The Thames
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Thames Videos

This is a record of our trip, rowing down the Thames

Date:    Thursday 1 June 2006 - Monday 5 June 2006

Crew:    Peter Watts, Mehdi Vahdati, Philip Turner, Andy Lelean

Route:   Lechlade to Richmond (128 miles - although our book only counted 122)

All these photos have been compressed for web optimisation,

if there are any you especially like, drop me an emails stating which ones and I'll send you the full quality versions.

Many thanks to Peter for his pictures.

Videos:- The Videos page can be accessed via link top left of this page, or by clicking here.

Click a photo to see full size, then click back to return

Laura

Lechlade (11:00 a.m. Thursday) - Captain Grumpy stroking us out

Thursday Lunch: The Swan, Radcot Bridge - Mile 6

Thursday Night: Pinkhill Lock - Mile 20. Walked into The Talbot, Eynsham.

Friday Lunch: The Isis, Iffley Lock, Oxford - Mile 29

Friday Night: Shillingford Bridge Hotel, Shillingford - Mile 46

Saturday Lunch: The Riverside, Reading - Mile 65

Henley-on-Thames

Down the Henley course - (now, I've got a small exercise for you!!!!!)

Hambleden Lock

Saturday Night: Campsite, Hurley - Mile 78, walked into Hurley dinner at Ye Olde Bell

Sunday 4th June - Approach to Marlow Suspension Bridge

Bray - The most miserable unfriendly people we encountered all weekend, NEVER go there!!!!

Sunday Lunch (4 p.m.): River House, Windsor - Mile 95

We flew through Windsor at full speed, scattering tourists in hourly hire boats (great fun) - note castle in background

Romney Lock (nr Eton)

A bit of light rain (2 different reactions).

Just past Old Windsor: Mile 100. Sunday Evening circa 8 p.m.

Bell Weir Lock

Sunday Night: Staines; Swan Hotel (beer) & Thames Lodge (bed) - Mile 102

Hampton Court: Someone pop in and ask Henry VIII if he needs a lift to Richmond.

Nearly there: Teddington Lock, 46th and last

Monday Lunch: The White Swan, Twickenham (our training pub) - Mile 120

4 x Rare Steak & Chips + 10 pints - perfect

Richmond Bridge - Mile 122 (actually 128 from start, we lost 6 miles somewhere along the way).

All that way, no one fell in, all we lost was 1 butter knife and then Mehdi drops his phone in!!!!

The END - Mile 128

The White Cross; Water Lane, Richmond.

9 pints of Ordinary, 3 pints of special and 1 bottle of Laurent Perrier.

Quite the best toilets of the trip (like being at the Dorchester)

Anonymous bottom blisters (mercifully out of focus)

Anyone for a penguin?

Some Numbers

5 mph
8,800 yards/hr
20 strokes/min
1,200 strokes/hr
7.33 yrds/stroke
   
240 strokes/mile
30,713 total strokes
23,035 strokes each (coxing for 1/4)
5,119 strokes/day (4.5 days)
4.3 hours/day (pulling blades)
   
46 locks
4.5 days
20 minutes/lock
3.4 hours of locks/day
   
0.5 Elevensees
1.5 Lunch
0.5 Tea
2.5 Total
   
10.2 Hours Per Day
   
10.3 51.5 hrs / 5 days

 

Day Session Location Start Finish Hours Cumulative Leg Miles/Hr
    Lechlade       0    
Thursday Morning Radcot Bridge 11:00     6 6  
  Afternoon Pinkhill Lock   20:30   9.5 20 14         2.11
Friday Morning Iffley Lock 08:00     29 9  
  Afternoon Shillingford Bridge   20:00     12.0 46 17         2.17
Saturday Morning Reading 08:00     66 20  
  Afternoon Hurley   20:30     12.5 78 12         2.56
Sunday Morning Windsor 09:30     95 17  
  Afternoon Staines   21:00     11.5 102 7         2.09
Monday Morning Twickenham 09:00     120 18  
  Afternoon Richmond   15:00     6.0 122 2     3.33
                 
        Total     51.5 122   2.37
          128   2.49

NB: The miles per hour column above includes all locks, breaks and other stops throughout the day.

Actual rowing speed was approximately 5 mph.