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14 May 2022

Four gigs from the rowing club took part in the Hamble River Raid. A four mile 'sprint' from Hamble to the Jolly Sailor and back to Hamble. This is a popular event with a range of rowing boats taking part including our Bursledon Gigs, Pilot Gigs, and Solent Galleys. This year saw the biggest fleet of Bursledon Gigs taking part, some for fun and others racing for victory. As ever, the sun shone on Raid day. It was an opportunity to meet up with old friends and make some new friends. 

23 April 2022

Two crews took part in the Five Miles from home Challenge.

https://www.facebook.com/5milesfromhomechallenge/

We enjoyed being part of an International event without having to leave the river. There were over 800 participants who joined the event from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, Australia, South Africa, Canada and The USA!

Conditions were not ideal on the Hamble, we surfed down to Warsash and battled the strong wind and some tide on the way back. Post race refreshments were enjoyed at the Jolly Sailor afterwards.

Next we are looking forward to the return of the Hamble River Raid on 14 May 2022.

http://www.hambleriverraid.org/

9 April 2022

Thank you to all those who joined the Litter Pick, we headed up river to see what we could find. Sadly, we collected around 10 black sacks of litter- fishing line, welly boots, barbecues, cans and the list goes on. Thank you to Fareham Borough Council who provided the equipment and collected the sacks of rubbish. We will do another litter pick later in  the year. A few photos from the day.

April 2022

We held our AGM on 29 March, minutes will be sent out via email to all club members. There are no changes to the committee, thank you to all those who have agreed to continue in their roles. At the AGM it was agreed that the membership fees will revert to pre pandemic rates, £70 for individuals and £120 for family membership. Emails have been sent out to all members with details of how to renew your membership of the rowing club. Please renew by 30 April 2022. 

We are planning on running a coxes course this year, it will be a combination of theory and practice on the water. Let Margi know if you are interested!

Learning to row a Spanish Traineras! Thanks Di for writing up about the experience.

Last Saturday (March 26th) a dozen members of the rowing club were able to take up the invitation from Mike Gilbert of the Coastal Rowing Academy to join the ceremony to welcome the Spanish traineras coastal rowing boat “Pilgrim”. The traineras is a 13 oared rowing boat which were originally used as fishing boats that operated from the coastal towns of Spain. We learnt how they were used to chase the shoals of sardines. This meant that they had not only to be fast enough to catch up with the fish but once the net was deployed, they needed to have the speed to encircle them and then with a filled net, race back to be the first boat to land to get the best price. The rowing style as explained was different from the one used by our gigs.  Rowers start from the upright position and keeping straight arms lean right back to pull. Feet are supported on wooden stretchers at seat height. The oars are held on single tholes by a plaited circlet. Quite challenging.

The event was a day to remember. Early arrivals were able to look over the boat and marvel at its size while tasty snacks were being set out. Soon we were sipping Rioja and enjoying chorizo and olives, manchego and tomatoes on crusty slices. Rowers were having photos taken standing by the boat with the Spanish representative Raphael holding one of the long oars.

The official moment was a brief ceremony with Chepe who was one of the Spaniards with the boat providing the history of the boats. He went on to tell how they went from working to competition boats which challenge each other in Regattas held round the coast that are overseen by the organisation Navigatio of which he is a representative. Pilgrim built 30 years ago, had won many of these races, most importantly La Concha San Sebastian in 1995. In her welcome speech the mayor of Havant Cllr Rosy Raines looked forward to the continuing partnership and friendship that had been formed between Havant and the Spanish.

The Shall’ee Shanties then entertained us with rousing sea shanties and heartfelt folk tales.

Then it was time to try the boat. Willing hands carried the boat down to water. Oars were threaded into the braided circlets and the first rowers set off with the Mayor a cheerful passenger. There was time for four crews to experience rowing a traineras. After some random oar work all crews soon settled down and were cheered as the boat showed her speed against wind and tide.

Some photos from our day at the Coastal Rowing Academy

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Thank you to Pat for her report on the Random Regatta held on 19 March 2022

It was a blast!

Battling strong winds, ten members of HRRC took part in a challenging Random Regatta at the Coastal Rowing Club, Northney Marina on Hayling Island. We found out  what ‘random’ meant when we arrived as there were around  eighteen boats lined up along the shore including Bursledon Gigs, Solent Galleys, Celtic Longboats, St Ayles Skiffs, pilot gigs and sliding seat coastal quads. The idea was to take it in turns to race/row the different gigs, but the increasing wind and adverse sea conditions forced the organisers to eventually shorten the course and to only use the Pilot gigs. Hamble River Rowers gave valiant performances in all their races, and Anthony was an excellent cox in the Bursledon gig. The Bursledon gig performed well in the conditions and was much admired by the other clubs attending. It was a well organised event in a beautiful setting and we were even blessed with blazing sunshine.

