OARSOME CHARITY ROW
On Saturday, the 22ndof September, 103 pupils and parents from Hampton School and Lady Eleanor Holles School, accompanied by coaches and parent support staff, rowed a heroic 80 miles from Radley College Boathouse in Oxford down to the Millennium Boathouse in Sunbury. The convoy included five Hampton eights and one coxless quad, two LEH octuples and four parents’ eights. The goal was to raise as much money for local children’s hospice, Shooting Star Chase, as possible.
The event was led and organised by Hampton School’s director of rowing, Colin Greenaway, sacrificing endless Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well as Sunday mornings, to get the parents’ boats in shape for the row. There was a wide range of talent at hand, from total beginners to very experienced rowers, such as an Oxford Blue Boat coxswain. After a summer of training the parents turned up at 5am ready to slog down the Thames for two solid days.
The Hampton quad and one of the senior eights set off in the first wave from Radley, tearing through locks down to Pangbourne College Boathouse for lunch. Next it was one of the J16 eights, together with a J17 eight to head on down the course, followed by two J16 eights, then the LEH octs and the parents’ eights shortly after. The dry conditions lead the rowers into a false sense of security as, around an hour into the first morning, the heavens opened dampening the mood of most of the participants. After about five hours of rowing in the pouring rain, they made it to Pangbourne where they were welcomed with hot chocolate and enough pasta to feed Italy for years. After a short break they were off again, leaving Pangbourne to complete the last leg of the day, finishing at Leander Club. Leander is a prestigious rowing club, home to GB rowers including: Olympic gold medallist and triple world champion, Will Satch; Steve Redgrave, 5-time Olympic champion and Matthew Pinsent, 4-time Olympic champion. It was an amazing experience for the rowers to experience such a respected boat club, even after 12 hours of rowing down 41 miles of Thames in torrential rain.
They set off the next day, the clouds still feeling the need to make the weekend as miserable as possible, and most of the parents nursing various injuries as they sat down on in their boats, despite their bodies best wishes. The weather inspired Ben Martis-Jones, a Hampton J16 rower, to ask 'how do the clouds not run out of water?'. Although they were facing the wrong way, the participants got to experience rowing down the Henley Royal Regatta course; this began the 39 miles they had to travel to make it back to the boat club.
As everyone started to forget what it felt like to be somewhat dry, they arrived for their final break at Eton Masters’ Boat Club. As the rain started to clear up, Mr. Double joined the coaching team claiming he ‘brought the sunshine’ with him. Everybody set off for the final leg motivated by a hot chocolate and bath and with a common desire to finally see the Millenium boathouse.
Overall, it was a tough but rewarding weekend with a grand total of over £63,000 being raised for Shooting Star Chase. Elissa Davey summed it up perfectly saying that ‘although it was a tough weekend, it was still an enjoyable, gratifying time, plus, it felt amazing to raise so much money for such a good cause'.
