'Testing' day at Gravesend

This morning saw us all up at sparrows f**t to go and try out Tiger at Gravesend.
It took a good while to clear the ice off her decks and thwarts, but it was worth the wait.  Richard and Andrew Bain of Sea Echo were there to welcome the crew of Reivers along to try her out.  Once underway, the crew seemed to be 'flying' along!  I think the frost helped them to 'glide' over what was the River Thames...
Seriously though, they made really good and efficient progress after just a few minutes of getting familiarised with the different rowing positions.  The oars that were tested are the normal 12' 6" Macons in carbon fibre.  The collars and buttons seemed to be out of sync with the thole pins that are fitted to Tiger.  We have some possibilities to explore here and any comments made will be much appreciated. 
One choice is to leave the pins alone and alter the positions of the collars and buttons.  That's an easy option but maybe not the one we want to follow.
Another is to change the size of collars (widen them out a bit) and use the same oars.  Another choice might be to change the oars altogether and use longer slightly thicker ones.
Another choice could be to use thicker thole pins to stop the oars we have from wallowing around in the space between them.
Or, do we fit standard rowlocks to her and either go with the oars we have, or buy longer ones.

So many choices and so much input needed to decide.  The variables we have are numerous too.  To buy any more kit just increases the initial cost of the recce trip that we are training for.  However, it is essential that we have the best possible set-up if we are to set a good time for the following years of Challengers to try and beat.

Meantime, I have forwarded the lengths of the distances between gunwales and thole pins for each rowing position to Jock.  He has a method of working out the exact length needed for maximum efficency from each set of measurements.  (If that makes sense).

So, down to the rowing bit!  Having settled down, we discovered that the crew of four that turned out, could pull against a 3 knot tide at a steady 1.8 knots!  Not bad for a crew that hadn't trained for a wee while and were in a new boat!!  Then, someone said.  "Where is this swell coming from"?

The cox said.  "Look over your shoulder guys"!  He gestured to their left.  They looked, and they saw...

"That explains a lot".  Came the response. 
They turned around shortly after this shot was taken and we followed them back downstream with the tide at an almost eye-watering 8.5 knots with a medium / slow outgoing tide!  I had to wonder what these guys had for breakfast!  Just then, I realised they hadn't been able to get any breakfast as they had got up SO early and everywhere in Gravesend was shut when they arrived (apart from MacDonalds, and that doesn't count as breakfast, does it?)

We dispatched Richard in the small Safety Boat off to the pier where he knew of a secret place to buy bacon, egg and sausage rolls!  He returned with lots of hot buns full of goodies as soon as he could.  The crew had rowed the Tiger back down to her moorings, tied her up (kinky, eh?) and left her dangling off a small boy!  Sorry, that should read 'buoy' before anyone gets too excited!  "Anyway"...as my offspring say whenever I get 'inappropriate' and embarrass them), "moving on".  Short work was made of the bacon, egg and sausage butties while they discussed the alterations needed and dreamed of how they are going to take on the Challenge of London to London via Paris.

Any comments, please join in and make them.  Advice will be heeded and may even be utilised to make your trip(s) better than ever.  We're open to suggestions on bits of boat kit.



A Tiger in the water!

This photograph shows the Cornish Gig, Tiger on the day she was placed in the water at Gravesend.  This is the style of boat you will be rowing in the future London to London via Paris Rowing Challenges from here on in. 

Photo taken by Richard Bain.

Richard is our Safety Officer and was with us on this years London to Paris Challenge, 2010 as the pilot of the Committee Boat called Sea Echo.  He saw the cutters first hand and now reports that the Gig is SO much more stable than them in the water.  He has a lot more confidence that these are the right boats to use in our events.

Watch this blog for more photos of Tiger in action.  This years crew from team Reivers are coming to Gravesend on Sunday for a trial row.  They will report through me what their impressions are. 

Some people have already replied to me about the meeting to be held in March 2011.  Please keep the replies coming in so that we know who will be coming along.  If you just turn up, that will be fine, but there will only be enough food for those that let me know their intentions.  Also, we can't say if you will actually get in if we have too many people turning up on the day.  We are limited to 60 people - so, first come, first served.  Be sure to get your replies in asap.