February 2022

It’s been a while since we have updated this page. We had a very successful Christmas Meal at the Jolly in December- thank you to Jo for organising and to the Jolly for accommodating such a large group. We managed to row several times over Christmas and the New Year. Christmas Eve was wet and windy, and the Boxing Day row was the opposite- the conditions were perfect, and as we headed back we were treated to a fabulous sunset. 

We continue to arrange rows outside of our club rowing times- we had an impromptu trip up river to Botley one lunchtime.

This year, Tuesday evening rowing has continued through the Winter. There is something very special about rowing at night when the river is so still and quiet. 

We have also introduced a ‘Just Row’ session on a Sunday morning. These are designed to be a quick row, we are out for an hour and back ready for the 10 o’clock row. 

Hollie and her Atlantic Crew ‘In our Element’ have begun training in earnest for the Talisker Whisky Challenge. A few weeks ago they swapped their gym session for a session on the water in our gigs. You can follow their progress on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/In-Our-Element-105338321835156/ or their website https://inourelement.co.uk/

As the new rowing season approaches we are making plans for rows to Beaulieu and Chichester, along with taking part in usual events such as the Hamble River Raid, Fareham Regatta, Cockleshell Challenge and hopefully the Round Hayling Island Race. Details for all of these as we have them will be put on our social events page on the website. 

Remembrance Sunday Row 

November 2021

We had planned to row down to the mouth of the river to see the demolition of Fawley Chimney but poor weather (strong winds and rain) meant we couldn't do this. One crew did set off, rowing into the strong wind and nearly made it to the Pink Ferry, it was a much quicker row back to the Jolly! We all met later at Jenny's cafe in Hamble for bacon rolls. Last Sunday, we took advantage of the good tide and rowed to Botley for coffee and breakfast/cake. The egret has been repaired and is now back on her mooring and live on the booking system for members to use. Looking forward to our club Christmas meal in December! Club rowing times are currently being shown on our home page.  

October 2021

On 10 October, Christchurch Rowing Club joined us for our Sunday club row. A write up and photos of the day  can be found on their Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/478755678823513/posts/4758998037465901/ 

Dates for Fareham Regatta, Round Hayling Race and Ocean to City have been released. They have been added to the Social Events page. 

September 2021

Welcome to all our new members. Nine people have joined during the season so far. This year’s Regatta was a return to the roots of the regatta, with the focus being on dinghy racing, yacht racing and gig racing. Jim organised a very successful gig race. Thank you to Jim, the club volunteers and other volunteers who supported Jim in the running of this event. Tudor Rowing Club brought five gigs and lots of enthusiasm (and a few prize winning crews)! The afternoon was a great success.

Photos from the Bursledon Gig Race at this years regatta can be found here

Hollie is going to row the Atlantic!

Hollie has been planning to take part in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge for some time. This has become a reality for her and her crew. She will be setting off from La Gomera in December 2022. The official launch of their campaign will be at the Southampton Boat Show. If anyone is at the boat show on 15 September, make sure you visit the Premier Marina stand at 11am for the official launch and to find out more. The team website is in the finishing stages but available for us to see www.inourelement.co.uk. Exciting  times for Hollie and her team! I’m sure we will support her in any way that we can. Our club logo will be on her boat and crossing the Atlantic too! 

Fareham Regatta

Fareham Sailing and Motorboat Club welcomed our club to their Regatta again. Well done to the ladies crews who came first and second. Thank you to all those who came along, and a big thank you to our coxes.

September club rowing times:

August 2021

Tuesday evening and Sunday rowing has started, we are rowing with fully crewed gigs, but with some covid measures still in place.

We took three gigs to Christchurch and were made to feel very welcome by Christchurch Rowing Club. The seal was possibly the highlight of the day! 

Three gigs are off to Itchenor on 21 August. The club will be taking part in the gig race at Bursledon Regatta on 28 August. Hopefully we will send some crews to the Fareham regatta on the 4/5 September. We need to defend the trophy we won in 2019!

July 2021

We are very pleased to welcome some new members to the rowing club.The boat booking system is still in use, tides have been favourable in the last few weeks to have a few evening rows and a pint in the Jolly afterwards (in line with the pub's protocols)- it almost feels like normal! Hopefully with the predicted easing of restrictions from 19 July we can then start up our more informal club sessions, as well as continue with arranging rows throughout the week. We are planning an expedition row to Christchurch on 24th July.

May 2021

Dates for some of our events can be found on the Social Events page of our website. We are hoping to take part in local regattas and go further afield with expeditions to Christchurch and Itchenor planned.

