Once again the Hamble River Raid saw sunshine for the majority of the race with only a slight
shower of soft spring rain to cool the competitors on the final sprint to the finish.

A refreshing sprinkle
which kindly disappeared for the prize giving and celebrations.

Despite clashing with the FA cup final, The Royal Corinthian Vice Admirals Cup and the Annual 3
Creeks OGA race and sadly without the presence of the Hamble quay refreshment kiosk (A quick note about the HAMBLE QUAY TEA SHOP. Due to re-open imminently
with a super new
enclosed dining area and upstairs viewing deck. Something the Village
has needed for some time. A
place to sit and watch the river in peace and warmth with a nice cup of
tea or more.
They have been great supporters of the Hamble River Raid and we look
forward to having them back
very soon.
The new premises will be a great destination for the recreational rowers
of the Hamble River Rowing
Club and the Scouts.)
the River
Raid had a smaller than usual turn out but great support from its regular stalwart supporters and some
new faces to give spark and added impetuous to the race.

Eleven Boats turned up with nine Gigs and two NEW entries for the ‘ODDS & SODS’, namely a traditional
Scandinavian Faering ‘ Frieda’ rowed by Chuck Dandridge and his family.

The boat is called
‘Frieda’ (named after the brunette in ABBA, so you can guess Chucks age!).

The other Odds & Sods was an ‘Egret’ class dinghy appropriately named ‘Egret’ and rowed by John
Dyke of the Hamble Sea Scouts and the Hamble Harbour Patrol.

Both these boats turned in a sterling performance with Chuck launching his boat after three years ashore
and promptly watching his boat fill up with water as its planks took up and swelled. (Sadly not quick
enough!). But still they competed and while taking the longest time they finished the race in under an
hour. Chuck described the event as great fun but jolly silly, truly a Great British sporting event.
John Dyke took on the course single handily in the Egret and carried off two trophies, the newly
created ‘Roger Franklin Memorial Trophy’ for first the first Egret and the ‘Silver Vase’ for first ‘’Odds
& Sods’, let no one comment.

THE MAIN GIG
The staggered start with one-minute gaps for the majority of entrants worked well, although there was some
tactical strategic modesty shown at the beginning when the crews were quizzed as to how much preparation
had been put in. This will be remembered next year
Staggering the start ensured each boat cleared the first turning mark independently and without fear of colliding
with other competitors.
There was some confusion at the end with the results and indeed the call out was not correct but in fact those
correctly due a trophy did indeed end up with their rightful prizes.

To keep the record straight the Bursledon Gig results were as follows:
1st home on elapsed time was ‘Constance’ ably driven hard by the combined
might of Ben Meakins, Graham Tullet & Ed Wilkinson (pictured). They took the Cox’ns oar,
which is being returned to the Yachting Sports office. One-day chaps…

2nd home by a mere 30.3 seconds on elapsed time was ‘Exocet’ from Hamble Sea Scouts powered by “Team
Williams, Martin & Owen + Billy & Max” They woz robbed. They also provided the most entertaining start and
should have won a prize for that, although I hear they may have got the beer! So that’ alright then.

3rd was ‘Mistress’ owned and rowed by the Hand family. One of the smartest
boats and best turned out crew. Dad Chris, Mum Sue with Tim and Abigail all did
well.

4th was the visiting away team from Langstone Cutters, Mark, Chris and Jenny in
‘Point Source’ ably assisted by Nick Hand from the previously mentioned family
who was taken aboard as local knowledge & Cox. They were able to carry back
home the Methuselah’s Trophy for fastest/oldest crew although Nick managed to reduce the average age
somewhat. As befits their seniority they alighted with genteel aplomb, see below.

5th came ‘Sashay Woman’ the Goodison / Orton team who have
steadfastly supported the Raid since its inception. Despite losing an oar
on the home straight (equivalent of Lewis Hamilton finishing on 3
wheels) they took home the beautifully carved ‘Britannia Trophy’
created by local sculptor Glyn Foulks. This trophy was created to
encourage the use of traditional wooden oars sporting the standard
‘Britannia style blade.

6th Left was Julian Smith and his high
Modulus team in the Elephant Boatyards
working gig. A creditable performance by
a newly formed team.

