Established in 1993, Henley Whalers is a group of sailing boat enthusiasts based in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, UK. [1]
Established in 1993, Henley Whalers is a group of sailing boat enthusiasts based in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, UK. [1]
The Henley Whalers have taken part in many events, the most notable being H.M. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames through London, June 3, 2012. [2]
Henley Whalers also formed part of the "sail-past" (by invitation) in front of HM.The Queen at the pageant at Henley on Thames, June 2013. [3]
They also accompanied the Olympic flame in 2012 from Hampton Court to Putney behind Gloriana, the new royal barge. [4]
Other significant events have included; The Vogalonga, Velalonga and Velalonga Raid in Venice, Italy; [5] [6] The Dorestad Raid in the Netherlands; [7] The Semaine du Golfe du Morbihan in Brittany; [8] and in the UK: The Great River Race, [9] The English Raid, [10] [11] and Sail Caledonia. [12]
Many of these are sail-and-oar events, known as raids.
The Henley Whalers' member-base mainly consists of adults, though younger members are encouraged through various youth events. [13] [14]
The Henley Whalers enjoy fixed-seat rowing year-round, from their base at Henley on Thames. [15] They also participate in National and International events, rowing and/or sailing, throughout UK and Europe. [16]
Molly is the Henley Whalers main vessel, built in 2003. The Henley Whalers have sailed Molly in various international competitions throughout Europe, gaining many prizes and accolades. [17] The sail rig (seen in the photo) is trapezial boom lug.
Previous boats have included "Collingwood" and "Lutra-Lutra" (both Montague whalers of British Navy type). [18]
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Reading, 7 miles (11 km) west of Maidenhead, 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Oxford and 37 miles (60 km) west of London, near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. The population at the 2021 Census was 12,186.
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the three other regattas rowed over approximately the same course, Henley Women's Regatta, Henley Masters Regatta, and Henley Town and Visitors' Regatta, each of which is an entirely separate event.
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.
Vannes is a commune in the French department of Morbihan, Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago.
Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior to Leander: Brasenose College Boat Club and Jesus College Boat Club and Westminster School Boat Club, founded in 1813.
Tabor Academy is an independent preparatory school located in Marion, Massachusetts, United States. Tabor is known for its marine science courses. Tabor's location on Sippican Harbor, Buzzards Bay, has earned it the name of "The School by the Sea" and the school continues to operate a 115-foot sail training vessel, the SSV Tabor Boy as a hallmark program of the school. Tabor participates in the Independent School League (ISL) and is a member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council .
Imperial College Boat Club is the rowing club for Imperial College and has its boat house on the River Thames on the Putney embankment, London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1919. The alumni also run a boat club which is known as the Queen's Tower Boat Club and both crews occasionally row together as a composite in competition.
A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats, usually propelled by sails or oars. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for work, leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-person or small crew. Sailing skiffs have developed into high performance competitive classes. Many of today's skiff classes are based in Australia and New Zealand in the form of 12 ft (3.66 m), 13 ft (3.96 m), 16 ft (4.88 m) and 18 ft (5.49 m) skiffs. The 29er, 49er, SKUD and Musto Skiff are all considered to have developed from the skiff concept, all of which are sailed internationally.
The River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, is located on a site at Mill Meadows by the River Thames. It has three main themes represented by major permanent galleries, the non-tidal River Thames, the international sport of rowing and the local town of Henley-on-Thames.
The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely.
Sons of the Thames is a rowing club in Hammersmith, London, England. It was formed in Putney in 1886 with the aim, still enshrined in its constitution, to further the sport of rowing.
The Remenham Challenge Cup is a rowing event for women's eights at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to female crews from all eligible rowing clubs. Two or more clubs may combine to make an entry.
Maidenhead Rowing Club is a rowing club, on the River Thames in England at Maidenhead, Berkshire.
Miriam Luke is a former British rower who competed at three Olympic Games and winning a silver medal in 2000.
Bertram Harold Thomas Bushnell was a British rower who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal alongside Dickie Burnell in the double sculls, having had hopes to compete in the single sculls following a series of victories whilst competing in South America.
Within boating, Raid is described as a sail and oar adventure, a leisure pursuit combining sailing and rowing. It involves a fleet of small boats capable of being rowed and sailed, exploring a coastline or inland waterway over several days, often with some competitive element.
In describing raiding, the organiser of the 2010 & 2011 English Raids states; "The idea of making coastal voyages in company, in open boats powered by sail and oar, was given currency by the French group Albacore, led by Charles-Henri le Moing during the 1990s, starting in Portugal and Scotland... The word raid has slipped into English and lost its usual associations of pillage and destruction – to those who participate at least."
The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant was a parade on 3 June 2012 of 670 boats on the Tideway of the River Thames in London as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The Queen, Prince Philip and other members of the Royal Family were aboard vessels that took part in the parade. The parade was organised by the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, and funded by private donations and sponsorship. The pageant master was Adrian Evans.
Edith May is a wooden Thames sailing barge built in Harwich, Essex, in 1906. She was used to carry various cargoes until 1952, when a diesel engine was fitted, after which she was used in various Thames Sailing Barge matches, winning several. She was a museum ship for a time, and was restored in 2010 to offer charter trips on the River Medway. Her winter moorings are at Lower Halstow, where she opens during the weekend as a tearoom.
Oxford Brookes University Boat Club is the rowing club of Oxford Brookes University, England. Its large base is on the longest reach of the non-tidal parts of the Thames, at Wallingford, in Oxfordshire – about 6 miles (10 km) of easily rowable, little-congested river. The club has been very successful at pre-training and co-training many Olympic competitors including those for Great Britain who won 6 golds at Olympics spread across three consecutive games, starting with the games of 2000.
Reading University Boat Club is the rowing club for the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. It is based at a boat house in Christchurch Meadows on the River Thames in the Reading suburb of Caversham. The club has a focus on sculling. It has consistently been one of the more successful university rowing clubs in Britain, including topping the medal table at the BUCS regatta in 2011 and at the BUCS small boats head in 2014 and 2015, as well as wins at Henley Royal Regatta in 1986, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013, and is considered one of the top six university rowing clubs in the UK. A number of former members have competed at the Olympics, including double gold-medallists James Cracknell and Helen Glover. The club has organised the Reading University Head of the River race since 1935.