We are looking forward to when regular club rowing on Tuesday evenings and Sundays starts up again, but in the mean time there has been plenty of rowing going on with over 60 boat bookings made since 29 March. These boat bookings have included a socially distanced picnic, a row to Warsash for chips and rows to Hamble for coffee and cake. 

Two crews also took part in the first leg of the 5 miles from home time trial on 9 May. It was a stiff row downriver and an easier row back up the river with the wind coming from behind! More information here: https://scottishcoastalrowing.org/five-miles-from-home-series/

Hopefully we will have entries again for the next leg in June.

The upstream mooring lines have been replaced and are working well. The plan is to renew the mooring lines downstream too so that they are easier to use as well.

April 2021

The booking system is up and running. There are an increasing number of members making use of the system. We are finding that although there are a lot of things to remember now when preparing the gig for rowing and after a row, it is not as complicated as the protocols sound. Please ask if you are not sure of anything regarding the cleaning and operating procedures. It’s so good to be back out on the river again! 

28 March 2021

Just to confirm,  we are ready to row again from 29th March. This will be following covid secure protocols. In order to meet these protocols, members who have renewed their membership are only able to row at the moment. There are three gigs currently available for booking. With two more due to be launched in the near future. We are in the process of renewing the upstream mooring lines to make the upstream mooring easier to use. 

March 2021

We are hoping to start rowing again from 29th March- this date will be confirmed as it is based on the current roadmap for easing lockdown measures. 

Details of how to renew your membership have been sent out via email. We are hoping to have our traditional row to Botley for curry in July, and Margi is busy planning other rowing expeditions for the Summer- these will be for July onwards when we are hoping that lockdown will have eased to allow more social rowing to take place.

There is no Ocean to City this year, but in its place is a virtual event that may appeal to some rowers in the club.  Castle to Crane in Scotland, Ocean to City in Ireland and Welsh Sea Rowing in Wales have joined up to bring a unique, international, time trial series this summer: the Five Miles From Home Series 2021.

Rather than asking us to travel, we can take part in this international challenge by joining the races from the Hamble. You need to form a crew, plot a course, cover the 5 miles (8047meters / 4.345nm) as fast or as stylishly as you can during the designated time windows, submit your times and see how you get on compared to the other competitors.

7-9 May Castle to Crane leg (Scotland)

4-6 June Ocean to City leg (Ireland)

9-11 July Welsh Sea Rowing leg (Wales)

More information is available http://oceantocity.com/five-miles-from-home-series/

February 2021

Lovely to see so many familiar faces at the Zoom AGM. We confirmed that we are aiming to re start rowing from March 29th 2021. Information on how to renew membership will be sent out soon. Those of you who did manage to get a row in before lockdown will have noticed that Gigi has a smart new cover, we are planning on putting covers on Grace, Rowsie and the Egret this season. 

January 2021

The club AGM will be held via Zoom on Tuesday 23 February. Time TBC. Details will be emailed out nearer the time. 

December 2020

Rowing will be resuming again with Covid secure protocols in place. The booking system opens on the website on Wednesday 9th December. We have three gigs cleaned and ready to go at the Jolly Sailor. Two more are being antifouled and due to be launched in the next few weeks.

The booking system can be found in the Members Only part of the website.

November 2020

Sadly COVID-19 has put paid to many of our plans this year.

However, plans are being made for a return to rowing once lockdown 2.0 ends.  We will be able to row subject to following Covid secure protocols. More details to follow by email.

Events 2019

Christmas Supper Tuesday 3rd December at the Jolly Sailor 

Keyhaven trip 21 September

We took 3 boats to Keyhaven and  rowed out to the spit for a picnic lunch and a swim. We then rowed to Hurst Castle and  some of us visited the historical exhibition, others walked around outside the castle. Fantastic views of the Solent from the ramparts. We returned to Keyhaven and loaded up the boats, followed by a drink at The Gun, before returning to Bursledon. Many thanks to those that helped by loading up and towing the boats. 

14 September 

Great River Race from London Docklands to Ham, Surrey

4 boats from Hamble River Rowing made the trip to London for the Great River Race on the Thames. A fantastic event with over 300 boats of various shapes and sizes rowing the 21.6 mile course on a perfect day. Thanks to the shore crews who helped to make it happen, and took the photos!

8 September - River Hamble Treasure Hunt 

 A fun day out exploring Hamble and Warsash, a scavenger hunt and riddle solving.

24 August 

Bursledon, Swanwick and Warsash Regatta at the Elephant Boatyard

Theme 'Space Oddities' celebrating 50 years since the first moon landing.

There were a record number of entries for the gig race, including teams from Tudor Rowing Club and Hamble Sea Scouts 

Itchenor & Chichester Harbour 10 August 

Cancelled due to gales

 Beaulieu 20 July 2019

3 boats  rowed up the Beaulieu River from the Royal Southampton Yacht Club at Gins to have a picnic on the green outside Beaulieu Palace. It was a fine day so there was an obligatory ice cream stop at Buckler's Hard on the return journey.

