The latest in a series of blogs provided by Naomi Riches – building up to The Great Thames Row, an attempt to set a record for being the fastest woman to row 165 miles along the length of the River Thames, whilst raising funds for www.IN-vision.org.uk. The full archive of related blogs can be found here: www.mymarlow.co.uk/blog/tag/tgtr2016/
So much has happened in the last month it is almost impossible to know where to start…
The promo video and the sponsorship pack are complete, the time sheet is pretty much done and we have figured out how to get through the locks quickly and efficiently. The big news is that the website is finally complete and now live! Please check it out at www.thegreatthamesrow.org
It is hard to believe that it is all, at last, coming together.
There are so many people to thank and mention that it is going to be tough, but I think the evening I spent playing about in locks is going to be most interesting for you.
The locks are going to be the tricky part of the whole operation and there are 45 en route. This includes Richmond Lock which can be a bit treacherous, so, as it is kept open for 2 hours either side of high and low tide, I will be aiming to be there at the right time to go straight through.
Due to Liz meeting some incredible river users, David and Andrew, we are now almost certain that all the Lock Keepers along the Thames will come and operate their lock… no matter what time of day or night.
The lock sequence goes like this…
- Steering launch goes past me and into the lock first, to the steps nearest the other end
- The second person on the launch will steer me into the lock and I will connect with the launch
- I will get out of my boat (not every time) and step across the launch onto the bank
- The lock with go down with launch and boat still attached whilst I stretch, drink, eat, etc.
- I will descend the lock steps, back across the launch and into my boat.
- I will detach from the launch and shoot out the other end of the lock, off to the next!
Sounds simple right? Well it is but I am going to be getting more and more tired and it will get more and more tricky to get in and out of my boat. I am going to have to make sure that I really do trust those around me and just do what I am told.
There are less than 3 months to go now and the pressure is building, I know I have the right people around me and I am feeling surprisingly relaxed about the whole thing… that could change though, I’ll let you now next month! 🙂
If you would like to know how you can get involved in this, visit www.thegreatthamesrow.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thegreatthamesrow2016
Twitter: @TGTR2016 @INvision_buzz @NaomiRichesMBE
The full archive of related blogs can be found here: www.mymarlow.co.uk/blog/tag/tgtr2016/