7th in David Moody’s well known and easily recognisable red gig was the
‘Sea Darts’ let by David Ackhurst and his team. They took the Raiders Shield
for fastest U16.

8th was the beautiful and colour co-ordinated
ladies team, the 4B’s in the Michael Schmidt
Boat. These girls handed over the pig roast to
willing helpers to mind before setting off to
compete in the raid turning in a creditable
performance. The team comprised June,
Wendy, Anne and Nikki & cox’d by the brave
and plucky Paige Bessa.
The Rose Bowl quite rightly went to this
‘bloomin lovely team’.

9th Bursledon Gig was Beryl C crewed by members from the newly formed Hamble River
Rowing Club. Named ‘ 3 Desperate housewives and 2 men in awe/oar’ , the rowers had
only rowed twice before and were assisted by Glyn Foulkes in the stern as cox and mentor.
They started with a spirited sprint and a dignified finish,
To sum up; on elapsed time there was only 8.7 minutes between
the first and last gig, so all in all everybody did well and can be
proud of themselves

UNDER STARTERS ORDERS
Perhaps the real star of the event was that
amazing chap Geoff Holt, quadriplegic record breaking sailor. We all now know that
he sailed his dinghy round Britain single handed , has now sailed single handed
across the Atlantic and has even bigger records in his sight but what a guy!
He kept the event under control, giving banter and instructions to the teams and
keeping the timekeeper under control.
Thanks Geoff you were great and a true inspiration to us all both ashore and afloat.

There are many unsung heroes who help make the Hamble River
Raid, from the girls on the ‘Pig’, to Greg and Kay Thorne running
the bar, the folk on the soft drinks and the youngsters on the
tombola with Kay Royle keeping an eye on the money.
A great team.

It starts with a convoy of Land Rovers, HIAB trucks and family
cars arriving to disgorge gear, people, bits and bobs. There are
faces that appear and if by magic the marquee is up, the tables
set and all is ready for the start.
Gigs are gathered, rescue boats tuned, a positive can do attitude fills the air. Terry Hawkes marshals his
flotilla of safety craft which disperse to all points of the course, liaising with the Harbour office who dutifully
turned up on the nail at the start to ensure a smooth first crossing.
Annette keeps a steady rein on everything.

But this year we would like to single out and thank
Hayden Moore & Emma Cornell who led their team of ‘wet scouts’
in to action. The equivalent of the pit marshals. They held the boats
on station at the start, pointing them the right way to ensure the
competing crews could concentrate on getting away smoothly.
Thank you Hayden and Emma and to all your team. Without them it
would not happen.
www.hambleriverraid.co.uk

This year has seen a NEW impetus on the river, spurred on from a combination of the
Bursledon Regatta and the Hamble River Raid.
The HAMBLE RIVER ROWING Club has been formed under the chairmanship of Jim
Chadwick-Williams and a steering committee led by Glyn Foulkes, Max Taylor and
Andy Cunningham and with close consultancy from John, Ian and Annette Dyke.
This club has been formed to get people, local and otherwise out on the river for
recreational rowing. For fitness, fun and friendship.

This has been made possible by three
major generous acts.
The first two was the lending of their gigs for a year by Graham Moody and Glyn Foulkes.
The 3rd was the permission of the Jolly Sailor Pub at Bursledon and the Hall and Woodhouse Brewery Company to allow
the gigs to be moored off the pontoon at the well-known Bursledon Pub. What a club house! but then again when you’ve
been rowing it’s always nice to have a refresh so we and the pub do well, here’s to a long and happy marriage.

Indeed the Jolly Sailor and Mr. Mark Woodhouse have been very generous to Hamble River rowing by donating the ale
for the River Raid these last two years. We thank them very much.

The Hamble River Rowing Club now has 80 odd listed members and after only one inaugural event and two evening
sessions is settling down with more volunteers coming out to offer their services. However, please don’t hold back we
need more.

To learn more, please see www.hambleriverrowing.moonfruit.com or simply google ‘Hamble
River Rowing will find them.

We at Hamble River Raid working on behalf the Hamble Sea Scouts are very pleased to be working with Hamble River
Rowing and recognise the relationship that has been forged and will grow stronger. It is great to be involved with the
local community and we thank you for your support.