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The Umpire'sLaunch at HenleyRoyal Regatta

An HistoricalReview

Rlchard Goddard 19t7 THEUMPIRE'S LAUNCH AT HENLEY by RichardGoddard Secretary ot Henley Royal Regatta

Rodeand Rowed- the early days

At the first Regatta,held on 14thJune 1839,the Umpirerode on horsebackalong the towingpatht, [figure 1l but at subsequentRegattas2 this officiallollowed the racing eitherin the bow of an eightror far more probably,as has been suggestedelsewhere4, seatedholding the rudderlines in the stern. Almostinvariably, although not exclusivelys, he was rowed by professionals;and an articlein Bell's Life, on the 1840 Regatta, recoroeo:

'Mr.J.D. Bishopagain officiated as Umpire,and was this year in an eight-oaredcutter manned by a crewof Londonwatermen.'6

ln 1842Bell's Life reported that the watermencanying the Umpiredecided to 'have a go' themselvesand at PoplarPoint they spurtedround the outsideof the bend'so that on approachingthe Stewards'standall three boats were stem to stem...'7[figure 2] In severalpublished reports of Regattasthroughout these early years, details of the Umpire'swatermen are given. In 1841, lor example, we learnthat,

'J.D. Bishop,Esq., captain of the LondonAmateur Scullers' Club, gaveso muchsatisfaction at the previousregattas by his admirable managementand superiorknowledge of mattersconnected with rowing,the committeewas again anxiousto have his valuable assistance,and he consentedfor the thirdtime to otficiateas umpire. A crew of Londonwatermen was selectedto man his eight-oared cutter,and excellentwell did they performtheir work on bothdays. The men's names were 1 Shelton, 2 Doubledee,3 Robert Doubledee,4 Freeman,5 Newell,6 Kelly,7 Williams,I Phelps (stroke)''8

In1859,

'capitallydid they performtheir arduouswork...rowing well up with everyrace, and in that betweenTrinity and Balliolactually coming in second;they consisted of:- 1. J.Phelps,2.J. Mackinney,3.T. Mackinney,4. J. Messenger,5. W. Pocock,6. G. Hammefton,7. T.White,8. H. Kelley,with Francisof Teddingtonon shore, in reserve,as a change at times for Messenger,who was slightly indisoosed.s MGA[U'A 't9e, ,t' ,;i;"";;bging eoh+ztuly and@, ao oJ r..on to. ,s-vtccttt:toraon tlu E,ankt :i3':,;t,r in/l,l:T to P, !:: eW Indlotalfii tbntantatenuaa utu attmlradttaama tota rldad)a et^_ {:;uw*:wx:;'"xs**i!ifi!ffl#r"""T#,fi9;^",4*;{0"fr;';tffii#",!Wff..m.W'ffiULW"a, during tito Rsn. JI'I{'E f4 1839., Tatcant 4;:2121_vc4m;-AulL

F i gtrre I

F i g r-r re 2 T

watermen,and those subsequentlylisted, were renowned A numberof these 'the professionalsoi their day.to 6"',"t, for instance,is referredto as champion'in lre Fieldot June,1 866, although the samereport adds that,

'the proximityof his race with Hammill,ot the United States, renderedit advisablefor himnot to takean oar.' Occasionally,as in 1848,it was reported:

'A littlerace among the watermenwho rowedthe umpire...wound up the regatta.'tt andelsewhere the prizemoney otfered is quoted : €7 to the winnerand e5 tor the second boathome. ln Bell'sLrle (1863) twelve names are listedwith a commentthat a crew o{ eightwas selected , withfour relieving four thereafter.

TheodoreCooktz considered his readersmight find it

'of interestto add that the bestwatermen's crew which ever carried an umpire(as was their custombefore steam launches) at Henley was that of 1853, which containedT. MacKinney,R. Newell,R. Doubledee,J. Messenger,W. Pocock,J. Phelps,T. Coleand R. Coombesat stroke.'

Despitethe prowessof these professions,it seemsthat graduallythe competing amateuroarsmen began to outpacethe watermen.The otficial Records of the Regattafor 1868,state :

'Messrs.R. LewisLloyd and R.W.Risley officiated as Umpires,and were rowedby two crewsof watermen;but in manyinstances they wereunable to keepup withthe races.'l3

To overcomethis, the Umpire'sboat occasionally joined the raceat an intermediate 'darting pointalong the Course,reference being made to it out of the bushesa thirdof the wayup'.14

Perhapsthe diminishingskills of thesecrews ot watermenhad, as suggestedby a journalist,something to do withthe meansof theirselection,

'The next point to comment is the making up of the crew of watermento row the umpire;and the selectionof the men is, we believe,left to thatgentleman, who on the presentoccasion deputed the taskof choosingfit and properwatermen to composethe crewto a deputy, and ol his knowledgeof the men's abilitiesor his impartialityin his selectionthe followingcrew will give a good idea .....Now, we have no wish to do any of thesemen a bad turn, but whyNos 1,4and 7 shouldbe chosen... to the exclusionof lothers] we cannotunderstand. Indeedmuch astonishment was expressed by severalLondoners....For the futurewe wouldsuggest that if the Umpire himselfis not acquaintedwith the performancesof the differentwatermen...he should either leave the selectionin the hands of the committee,or elsetake the opinionof someamateur qualified to giveone, before finally making such an invidiousselection, and so for the lutureobviate the jealousyand well-founded discontent which hason the lasttwo occasionsresulted from the coursetaken.'rs

The Daysot Steam- Thornycroftand DesVigneste

Clearlythis was not a satisfactorystate of affairsand in 1869a poweredvessel was introduced. lt may well be that the idea for such a departurefrom traditionwas inspiredby the BritishRegatta, held on the RiverSeine at Paris in 1867, when the umorres. 'Mr. lrelandand Mr. Brickwoodwere carried- one on board the steam launch...andthe other aboarda privateyacht...On the last day,when the eight-oaredrace was rowed,M. BenoitChampy was good enoughto give the umpirea seat in his fast river boat the Vauban,the betterto keepup withthe eights.'r7 It seems,however, more likely that the seedwas planted earlier when : 'Nautilusof 36 ft. in lengthand fittedwith a twin-cylinderengine and a locomotive-typeboiler...was the firststeam launch that couldkeep up withthe eightsof the UniversityBoat Race. This was in 1862. The Nautilusranks as 'Boat No.f in the Thornycroftregister of craft...Thedate ot 1859...probablyrefers to the layingof the keel, whenthe buddingengineer was onlysixteen years of age.'rt Howeverthatmay be,the Recordsof the 1869Regatta merely reterto the otficial using'a steam-launch'.lt is very likelythis first boat was namedARIEL - for it is certain such a launchwas used at a very early stage. The Stewards'Minute Book makes 'to referenceto a steamer,the propertyof a Mr. Blythe,being put at theirdisposal carry the Umpireduring the Races'le,whilst an entryfrom the Minutesot December1870 ' ...1believe he I i.e.Mr. Blythe] is unwillingto sellthe Ariel...'zo Ariel,lfigure3l builtby Thornycroftat the ChurchWharf Works in Chiswick,was 40 feetin length,5 feet6inches in beam, constructedof steelwith a v-twinsteam engine and deservessoecial mention, 'No.2 [inThornycroft's Register of Boats],the Aiel ot 1863,was well- named,for she was almostincredibly light, some of the hull plates beingonly a tortiethof an inchin thickness,that is a weightof only 1 lb. per sq.ft. Althoughthe launchan at 12.2knots in lieuof the 9.5 knotsof the Nautilus,Thornycroft was disappointed ...'2r A somewhatgushing account of the useof steamlaunches at this Regattaof 1869 relatedthat, 'No great,fat, and putfingCitizens22 blackened the air with dense smoke,but, in strictkeeping with the poetryof the scene,some live or six prettylittle screws glided about as easilyand noiselesslyas swans.Shadowed by cool awningsand cheerfullydecorated, these bijou craft seemed particularlyadapted for upper Thames navigation.Conspicuous among them were, first, the remarkably handyboat that carriedthe umpires,and nextthe two twin screw boats,of lightdraught, by Yarrowand Hedley,of Poplar,neat, fast, and manageablepleasure steamers of ten or twelvehorse-power, andof remarkablepace and docility.'23

Apparentlythis prettysight also had its down-side,for the OtficialRecords for 1871 reportthat the ThamesConservancy had imposeda ban on the movementof all steam launcheson the HenleyReach, save that carrying the umpire,during the hoursof racing.

ln 1870two launches24,one beingMr. Blythe's Aiel,the otherbeing the propertyof ViscountSouthwell were used, but it is clear lhe Stewardswere still not contenland appointeda sub-committeeto investigatethe wayfonivard.

