It’s that time of year when the Thames regularly resounds to the shouts of enthusiastic coxes urging on the oarsmen in the boat in front of them and one of the highlights of the season is always Staines Amateur Regatta which takes place on Saturday, July 24.
Some youngsters just exhibit a natural talent for sailing when they get out on the water – but for Isobel Mitchell, it might have come as a bit of a surprise because what she actually wanted to do was to windsurf.
For all those suffering the annual problem of what to put underneath the tree for their boat-obsessed other halves, here are some suggestions – some to be taken more seriously than others…
