A few notes for crews, captains and Cox'ns for the various Head of the River races on the Tideway such as the Pairs, Fours, Womens, the Head of the River and the Vesta Veterans. Tideway clubs "should" be aware of these guidance principles but for those coming from further away, please note the following pointers.
NAMING OF BOATS
The Tideway is, technically, the sea all the way up to Teddington. As such, maritime navigation law applies and it is necessary for your boat to be named or identifiable. There is a PLA Bye Law. 1.. RIVER BYLAWS, Part IX, Bye Law 46, Section 2. 'Identification Marking.' This requires that the boat "...shall exhibit its name ... painted in letters .... one each side of and in a colour contrasting with that of the hull or superstructure: .... as prominently and as clearly as practicable."
Absent a name, technically, you are at risk of a fine of up to £1000.
By letter from the ARA dated 24th June 2005, Clubs were given 6 weeks notice to get an ID code on the boat with the appropriate criteria as per this ARA link. The Regional Council have endorsed this ARA requirement. Thus, by 6th August 2005 all boats should have been named! It has been observed that other regions and Thames non-Tideway clubs have not been as good at this as perhaps they should!
At the ARA Council meeting on February 2006, Council voted to make this ID requirement an ARA Rule - (note: not a Rule of Racing but an ARA rule). Thus every club, no matter what region, when coming to the Tideway must have ID on all its craft including coaching launches.
If your boat is not named / identifed at present get it done before you come. If, for some reason (usually incompetence!), you have failed to and you arrive with a boat with no ID code, the solution for the day is unsatisfactory but simple. Put on some clear or light-coloured tape (NOT paper that can wash off) greater than 60 mmm wide and write on (in as close to Arial-type font as you can manage!), an appropriate, six letter / figure ID code in a contrasting, THICK nibbed permanent marker (arial-type font!) that can be read easily at, say, 25 metres. The code MUST be your club code, for example LRC, VRC or TRC, followed by an unambiguous number for each boat, such as 008 and the club must have a written record for the code for every boat. For foreign crews coming to the Head, the ID code will besupplied by the ARA office and will contain the letter "Z". Foreign Clubs must also keep a record of the ID number.
DURING THE RACE AND THE RIVER CLOSURE BEFORE THE RACE
After the river closure but before the race starts, the rules in the marshalling zone are different to the normal rules. Read the instructions. Outside the marshalling zone, in the River closure prior to the start of the race the Rowing Rules apply. The rules of navigation during the actual the race are contrary to Rowing rules and are in the instructions.
Prior to the River closure, in any warm-up outings or practise outings, normal navigation and Rowing Rules apply. Advice on these can be found here.
During the River closure, you are under control of the marshals and normal River rules do not apply other than to generalise that if you are proceeding against the stream you stay VERY close to the bank (defined as "no crew can undertake you" i.e. pass between you and the bank to overtake) and if proceeding with the stream (which you should only be doing to get to your marshalling position) you stay in the "middle" but right of centre.
Beware how you turn. TO NOT TURN "ON THE SPOT"! BY DEFINITION, YOU WILL BE OR END UP IN THE WRONG PLACE. If, for example, you are in the middle and you wish to get to one or other of the banks, this can be achieved by holding it up on one side and paddling on with the other so you swing round in a large semicircle (suitably adjusted by the degree of paddling-on or holding-it-up) from the centre to the side. It is quite wrong to stop, spin and head for the bank pointing upstream. The most direct route to the bank (i.e. at 90° to it) is the safest and a requirement of the navigation laws. The inverse applies; should you wish to proceed from the bank downstream, go out into the stream at 90° to the bank and only then turn round onto your course on the stream.
Make sure your crew knows how to "hold it hard". Contrary to the way it has been taught for the last few decades by most coaches, this should not be done with a squared blade in the normal rowing squared position. Instead, the blade should be flat and parallel with the water and the blade and loom, still parallel, set deeply buried in the water. (See ARA Coaching level 2 Certificate). This advice may seem strange to many recently-taught rowers, judging by the number of rowers I have seen who have been taught wrongly to square the blade first and try to get a squared blade into the water (or more likely scratching along the surface!). For proper advice as to how to hold it hard read the ARA (Instructors' Award) manual or look at this link - "test two". If this advice is new to you, practise this till you can do it. Be careful! Look behind first!
After the race, be aware that with the tide much lower there is less room for boats to pass between the shore by the boathouses at Putneyand the row of boats along moored in the river. For the full length Heads (not the Pairs Head, do not stop and put tracksuits on anwhere in this area especially by or just above the black buoy. Put them on just after you have turned or wait until you are past Barn Elms (300 m above the row of boats and black buoy) and can pull into the bank safely.
If, once the race is over and the River is no longer closed, as will be the case with the last crews paddling back from Putney to Chiswick and for all practise outings when there is not a River closure, it is necessary to know the Rowing Rules [NTMU15 2006]. If it is dusk as it will be in 2007 TAKE CONFORMING LIGHTS WITH YOU (180 degrees minimum spread, visible for 800m and fixed with a permanent bracket)!
Be aware of the new buoys(Putney to Hammersmith; UL to Isleworth Ferry) and the Notices to Mariners about these at NTMU19-2006 .
