Bright idea to light up boats

ABOUT 2,000 people crowded on to the banks of the River Thames for Henley’s first illuminated boat parade.

Forty-five boats and 40 paddleboarders took part in the event on Saturday evening and houses along the river were lit up in bright colours for the occasion.

As the vessels gathered at Fawley Meadows for the start of the flotilla, spectators lined the towpath outside Leander Club and along Thames Side on the opposite bank.

The crowds were 10 people deep in places and people were packed on to Henley Bridge trying to get a good view.

Organisers handed out 1,000 free glowsticks to spectators as the boats — all clad with lights — made their way to Henley Bridge and back twice.

The Henley Whalers turned their boat Molly into a Viking longship while other entrants included a tribute to the Ghostbusters film franchise.

Some participants also dressed themselves in luminous outfits and wore fairy lights or carried decorated parasols. Timothy Dodd-Wilson made a guest appearance with Lilly, his large floating yellow duck from which he shot fireworks.

Former Radio 1 and Top of the Pops presenter Mike Read compered the show, assisted by Henley resident Andy Trotman.

The judges were Henley Mayor Michelle Thomas, radio presenter Debbie McGee, musician Dhani Harrison and Bethan Toop, wife of Thames Traditional Boat Festival co-chairman Adam Toop.

They watched the parade from a viewing platform outside Leander Club.

Chris Langley’s Scarlet Lady was named best boat in parade.

It was dressed in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II with an imperial state crown on a coffin while playing patriotic music including Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again. The best lit spectator was Ariana Shepherd while Carol Pontin was named best dressed person on board a boat, Busy Lizzie.

The best music boat was Henley Rowing Club’s entry featuring James Bond and the “royal rowing corgis” with former opera singer Karen Wade singing various Bond songs as well as Ave Maria.

Molly was named best unpowered boat.

The winners each received a silver salver on a wooden stand while all participants were given a medal and plaque to put on their boat.

Councillor Thomas said: “The whole event was just a joy to be a part of and I think the townsfolk really embraced it as well.

“The spectators were about 10 people deep along the towpath and it was full along the bridge and Thames Side as well as all the people at Leander. It looked spectacular with all the boats lit up as well as all the houses. It was just beautiful.

“Henley is synonymous with the river, boating and rowing and the river is a continual draw for people throughout the year, so any event that’s held on the river gets my 100 per cent support.

“Without a doubt I’d like to see the parade back next year.”

Ms Wade, who lives in Vicarage Road, was accompanied on her borrowed touring boat by Hazel Cowling, Alice Brindle, Simon Stoker and cox Ann Tully.

She said: “Our PA packed up on the second loop by the bridge in the middle of Diamonds are Forever and Ann told me that I had to step in and finish it and you never argue with a cox.

“When it was over someone was shouting requests from the bank so I kept going and ended with Ave Maria. We had met up at 5pm, Simon brought the poles and the lights, Alice brought along the music and there were lots of WhatsApp messages going round so we knew what we were doing.

“I’d also ordered some ‘corgis’ to have on the boat which are now the proud possessions of my grandchildren Theo and Eli, who I could hear cheering me from the crowd.

“It was just a stupendous event. There were so many people there and the lighting throughout was spectacular, as was the atmosphere and between the boats.

“It was kind of surreal given all the troubles in the world and to be doing something like this in our own town is quite wonderful.”

Mr Probert recreated the Viking longship that first appeared at the river pageant in 2012 to celebrate the Queen’s diamond jubilee.

He said: “The boat lends itself to a Viking ship and we had stuff left over from the diamond jubilee pageant in 2012 when were asked to be a longboat to represent the battle of Reading in 871. The people who thought up how to do it were my neighbour Karen Moberly and friend Tim Brassey.

“They came up with how we could dress the boat without using any nails, staples or glue, which is fantastic and effective.

“The event was fantastic and better than I was expecting with bigger crowds.”

The full results were as follows:

Best in parade — Chris Langley’s Scarlet Lady; runner-up — the Henley Dragons Dragonboat, captain Cat Cassell.

Best musical theme — James Bond and the royal rowing corgis; runner-up — Peter and Amanda Barron-Cutts’ Relaxing (Abba theme).

Best fancy dress on board — Carol Pontin’s Busy Lizzie, (bumble bees themes); runner-up — Ross Elder’s Badger (Three bears theme).

Best unpowered — Geoff Probert’s Molly (Vikings theme); runner-up — Nick Rudd’s Go with the Flow Paddleboarders

Best lit spectator — Ariana Shepherd.