Recreational rowing on the Thames. Beginners, new members and visiting clubs welcome.
15 club members and friends spent 3 days yomping around, riding horses, lying in the sun, strolling along shining rivers contemplating but never actually swimming, cooking meals together and generally having a splendid time in the Brecon Beacons. All organized once again by Alison. Happy Days.
The Coastal Barbarians Rowing Club gave 21 GGBC members an experience to remember in Studland last Sunday. Over 3 sessions, in singles (for the brave or just plain unlucky) and doubles for the rest, we splashed about in the surf trying to look like we knew how to row!
The weather was amazing and the beach packed with day trippers watching in awe as GGBC took to coastal rowing like the proverbial ducks to water. Or maybe like a bunch of yappy dogs to water, paddling furiously and trying not to cry or laugh hysterically as the waves threw the boats about.
We zipped across the bay and back, under Old Harry Rocks and back to the beach, surfing in on the waves, each of us swearing never to mind a bit of boat wash on the Thames again.. or some simply swearing!
Big thanks to Peter for organising 20 of us, herding cats with aplomb, and the Barbarians who were extremely supportive and hospitable. And thanks to Mel for the pictures.
It was a superb day out, helped by the weather, good company and a great experience all round.
Eight club members took a great 2 hour First Aid course in the sunshine last Sunday -finding out what to do in the event of cardiac arrest or having a heart attack and practicing with the defibrillator which is an amazing piece of kit. It’s next to the first aid cupboard in Bay one if you are unsure.
Suzanne our instructor made it practical, talking in terms of real life scenarios and we all left feeling a little more empowered and capable.
One useful bit of information is to have What Three Words downloaded to your phone so that if you ever do have to ring the emergency services they can pin find you easily.
Suzanne will come back and run another course for anyone interested later in the summer. I can’t recommend it enough.
GGBC – The coxes’ song.
Tricky Stream
That flicks you round
I’ve lost that heron on the corner
Plastic on his slimy post
Upstream turn right or risk a bang
Downstream turn left or mighty twang
Will gather you, your boat an’ all
In an embrace you’ll long recall.
Tricky days with tricky light:
That’s a bugger I can’t see
That hidden Eight and nor doest thee
Look where the lower margin of the trees
in winterbrown meet winter water…
………greeny-brown and black with silt;
Brown deadly reeds and good black earth
merge in the grey of Winterlight
In lifting fog and mist opaque in slanting springtime sun
There’s bugger all a Cox can see
but reference memory and so shalt thee
or damage safety and your crew’s morale.
Green buoy and hanging branch, weeping willow, creeping sallow
none of these deserve my verse.
Out there, there’s gorgeous colour.
Green yellow, chestnut brown and darkling blue, deep water’s friend
Or Rippling Blue from coach’s launch,
add reds to form our merging brown
That flows through banks of varied green
And if the light is right you’ll see
Reflecting yellow starpricks – water lily – fleckling on the darkling blue.
The truth you’ve guessed is in the birds.
Crested Grebes in mating dance, Kingfishers
owning chestnut brown in flight
Kingfisher blue in downwards strike
Gold in Goldfinch, other Yellow Starpricks, fleur-de-llys in bud,
White for Loddon here enfenced
The blacks and browns in white front geese and evil cormorants, not shags.
It’s all out there, outside the boat
My Cox’s realm, coxing GGBC
Alas, dear rowers, yours is watching me.
Colin Edgar, May 2023
Sunday 30th April saw three clubs, Maidenhead, Weyfarers and Lea, visit our club for a morning’s competition.
The race was a 4km time trial in the Charles Stanley touring quads from the Club, down to a handbrake turn at the bottom of the 2nd island and back to just before the bridge.
GGBC put out 6 crews with 6 from other clubs. The winning crew was Lea. It was a great atmosphere and several crews even decided to have another turn!
A big thanks goes to the coxes, starter, finishers, marshals, refreshment makers/sellers and to Richard for coordinating it all. It takes a lot of effort, but hopefully rewarded with everyone’s sincere thanks and obvious enjoyment of the day.
It was Helen’s last row at the Club as she is moving away from the area so a good send off for her. We wish you well and hopefully you’ll find some water somewhere to keep rowing.
