Henley 2025 was a cracker!
Perfect weather, Venetian guests, four Venetian sandolo boats and generous participation by City Barge members made for a truly unforgettable event.
For this year, we had four Venetian sandolo boats to row during the event, a record number for our club. Various heroic club members had already rowed two sandolos down to Henley earlier in the week, battling not only the distance but a massive heatwave. What Trojans! Huge thanks to them for all their efforts. We were also very fortunate and grateful to be lent a lovely fourth sandolo boat by another local member.
Direct from Venezia
Also for 2025, we were delighted to host a number of Venetian friends, including Venetian rowing champions Marino Almansi , President of the Cannaregio rowing club, and Anna Campagnari, an artisan who creates the winners’ flags for all Venetian regattas, reproductions of the Venetian gonfaloni banners, along with other hand-painted Venetian articles.
Venetian rowing to an english pub
We started out long weekend with an evening row down the Isis to The Perch pub for a lovely supper followed by a perfect sunset row for our return home. The weather could not have been more perfect for this enchanting row.
to the Races,
Venetian Style
Friday dawned sunny and bright, and clearly was going to be quite warm. Dressed up in all our finery, City Barge and guest rowers gathered on foot in Henley and were then ferried to Eyot Rod, where club member Daniel Shelley very kindly had let us moor all our boats by his gorgeous island home.
With sandolos prepped, and hats and picnics at the ready, we headed upstream and into the boating melee: a real mixture of craft, from audacious gin palaces to pretty rowing boats adorned with flowers. Shouts of ‘hello, hello!’ filtered across the water from the shore, teaming of happy attendees attired in a mixture of wonderful blazers, floaty dresses and athletic-looking rowing kit!
A Perfect Picnic
We had a lovely row alongside the race course. It was very hot though, and soon calls were being made for cooling drinks. We moored up on the bank side where we had planned only to stay momentarily, as it was a private space; however a genial party of folks invited us moor alongside their private tent. We snapped up their kind offer, and as we chatted it transpired that they and our Venetians friends had a number of good friends in common!
A massive and delicious picnic was had with everyone enjoying both the sun and perfect viewing position. After this very long and lazy lunch, we eventually we stirred ourselves to row our boats to the middle and moor up along the booms, with a brilliant water-level view of the racing.
Tea Time on Rod Eyot
This already-excellent day, starting in Henley town, full of people in boaters and blazers, a delicious picnic on the beautiful River Thames and marvellous views of the races was rounded off by a fantastic tea back on the island with the Daniel and Edwina, a huge thanks to them both for capping off this already unforgettable day.
A VIEW From ABOVE
Club members returned to Henley the next day—but on dry land this time! They started off in the Members’ Enclosure: catching up with old, and making new friends whilst watching the racing. At the break, they crossed back over the river for a knockout lunch hosted by Caroline, one of our generous members whose townhouse sits on the Thames just below the finish, with a balcony overlooking the race course and a roof terrace with a panoramic view over the river. Huge thanks to Caroline for providing us yet another spectacular day at the Henley Royal Regata!
—Katie Balfour