DW Final Day: They think it's all over... It is now!

Girl Power! Lollie, Ellie and Gemma.

Following a restful night at the Thames Young Mariners campsite (interrupted only by a couple of streakers - not from RHS, I hasten to add!), the crews were rudely awoken at 5am by the sound of saucepans being bashed by the marshalls. Support teams were on site early to clear the camping gear - spurred along by the loud, shouty man with the megaphone.

Come in number 175 - your time is up!

On your marks, get set... Go!

The mass start was fantastic to see - lots of very worried looking paddlers, jockeying for position before the rolling start. Fortunately, two of our crews (Alex and Chris; Will and John) had top 20 positions after day 3, allowing them to be into the group at the front of the pack.

A sprint to the car, and the support teams were off as well - either aiming to view the paddlers from the vantage points of the bridges over the Thames, or simply to get a parking space at St Thomas's Hospital for the finish at Westminster Bridge!

Concerned support teams at Westminster Bridge.

As yesterday, the flow on the river was good, but the paddlers had to face some strong head-on winds, making the paddle a challenging one. The first RHS crew home was Alex and Chris with a time for the day of about 1 hour 45 minutes. We await the final confirmation of their timings, but it looks likely that they have set a new school record of 18 hours and 39 minutes.

Happy but tired - Chris and Alex with their medals.

With all of the excitement, Errol and Rhys decided to have a little swim before the finish and had to be rescued - the rescue team managed to get them back into their boat and they completed the race (nothing to do with the fact that they had a fall and nearly broke their boat whilst getting onto the water in the morning!). Will and John had a good, solid paddle, despite their injuries and the fact that Will was held together with Duck Tape. Gemma and Dave crossed the finish with wonderful smiles on their faces, as for the entire race. Ellie and Lollie completed Day 4 alongside Monty and Joe (as seen below) demonstrating excellent teamwork. Ellie and Lollie found an interesting way to jump the queue for being extracted from the river at the steps of County Hall - by capsizing!

Teamwork in action. Ellie and Lollie with Monty and Joe finish together.

Parents, teachers and supporters (and there were many former pupils there to cheer on the RHS crews - thank you for your support) were delighted to see all of the RHS crews successfully complete DW 2010.

A happy (and dry) Errol and Rhys sporting their medals.

Once finished, all paddlers got themselves into warm clothes, had some warm food and drink and enjoyed the moment. The obligatory bottles of fizz were produced and were worn as proudly as their wrist bands and medals!

Back row: John, Will, Errol, Gemma, monty, Dave, Chris
Front row: Alex, Ellie, Lollie, Joe
Keeping out of the way: Lee and Les

The proceedings were rounded off with a few speeches - the paddlers were congratulated on their efforts; the support teams were thanked by Mr Menday and Mr Thompson on behalf of the paddlers, and Mr Menday and Mr Thompson were thanked on behalf of the paddlers by Jane Myatt. (This is the point where your author got somewhat emotional at the prospect of NOT being involved again next year. DW has been the most absorbing and involving thing that I have done for my son during his time at RHS, and I cannot thank Les and Lee enough for everything that they put into the training and the event. I feel confident that all other parents will feel exactly as I do, so a huge and public thank you to them for all that they do.)

Two of the boats used this year were bought with funds from the William Turner Memorial Fund, and the paddlers are very grateful for having had the opportunity to do the race with this support.

'So it's goodnight from me... And it's goodnight from him.'

So, that was DW 2010. A memorable and emotional 4 days for all involved.

CM

Paddlers: 125 miles
Support teams: Irrelevant!