Barging about on the River
Barges at close quarters as they clear Tower Bridge.
The Barge Driving Race on the River Thames has been run annually since 1975 and this year’s event saw 11 lighters (or punts) being rowed with the flood tide from Greenwich to Westminster.
Using three 20ft long ‘sweeps’ to drive and steer each craft, the five and six man crews are comprised of licensed Watermen and Lightermen and their apprentices, aged between 16 and 76 years.
The River Thames is the only waterway in the world where this sport takes place. Organised by Transport On Water (TOW) in association with Watermen’s Hall, this is the biggest day out on the London River, especially for the Watermen and Lightermen themselves, who throng the accompanying party boats with barbecues, discos and plenty of booze.
This year more than a dozen passenger boats were hired out, while a variety of tugs were on hand to hold the barges at the start and take up safety stations along the seven mile course. Official launches and leisure craft add to the flotilla, creating one of the busiest scenes on the tidal Thames.
Although the business of lighterage, in which barges were used to ‘lighten’ the loads of ocean going ships, has been practised on the Thames for centuries, the first barge race was inaugurated in 1975 with the setting up of TOW as a charity to promote the commercial use of waterways for both freight and passenger traffic, especially in London. As containerisation changed the face of cargo handling, the lighterage companies disappeared, leaving only Cory’s waste handling fleet and a handful of marine contractors as the remaining employers of lightermen.
The number of lighters has also declined but thanks to Bill Robinson at South Dock Marina some redundant craft have been reprieved. The Port of London Authority (PLA), which always enters its own barge, also provide slipping facilities for other barges to be repaired at their Denton yard. The PLA are co-sponsors of the event and their barge, Blackwall, had been overall winner for the past five years.
This year’s main sponsor was the marine civils and subsea contractor Red7Marine, which used the occasion to introduce themselves to the wider community of river users and sent their tug, Haven Supporter, to the start line. The reaction of the Red7 directors, staff and families who followed the race was very positive and marine construction director Graham Slack gave a short speech at the prize giving, hinting that they may well be back for more next year.
The race got off to a chaotic start as the barges set off in three separate groups. Within a few hundred yards Blackwall was cutting through the fleet having started at the back of the field with a handicap. At Limehouse Reach, the wind hit the barges head on and at Wapping a fierce squall added hailstones to the agony. Blackwall finished in a time of 1 hour and 54 minutes, three minutes ahead of the Thames Clippers’ Balmoral, with South Dock Marina’s Shell Bay in third. If the result was predictable it won’t deter competitors from trying again next year. The taking part may be important, but winning the race is still an ambition for many of these stalwarts of the River.
By Graeme Ewens
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