A Very British Summer

What a busy week. First there was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant (windy, wet and bitterly cold), then the Home Built Boat Rally raid down the Thames (windy, wet and bitterly cold at intervals) and finally the Beale Park Thames Boat Show (Friday's show cancelled because of ferocious wind, rain and cold). I had a great time.

The top picture shows Phil Oxborrow (Pathfinder canoe Tonawanda), Wayne Oliver (Sandpiper flattie Ever Hopeful) and Chris Adeney (strip-plank canoe) entering the lake at Beale after an invigorating trip down from Wallingford against a stiff headwind (is there any other kind of wind?). An hour or so later, the wind blew up hard and the rain came down in stair rods, blowing the Water Craft tent completely off the ground. The people inside it were alarmed but luckily unhurt.
Here is a picture of the repair crew at work, stiffening the bent tubes with bits of wood held on by zip ties. The editor of Water Craft, Pete Greenfield (left) is assisting by holding his hand in the way.
When I got home later that afternoon, the first thing I saw was the gazebo I had erected over the Bee to facilitate finishing and painting:


Blast.

Off to the Upper Thames

I'm off to the Thames again, this time to Eynsham where I will be joining the Home Built Boat Rally for a paddle down the river to Beale Park and the Thames Boat Show.
It became finally clear that the Bee was not going to be finished in time, what with the Pageant and all, so Snarleyow got a bit of a tidy up and is being pressed into service.
It is bloody raining already.

The secret of good coxing....

...is to keep the boat centre screen.

Vogalonga 2012

A group from Langstone Cutters took a pilot gig and a Teifi skiff to Venice for the Vogalonga, the only day in the year that motor boats are banned from the canals and human-power rules. You would think this would restore the calm of La Serenissima for a blessed moment, but the event now attracts more than 1,600 boats from all over Europe.
The mayhem can be judged from this...

Jolly Jubilee Boating Weather

Jubilee Weather - a Short History

1897  Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee - thunder, lightning and hail.
1937  King George VI's Coronation - cold and grey.
1953  Queen Elizabeth II's Royal River Pageant - heavy rain.
1977  Queen's Silver Jubilee - coldest and wettest June in history, with strong winds and downpours on the day.

Outlook for Sunday:

Jolly Jubilee Boating Weather

The forecast for next Sunday.....

Chris Duff reaches the Faroe Islands

After nearly a week at sea in a boat the same size as mine, Chris Duff has reached the Faroe Islands. 

In his latest blog post, he vividly describes having to cross strong tidal overfalls round Sumba Head, the southernmost tip of the islands. He had no alternative - brisk northerlies were forecast that would have blown him back to Blighty if he didn't carry straight on. He writes:

"In hindsight I would have to say that - though it was one of the scariest experiences of my being on the sea - given all of the variables that were a part of that night, in order to land safely, I would have to do exactly what I did. The most direct line to safety, and the closest shelter from the predicted winds was to head straight across the overfalls for the shelter of the cliffs." 

The picture shows Chris rowing Northern Reach in Lewis before his departure. Now he waits for conditions to turn right for his passage to Iceland. Good luck, Chris.