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Sponsored Row 2009: 80 Blistering Miles
By the time the rowers began to assemble, industrious parents had already been hard at work for an hour, preparing tea, coffee and breakfast to fortify the rowers before they set out on their epic journey. Properly fuelled, 115 participants - including pupils from 4th, 5th and 6th forms, parents, ex-parents, OKs and friends - climbed into 26 boats and began paddling downstream, in the early morning sunshine. The first lock loomed fairly quickly for most of the hardy bunch, but after the first few crews made their way through, the lock jammed - quite why we'll never know, it seems - leaving the bigger boats (the VIIIs and Octuples especially) to await the arrival of the professional lock-keeper at 9.00 am before they could continue their journey. But those in the smaller boats, anxious to make progress, heaved their craft from the water and lugged them on their shoulders around the obstruction.
The race to Lunch is on........... Lunch on the first day was at Pangbourne College Boathouse - 7 locks and 25 miles from the start - which was much too long for hungry rowers to wait before taking on more food and water. Ever mindful of their rowers' needs, the parents of the Sherriff Club were stationed at every lock along the route, armed with drinks, cakes and bananas to heave towards the hungry hordes whenever they were stationary. But their cheery waves and words were just as welcome to the crews, especially after long stretches on a quiet early-day river (or, on the Sunday afternoon, to weary rowers eager to be home). The advance guard began to appear at Pangbourne at just after 12.30pm - led by the tireless stalwarts of the KGS veterans' Boat Club, some 22 of whom made the journey (from start to finish), at an average age well in excess of three times the age of our youngest participant. But the early rower catches the best sandwiches (or at least the widest choice), so they had a strong incentive to push hard toward Pangbourne. By the time they arrived, the Sherriff Club catering operation was in full swing. During the whole day, the crews would consume 300 assorted rolls, 40 kilograms of bananas, 20 litres of squash and several hundred cakes. By the time the final crew left Pangbourne at 5.00, the catering trailer was considerably lighter than it had been at the beginning of the day.
And the rowing continued.......... Saturday afternoon is one of the less scenic parts of the row - and for those who've flirted with the Reading one-way system, this will come as no surprise. However, it is more fun to row through the town than drive through it, so the rowers nevertheless had a better afternoon than the doughty support teams, still flogging from lock to lock in support of their now tiring charges. For the caterers there had to be no delay: leaving Pangbourne just after the last crew had departed, the caterers made their way straight to Henley, where the crews would stop for the night, to find the earliest crews arriving at just after 6.00pm, having put the first 41 miles and 16 locks behind them. Thereafter, there was a steady trickle of arrivals throughout the evening, but the tension rose as night began to fall, and KGS crews were still scattered over 5 reaches of the river. But they were in good hands, the safety boats accompanying them all the way crewed by experienced coaches offering advice and encouragement as appropriate, but patient to the very end - even with boats full of parents whose recent conversion to the sport was evident in their (increasingly) ragged technique. But it was still a weary of collection of folk - coaches, rowers and helpers - who made their way (to home or hotel) from Henley at 10.00pm that dark Saturday night.
Off they go again........... But rowers are known for nothing if not their resilience, and so it was that the KGS throng gathered together again on the lawns of the Upper Thames Rowing Club, at 6.30 the next morning, ready to begin the second half of the journey, and, like real rowers, excitedly comparing injuries. The range of patent blister remedies would gladden any quack's heart. They were buoyed by another day of fine, sunny weather, by the thought that they were already past the half-way mark (in terms of distance, if not locks), and the feeling that perhaps the worst was behind them. As the day wore on, however, and progress was slowed by river traffic and tiredness, expected landmarks seemed slower to arrive, while nagging pains began to take on a more persistent character. It was clear from the number of crews dancing in their boats at locks that certain parts of the anatomy are less well equipped to handle journies of this distance, and need regular stretching. By 12.30 on the Sunday, the first crews were arriving at the Eton Boathouse for lunch, and a more lively spot would be difficult to find on this stretch of the Thames. On the curve of the river where Eton and Windsor are joined by a footbridge, in the lea of Windsor Castle, and Windsor's version of the London Eye, the rowers and coaches could enjoy their food while watching the pleasure boats ply up and down the river, and continue their exhaustive pursuit of blister remedies.
And still they kept going........ After half an hour break, the coaches rounded crews up and ushered them on their way again - the last boat had arrived at Henley at 9.30 at night, and they wanted no repeat on the Sunday, especially if the rowers were still to be able to go into school to boast about their exploits on Monday morning. And some of the Veteran rowers, who had perhaps been a little sceptical of the likely endurance of some of the youngest crews, were surprised and delighted to see them head off with gusto on the final leg of their journey, and to encounter them later on, singing in the shadows of the locks as they waited their turn behind the flotillas of Sunday cruisers. The Veterans had kept going strongly throughout, hoping to clinch the title of first crew home. But they failed to allow for the tenacity and cunning of the senior boys who had rowed the event in their single sculls. Hauling a single scull out of the water is a lot quicker than waiting in line for the locks to open, so the boys skipped their way around the last few obstacles and raced each other to the finish line at the KGS boathouse. Congratulations were due to Lower 6th student Dan Robinson, who was the first to step onto the home pontoon at around 7.00 in the evening, but he was followed in prompt order by the other singles, the J15 boys Quad and a Quad and double from the evergreen KGS Vets. As the evening wore on, the crowds on the pontoon, in party mood, began to grow. And the noise and excitement of the crowd, carrying all the way upstream to Molesey Lock, was a welcome incentive to the homecoming crews, all of whom - even the last crew, of novice parents, arriving at 9.15pm - finished in style as they pushed hard past the cheering supporters at the Boathouse.
Not Finished Yet........ And even when the journey was over, the crowds dispersed, the tables packed away, and the boats back on the racks, the Sponsored Row was not finished. Despite 80 blistering miles and 29 locks there was one other task that awaited the tired crews - collecting the money they had been promised. For while the Row is partly about the fun and the challenge, it's also about the money that is raised along the way:
The funds will be shared equally between the Boat Club and Cancer Research, and given that the original target for the whole event was £20,000, Colin Greenaway, the Head Coach, was delighted that he would be able to present Cancer Research with a cheque for twice the anticipated amount. Well Done the Rowers, Coaches and Helpers of KGSBC for their effort,
enthusiasm, dedication and sheer persistence.
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