'TheSub-Committee reported as follows: thatthey had visited the yardsof bothMessrs. Yarrow and Hedleyxand Mr.Thornycrofi and requestedtenders to buildand letto the Stewardsand Committeea Steamerof sutficientspeed to carry the Umpirewith the Races duringthe two daysot the Regatta...'25

tendersand bothwere asked to guaranteethe speedof the Theyeach submitted 'keep launch.Yarrow & Hedleyreplied that the vesselwould be able to up with the Grand'sRace', whilst Thornycroft wrote more specifically :

'Theboat I shouldbuild for yourUmpire would be of steel.49 feet9. by 6ft 6 ins and I couldguarantee 12Vz [sr:c] in stillwater' I expect13 miles and more even; the boat will work quietly which will be importantto you.'zz

The Committeeopted for Thornycroft'stender, for though Hedley'swas more moderateit was notso satisfactoryas regardsthe speed- twelvemiles an hourbeing the minimumrecommended by the sub-committee.

There followeda deal of haggling,but eventuallythe Committeeconcluded a contractguaranteeing to employthe steamerfor the first year at e50 and at two subsequentregattas for e40 perannum.

The RegattaRecords merely reler to the outcomeof thesenegotiations as follows:

'Messrs.R.W. Risley and J.G. Chambersofficiated as Umpiresin a steam-launchwhich had been built on purposeby Thornycroft'zt andthis vessel certainly seemed to havefultilled its purpose,for it was remarked:

'Anotherimprovement, resulting from the experiencesof last year' was madein the modeof conveyingthe umpires,a veryfast steam screw launch having been constructed,under contract,with the committee,by Mr. J.t. Thomeycroft[sic], C.E., of Church Wharl Works,Chiswick, builder of the celebratedAiet and the speedol the new vesselwas the commontopic of conversationduring the day. A day or two beforethe raceshe had been run at full speed over the course againstthe streamwhich was slightlyabove its usualstrength, and the littlesteamer covered the distanceof 1 mile2 furlongsand about100 yards in 4 min.40s...... Webelieve that this JOHII. TIIOR|IICIOFT.C.X..

rrt I l, t! I ttlt I ul I I rlllf tf tflll ttt )iiiull-l'lUIll iirtJ inlrlitl lUltfllh

ChurchWhari Chisl'cr, Loncion, W,

l:iiier oithe ScrervS:cam-r'rci: '-\riei." .'.'eilInorvn i:r li:e I:st six lcrrs :: ',he : ;itrest smail vesselon ::e Tl:ames. ),Ir. Thornycroftis rotv buiijing stiil lastervesseis. .. ,. -i.h L,, r,--. r^ ..ll --."-. .. F i grrre 3 r'.n i,r--ni.ro \'.c-., rj ,:- ..r iron or -::eel.rvirh c:r:ensing or non-conienlnl a:lines.

j:r Leunchcg,and r. :ieci:i ci:ss oi Light Steei '::::s. cepec)e oi n:r-it::i:: .:.rilorv rirers. rvhere ::::::lers have not iti:itcnc !!.n jj'Jri.

-fll Scrc'wborcs n::cri v,r::r:r in:prove,jerrangc- -.-. ^t ."'".- an.l - i:..r .. : r oirnc rr,.^rlr snFFd :li lessvibrrtion. T}:e Enqine: rre c-,igncl ::i cJnstrucreciby Jfr. li-.crn-vcrori.rt Chislvick.\rlcri :ny iurther informa- ::an may be obtxined,

ChurchWhari Chirvick.London, TY'.

AIIE 6TEAI IACET NIINANDA.'

J,J

Figure 4 f )( lllri\ i)l f ltc ..lr'rrrrrytht \lit,rtr,ltr vesselmay be hiredby other regattacommittees; but the Henley stewardshave first claim on herservices.'2e

However,the venturedid not receiveuniversal acclaim, it beingstated that'

'A vast amountof valuabletime was wastedby the crewshaving to waitat the startingpost lor the umpire'ssteamer which accompanied each race. She is an undeniablyfast boat; in fact probablythe fastestof her sizeever built, but the longstoppages that were made oppositethe GrandStand for the purposeot takingon boardand puttingon shorethe ditferentumpires caused a wearisomedelay' A watermen'screw.....might surely have been utilisedfor the purpose"''30

No trace as to the nameof this launchhas yet been found,but at the following Regattaot 1872,rePorts of '...theraces being umpired again by Mr. Risleyand Mr. Chambers fromMr. Thornycrott's steam screw launch MIRANDA'3I lfigure 4] 'Messrs.R. Risleyand J.G. Chambersumpired the racesfrom the Miranda,the littlesteamer doing the markedhalf mile in 2 min. 11 sec.'32 'Boat No.1O[in Thornycroft'sRegister], the Miranda,[constructed in 18711was a moreimportant craft, since her successcontributed so greatlyto the growingreputation and rapidprogress of her builder. This littlevessel, [had] a waterlinelength of 45 ft. 6 in. She evoked widesoreadinterest on accountof her speedof over 16 knots,which wasconsidered impossibly high. Thisdisbelief made it necessaryto arrangefor an independenttrial by Sir FrederickBramwell, the leadingconsulting engineer of his day. Bramwelldescribed the trialsand confirmedthe speedin a paperread before the Instituteof NavalArchitects in 1872.'33 The paper describedscientifically observed phenomena which were in direct contradictionto all the receivedlaws of dynamicsand hydrodynamics.Hitherto it had beenregarded as impossibleto attainspeeds of some 17 to 19 Statutemiles per hour unlessthe vesselswere at least2OO ft. in length,some even pointed out the necessityot goingto lengthsapproaching 400 ft. beforeit was possibleto reachspeeds in the region of20 knots. Thornycroft'slaunch was under 50 feet. CertainlyMirandawould have been admirably suited to the taskof keepingup with theraces at HenleyI What is not certain is whether Mirandawere the launch Thornycroftbuilt speciallyfor the Stewardsand Committeeunder the agreementof December1870.