First meeting for London to London via Paris, 2012 and beyond

ANYONE WISHING TO TAKE PART IN ANY LONDON TO LONDON via PARIS rowing Challenge - meeting and presentation date for your diary:

We are proud to announce that anyone wishing to get to know us - and each other and to learn more about the Challenge, should come along to our first meeting and presentation.

It will be held on Sunday March 6th 2011 at The Royal Canoe Club, Trowlock Lane, Teddington and will start at a time to be announced later.  Snacks and hot drinks will be provided. 

We intend having the rowing boat Tiger, a carbon fibre Cornish Gig on hand for you to look over.  This is the style of boat we will use for all future challenges (although not made from carbon fibre).  If you want ot have a short row, bring some rowing kit with you and we'll see what we can do. 

Anyone wishing to attend please let me know well in advance as space is limited to around 50.  We also need to know how many to cater for.  PLEASE also let me know if you intend having a row of Tiger on the day so that we can gauge the level of interest. 

Replies and further information can be sent to and obtained from rogergould@btconnect.com

Off to the gym now for some training for my Atlantic Row in January 2011.

More news on the Allum Atlantic Challenge 2011

The decision has been made now, and I'm off to carry out extensive Safety Training that is needed prior to the Atlantic Challenge. I will still be available during this training for email enquiries and, while I'm away actually on the row during January and February, our on land support team for the Lonodon to London via Paris Challenges will deal with all emails and phone calls as usual. You'll either end up speaking to Chris or may be re-directed to Richard Bain (our Safety Expert) for any technical issues.

Other than that, we have a team from the 2010 L2P event taking one of our Gigs out for a test row or two hopefully within the next two to three weeks. This will take place at Gravesend.

Also, Richard is pressing ahead with the issue of getting the Gigs coded for our future events. This is necessary so that the authorities on both sides of the water are happy with our plans and designs.

A couple of people have taken the step of phoning in to make sure there are still places available for them in the 2012 Challenge. The answer at the moment is always 'yes'. There are various people in different parts of the country who are looking for other rowers willing to take part. I have a list of people that want to go and are desperately looking for sponsorship too. If any of you out there have sponsors and are looking for crew members, please look up London to Paris on Facebook. Apparently, a page has been started by a Richard Bain (more technically gifted than me) where you can all talk to each other about all things LtoLviaP.

Enjoy!

The Atlantic Ocean calls - again!

Oh dear, oh dear! What am I thinking of??

For those that don't already know, in 1997 I took part in the first ever Atlantic Rowing Race. It took my partner and I 66 days to complete the task.
This weekend Simon Chalk from WoodVale Challenge, another veteran of that first race and several other Ocean Rowing crossings since (they organise all of the Ocean Crossing races), talked to me about an adventure across the Atlantic Ocean to be held in - January through to February in 2011. He said there is a spare place, and guess what? I'm filling that space!

Does this sound logical? No! Obviously not! But life is too short to miss out on opportunities when they come along. The things that race through your mind at times like this are ... Am I too old now? Am I fit enough? Will my back ache hold off for long enough to finish the event? The answers to all these could be a resounding 'Yes'! Especially the one about being too old. However, this is going out to all of you that might be dithering about whether you can do London to Paris, or Paris to London, or London to London via Paris in 2012 and beyond. You'll never know the answers about yourself unless you give it a shot. As my wife said to me when I got off the phone with Simon. "You'll never have another chance like this again! It's up to you. But I am sure you wouldn't forgive yourself if you didn't give it serious consideration".

That's me then! I'll keep you updated about this challenge and the London to London via Paris as I go along the way.

Team Enquiry received again...

This week has seen the same high level of interest shown from enquiries.
One person has got back in touch after completing other personal tasks to say he now has a team of six people with others nibbling in the wings! This is great news!
Remember, if you have a friend or two that want to do This mammoth event, you do not have to find an entire team. There are other individuals around the country that are looking for you - they are in the same position as you. They need people to make up a team.

We are pressing forward with a recce trip over the same course that will be covered in 2012. Arrangements are ongoing and I will keep you updated from this blog on our progress.

Still keeping up the high level of interest! Don't get left behind...

After another few days of frantic activity online, I am pleased to say that we are still getting around four requests for information every day!  At least half are from women.  This is reinforcing my plan to have two female teams to compete against each other.

