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The Thames Barge Driving Race
The Thames Barge Driving Race or Barge Race is a river-race that was set up in 1975 by a charity called The Transport On Water Association (TOW), now known as the Thames Barge Driving Trust with the backing of Members of Parliament and Members of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. The race The race consists of about 11 teams of between four and eight members who steer and row 30 ton barges over a seven-mile course for about 90 minutes from Greenwich to Westminster Bridge. Considerable skill is needed to pilot ''unpowered'' barges 'rowed under oars' or ''sweeps'' and ride tidal river currents alone, up river. The event commemorates the skills of lightermen who moved freight this way along the Thames up until the 1930s and in a wider context it encourages ongoing interest in moving cargo via water and as a way to recruit younger people back into river trades.The teams are normally made up of employees of Thames lighterage companies, Port of London Authority or are sponsored ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lighter Under Tower Bridge C1928
A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or compressed gas, a means of Combustion, ignition to produce the flame, and some provision for extinguishing the flame. Alternatively, a lighter can be powered by electricity, using an electric arc or heating element to ignite the target. History The first lighters were converted flintlock pistols that used gunpowder. In 1662 the Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi visited Vienna as a member of an Ottoman diplomatic mission and admired the lighters being manufactured there: “Enclosed in a kind of tiny box are tinder, a steel, sulphur and resinous wood. When struck just like a firearm wheel the wood bursts into flame. This is useful for soldiers on campaign.” One of the first lighters was invented by a German chemist named Johann Wolfgang D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transport In The United Kingdom
Transport in the United Kingdom is facilitated with road, air, rail, and water networks. A radial road network totals of main roads, of motorways and of paved roads. The National Rail network of 10,072 route miles (16,116 km) in Great Britain and 189 route miles (303 route km) in Northern Ireland carries over 18,000 passenger and 1,000 freight trains daily. Urban rail networks exist in Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle. There are many regional and international airports, with Heathrow Airport in London being one of the top ten busiest in the world. The UK also has a network of ports which received over 486 million tons of goods in 2019. Transport is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions by the United Kingdom. Transport trends Since 1952 (the earliest date for which comparable figures are available), the United Kingdom saw a growth of car use, which increased its modal share, while the use of buses decl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schools' Head Of The River Race
The Schools' Head of the River Race (SHORR) is the UK's largest school-age processional (head rowing) race and is organised by Westminster School for crews aged between 14 and 18 years old. It is held in Spring, the end of the head race season. The race forms a leg of the national kudos of winning a rowing 'triple' in which occasionally an undefeated Junior Eight (J18 8+ or WJ18 8+) wins this race, the National Schools Regatta, and either the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta or the Peabody Cup at Henley Women's Regatta. Course The race is held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on a course from Chiswick Bridge in Mortlake to Westminster School Boat Club flagpole in Putney. It is rowed with the tide and is in the opposite direction to The Boat Race. Race format History When the race was first held in 1946 the course was shorter than at present, from above Hammersmith Bridge to the current finishing post, a distance of approximately 1.75 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women's Eights Head Of The River Race
The Women's Eights Head of the River Race (WEHoRR) is a processional rowing race held annually on the Tideway of the River Thames in London on the Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney. A mirror of the Eights Head of the River for male crews, it is held a fortnight earlier when the tides are similar. It is raced on the outgoing tide and starting around one hour after high tide in order to maximise advantage from the tidal flow. Around 300 crews of women (with the occasional male coxswain) compete for over a dozen trophies and pennants. There are categories for beginners, elite and veteran rowers. History The race was first held in 1927 following the first running of the men's version in 1926. At first it was simply a match between Ace and Weybridge LARC. This race was run as a side-by-side race, with Weybridge winning in a boat borrowed from Thames Rowing Club. The second year featured the same two crews, and the same result. In 1929, for the third race, there was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Head Of The River Race