But we are awarethat in the winterot 1873-4he also builtEVA' [figure5] for a reportof the 1874Regatta stated : 'Messrs Risleyand Chambersumpired in turn from a new little steamerbuilt by Thornycroft...'34 anj thereis frequentapocryphal - but I believeinaccurate - referenceto Fva beingthe firt launchfor use by the Umpireto be commissionedby the Regatta. We do havea F i gtrre 6 tt rl'rff

FigL|re 5 good deal of contemporarydocumentation regarding this contract,as the original Agreementis extant. This sets out the termsof the paymentand a specificationof the vesselto be built : ' ....Jh"ryrfr...k""1ry.f,* t l"'tll'*,1 c-,,P1'1"+ke fu [" ,* "l 0. N"'.t'/bu'l' lry frntn"l,4,1 l,','lt'A -d -*+ e..,rta'"! %,lryW ly U*ffi "! W "* b^ ):Ln !o-,tj" ,,,tjrtl"l b -*t 8" -,1' fr^* ,t'- Atilb t* *"*'l " W Pt'-t'L ","* t ,,-,fb'd .,1 t" b" l ilt Ml" ,l ^l t'alt-,l{"* ,il* -, hn ot tn w, p^"f'hll "l \* tt Rytt wtw a ,,ir,tfd .d' tD ,"nlan M ,lr* ,,t"NV "*' fu+ Yd "AiM A' -"r ArqA"l t" t'" J'f fl, n"fh.'.' 6] " "prfv 4 [figure The matteris furtherconfirmed by statementsrelating to the 1875and 1876 Regattas, respectively:

'...theumpires were conveyed in a newsteam launch by the same builder[i.e. Thornycroft] not so tast as the Mirandabut stillcapable o{doing a cool15 miles Per hour...' 'one of Mr. Thornycroft'sspeedy screw launchesachieved 18 moh...'35 Eva,herself, was 44'6" in length,6'4" in thebeam and with a draftof 2'. Shewas poweredby a singlecylinder steam unit reportedto be capableof 42 ihp lindicat€dhors€powerl. At trialsshe achieved1672 m.p.h. Originallyshe was steeredby a tillerand had no cabin,but after she letlservice with the Regattain 1876she was soldto Mr. H.E.Rhodes whena wheeland cabin were fitted, and it is in thisform that she is shownat tigure5. Eva hasbeen meticulously restored at the Kew SteamMuseum and in 1985returned to the HenleyReach to undergotrials to see if she couldcarry an umpireagain - sadlythe steeringwas erratic and it provedimpossible to reducespeed rapidly enough to allowthe boat to be employedsafely for her originaltask : an added disadvantagewas the discoverythat the coaljiredboiler showered all on boardwith heavy black smuts I Evais soonto becomea permanentexhibit at the River& RowingMuseum at Henley.

The arrangementwith Thornycroft started at the 1871Regatta and continueduntil 1876when:

'The Secretary...reportedthat the Agreementto providea steam launchby Messrs.Thorneycroft [sd ...[had]terminated...'36

After Thornycroft'sdeparture trom the scene, a Regatta Sub-Committee investigatedthree firms of SteamLaunch builders, choosing Messrs. Des Vignes,who werewilling :

'to undertaketo supplya Launch,in everyway suitedto meetthe requirementsof the Committeefor a termof threeyears, 1877-8 & 9 forthe sumof TwentyPounds each Regatta.'37

It seemsthis arrangement gave satisfaction, for no furtherreference is to be found till1883 when the Minutes3trecord that a newContract with Des Vignes for the hireof an 'such Umoire'sLaunch of sizeand power'as required,was approved' F igurre 7

.(-l,l\ulJ_l-ht\|crnltxnt.h!,ihintl9t.\\|lh|t\!(]llIler\]I.'lr.tt|ltttttrtlttcr.lct,n.tructiorrltndlrtlr:tttc \'llll lr(tslnc\s | .rI.Ul.i .:J.ttc!l .l \cr1\Jlr\rrlrrr i.,,.rlrrl!.ll lllc tttltc:rrtrirr,t. lLli s.\ l() lllc lll llrrr u\l).111\lrrIlrrl silLlll(l!I\

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F i gt-rre a Irpic l dttril.'d rfrrnltmtttt trl ( irttautJ rt nslnttluttt. DesVignes'steam launches, all builtot rivetedsteel and powered by twincylinders a sing-lescrew, were employedat lor everyRegatta between 1877 and turning {enlgy. year'hiring 1898.-lt seeirsthat for muchof inai periodDes Vignes built a newboat each selling ii tirit to the Stewardsfor useat the Regattaas a tormof advertisingand thereafter thevessel to a PrivatebuYer':s ol these Variousnewspaper and magazinereports oi the periodSiLe !!?I?Tgs 1881 in launches,so we knowinat in tago tne wRAlTH4owas engaged,z^Alu.oRl1'_in , rsSa 1885lNVlcTAqz , in 1886 EUPATORIA43,1887 ASTERO]D44, 1888 JAVELIN' 1889ODALISQUE"nd and, in 1890,DEIANIRA45' Thislast launch is describedas, 'a|ongpoweredboatandVeryfastbutsendsuptoomuchswe||fora crowdedreach.'45 |nthefo||owingyea|'anengravingofTemp|e|s|and47[figureflshowsthelS9l flag RegattaStart with alt-eam launchlclearlynamed as ARAMIS,flying the Umpire's toirtne stern.Ihe Field ol11thJulythatyearstated, - 'Mr. of Chertseyhas builta new launchfor the umpires Desvignes - the Aramlsand she seems well suitedfor the purpose without - beingtoo long or inconvenientlysmall a fine specimenof the buildingof suchswift and gracefulcraft"

andthis boatwas usedagain in 1892when owned by'the DesVignes syndicate" ancl i. iegi *h"n the C6mmitteeconcluded an agreementwith the KingdonCompany' with"s"i;whom Des Vignes was, by then,in partnership: 'forthe supplyof foursmall launches and the Umpire'sLaunch'4E At this last Regattait is recordedthat the umpiretook the Baronde..cottbertin' at a Founderofthe moder-nolympic Games, as a gueston theAnmis whenhe officiated raceinvolving a Frenchcrew.re

Duringthe sameperiod the committeewas investigatingother forms of propulsion' In 1888,Meisrs lmmisch& Co., the ElectricLaunch Builders were contactedas to the iuitaoitiiyof one ot their launchescarrying the Umpire.soThe resultswere, apparently' unsatist;ctory,for no such craft was-used at HenleyRoyal Regattain this capacity' the Minutesrecord that lmmischwas to be thankedfor the loan ol the electric though 'keep launchBeta which helped the Course'in 1889' In 1894a new launchbuilt by Des Vignescame on the sceneand HIBERNIAwas to be usedat Henleyfor the nextfourteen years. Althoughlt will be rememberedthat occasionallymore than one launchhad been ad hoc used at regittas in the past, this seems to have been somethingof an two ..*g;r"ni. Forthe 1897 Regatta,the Committeeresolved definitively to employ umpiie'slaunches instead of one.51However, this had dire consequences : 'Two launches,one for each Umpire,were used on the morningot the first day in orderto save time, but as it was foundthe second launchengaged caused a great wash when travellingfast' ancl thereforecoutd onty be usedfor slow races,the schemehad to be $ivenuP''sz obviouslyit was the choiceof VARUNAas the secondboat whichcaused ditficulties,for futurereports make it clearthat the principleof usingtwo launcheshad becomefirmly established. yet notevery commentator saw the value of the innovation, 'The experimentof havingtwo launches, one of whichwas to follow atternateraces, was not a successand was abandonedfor the greaterpart of the day; but, if the coursewas alwayscl€ar, there wouldbe nooccasion for two launches, as, but for the delay caused by the pleasureboats, the umpirewould have plenty of timeto go downthe courseat halfspeed after every race, before the nextone started. 'The Umpire'svessel had the greatestditficulty in makingits way down the course...somepeople appear to take a pte-asurein obstructingthe passageof the launch,and on one occasiona mob...disgracefullyabused the umpire at the start.'53 TheProblem of Swell

_ To solvethe problem of swellthe Stewardsasked Mr. Saunders (later of Saunders Roe),boat-builder of southstoke, to designa launchthat would do cloie to twentymiles per hourwithout creating an excessivewash. He developedthe tunnelstern'and the firstvessel of thistype, coNsurA, [figureg] wasbuilt in 1899s+although, according to othersources it hadbeen commissioned in 1g96 by Mr.clutton, a nearneighbour, as'a launchfor the Umpire Committee of HenleyRegatta....

