The punting section has done some excellent maintenance on the punts and are looking forward to an active season of both social and competitive punting. March 2013 There will be a meeting of the skiff and punt sections on Monday 22nd April at the Snooker Club, at 8pm. All skiffers and punters (including those intending to learn this year) are encouraged to attend. Sign up for punting courses at Open Day - 20 April at noon Adults - Sunday mornings from 19 May Junior - Wednesday evenings from 15 May Finally, if anyone would be prepared to give some of their time to help organise skiff or punt activities please give me a call on 0118 940 2911 or email skiff@wargraveboatingclub.co.uk - it really helps if we can spread the load Nick Towers  September 2012 Due to the river conditions it has been a quiet summer for the punters. Of note however is Henry BB's performance in the Gents Novice race at the Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta - losing the final by half a length. At the Rag regatta the Classified and Drawn Punting event was well contested, and for the first time in very many years, Matthew Gordon's name will not be on the trophy, as Marcus Chew and Henry BB proved too strong a combination. We have a new (or old) addition to the punting fleet, a "saloon punt" called Carrie. This boat has been kindly loaned to the club by Peter Tarrant -Willis, for a 5 year period. Carrie is a 3' punt, built in 1926 by Jack Arlett & Sons of Henley. She is not a racing punt, although we hope to use her for dongola practice. Her main use will be for gentle meanders, picnics etc. She is nice and wide, so anyone wanting to learn to punt could get used to it without needing to feel unstable. We are yet to receive all the equipment for her - poles, seats & cushions, gratings, etc, and at the moment she is sitting in the water - this enables her to "take up", which swells the planks on the bottom, squeezes them together and makes her watertight. Until the wooden poles arrive, please ONLY use the aluminium poles with black and yellow taped tops if you take this punt out. These poles are already slightly bent, so it is not a complete disaster if they bend more as a result of using them with this punt which is considerably heavier than the racing punts. The general rule is not to use any pole against the side of the boat as a lever, otherwise it will break or bend. Let me know if you need any tips. Punt Speak: Heard on the river bank recently “Just look at that, now that’s what you call a good bottom”! |
Punting Section |
