I rowed royal barge to Tower

THE head of a boat hire firm in Henley represented the King’s Watermen at an annual 26-mile river event.

Jonathan Hobbs, managing director of Hobbs of Henley, was part of the crew of Jubilant that rowed from Hampton Court Palace to the Tower of London.

He was taking part in the historical event, known as the Tudor Pull, for the first time since he was appointed a Waterman in 2019.

It is organised by the Thames Traditional Rowing Association, whose aim is to promote rowing and sculling, to celebrate the importance of the River Thames.

The decorated royal barge delivers a piece of wooden water pipe in a special glass case, called a stela, to the governor of the Tower of London and the following year takes it back to Hampton Court Palace.

Jonathan said it was a “wonderful” occasion. “It was a beautiful day,” he said. “Seeing London as a city building up as you row towards the centre was incredible.

“You see so many historic landmarks and grasp just how important the Thames is for linking all the historic places along the way and how it used to be.”

More than 15 other boats representing London’s traditional livery companies rowed alongside the royal barge and people watched the pageant from the banks.

Jonathan said: “There wasn’t a huge crowd but there were certainly people watching from the bridges shouting and cheering as we passed and other boats came along to see the spectacle.” Due to the traditional set-up of the barge, he found the row difficult.

He said: “There’s no slide on the seat, so it definitely makes the 26 miles quite arduous as you’re not able to bend your knees like in a normal rowing boat.

“You’re just using your arms and back and not your legs, so there’s definitely more pressure on the lower back.”

He was glad when the barge reached the tidal part of the river, which helped the rowers.

Jonathan said: “It was wonderful to row on the last bits of the non-tidal river and reach Teddington where the tidal Thames starts and see how the river changes.

“The timing of the event meant we reached the tidal Thames at full tide, so we were rowing with the tide going towards the tower, which gave us a bit of help.”

After delivering the stela all the participants headed to the Dickens Inn in St Katherine’s Dock for refreshments.

Jonathan said: “I was pretty battered for a few hours afterwards but, as with all watermen activities, we convened and had a few liquid refreshments. The power of beer is incredible!”

He said his participation had persuaded him to continue his own rowing endeavours.

“I would love to continue to row the barge,” he said. “I really enjoyed the physical challenge of it and taking part in a historical event.

“Having rowed for a long time, it has encouraged me to do a bit more — but not competitively.”