4th June - update

Blood, sweat and possibly ancient family feuds will surface on this blog once salty sea dog (bitch?) Gannet Ripple is released from her temporary Hampshire moorings and given her first taste of freshwater at Lechlade in Gloucestershire on Friday 12th June.

For those of you in London, we shall get to Teddington Lock on Thursday 18th June in order to catch the fair tide through London, after 7 days of blistering rowing through 5 counties. We were preparing to sacrifice one of our juiciest daughters to Aeolus, God of the Winds, so as to be able to sail at least part of the way, but they all want to do Cadet Week instead. How selfish can you get?

We should rip under Putney Bridge around 5.00pm on Thursday, tying up at Cadogan Pier for the night an hour or so later. We shall sail past the Houses of Parliament at 11.30am on Friday 19th (if there's anyone left there to wave to us) and under Waterloo and London Bridges soon after that.

Watch out for our bright pink and blue sail, no 578, and the RNLI banner.

22nd May - update

We are still on course to leave from Lechlade in Gloucestershire on Friday 12th June. Although considerable funds have been raised already, the Appeal still has a long way to go in order to raise the £1m required. This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the Lifeboat Station Appeal and would urge anyone who has not yet donated to do so, either by visiting www.justgiving.com/maltbythamestrip or sending a cheque to Caroline Roe.

RNLI Press Releases

A number of Press Releases have just been issued by the RNLI PR organisation. Here is an extract from one of them:

"William said he was moved to support the RNLI appeal because Bembridge village, and the lifesaving work of the charity, is very dear to his and his family’s heart: ‘You’ve heard of Three Men In A Boat – well we’ve dubbed this Three Maltby’s In A Boat! We have a real history with Bembridge. We are the third generation of our family to spend holidays on the island and our respective children are the fourth generation to do the same. Consequently, we are all aware of what a fantastic job the RNLI volunteer crews do, and of the desperate need for the new lifeboat station and boathouse. ’Indeed, the new station will enable crew to achieve faster response times to emergencies, and will house the Tamar, the latest and most powerful class of lifeboat in the RNLI fleet.

A keen sailor, William, 49, explained how the trip down the River Thames will be anything but plain sailing: ‘This style of boat, a scow, is often considered something of a learners’ vessel. It’s essentially a dinghy; it’s fibreglass, it’s heavy and quite slow, and it’s an absolute pig to row! It’s really only built for small distances and we fully anticipate there will be times when there just isn’t enough wind and we have to resort to rowing.

That said, it will be an adventure and a real return to roots. I am a qualified yacht master and we will observe all the essential safety advice and precautionary measures that the RNLI advocates, including lifejackets, means of communication, and ensuring the boat is full safe and fit for purpose. And that’s another reason why we admire the RNLI so much – as an authority on marine safety, we will follow their guidance to ensure we stay safe on the water.’"

Photo by Hammo Thorneycroft

Gannet Ripple Leaving Bembridge

Gannet Ripple leaves BSC for the start of her epic Thames voyage beginning in Gloucestershire (via a barn in Hampshire)

Alan Titchmarsh, until recently High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight and a long-term supporter of the RNLI, said "The Bembridge lifeboatmen have for many years been the unsung heroes of the Solent, and the new lifeboat will boost their capacity to help by hugely increasing their speed and range. People often forget that lifeboats are expensive machines and are entirely funded by voluntary contributions. The sponsored row and sail down the Thames in an Isle of Wight scow by Caroline, William and Sophie is an ingenious and welcome effort to raise money for the new lifeboat, and I urge those interested to give generously to this worthy cause.”

THREE MALTBYS IN A SCOW

In June, sibling trio Caroline Roe, William Maltby and Sophie Ross intend to sail and/or row down the navigable length of the Thames from Gloucestershire through Central London, the Thames Barrier and down to the Estuary in order to raise funds for Bembridge Lifeboat Station. To make it interesting, they’re going to use their scow.

Their trip will be nearly 200 miles long - the equivalent of circumnavigating the Isle of Wight four times. There will be 45 locks and 20 bridges so low that not only will they have to take down the sail but also the mast. It won’t be all plain sailing – in fact there may be no sailing at all: unless the winds are with them they will row the distance. Anyone who has tried to row a scow will appreciate what hard work this will be.

If you would like to support the siblings' fundraising endeavour, you can donate online on their Just Giving website www.justgiving.com/maltbythamestrip (and if you are a UK taxpayer an extra 28% will be added to your donation at no cost to you). Alternatively, you could send a bank or charity cheque payable to ‘RNLI Bembridge Lifeboat Station Appeal’ to Caroline Roe.