News & Events
David Webb
2nd December 2020
David Webb
1943 - 2020
Once in a while, the death of a Cygnet alumnus mines a deep seam of contemporary consciousness: David Webb, an irrepressible 'wet-bob' of Olympian repute, who has died at the age of 77, was just such a man. In early July, his son Nicolas wrote to inform us of his father's sad demise in the hope that someone might remember him; he was not disappointed - within hours a tsunami of memories poured forth from his fellow crewmen, some of whom had not been in contact with each other for decades.
David (Anthony) Webb joined Cygnet in 1970, his short stature and well-honed vocal cords marking him out as a coxswain from the outset. He was initially let loose on a novice lV - Gary Fettis, Jeremy Berrisford, Stuart Fraser and Richard du Parcq - subsequently steering a host of club crews to victory, culminating in Cygnet's first post-war entry (in Thames Cup) at Henley Royal Regatta in 1972 and again in 1973.
Official club photos of the time (below) show David immaculately turned out in his coxswain's regalia (front row, second from right), his inventive mind always thinking ahead. Gary Fettis recalls 'I remember his sartorial elegance which carried through to everything he did. There were no built-in speaker systems in the '70s, so David took it upon himself to install one in our Vlll and very neat it was too with all the speakers placed inside Harrods' plastic bags to keep them dry'.Other Cygnet contemporaries remember an insatiable socialite who always knew where the best parties were and, more to the point, how to gain entry to them. Norman Cowling wistfully recounted how 'he frequently tried to get us to drink what he called an Evelyn Waugh noonday reviver - a lethal mix of Guinness, gin and ginger beer - I never knew if it was his own invention'. By the time of my era in the 1980s it had become the Tideway tonic.
Then, as now, 'club hopping' was not uncommon. David decamped to Thames Tradesmen RC in 1973 and thence to London RC where he steered the well-known and successful pair of McLeod and Christie, which gave him his entrée to the 1976 Montreal Olympics. A second Olympic appearance with the same duo followed in Moscow in 1980. At Cygnet, it remains a source of enduring pride that the 1972-3 crews produced two world-class GB competitors: David in the Olympics and Stuart Fraser in the World Championships (1975-76).
Aside from rowing and gate-crashing all the best venues in town, David retained a lifelong interest in music and the arts. He played violin and piano to a high standard early in life, mastered the art of conducting and went on to play percussion in the National Youth Orchestra. At Oxford, he read Greats/Classics at Hertford College, albeit without much enthusiasm, before heading north to complete a degree at Hull (where he apparently made Larkin's acquaintance).
The world of work brought new challenges, initially as a manager for the Festival Ballet/English National Ballet, followed by careers in the Civil Service and British Telecom. Retirement in East Sussex with wife Veronica held many happy hours playing the piano, watching sport, smoking his pipe and cigars and quaffing the occasional ale or two.
But perhaps the last word should go to son, Nicolas: "many thanks for passing on the message (of his passing) to his Cygnet contemporaries, it's been enormously heart-warming to read the anecdotes and memories. Old teammates are more than welcome to post their memories in the comments below and they will be forwarded to David's family.
Paul Rawkins, November 2020
XC Deneb Captain's Log
1st December 2020
Dear Cygnets,
I hope everyone is doing well and had a nice first day of advent.
From tomorrow 2nd of December - we go back where we were before the Lockdown 2.0. Lucky us we are in Tier 2.
Training this week:
Training sessions are in Fitclub. Please update your availability, and book your slots, to help us plan best.
Weds: Strength & Conditioning with Charlie 18:00-19:00 / 19:15-20:15
Thurs: Erg -
Sat: 1st Outing: 7:00
Sun: 1st Outing 7:30
2nd Outing: 9:00 (depending on attendance focussing on improving the technical skills ideal to get back into the rhythm for the less experienced)Safety:
Keep in mind winter is almost here. It is very cold and can be very foggy in the morning please think about using lights if required.
Please don't overestimate your abilities and fitness, this includes the velocity of the streamdon't forget to check weather forecast, tides, including the flag in our webpage.
Please Follow the guidelines.
- Book your slot (including landing time)
- Don't forget the post outing log for tracking purposes.
This is all for the moment any questions please let me know.
Have a nice day
Cris
LXXXIX Deneb Captain's Log
26th November 2020
Dear Cygnets,
I hope everyone is doing well and safe through this third week of lockdown. I think we were lucky in the tier draw, Tier 2, so hopefully we are back on the water next week.
Last weekend we had a Virtual 4s head run (teams of four, running the course distance (6.8K). The Pickford Crew (Andy, Martin, Pete, Rupert) raced in at 33:54.5 while the Jackson crew (Beth, Mustafa, Cris, Simon) scored 35:17. Thank you to all involved and well done to all for a great effort and taking part. It was great fun 😉. Talking about fun, last Friday also there was a BBL / CYG Quiz Night- I heard it was great with challenging questions, thank you Rupert and Samantha for organizing.
Training this week:
As per the email before, Charlie has already updated the circuits and mobility on the google sheets. Please feel free to send photographic evidence 😉 Also 1:1 sessions with Charlie on Saturday (£35 per session) - Please book your slot it in fitclub - (if you have problems let me know)
Sessions are 40 min - Ideally we are looking for a min of 4 people across the below time slots to make it worth it.
Times Slots:
- 9:30 -10-30
- 10:30 -11:30
- 11:30-12:30
- 13:00-14:00
- 14:00-15:00
And I think this is everything for the moment
Keep safe and positive :)
Cris