The launchwas to be designedto produceminimum wash as the currentumpires' launch had been producing an unacceptablewash at the Regatta. The resultinglaunch, 'sewn namedConsuta, which is Latinlconsutilisl tor togethe/,was 51ft. long and 7lz lt. in the beam,had a fineentry with a shallowrun aft, and a roundedtunnel stern. The hullskin comprised four mahoganylaminations hand sewntogether with annealed 16 SWGcopper wire stitches laid in approximately40,000 inch longgrooves in the outer lamination. Powerwas provided by a Desvignessteam engine which gave the launcha trialsspeed ot 27.5 knots[s/,q with so littlewash that the UmpireCommittee was fullysatisfied and used Consutafor manv yearsuntil she became the BBC'stelevision commentary launch for the Oxfordand Cambridgeboat races. Sheis nowbeing restored by Kew BridgeEngine Trust in a workshopnear Kew bridgein London.'ss lThatoptimistic report was pennedsom6 years ago (in the mid-1980s)and unforrunatelythe proposedrestoration has yet to happen. Theshell is mw at the LalehamBoatyard of Mr.Dennett.l contemporaryreports confirm that the vessel's design was a greatsuccess, '...a newflaunchl named the Consuta,which had been built by S.E. Saundersof Goring,with a viewto avoidingas far as possibiethe raisingof anywash, and the resuftis mostsatisfactory, for therewas far lessroll caused by herthan any other boat hitherto used. The very light' constructionof the boatis novel"'thehull in consequence OeingaOout half the weightot a steelone"''55 1ce, in the form ot a copy-lettertrom the llal Consutawas hired for the use of the rle source,that the other launchin use for Labatof LondonRowing Club: at the 'l encloseyour agreementfor the Hiberniafor umpiring Regatta1899.'.'57 recorded: Thisdeal continued for someyears' ln 1904 the Minutes Labatfor 'thatarrangements had been made with Messrs'Clutton & thehire of iheir launches as usual,'5E challengecup for that Regatta and,{urthermore, a photographss of the Finalof the Grand the tollowingyear : ,no6 tn".t"" merbonsitaiarrying the umpire,but Mr' H'J' 'The Chairmanmentioned with great regretthe death ot cluttontheowneroftheConsutibutsaidthatthe|aunchwou|dno advisableto doubtbe availaoleini. y""|. tho' it mightbe considered existingagreement' modifythe for It was also to get the Hibernia'sagreement renewed thisYear''s "gi""i it seemsthe chairman w?.s mjstl[e-L.?t^il^1e05.li-q.P^'^"",YT?,il^tJ Actuaily, Maitana,also built bY ruot"qr"nii"sattas, Hibernlq was joined I tu TlllllTl: ffi:,H: *"I"ofi"l ffi ;. st.;k";h o seeme-d-to hav?. 19T-t1: Y::':1 ^t:. tf ,,l:g1n: ;iirvt KinsGeorse V oy""LY1y'-t:Pyis-3 withoutcharge.6t i inii"g'ph "* RoyalResatta'bv i:::";-;;;Ni;;" il'1s1i H"g"tt",ir to"berou-nd in'Hentey ChristopherDodd (1981"t ).

ThenextreferencetotheUmpire'slaunchesintheRegatta.sminute.booksoccurstff Maitana thecnairman'repott"o tn"t hehad engagedthe consuta in190962 when it advisable'3r pernaps f'r *". trrtherauthorisld to engagea thirdlaunch if hethought .nO notdo sothat year. Hiberniawastheprobabte cnoice, aiin6ugh apparently he did

TheAdvent of Petrol - Hobbs & Sonsof Henley had,ot course,provided a fasteroption tor cgrryrry- yTfl::^.]h:: the Steam of power![e- half up the watermen,but taleswere still told ol steamersrunning out ,way of Consuta,which, Course,letting the crewsrun awayfrom them' as 9t! i poweredbv a steamensi!9 dl1sl:!-,blDes V.ienes was ;;,i;J;#"",-*J. remainedunder steam' subsequentlyconverted "tiii."uvto pJii'riiopulsion', though Maitana

ln 1912mention is made,for the first1

sinceher first appearance at the Regatta'an =,---:-.-=.-:

IL{CICL\\ .{ HeruerR.ovu Resarta L mpiresLauncir

PflncroeiD::rension! - j|tgt:l :,rt . Be::r.:Sh.: Drli:: li

Burir rn I'rll b., H,.::, ,t ),rn5 Lro. ,.rrh .icnier-on,iremcs l a:lmb i-. , :no :urnei srcrn. :ra-ioganr':,rnkec:::: -it,l :;l ,tursro:.ind drJgonJt lnsr;: .ln i r , ljr :lmed:rmDers jt 'lin lDDaoxlmr!ir a;1:::i. aoDFerrxsrarac o'er ro'es leint::.rhire:l " ir-c,,,.rr-: ::e:rnd feo Delo!r, \ilrnlsneo c:J\s Jnd :a:i:toi r-l ;s tou;..c

ft:q:t:t: r0. \uslln ii-.ic:-: iJ.rf iirrc..- ' .r iincjcr:ngrre \\::i Plrsors-.rirrrne:::: cox

jn!: ]_hc:::rrr: r:: irghrrr :':ir i:5tofrr:Ji rs J conlnic\ rforraa t-t r-ttl0_ i ild 0 r

I rjiq;F t-r' "+- Li

--=-- -.

Figt-rre: I her. Enchanttesslollowed the lines and constructionol Consuta,which is perhaps unsurprlslngas The ThamesLaunch Company ot Hobbshad acquiredSaunders'yard, lno*,i tie SpringfieldWorks at SouthStoke, Goring, in 1911 , and retainedmany ot his skilledcraftsmen.65".

It seemsthese Same two launches,Maitana andEnchantress, were engaged once moreon the resumptionof the Regattaafter the FirstWorld War, but thereafterthere is scantreference to such mattersln the ofticialrecords. Indeed,it is not until the preparationsfor the 1945Peace Regatta were in handthat we read:

'lt was reportedthat Hobbs & Co' could arrange the launch 'Enchantresgand Mr' StanleyGarton agreed to make enquiries aboutthe launch'GoldenVanitY .ae Notwithstandingthe reticenceof the Minutesof this period,we havephotographic andother evidence that furtherlaunches, built and ownedby Hobbs& sons, carriedthe Umpiresat the Regatta. Mr.W.A.B. (Tony) Hobbs, the current I that MAGICIANwas builtin 1921, followedt sawduty as an Umpire'slaunch at the 192 carryingH.R.H. The Princeof Wales- on th afterthe tinal of The Ladies'Challenge Plate67. Magician last appeared in an oflicii subsequentlysold at auction n t 9960e.[fi CambridgeUniversity Boat Club which had sawservice until the 1995 Regatta. In 191 afterundergoing restoration ai Freebody'syard is once againto be seen carryingthe Umpireat H-enleyand supporters of CUBCat the BoatRace' In the post-warperiod, the numberof racesat the Regattasteadily increersed in numberand this gave riseto the needfor anotherlaunch. Enchantress,Magician and inarynis,were joined in 1952by BOSPOROS. Builtby Hobbs& SonsLtd, otdouble OLto'naL'manoganyse, Bosporoi *as commissionedby Oxfgd UniversityBoat Club, whichalready 6wn'eOtr,vo motor canoes named Olive and Umbidge. Bosporoswas - - clearlyintended to be the thirdvessel in a seriesof tour but,as far as one knows the tourtnrarncn, undoubtedlydestined to bear a name beginningwith c, was never realised.To

The|aunchwaspaidforand|aunchedbyLordNutfie|dand.was'Very appropriately,first equipped with a Morrisengine - thiswas subsequentlyreplaced with a ditferentand somewhatmore efficientpower unit, althoughit was thoughtbest not to 7r troubleLord Nuffield with this particular development !

