In addition to an eight, two new doubles/pairs have been added to Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s fleet. This goes someway to both remove a ‘pinch point’ in the availability of heavier hulls and gives Stratford Boat Club the flexibility to refurbish some of their lighter doubles during the year without significant detriment to the running of the club
The Club has a long standing tradition of naming Club boats after ladies, elves, sprites and spirits who appear in Shakespeare’s plays. A brief ‘internal’ naming ceremony took place on Saturday so that the boats could be put into immediate use. It is hoped that there will be a more ‘civic’ ceremony when the weather is more clement and the Club can thank the donors more personally
The new boats include:-
8+ (80-90kg): Titania
2x/2- (70kg): Hermione
2x/2- (95kg): Cordelia
The introduction of the boats into the fleet requires quite a big shuffle of racks, blades and rigging within the boathouses themselves which is already very tight for space
Said Oli Smith, Captain of Boats, “The addition of three boats, ten pairs of sculls (oars), the riggers and trestles represents a massive expenditure for the Club in the last two months on equipment alone! This is something that we could not have done without the huge support of the Town Trust and our own collective fundraising efforts in
combination with the Club’s regattas and lettings
Dawson Curnock, Club Chairman, commented further, “This clearly demonstrates that Stratford Boat Club can invest in the fleet at this high level, mixing new and second hand as required but only if we continue to work hard on fundraising, sponsorship and, most importantly, look after equipment we already have!”.
Cordelia is a name already familiar to Stratford Boat Club as this is the name of the coxed pair which was found in the loft during the recent refurbishment and now adorns the ceiling of the Club Room. It is believed that Cordelia was put into the loft just after the Second World War
Dawson Curnock also gave a ‘libation to Poseidon’ pouring a small amount the champagne used for naming the boats into the river to ask for rowers’ safety and good luck!
For media coverage, see Stratford Observer p36