At first when people applied for information, I simply provided an email explaining what we are doing and how to get involved.  Now however, with every email of information I send out, I am also sending an Application Form for the One Way and Two Way trips.  Hopefully, this will get things moving as we need deposits coming in to get boats built.  Time is running out as the first actual payment (after deposits) is due to be in with us by the end of June 2011.  At that stage, we will decide if the event goes ahead or not.  Don't let it slip by guys!  There will never be another chance to be the first to take part in the return London to London via Paris Rowing Challenge.

My other plan to have different categories is also being reinforced by people saying they would like to be 'Challengers' as opposed to 'Competitors'.  Remember that you don't have to enter this with a team of racing snakes, going all out to set the fastest time.  You are welcome to come along and complete the course - for personal achievement, or to raise money for charity.

As time gets nearer to the Challenge, it is important to realise that expressing an interest is one thing, but getting your money in and ensuring your place in a boat is THE only thing that counts.  We've all talked about getting involved in something that challenges us before, and regretted the lost chance when we didn't commit to our dream.  The only way to make this happen for you is to make that decision a reality.

Shortly, we will be announcing an open day meeting for everyone that wants to get involved to come along and meet your potential team mates.  This meeting will be held in the Surrey area at a location to be decided.  We will have a Cornish Gig there for you to look over and will tell you all a little more of what is required to get yourselves ready for this mammoth Challenge.

Remember.  We supply the boat and Safety Boats.  You provide the will power and personnel to carry out the task.  Without you being there, it doesn't fly!!

Check your emails! There's been a new announcement made...

FYI.

After much discussion and heart searching, it has been decided to reduce both the non-refundable deposit AND the event entry fees for all trips - either London to Paris; Paris to London or London to London via Paris...
We've only been to achieve this because the Gigs will not cost quite as much as we first feared, AND more importantly, the crews of the Safety Boats have given us a further reduction in their costings. This is a fantastic effort on their part because they could be making a LOT more money by staying home and doing their usual jobs on the river and around the coast. To be honest, I think they are seeing this as an adventure for them too! Let's make it worth everyone's while and an event to remember.
There have been other developments too on the publicity front. A TV documentary company have voiced an interest in covering the event from now until it ends. Get your sponsors on board now and they will not be disappointed.

Anyone that has already voiced an interest will be receiving an email with the new details of payment and Application Forms attached too.
Anyone else out there that would like to receive an up to date Application Form, please get in touch on my email at rogergould@btconnect.com asap to avoid disappointment!

Happy Days!
Roger G

Lots of female interest...in the best possible way!

It is quite staggering to find that we have had over 24 women express an interest in taking part in the 2012 event so far. I am pleased to see such a large number of women getting involved in what has been to date, a male dominated event.
My intention now is to open a Facebook page dedicated to the London to London via Paris rowing Challenge, so that interested parties can get in touch with each other online and arrange teams. I would love to get two female teams to enter the Challenge and possibly compete against each other. Fancy being one of the first female teams to compete in this event? Why not? Let's get this started here and now!
I will send an email to all the applicants to date, and ask if it is alright to put their email address online. When and if you agree, you can all get together to share views and ideas. Who knows, maybe a team or two will emerge from it?

The cost of this event will come down if we can get three or more teams involved. To make this event 'float', we need at least three teams, or it runs at a loss. We can only provide a discount if, or rather when, we get three or more teams to take part. If we get the right number of people to take part, we will take a serious look at refunding a proportion of your entry fees once the event has finished.


Together we can make this THE most memorable Challenge to date!

Get involved now and avoid disappointment later...

This is Really Good to see!

A big thanks to everyone that has asked for more information throughout today.  Thanks have to go to British Rowing for their coverage of the Challenge.  It has generated a lot of interest.  This evening alone I have sent out four Application Forms to enthusiastic people wishing to take part in The Challenge, while six other people have asked for more information.  We hope that they will like what they read and ask for Application Forms too.

What we really do need to see now are some of those Application Forms being turned into actual Fee Paying Entries.  Remember, that we have to set a deadline on entries as the Safety Boats have to be booked in advance.  No Entry Fee = no Safety Boat.  No Safety Boat = no place in the Challenge.  Simples...