The launchwas namedafter the straitsof Bosporus,which is a Greekcompound 'ox wordmeaning ford'. Unfortunatelyfor OUBCthere was alreadya boatot that name ngi;trr"J, so-anadaptation of the sp6ttingto a phoneticvariant had to be devised.T2

BosporoscarriedtheUmpiresatHen|eyformanyyears,firstonannua|hirefrom OUBCand', thereafter, from 19807:to 1992as the propertyof Th-eStewards th€mselves' nno tn" tbgz Regattathe launchwas sold at auctionT4to a Dutchbuyer. {figure 101 ouac n"o the fores]ghtto re-registerthe namewhen the vesselleft the UnitedKingdom' 83+ BOSPOROS. Heniev Roval Regarra Umpire s Launch

jrllr: Princrpai Dimcnsrons:Lengrn: Beanr: .-j: -lin I Driil: jlr oln

-on-Tirame. tsuilrbr Hobbs ,\ SonsLrj. Hcnier rn i:rjl ,,rooublc ciraqon.rlmahoqan\ on steameooak untoersar approxrntareiroln ...nrrers t t Rock clrn kcel. leelson and srrlngers. parnred rhe huii rs rrhrre*irh \;rrn)srlcci(oD srr.it...dcck: enclrc,ckprr Thc huii dest,tn is ol nroderareIbrctturr lnd rtrr cr.,oeiirr,,oc.r-rrcsiD,l rLlnnclsrcrn src lbotnorr

Engrnr \\'olselcr :c:r Prince o trlinder perrorcrglnc \,, l!)p_\/Hlll srrh rrin S L carbLrrerrors. \\csrr.riieinicr manitbld. Borg\\.rrnerVcirclorirt-r{crr-l)o\ I I rauo \o :jl lij InstrumentatronrnLiu(ksrr\()luna:taountcr.tlntocrat!rrct.Lutac.ummet(r and oll t)rcssurc{Jugc

Grn{rat.'ltranQ(/nt':: slt .irn r.rcricci< u rrn bLrn oi.:rc irorr r cnalarors Jnd clcars. i{) gallon tuci rank bcnclrh -jJll +tn opcn L(r(XDli.:xsci rn nt,tnoqrn\ slrh !tlr sldesearing lor\\arci.J *it tirn cenrreicn!lne casc rrirh c,,rneo{la:. roD Cabre operaredrrhecr s(eerinq Chrvsler slnglr le\cr qcrr.rnd rhrorr.:rronrrul lnd I hclrnsman scar all to starboarci -\lr in rnt cockprr is l(llt sidc and srern reaung,suoporredon turncd columns Short alr deck \r(n alears cnsign sockcrand h.rrcir*,th accessro rreeci_rrap.Includecl In rhe ln\cnror\ .:tc r\Jrps. lcndcrs. iire extrnqurshrr.lij.i,clt. cnslqn and slall

The desrqnol rhl: i:runch in,,oircs manr (omooLlltocur-,...r and rhc consrructionis necesstrri\comnie\ Resloration shouid be undertaken bv rhose rvith. or having access ro. cxperr knowiedge.

.l.lr;rrncs BOSPOROS r' rii r,. atlo.rrat rhc Sllr. \\ lh .! i urr.nr \ R .\ Lrccncc.

Figtrre 10 whichallowed the dark blues to useit againwhen they commissioned a new 50'launch in 1994.

ln 1961the Chairman of the Committee of Managementreported:

'thathe hadgiven some thought to the numberof raceswhich might be requiredon the Wednesdayof the Regatta. The Committeeagreed that it wouldbe desirableto havean extra launchspare in casethe entriesfor the PrincessElizabeth Challenge Cupnecessitated running races in groupsof five.'7s

Thisdecision required the hiringof one (andlatterly of two and more)of the 40 feet launches,details o{ whichappear below.

NewMaterials for a NewCentury

Traditionalwooden-hulled craft and relativelyelderly engines are expensiveto maintainand towardsthe end oi the 1980sit was becomingapparent that there were growingand significantdifficulties attached to keepingthese vesselsin an appropriate conditionto guaranteethey could fulfil the punishingschedule demanded ot themby the ever-expandingracing time-table.

Accordingly,in 1991 , the Committee ot Managementdecided to :

'giveserious consideration ...t0 the manufactureof fibreglasshulls mouldedupon the shape of an existinglaunch'75 andafter detailed research.

'lt was agreedin principleto ordertwo such launches,the first for deliveryin June1992 and the secondprior to the 1993 Regatta.'rr

Theseboats, constructed by The steam & ElectricBoat Company Ltd of Ludham, Norfolk,were powered by petrolengines and the mouldtool for the hullwas basedupon theprotile ol Amarytlis[filure 11] , chosenatter consultation with Mr. Hobbs,who advised thatthe hull was slightlyfuller than that of eitherEnchantress or Magicianand better suitedto the carriageof passengers.iEMinor variations were incorporated in the design in an etfortto impiovemanoeuvrability. The first - ARIADNE- was deliveredto the HenleyReach on 1gth May, 1992and, after modificationsto the size of the propeller' ruddeiand the gear box ratio,performed sufficiently well at that year'sRegatta tor the Committeeto resolve:

'ln viewof the verypositive reports... [following exhaustive tests] ...it was confirmedthat two further launches,embodying the post- productionmodifications to Ariadne,had been ordered{rom the Steamand ElectricLaunch Company 116.'rs[figure 12]

Thesesister vessels, delivered by roadlo Hobbs'sBoatyard, were launched on 7th May1993, at a memorableoccasion when Mr. M.A. Sweeney, the current chairman, with Mr.J.L. Garton,C.B.E. and Mr. P.R.C'Coni, O.B.E., Q.C', the two survivingpast Chairmenof the Committeeof Management,named them ULYSSES and ARGONAUT. a

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+ ,i t- -e F igure 1 1

when detaireddiscussions were in hand on the specification raunches, for tnese new muchthought was given to the mostdesirable power unit to be installed.-sounOings, dieseland electric Both motorshad their edvocates, but, aftertafing a iang;-oi it wasdecided to continueto usepetrol engines, which could pr6vide gieaterliceteration andhad a betterpower to weightratio. ln 1995a re-bornglass-fibre-huiled Bosporos,commissioned by oUBCfrom the samemourd toor, was raunched and was emproyed at Henreyttt"t y"irznJ"t.ubsequent Regattas.

The FortyFooters since theintroduction ot consuta, raunches of fiftyfeet in rengthhave arways prefenedfor umpiringpurposes oeen as theirprofires were supposed to g'enerateress wasn at fasterspeeds. However,a numberof 40 ft. boats(aciuaily 41') ilere wereused at Henley. "on.iiua"o "nd MAGNOLTA, buirtin 1902by sam saunders for Jesse Boot (the chemist), onginaily hadan electricmotor. After the addition ot a keel,the launch was re-named andis currentry MAJESTIC ownedby chas. Newens who undertook an extensive re-buird in 1gg5. ARETHUSA,buirt by Hobbs& sonsin 1921and subsequentry restored PeterFreebody by Messrs. & Co.for Mr.Giles Every; the taunch, now the'proplrty oi l,rfiriCn"Aott" Everyhas carried the umpire at variousAegattas between r sa6 anb tn6 present. MATRO.NA,(1956) and CLTVANDA(1958) both buih by W.E.R. employed Sims were TyTtil"^:-L1igL"-._,Lr!"1e7os and r'saos. Tney are now owneo by Chas. Newensandar have been re-named panache and pommery, reapectively.Eo

CarryingPassengers From.the veryearliest days of poweredcraft, there was discussion, sometimes the contentiousmatter of whoshould accompany the Umpire thel],"jlll:3r races. whenfoilowing