AT ALL TIMES OTHER THAN DURING THE RIVER CLOSURE
Please note the following points which are often missed, even by experienced Tideway rowers.
LOCATION OF ROWING RULES
The rowing rules allow a specified divergence from the normal Starboard navigation requirement but only in the specified area between Putney Pier crossing and the Isleworth Ferry crossing. Below the Putney crossing normal navigation rules apply. You must keep out of the Fairway whenever possible (not "reasonably practicable" or "whenever you feel like it"). There are four crossing points. The rowing rules are applicable (from about 100 metres above Putney Bridge upstream to the Isleworth Ferry crossing, a crossover point about 1000 metres below the Pink Lodge (Sion House Lodge). This has been agreed with the PLA as being between Hosptial Bumps Nos 13 and 15 marked on the Surrey wall. As a result, there are three sections of River where the Rowing Rules allow for three streams of traffic - the usual two streams either side of centre of the fairway obeying the "Starboard rules" and a supplementary one, which is always as close to the bank as is 'safe and practicable' (see NTMU 15). On an ebb tide [stream going out to the East], the first section starting from Putney is on the south bank, then on the north bank upstream of the line of poplar trees above the Chiswich Eyot bend to just below Chiswick Bridge then on the south until the last, Sion House crossover after which normal navigation rules apply. See this chart.
APPLICATION OF THE ROWING RULES (aka NTMU 15 2006)
NEARNESS TO BANK
The main problem with most non-Tideway crews and, indeed, many Tideway crews is that they do not understand that 'close to the bank' means AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE. There is a tradition (perhaps if you are paddling an eight in fours) of pulling out to let faster crews pass on the inside and this is a breach of the NTM rowing rule. It should not be done any more. At the high state of tide you will be when rowing up to the start, you should be within a metre or two of the bank (but allowing for the trees). DO NOT PROCEED UP THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM WHEN ROWING AGAINST IT. After the race, at lower tide, when returning to an up-river club, you may have to keep slightly further out, say five or ten metres, depending on the depth of water.
OVERTAKING
If you wish to overtake a crew, do not pull out until you are well under a length away from their stern. The tide will take you out much quicker than you think! Steer as close as is safe to the crew you are overtaking and do not pull out (or, more likely, get pulled out by the stream) into the middle of the River. Get one side to harden on AT ONCE if this happens and the other to stop rowing - if need be - and pull in to the bank as soon as you are clear of the crew you are overtaking. The overtaken crew should be polite, safe and slow down to let the other crew past as quicly as possible. Do NOT HARDEN ON IN A MISGUIDED MACHO ATTEMPT TO GO FASTER AND HOLD OFF THE OVERTAKING CREW!
CROSSING
You have no right to cross over the River unless the fairway is clear. STOP! - IF IN ANY DOUBT OR IF YOU CAN SEE ANY CREW COMING DOWN ON THE STREAM. In judging whether or not to cross, always crossover behind the crew coming downstream. Never risk it crossing over in front, thinking you can get away with it. Remember the stream is very strong and crews come down very fast.
Look carefully at the map of crossover points. There are four. The first, 100 metres above Putney Bridge, the next one just around the bend above Chiswick Eyot, the next one 400 metres below Chiswick Bridge (be on Surrey before the Ship Inn!) and the last one about 1000 metres or so below the Pink Lodge (the numberS '13' and '15', marked on the bank on the Surrey wall - used by hospitals for marshalling for their 'bumps' races is the right place). Do not cross over too early. For example, above Chiswick Eyot, you have to go substantially around the bend above Chiswick Eyot before crossing over to the north bank. This ensures that you have a good view of traffic coming downstream. Far too many crews tried to crossover just above Chiswick Eyot!
Watch out for crews, easied, in the middle of the River just after Chiswick Bridge prior to returning to their boathouses. The these tend to drift down into the crossing point.
Particularly at low tide, I do not recommend non-Tideway crews to proceed above the Isleworth Ferry (Sion) crossing point. If however, you do, proceed with care because there are plenty of shoals particularly just after the pink Lodge.
If, prior to the race, you go out for an outing below Putney Bridge, bear in mind starboard navigation rules apply and additionally you must be OUT OF THE FAIRWAY whenever possible which is pretty well all the time. That means you stay to the right of centre of the River going downstream and upstream - right hand rule - just as one drives on the Continent. Thus, nearer the south bank going downstream and the north bank going upstream.
A repeat! It applies at all times!
Make sure your crew knows how to "hold it hard". This should not be done with a squared blade in the normal rowing squared position. Instead the blade should be flat and parallel with the water and the blade and loom set deeply buried in the water. This advice may seem strange to many recently-taught rowers, judging by the number of rowers I have seen who have been taught wrongly to square the blade and try to get into the water with a squared blade (or more likely scratching along the surface!). For proper advice as to how to hold it hard read the ARA Instructors Award manual or look at this link - "test two". If this advice is new to you, practise this till you can do it . Be careful! Look behind first!
Chris George
Regional Water Safety Adviser 2005/6
Regional Water Saftey Development Adviser 2007
Thames Regional Rowing Council