Douglas Dick is a stalwart of the local sailing community – both with Desborough Sailing Club in Shepperton and with Queen Mary Sailing Club on the reservoir in Ashford.
Author: Mort Smith
Racing in the memory of two gentlemen of the regatta
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.
How life ought to be lived
Right, England failed to win the World Cup, Andy Murray crashed out of Wimbledon and England lost the last two one-day matches against the Australians – everything’s back to normal, then.
Here come the big boys
I’m always pleased to see new businesses arrive on our lovely stretch of the Thames – they provide work and can bring people into the area who spend their money locally which is good for the economy.
Remedies along a towpath
Elaine Cole from Walton loves to take a walk beside the river. She enjoys watching the boats go by, looking at the wildlife and she also takes the opportunity to re-stock her medicine cabinet.
Above all, a place to enjoy
More than anything else, our lovely river should be fun for all who have the opportunity to use it. And nowhere is that spirit of fun better reflected than in the annual Shepperton Village Fair raft race, which is sponsored by the Nauticalia marine supplies company based in Ferry Lane and organised by Desborough Sailing Club.
Her bottom is foul no more – bring on those long summer voyages
While I was swanning around having a truly memorable holiday in Hawaii, my lovely brother, Alan, was working his fingers to the bone, up to his elbows in grease and diesel fuel, refurbishing bits of the engine on Terra Nova, our old Seamaster Admiral cabin cruiser.
Shipshape sea cadets receive their prizes in front of mayor
I’ve always been a firm supporter of the Sea Cadet movement. The cadets, with their historic close links to the Royal Navy, offer a disciplined, well-structured environment in which youngsters can learn an array of interesting and useful skills whilst having a great deal of fun.
Happiness is a boat jumble
This is supposed to be my last Riverwatch for a few weeks. I say ‘supposed to be’ because my wife and I are scheduled to be flying to Hawaii to celebrate my 60th birthday on Saturday. But as I sit at home writing these notes with a week to go before ‘The Big Holiday,’ the sky is a brilliant, clear blue without a vapour trail in sight and there isn’t an aircraft to be seen in the sky. It’s worryingly quiet.
Stop fishing on the river
As regular readers of this column will know, I’ve written a number of times about the problems of illegal fishing on the Thames and its tributaries in our area – and despite increased vigilance from the Environment Agency, it has clearly not gone away.