In June 1815, the British were victorious at Waterloo and sent an URGENT despatch back to England by Post Chaise. (Horse and cart)… On arrival at the Belgian coast, the escorting officer boarded the first Royal Naval Ship that was sailing back to Great Britain. The sailing ship was becalmed 20 miles from the Kent coast line. Knowing just how important this news was, the escorting officer and several other Royal Naval officers jumped into the ships Jolly Boat and rowed it the 20 remaining miles back to England, landing at Broadstairs in Kent.
The message was taken on again by road all the way to London where there was a massive celebration, leading to the Europe that we now all know and ‘love’.
To celebrate the 200th Anniversary, in June 2015, the journey will be recreated with one main difference! The rowing section of this epic journey has been extended to cover all the way from Oostende to Broadstairs – as a race!! The distance is about 55 nautical miles and will likely take around 14 – 16 hours to complete, depending on conditions on the day.
There will be 12 rowing boats invited to take part and to race against each other for an amazing once in a lifetime adventure to win a coveted prize (to be announced). For my sins, I have been deputed to organise this event.
The boats will all be of a Cornish Pilot Gig frame and anyone interested in taking part who already owns such a craft should start contacting me now. (We already have one entry so far).
To accomplish this, each boat needs two full crews to swap over every two hours until the task is completed.
Each boat and crew will need to fulfil certain criteria to be able to enter the race.
- The boat must conform to the stated frame type. This means that both wooden, GRP and carbon fibre gigs will be accepted, provided they are of a similar size to the original Cornish Pilot gig. Our decision as organisers is final on what this constitutes.
- Each crew will consist of 14 people to enable the event to be carried out with as much safety as possible.
- Each crew must have their own accompanying Safety Vessel that is certificated and covered for carrying 12 people to 60 miles offshore for up to 24 hours, the crew of which must be suitably qualified to do their duty on board.
- There will be an entry fee (to be determined in due course by the overall event organisers).
- Sponsors are invited to cover their local team. Flags, banners and stickers are most welcome on your rowing and Safety Vessels.
Contact us by email in the first place at
shadowsrowing@btinternet.com
Rule Britannia