How to Row an Ocean 6 July 2019

A great talk by Susan Ronaldson of Team Status Row that inspired some folk to consider rowing the Atlantic. 

Lee -On -Solent to Wootton Creek  22 June

In company with the Langstone Cutters with 2 Galleys and Gladys, a Claydon Skiff, we rowed from Lee-on-Solent to Wootton Creek for a picnic, before making the return crossing. The tides were quite strong so whilst we rowed in a big arc both ways, the crossing was straightforward and we were glad to be in the company of some bigger boats. The picnic spot on a lovely grassy foreshore was idyllic!

The Ladies Team - Winners at Fareham Regatta!

Well done ladies for struggling through the traffic when the M27 was closed and winning the ladies' races on Saturday and Sunday. Medals were awarded and Fareham Sailing and Motor Boat Club were welcoming as ever. 

Curry Row on 11th June

6 boats  plus the Hamble Boys in Giggler made it up the river to Botley - with a bit of involuntary tree pruning along the way. The weather was kind after an initial downpour as we were leaving the Jolly Sailor. The food at the Purbani was excellent and we even squeezed in a drink at the pub. Making our way in back in the twilight was good fun and everyone arrived back safely. 

 Netley Regatta on Saturday 1st June

We took 2 boats along to the regatta on what turned out to be the warmest day of the year so far. There were 4 races - one quarter mile sprint, two 1 mile dashes and a 4 mile race. Both boats entered all 4 races with the blue boat - aka the 'SuperBlues' - taking honours in the first 3. The last race - a 1 mile was a lively and hard-fought contest with the Scout Leaders narrowly taking the win. 

It was an excellent day out, and a big thank you to everyone who turned up, both to row and to spectate - with a special thank you to Mark and Ali for inviting us all round for cake and refreshments afterwards.

 Hamble River Raid on Saturday 18 May

Our victorious teams: 

 Oarsome- Winners of the Rose Bowl- again!

The Solent Galley- 1st Solent Galley and winners of the Methuselah Scull.

And those who gave it the beans and refused to be overtaken- the Gulls and Buoys!

Our first expedition of 2019

Portchester Castle on 6th May 

Two boats set off from Hardway slipway at 11.15 and rowed to Wicor Marine for a coffee at Salt Cafe, then rowed along the shoreline to Portchester Castle for a picnic lunch, returning to Hardway at 15.30 before the tide retreated.

Good Friday Easter Egg Hunt with the Langstone Cutters

Four gigs and the galley rowed upriver with 2 crews from the Langstone Cutters.

We had a picnic and an Easter egg hunt in the bluebell woods. 

2019 dates for your diary

Dates marked * are expeditions to different locations and are subject to weather conditions. They have limited numbers of places, as boats have to be towed to the launch locations. Booking contacts will be announced 2-3 weeks before the event.

November 2018

Ladies of the club created 108 poppies which were used in the

Remembrance Day display at Lowford Community Centre

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Past events in 2018

Hamble River Raid 

19th May 2018

Our annual event in aid of the local Sea Scouts- a friendly, but competitive, race on the River Hamble.

Saturday 2 June 2018

Trip to Ashlett Creek  

3 boats left the Jolly Sailor at 1100 and punched the tide to the mouth of the river, where we had a stop for coffee and doughnuts on CarolAnn. When the tide slackened a little, we left at 1245 for the crossing to Ashlett, which was sunny and uneventful, but the head wind made it a bit choppy. We arrived at 1400, at high tide and had a picnic lunch on the grass with drinks from the pub- another Jolly Sailor. Leaving at 1500, we had a following wind and, surfing down the waves, we made good speed arriving back at our Jolly Sailor at 1615, before the spring tide started to ebb.

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Saturday 16 June

 Hamble River Games

The Oarsome team had a windy row from Hamble up the river to the Country Park pontoon and back.

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Sunday 17 June

Round Hayling Island Race -13 miles- reduced to 10 miles of hard rowing  in Chichester Harbour because of rough conditions.

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 Saturday 8th September 2018 

The Great River Race- London's River Marathon- 21.6 miles

This year there were 7 Bursledon gigs from the Hamble River in the Great River Race; 3 from the Sea Scouts, 1 from the Elephant Boatyard and 3 boats from Hamble River Rowing. The Elephant boys came 4th overall in a race with over 300 rowing boats of varying size and shape from Dragon boats to St Ayles skiffs. 

Our three crews successfully completed the course, each boat with a passenger as required by the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames : 

The Jolly Sailors

The Rowing Chicks

 The Red Rosies

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 Sunday 7th October 

Row to the Horse and Jockey for Brunch

A beautiful autumn morning to be on the river!