging a squad meeting to see what people would like to get out of the regatta season, which starts at Hammersmith in a little less than four weeks, in the meantime:
This Week
Tuesday is still squad erg night - 8 x 100m with 2min rowing light between each one. Rate capped at 30.
Thursday night - no food planned in the bar this week, but those who are around may well be heading to the pub so let Cris know if you are going to be there.
For the weekend, please put your availability into the spreadsheet (complete it for the whole of April ideally) so Sue can plan outings where possible.
Race Fees - I am told by the treasurer that a lot of us owe money. I have checked and he is right (myself included), if you don't have the bank details let me know, otherwise we should all be settling up as soon as possible. Maybe even overpay a little bit to cover the first few regattas...
Further ahead, it is Sculling Camp the weekend after Easter - let Nick know if you are planning to attend.
I think that is all, just slipped into Tuesday morning.
Ian.
Peter Sly - Cygnet Obituary
26th March 2015
Peter Sly, President of Cygnet Rowing Club, 1975 - 2015
In 1950, an erstwhile club historian wrote "Cygnet had ever been a club to foster the social side'. No member embodied the spirit of that remark more than Peter Sly, Cygnet's longstanding club president, who passed away on 9th March 2015 at the age of 85. He died as he had lived, surrounded by his family in the peace and tranquility of 'Old Blades', his beloved residence at Henley-on-Thames.
Peter Sly never claimed to be an accomplished oarsman, but he was one of the sport's great extroverts. Nothing pleased him more than 'holding court' at Cygnet lunches and dinners or in the comfort of 'Old Blades', the most select enclosure on the Henley course at regatta time. Indeed, no visit to Henley Royal Regatta was complete without a pilgrimage to 'Old Blades' to be lambasted by Sly for one's shortcomings as a sportsman, a spouse, a club officer or whatever else came to mind.
Courtship rather than sportsmanship initially enticed Peter Sly into the world of rowing. Peter was smitten with Pat Heron, a business associate at Crown Agents (a government procurement agency for governments overseas), who filled her leisure hours coxing the women's first VIII at the Civil Service Ladies Rowing Club (now BBLRC). Sly rapidly concluded that joint enterprise held the key to a deep and meaningful relationship with Ms Heron, so he joined Cygnet, the men's counterpart of CSLRC.
More accustomed to the unscrupulous world of big business than the gentle art of pen pushing, Peter Sly took Cygnet by storm. Norman Cowling, an active member at the time, recounts "Peter had an immediate impact on all aspects of club life". In next to no time, Peter's 'can do' attitude had secured the club its first boat trailer and a new coaching launch, shaken up the club social scene and reorganized the club's finances, entrusting the boat fund to a sleek new merchant bank in the City.
Richard du Parcq, who was doing his first stint as club Treasurer, recalls "I well remember climbing, no staggering, out of Peter's Roller in St James St, after a goodish lunch, for a spot of customer feedback to the bank." Soon afterwards the bank went bust, but not before club funds had been withdrawn in the nick-of-time, following an astute tip-off from Sly.
Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, in 1972 Peter attained an ARA Silver Coaching Award and promptly set about putting it into practice. Success followed a few months later with an easy win for a Cygnet Novice Vlll at Worcester. While this would be his only claim to coaching fame, his greatest contribution to the sport lay in the world of women's rowing.
By the mid-1970s, Pat was juggling multiple roles as Mrs Sly, Captain of CSLRC and Secretary for the Womens' (National) Rowing Committee. These were formative times for women's rowing: CSLRC had graduated to the nucleus of the women's national squad, while several CSLRC members would participate in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Peter was hugely supportive throughout, becoming a serial cheer leader for women's rowing, a renowned supporter at home and international regattas and a champion of Henley Women's Regatta.
A man for all seasons, Peter Sly was the obvious choice for Cygnet club president, an office he was invited to fill in 1975 and one he held until his dying day, a time span of 40 years. Reputedly the longest serving club president on the Tideway, Peter once quipped that it was the least onerous post he had held in his life, apart from Church Warden. In reality, he moulded the presidency to suit his character and the two were ultimately indistinguishable.
Peter Sly never won a Henley medal, but he had the next best thing: a superior piece of real estate located half way along the Henley course. Suitably lubricated with a glass of wine or two, Peter would happily recount how in 1977 he was alerted at the eleventh hour (by Len Huggett) to the auction of two riverside workmen's cottages close to Remenham. Sly subsequently 'bet the ranch' to acquire the two properties and the builders moved in to transform them into 'Old Blades'.
A high spot of the early years of Peter's presidency was the President's Lunch held in the River Room at Old Blades where momentous decisions were taken, but none remembered. These occasions were always preceded by generous libations at the Flower Pot while Pat was slaving over a hot stove back at base.
Always happy to imbibe with the 'Last of the Summer Wine' set, Peter was equally at home with the younger membership, or quaffing 'Alt' beer with our friends at R G Benrath in Germany. Some members were greater butts of his jokes than others, but he was a shrewd judge of character and had a warm spot in his heart for everyone. 'Old Blades' rarely turned away a deserving waif or stray.
Latterly, Peter was often to be found taking 'walks' along Remenham Lane on his mobility buggy, wearing one of his 'trade mark' wide brim hats. This mode of transport suited him very well and allowed him to arrive in style at the President's Lunch at Remenham Club during regatta week. Following a lunch replete with port and brandy, he would happily motor back up the towpath to 'Old Blades', oblivious to all the regatta goers who had been mown down in his wake.
In sum, to quote Norman Cowling again, "Peter Sly was a genuine life enhancer. You could not have a dull time in Peter's company; he would not allow it." The rowing world will be a poorer place without Peter Sly; at Cygnet he will be sorely missed as the club prepares to celebrate its 125th anniversary, devoid of its most vociferous dignitary.
Paul Rawkins, 20th March 2015