A letter to TheFierd a1fter the Regattain 1g7greft no doubtas to oneopinion thesubject : on

Anotherreform greatly. needed at Henleyis theimproper use of the Umpire's boat. ..lt.issimply preposterous to askany'gentleman to Umpirea race if he is to be accompaniedby a ,ioiJn o, .o ot ladies...'El

A yearearlier, The Fietdhadrailed with even greater venom : '...we noticedon the presentoccasion, as we havedone before, that a numberof spectatorsof bothsexes _ sometimesamounting - to ien or a oozen wereberthed on boardthe umpire,ssteamer. N-ow, presence the of theseguests _ and theywere guests pure and simple- is an abusewhich has crept in at Henley,aiO wnic'nougnt no toiger to be torerated. The officiarsteamer is essentiaily-anaffair-of business,and the practiceof carryingcompany, and wastingtime betweenthe racesby embarkingand disembarkingvarious freights ol passengers,is most reprehensible,especially when one and the sameboat has to take racesat twenty-minuteintervals...'82

The repeatedpublication of such views,oflen expressedin far from temperate language,is a regularoccurrence in the sportingpress of the period. lt is, oJcourse' posliOtethat the journalistwas merelystating a universallyacknowledged truth when he reoorted. 'Of coursetime was lostin embarkingand disembarking spectators, who as we haveover and over againpointed out, haveno righton boardthe officialboat. At one momentit is a lot of old University oarsmen,at anotherit is a bevy of ladies,who may or may not be friendsof the stewards,committee or otherotficials; but we do say thatthis is an abusewhich ought to be putan endto'."

but, he ratherundermines his chancesOf being taken for an unbiasedobserver by concludinghis tirade with the thought,

'that consideringthe difiicultiesof the towing path...twoor three seats in the official launch might have been otfered to representativesof the Press ; but nothingot the kind. on the contrary,an applicationfrom the representativeof a Londonsporting paperfor a berth- owingto his havingno horseas is hiswont - was metwith a promptand decidedretusal. And yet on boardthis very launchwere two or threeold Universityoarsmen, whose attendance at the regattawas for no otherpurpose than to reportthe racingfor certainsections of the Press. We saythat these things should not be and that they are a scandalto the managementof the chief gatheringof Englishamateurs.'E3

Thefeud rumbled on. In 1880The Sponsman commented that, 'No timesare appended[to the newspapefsreport of the races]as managementaccording to custom,refused any facilitiesto the the 'clockers' membersof the Press,and no official wereappointed.'

Incidentally,from the earliestdays of the Regatta,the officialtimes of raceswere obtainedby the followingprocedure : an officialnear the finishwatched the startthrough a telescopeand startedhis watchon the departureof the crews. He stoppedthe watch that the winnerhad crossedthe line. whenhe surmised,again by use of the telescope, ' Thischanged in 1877when the judge at the tinishwas providedwith a flag for the purposeof beingdropped when the winningboat breasted the post.'t4and the umpires 'good-naturedlytook charge of the time-keepingin additionto theirother duties.'

Priorto this development,an Americannewspaper report of the perioddescribed theritual somewhat more facetiously :

'The methodot timing in vogue at Henleyis said to have been inventedby Richard| (Coeurde Lion)King of England,in the third year of his reign, and to have been adoptedby the Regatta Committee684 yearsago. Thesedates may be incorrectbut the

L systemhas internalevident of greatantiquity. The officialtimer is perchedon an elevationat the finish,and watchesthe crewsstart a mileand five sixteenthsaway. Originallyhe lookedwith an unaided eye and took the time by sun-dial,but a few centuriesago when telescopesand watcheswere inventedhe was persuadedto try these new-fangleddevices, and has since then used them regularly.....AtHenley the umpire follows each race in a switt steam:launch[src], and couldvery convenientlycarry the timerwith him...Thereare startlingrumours that a conventionof English oarsmenwill be called AD 1927, and a committeeappointed to investigateand report upon the Americansystem of timing boat races...'85

An Englishjournal commented favourably on thisproposal, adding : '...ithas often occurred to methat it wouldbe a verygreat advantage to all concernedif the committeewere to appointsom€ person capableof holdinga watch,to the ofticeot officialtimekeeper, and sendhim on boardthe umpire'slaunch. Up to lhe presenttime the small steamerwhich accompaniesthe races has been occupied principallyby personswho have no businesswhatever on board, and the displacementof one of these favouredindividuals by a 'clocker'of experienceI feelsure would be considereda greatboon by visitorsto the regatta,as it is only by such meansthat the time can be correctlYtaken.'ec Whetherthe ridiculesuch a systemattracted were the cause, or whetherthe Stewardstook heedof the agitationof somesections of the Press,or, and perhapsmore probably,because a far-reachingreview of the constitutionof the Regattahad resultedin the formationof an executivedrawn from the rowing world rath€r than from the neighbourhood,they agreed in 1881to makeconcessions : 'by offeringa certainnumber of seatsin the umpire'sofficial launch ...nodoubt in consequenceof the criticismwhich has year atter year appearedin the sportingand dailypress, and by the intimationof an applicationhaving been madeto the ThamesConservancy by the PressCommittee for permissionto run a specialsteam vessel at Henley,as is done at the UniversityBoat Race. Communicalions passedbetween the Conservancyand the Committee,and as the latter agreedto let some of the reporterson board their steam launch,the Conservancydeclined to allow a special boat, and thought the concessionof the executiveshould be accepted.lt turned out that two places were thus to be devoted to literature, coupledwith the wearingof a badgeatter the mannerot the ticketed specialcorrespondents with the Russianarmies in the Principalities and the provisionthat the wearersshould obey the umpirein all things. So distastefulwere the restrictionsimposed, that the representativesof the Press for the most part declinedto avail themselvesof the otfer, and agreedto stay ashore- althoughthere wereone or two exceptions.'87 In 1883a rulewas framed and passed unanimously, to codifythe system, 'That the useof the umpire'sLaunch be confined to the umpireand the crew necessaryfor navigatingthe Boatexcept that il; F;s, ticketsbe issued,such tickets to be transferred tner"eiues as may be arrangedby Membersof the press"hong ano ine*n io in" Umpireif demanded.'s8 Apparenily, thesejournarists were asked to ac1as timekeepers.Indeeo, until1906 rtwas not that the Stewardsmade themselvesresponsible for official course8e, times over the the officialrimekeepers appointed in thatyear, being Mr. T.A. Ellington 'The cook and Mr. H. ; as both men reportedror FieH;(cook oein[ inat jourili;s practiceof eoito4 rne using membersof the press for this functionwa! creairyrong_estabrished. hdeed,it wasto continue .tg3g, until and it wasat keganasonry srnce the war thatthese dutieswere undertaken by the Stewardsthemselves. The question of passengerswas addressedagain in March 1gg7, wnen findingsof a sub-committee the appointedto considerand report on the financiatand other arrangementsof Henley Regatta concluded : '11 . Withregard to the Umpire'sLaunch, a question jt hasarisen as to whether should be allowedto carry any personsbesides Umpire the andits own proper crew. Wethink that this question anouiO, for the sakeof rhe umpires,be setfledborh as regaios press. tn;iririenol andthe We proposethat the Umpiresshouid be ,.qr"st"Jio Jramecertain rures on this pointwhich mightbe confirm;dbv-, ih;"'" Committee,and remain forthe guidanc" oi rjmpiresin irir';,

downthe rulesthe umpireswere asked to ie launchesallowed them to keepup withthe mplementof passengersand, perhaps wnen 'turn_around, inesallowed for a shorter when tpparentthat full advantage was taken of this led with guestsfrom the 1g2os prepared onwards.A ITo_':ld" by the chairmanof the committeeot vanagemeni,."r ort tn" ractsas theyapplied in 1965: 'Four of the six launchesnow used havea totalcapacity (including the driverand his mate)of 23 persons. ForEights racesthis totar i; reducedto 21 becausethe additionarspeed at-which it is n"ceisarv to travelto keep up with an Eightsrace causesan unacceptable amount of wash if the reductionis not made. The other two taunches areslighfly smaller, their capacities being a maximumof 14 personseach.'eo

