GOT YOUR NUMBER?

The Hammersmith mafia's official communictaion on the boat registration scheme that was agreed at the last council meeting, is now on the ARA wesite.

http://www.ara-rowing.org/news/050426_boatid.php

Clubs who don't like their current 3 letter codes and want to change them to something rude, or simply more similar to the codes they already have on their boats, can get their designated code changed - but regardless of what you do, you have about 6 weeks in which to get the codes printed and stuck on...

if you don't know what your current code is- then I suggest you have a gander HERE. --- we like Durham High School & Goodenough College London the best

(and yes dears, you do have to do it... and yes, it is mentioned as a recommendation in the salvage association report).

ROWING DARWIN AWARDS?

The slug didn't know whether to laugh or cry earlier this week, after overhearing a nameless (and brainless) rower happily announce that because the heel restraints on the right steering foot had a tendancy to get caught on the keel wingnut (at bow in his coxless4) he'd um.... "cut them off to make sure he could steer OK", because being able to steer was 'more important'.

What was more concerning was that he wasn't the only one there who was absolutely convinced that it was OK to do this on ANY and EVERY steering footplate as they were.... wait for it....

'exempt' from the rules...

Whilst steering a coxless boat is indeed a challenging and demanding role, I wasn't aware that it also required one to be prepared to give one's life, in the case of a capsize...

Now what was that about "natural selection"?

Ahem

LOOKALIKE

Doctor Who

Doctor Furnivall

Sir,

Has anyone noticed the startling similarity between Karl Henderson (resident Furnivall DJ and space cadet), and the current reincarnation of Doctor Who, Christopher Ecclestone?

Are they perchance related?

Yours, Concerned
Hammersmith

YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT LIKE THAT

With what seemed like most of the clubs from the South East of England all seat racing at Dorney Lake last weekend, the slug observed a well know GB men's coach of German origin asking all the crews before they boated, whether they knew what the circulation pattern on the lake was.

He seemed to be concerned that all these reprobate club crews would get in the way of his golden boys seat racing trial. Oh course, quite why these full time athletes had to do their seat racing on a Saturday morning and only a week after the selection trials in Hazewinkel, was beyond the comprehension of most people there...

However, the slug was reassured to overhear that one young lady from the club in black, white and red who clearly didn't recognise the man in question - had taken pity on him and was planning to go and helpfully explain exactly what the circulation pattern was...

Whether she did, and what his response was, unfortunately no-one heard...

IT'LL HAVE YOUR ARM OFF...

and talking of swans....

According to the Staines BC website, Tyson the vicious swan that owns the stretch of river near the church downsteam of the club, is back with a vengence.

The evil bird has been rumoured by local residents to have killed twice again this year.

No, not rowers but two other swans that have come a little too close. He apparently drowned them by holding them underwater...

Be careful out there

CRUNCH

Tales of near disaster from Seville have reached the slug's twitchy feelers after Exter university had their coaching catamaran run over by one of the massive tourist boats on Tuesday.

Luckily all are believed to be OK, but the cat has apparently been totally destroyed and is now in one foot chunks of polystrene...

The Guarda Civil rescued it on Thursday from the bottom of the course at Seville.

Ooof...

MARATHON EFFORT

Well done to those rowers and coxn's who finished - those I know about and their finish times are listed below
(if you did it too, please let me know - slug@twrc.org)

Ken Howland the President of Furnivall (who is clearly insane), did the race carrying a pair of sculls, then got in his boat and sculled up to Hammersmith immediately after... Rumours that he thought about joining Thames as he passed through Putney Bridge to avoid the final 15 minutes are yet to be confirmed! He finally completed his task at about 5:30pm Sunday.

Ken was raising money for Phab - a charity dedicated to promoting and encouraging the coming together, on equal terms, of disabled and non-disabled people to achieve an integrated and inclusive society ...
(oh, and it was also for his 60th Birthday celebration!)