The Head of the River Race (HORR) is an against-the-clock ('processional') sport rowing, rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England between eights, other such races being the Schools' Head of the River Race, Women's Head of the River Race and Veterans' Head of the River Race. Its competitors are, with a few experienced junior exceptions, seniors of UK or overseas competitors and it runs with the ebb tide down the 4.25 mile (6.8 km) The Championship Course, Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney which hosts the The Boat Race, Oxford and Cambridge head-to-head races usually between one and two weeks later. The race was founded on a much smaller scale, in 1925, by Steve Fairbairn – an influential rower then rowing coach of the early 20th century, who transformed the sport into one involving today's lengthier slides enabling conventional (Fairbairnized) racing shell propulsion. History The race was founded by the rowing coach Steve Fairbairn who w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Boat Race
The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's and women's races, as well as races for reserve crews. It is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The men's race was first held in 1829 and has been held annually since 1856, except during the First and Second World Wars (although unofficial races were conducted) and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The first women's event was in 1927 and the race has been held annually since 1964. Since 2015, the women's race has taken place on the same day and course, and since 2018 the combined event of the two races has been referred to as the Boat Race. The Championship Course has hosted the vast majority of the races. It covers a stretch of the Thames in West London, from Putney to Mortlake. Other locati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devizes To Westminster International Canoe Marathon
The Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon is a marathon canoe race in England. The race is held every Easter over a course of from Devizes in Wiltshire to Westminster in central London. It has been run since 1948. Starting at Devizes wharf, the route follows the Kennet and Avon canal for 54 miles to Reading, where it joins the Thames. Another 54 miles later it reaches Teddington Lock, ending 17 miles later at Westminster Bridge. Personalities to own a DW medal are former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Paddy Ashdown, explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, TV Presenter Steve Backshall, Olympic gold medallist rowers James Cracknell and Helen Glover, adventurer Sarah Outen, and the first British woman to climb Everest Rebecca Stephens. Route The race follows the Kennet and Avon Canal for from Devizes through Pewsey, Hungerford and Newbury to Reading. From Reading the race follows the non-tidal River Thames down stream for through Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Maidenhea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great River Race
The Great River Race is an annual competition held on the River Thames for any traditional-style coxed boat propelled by oars or paddles. The date of the race for 2022 has been set for the 10th September The competition was started in 1988 and covers a 21-mile (34 km) course on the tidal Thames between Ham, London and Greenwich. It is usually held on a Saturday in September. Since 2009 the race has been run in the opposite direction, i.e. upstream with the tide from Greenwich to Ham. This appears to be the preferred arrangement for the organisers and the competitors alike. The rules stipulate that boats must be moved by oars or paddles and have a cox and a passenger (although both cox and passenger may alternate with rowers during the race). Up to 300 boats take part including Gigs, Skiffs, Celtic Longboats, Cutters, Currachs, Dragon Boats, Whaleboats and an assortment of novelty craft. Boats are handicapped by class to provide an overall competition as well as compet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doggett's Coat And Badge
Doggett's Coat and Badge is the prize and name for the oldest rowing race in the world. Up to six apprentice watermen of the River Thames in England compete for this prestigious honour, which has been held every year since 1715. The 4 mile 5 furlongs (7.44 km) race is rowed on the River Thames upstream from London Bridge to Cadogan Pier, Chelsea, passing under a total of eleven bridges. Originally, it was raced every 1 August against the outgoing (falling or ebb) tide, in the boats used by watermen to ferry passengers across the Thames. Today it is raced at a time amenable to spectators, in September, that coincides with the incoming (rising or flood) tide, in contemporary single sculling boats. The winner's prize is a traditional watermen's red coat with a silver badge added, displaying the horse of the House of Hanover and the word "Liberty", in honour of the accession of George I to the throne. In addition, each competitor who completes the course receives a miniature of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thames Sailing Barge Match
The Thames Sailing Barge Match is the second oldest sailing race in the world, beaten only by the America's Cup. It starts off Stanford-le-Hope and finishes off the Three Daws public house in Gravesend, Kent, Gravesend on the River Thames, London River (River Thames) and is open to spritsail rigged Thames sailing barges, it uses the same course and rules as were used in the first match in 1863. The first matches The swim-headed barge ( the swimmie) was convenient for river work, slow to windward, fast off the wind but performing abysmally in heavy weather in the seaway. In the 1840s the swim head gave way to the rounded bow that was soon replaced by a straight stem (the stemmie). Competition from the railways was causing barge builders to experiment. "The Golden Dustman", William Henry Dodd, organised the first race in 1863, giving cash prizes for the first barges in the stumpie and topsail classes. The second race in 1864 attracted 40 barges. Of the 16 Thames sailing barge#stumpy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