Then,in 1966,a maritimedisaster at Darrwen- In circumstances 'ed entireryunrerated watersof the upperThames - resultedin ,fety requirementson all passengercraft say uponthose craft whichfell withinthe ensineswereconsidered intrinsicary rir.h;#""#ir$:Hfii."ffiHJti powerunits. " ffi.j:l Thesedemands causedthe Regattamuch agonising, and throughout1967 and 1968there were discussions within the Committee : 'The Chairmanreported on discussionswith Messrs.Hobbs & Sons Ltd.regarding the modificationsrequired by the Boardof Tradeto thelaunches...'er '[They are] verydoubtful that the result[of replacingpetrol engines] wourd be entirerysuccessfur owing ro tne inaoitityor-riuncnei Jt tnii- '' designto carrythe much increased weight of a dieselengins,ez- The chairman ..- had arrangedto meet the Deputychief Marine survey officer of the Boardot rrade in an endeavourto discover whatthe Board'srong-term poricy was rikeryto be in respectoitne useof theserather specialised craft for umpiring.,s3 'A letterhad beenreceived from the principarofficer, Marine survev office, Boardof rrade, sayingthat sincethe tou'.rauncrres nireo'ii the Regattafrom Messrs.Hobbs & sons Ltd., were considered incapabreof modificationto Board of rrade requirementi- permanent passenger for Certificateswithout very considerable expense...the Regattawas recommendedto rookfoi othertauncnei for usein the tuture.'e4 The resurt of further negotiationswas a compromrsethat requireda severe reductionin the numbersallowed to go aboard: '...it was evidentthat the Boardof Tradesswould not be prepared grant to PassengerCertificates for more than 12 passengers0n the launchesat the 1968Regattq...'ee '...Umpires' launcheswould only be permittedto carry twelve passengers...inaddition to the crewof two....umpires,tim;keepers and recorderswere considered to be passengersand did not iorm partof the crew.'e7 I . once estabrished,this arrangement herd good for nearrythirty years, modification withthe minor that,when the professionarcrew oit*o *as reducedio ir," the Umpire 'captain' 1u.t driver,then was regardedas the titurar of the vesser- no rongera passenger. In 1995,after the NationalRivers'Authority promulgated detailed aspects bye_lawson most of navigationon the Thames,it becamea requrrementthat launches if they be licensed were to be permittedro exceedthe speed rimitat authorir"oi"g"tt".. certification This procedurenecessitated a speedtrial and, as a result,the number furtherreduced - aboardwas by one to comprisethe driverprus twerve p".r"ng"ri, in whosenumoer wasto be countedthe Umpire. Conclusion

eriodof greatausterity for the Regatta,beset uhichreached an annuallevel approaching rditurewas considered,and the ever more on,for. 'TheCommittee decided to investigatethe purchaseof six launches equippedwith outboard engines and capable ot carryingat leastfour oersons.'eE Fortunately,this was one economythat was not followedthrough; for these gracefullaunches following races on the HenleyReach, present a traditionalimage of the RoyalRegatta which evoke memories of a moreelegant age and it is heaneningthat, by the constructionof a fleet of modernvessels from new, durablematerials and the dedicationof thos€ enthusiastswho are willingto maintainthe older woodencraft in serviceablecondition, this is a practicethat can be sustained long into the next century. The Namesofthe Launches

Thereare regularenquiries made as to whya launchwas given a particurarname and in somecases the reasonsfor the choiceare obvious. As mentionedin the text, consuta is a delightfuladaptation from the Latin word that describesher means of construction,but in manyinstances any speciticexplanation, if any everexisted, is now lost.

However,looking at the namesreferred to in thetext above, one can divine certain patternsor groups emerging. Classicalmythology and geographyseem to predominate.

Amaryllis Latin- Virgiluses the nameto meana shepherdess,or perhapsas a poeticallusion to Romeitself. Lateradopted by Englishpastoral poets 'To to implya rusticsweetheart, sportwith Amaryllis in the shade'(Milton). Also,of course,a largelily-like flower. Arethusa Greek - A wood nymphwith whomthe rivergod Alpheusfell madlyrn love. Argonaut Greek - one of the sailorson the ship Argo, which sailedunder the commandof Jasonin questof the GoldenFleece. Ariadne Greek- daughterof KingMinos of Cretewho fell in lovewith Theseus and helpedhim escape the labyrinthafter he slewthe Minotaur. Bosporos As mentionedin the text,a phoneticrendering of Bosphoros,the straits closeto the Hellespont, the sceneof the deathsof the loversHero ano Leander. The word is a Greekcompound meaning 'ox ford'and hence eminentlysuited to a launchowned by OUBC. Deianura Greek - a princessof great beauty,daughter of King Oeneus,who becamethe wifeof Hercules. Eupatoia A townof Paphlagonia,built by the persianking, Mithridates. Hibernia Latinname for lreland. Maitana Onewould conjecture that the nameis derivedfrom the Latinmare (sea). Matrona Latinname of the RiverMarne. Ulysses Romanname of the Greekhero Odvsseus. Zamora A cityin NorthWest Spain on the riverDouro Literaryreferences are to be found: Aramis Oneof the ThreeMusketeers from the novelsby AlexandreDumas. Ariel 'The Name of a spirit,especially the 'airie spirit'from Shakespeare's Tempest';also the nameol an Arabiangazelle - in anyevent, an apposite namefor a speedy,elegant launch. Miranda Anothercharacter from 'The Tempest'. Incidentallyboth Mirandaand Arielare alsonames of the satellitesof Uranus. Eastern referencesare to be met with: Odalisque Turkish - interpretedas the haremof a Sultan;a lrequentsubject of the painter Sir LawrenceAlma-Tadema, whose works were enormously popularin the latterpart of the nineteenthcentury, when the launchwas built. Varuna In lateHindu mythology this deity can be equatedwith the Romangod of thesea - Neotune. Descriptivenames, with rather appropriate meanings, include : Consuta From the Latin consutilis(sewn) and descriptiveof the method of constructionwhere timber planks were sewed together with copper wire. Invicta Latintor unconquered. Javelin A throwingspear, which clearly evokes the notionof speed Wraith Somethingpale, thin and ethereal,such as a columnof smoke- what couldbetter describe a silent,gliding steam launch ?

Magicianand Enchantressclearly form a relatedpair and were both built by Hobbs & Sons. Mr. W.A.B.Hobbs has alsosuggested that hisfamily firm adopted the practice of namingtheir vessels after warships and a cursoryglance at a list of suchships does indeedconfirm that there was an H.M.S.Enchantress in serviceduring the earlyyears of this century,together with an H.M.S.Arethusa, the nameof anotherboat from Hobbs' yard.