Name	Rowing Club	Time (hr:min.sec)
Dan Darley	Black Prince BC	2:54.49
Chris Morris	Burway	3:11.37
Peter Halford	London	3:12.27
Colin O'Malley	London	3:16.12
Tom Robinson	Furnivall	3:18.50
Michael Parker	Bewdley	3:23.45
Greg Searle	Molesey	3:25.13
Leila Hudson	Furnivall	3:33.55
Wayne Pommen	Pembroke(cambridge)	3:34.02
James Livingston	Molesey	3:38.27
Chris Martin	Molesey	3:40.40
Elvis	Westminster school and Molesey	3:41
Sue Walker	KCS	3:44.38
Natalie Roberts	Molesey	3:45.45
Neil Bromwich	Bristol Ariel	3:47.12
Pip Cook	Formerly LEH, Nottingham Uni and Notts County	3:47.22
Nia Jones	Tradesmen	3:48.28
Bruce Hellman	Furnivall	3:50.24
Tom Hannah	Aberdeen uni and Leander	3:51.02
Rebecca Ambler	London	3:55.45
Graham Faultless	UL Tyrian	4:01.13
Cath Bishop	Marlow	4:06.49
Vanessa Robert	Putney Town	4:12.02
Emily Baldock	Wolfson (oxford)	4:13.48
Kenelm Richardson	Queens (cambridge)	4:14.59
Steve Redgrave	Leander	4:21.36
Abe Anibaba	Curlew	4:31.12
Jo Hutchings	Furnivall	4:34.57
Hugh Huddy	Furnivall	4:42.36
Victoria Lack	Molesey	4:48.00
Ken Howland	Furnivall	5:05.18
Terry Dillon	Leander	5:21.43
Kate Hewins	formerly Edinburgh UBC, Kingston and LEHBC	7:17.44

9/10ths OF THE LAW

Interesting goings-on at the HORR prize-giving at Thames on Wednesday night, as Leander I were NOT presented with their pennant...as apparently they had, um..., failed to return it.

As was pointed out during the presentation, this was a dangerous assumption that IC almost managed to prove invalid.

Ah, there's nothing like a bit of Pink Arrogance. Tut tut...

CHRIST ALMIGHTY...

The slug had heard mutterings coming out of one of the Oxford colleges (which isn't a college), from which a bunch of rowers recently headed off to compete in the Amsterdam head. Having organised to borrow a boat they took with them a brand new set of blades, freshly painted up by their long suffering boatman.

A fun time was had by all, but when the crew returned to Blighty following their trip, something was missing....

"um, Where are the oars?" asked the exasperated boatman
"Oh, we didn't have time to pack them so we left them behind" came the response...
"and just HOW do you expect to get them back?""

No doubt someone can be persuaded to bring them back from Ghent (for a small fee) - well provided they're not being sanded down and painted white as I type...

Tut tut...

NATURAL BORN SCULLERS

The Tideway Sculler's head took place on Sunday afternoon slightly later than expected after the start was delayed 30 minuted to (amongst other things) let the incredibly high tide turn properly, though even with the delay there was clearly some advantage from the stream conditions for those scullers who started later down the order.

The eventual winner was Rees Ward, one of the Kiwis rowing for London this year, who started 46th. Rees hadn't been in a single for the last four years, apart from the two brief outings before the race, and was only taking part because of a bet between him and another LRC sculler (Muller #108).

Just after the start, as he heard the cheers of a couple of other LRC scullers waiting in the marshalling area, he was heard shouting back "Thanks Bro, see you at the finish" and carried on thanking other scullers as he overtook them... (How refreshingly polite...ED)

At the after race party at TSS, the pennant winners were given a load of free beer, but with LRC picking up several pennants, they had to do several trips to carry all their beer back, much to the great irritation of a few TSS members who obviously weren't counting on giving quite so much away...

Full results at http://www.tidewayscullers.com/head_results2005.htm