Finally,it hasto be rememberedthat anolherconstraint on the choiceof namesis that no two vesselson the Thamescan havethe samedesignation. Thisconsiderably reducesthe optionsopen to an owner,as the Stewardsof the Regattafound when they took deliveryof the three new launchesin 1992 and 1993. The Committeeof Management,favouring a classicaltheme, was presentedwith a listol thosenames still availableand eventuallyhad to makeits decisionby the unheardof practiceof a secret ballot - the choiceof a name for baptisingan infantcould hardlyhave provedmore contentious! APPENDIX2

Alphabetical List ot Launches known to have GarriedUmplres at the Regatte

AMARYLLIS ARAMIS ARETHUSA ARGONAUT ARIADNE ARIEL ASTEROID BOSPOROS CLIVANDA CONSUTA DEIANIRA ENCHANTRESS EUPATORIA EVA o ., HIBERNIA INVICTA I JAVELIN 1l MAGICIAN 1' MAGNOLIA MAJESTIC MARITANA 1t MATRONA 1t 1€ 11 3ffi"3r' 1U ULYSSES IQ

VARUNA 1lJ 21 2, XH'#- a 24

z) zd 1t a E ?n 31 32 33 u 35 .to 37 38 3!' 4 41 42', 43 4, Notesto the text :

The Recordsof HenleyRoyal Regatta' - H.T.Steward (1903) possibility fire worOingofthe ofti;ialnoticeslssued between 1840 and 1843make relerence to the the cf rne Umpie usingerther a boator lollowingon horseback.lt is not until1844 that relerenceto atteroption is dropped. position a inere i'sapparently an engravinglnot foundby the author]ot.an umpire in this lollowing raceon lhe Tidewayis to befound in Thelllustrated London News' iieney noyat Regana: A Celebratronot 150years' - RichardBurnell (1989). There are numerous referencesto loundalong the same lines : ,...and the celebratedcrew of London watermen came dashingthrough the bridge' carryingthe Umpireat the yoke lines...' (Bell's Life 1860) ,...a'tiniebeiore the hourabove-menlioned. on the firingof the signalgun, the crewof LondonWatermencamedashingthroughthebridge,steeredbytheumpire.,(TheFie|d 1862) n 1867it is recordedthat during several ol lhe racesthe umpire'swalermen were relieved by a lrom various ar"* ot [SeeNote t ibove and Bell'sLi{e (1867) in whichthe amateurcrew, Sxlordcolleges, "r"t"rrr is listeooy name.l b 3ell'sLife Uuly 18401 Quotedby Burnell- see Note4 above I Unanribuiednewspaper report (1841) in possessionof HenleyRoyal Regatla Y Bell'sLite in London'(July17th' 1859) 10 hislory'' EricHalladay (1990) '11 Rowingin England:a social ReadingMercury' (1848) 12 Rowingat Henley''T.A.Cook (1919) 1n See Note1 above Fromconversatton with Mr.William Rose [October 19961 15, 3ell'sLite' (July1st 1865) to llis nameis variouslyshown as Des Vignes,DesVignes or Desvignesin conlemporaryrepons' 1'' 'TtteField' (1867) 18 '1OOYears ot SpecializedShipbuilding and Engrneering'- K C' Bamaby(1964) l',,linutesol a Meelingol the Stewardsand CommitteeJune 7lh' 1869 'l870 )d 3XraA ot letterfroniThornycrotf to the Secretaryreported in Minutesot I 5th December 21 SeeNote 18 above A senesol largepaddle steamers built by The CitizenCompany' a 'Tle Field'( 1859) in three 24 TheOtficiai Records reierto two taunches, whilst'The Field'stated that'the umpires were screwsteamers...Ar'el lollowed the fasle$ races.' z2 Hedley'spanner, Yarrow, later went on to buildocean going ships from his yard on the Clyde ttrnuresot a Meetingof theStewards and Commftee December 1sth' 1870 27 SeeNote 26 above a SeeNote 1 above E 'TheField' (June 1871) an Unidentitiednewspaper report (1871) in possessionof HenleyRoyal Regana 21 'TheField' (June1872) 32 'TheField' (1872) SeeNote 18 above u 'The (June1874) Field' 'Land aq Articlesin contemporyeditions ot & Waler' MinuG O a Me€lingol the Stewardsand CommtneeNovember 23rd' 1876 37 Minutesol a Meetinaof the Stewardsand CommfieeDecember 1glh' 1876 Jat l,li""i"i i Meelin; of the Commrtteeot ManagemenlFebruary 22nd' 18tX! SeeNote "r14 above 40 'Land& water (June1gth' 1880) 'Land& water (1881) 'TheField' (4th JulY 1885) € 'TheField' (1oth JulY 1885) 44 ,TheFie|d,(Ju|v1887):,asma||bulfaststeam|aunch'ca||edtheAs|erold,hadbeenprovidedby Mr.G.F. Des Vignes of Cherlsey.' 45 'TheField' (July 1890) 46 'Land& Water'(1890) 47 Dickinson& Fosterengraving ot 'Henley- Thelsland'c. 1891 4 Minutesof a Meetingof the Committeeof ManagementMay 27th 1893 49 'TheField' (8th July, 1893)

ql Minutesof a Meetingof the Committeeol ManagementDecember 29th, 1888 Minutesof a Meetingof lhe Committeeot ManagementNovember 17th, 1896. 52 See Note1 above 'TheField' (July 17th 1897) g AuctionCatalogue of TraditionalRiver Cralt and Ephemera1992 (Phillips, Son & Neale) 'FromSea to Air'- Tagg& Wheeler(1989) co 'TheField' (1898) Lettertrom J.F. Cooper(Secretary) 23rd March 1899. 58 Minutesot a Meetingol the Committeeof ManagementApril 28th, 1904 cv Photographdisplayed at LeanderClub, Henley-on-Thames 60 Minutesol a Meelingotthe Commineeot ManagementApril 13th, 1905. ol Reportof the committeeof Managementfor the year 1902 oa Minutesof a Meetingof the Committeeof ManagementJune 26th, 1909. qJ Reminiscencesof Mr.W.A.B.Hobbs remembering his tather's stories.[September 19961 u Minutesof a Meetingol the Committeeof ManagementNovember 20th, 1912. See Note55 above Minutesof a Meelingot the Committeeof ManagementJune 3rd, 1945 Photographon displayat HenleyRoyal Regatla Headquarters 68 AuctionCatalogue ol TraditionalRivercraft and Ephemera'1996 (Phillips lr ernationalAuctioneers) 69 Sucha formof construclionwas used, due to the lackin the immediatepost-war years, ol seasonedtimber of sufficientlength to employthe traditionfore and att planking. 70 Inrormationsupplied by Mr.W.A.B. Hobbs (September 1996) 71 Fromdiscussions with Mr. J.L. Garton, CBE (September 1995) 72 'rn See Note70 above. RegattaRecords 1980 -1984 (1985) 74 See Note54 above t5 Minutesol the Committeeot Managemenl- 7th May19961 lo Minutesof the Committeeol Management- 17thFebruary 1991 v Minutesol lhe Commineeof Management- 23rdJune 1991 7A See Note70 above 79 Minutesol the committeeof Management- 1lth october 1992 80 Fromnotes compiled by Dr. R. Treharne-Jonesfrom discussions with Chas. Newens, et al (1995) 81 'TheField' (July 1878) 82 'TheField' (30th June 1877) 83 Unidentifiedpress cuning (1879) u 'The qE Field'(June 30lh 1877) 'Spiritol theTimes' (c. 1876) 86 Unidentifiedpress cuning (1878) 87 'Landand Water' (1881) 88 Minutesol the Committeeot Management- 31st May 1883 tr) 'HenleyRaces' - T.A.Cook (1919) aal Memoradumprepared by Mr. J.L.Garton4lh November1967 91 Minutesol the Committeeol Management- 1gthMarch 1967 31 g0 q? See Note above See Note 91 above 94 Minutesot the Committeeol Management- 30thJuly 1967 OE JohnGarton, as Chairmanof the Committeeol Management,invited the Presidentol the Boardof Tradeto the Regattato discussthe matterin a convivialsefling - he recollectsthe day was especiallyconvivial but had absolutelyno intluenceon the outcomeof the negotiations! !t5 Minulesot the committeeof Management- 22ndoctober 1967 Minutesol the Commrtteeof Management- 24th March1968 98 Minutesot the Committeeof Management- 22ndMarch 1970