It doesn’t happen very often, but today (Sunday 1 August) we christened a sculling boat, in honour of a long-standing and well-respected member of the club, Stuart Webb.
Stuart has been a rower with Herne Bay Amateur Rowing Club since 1983, in which time he’s rowed at least 380 regattas and 38 championship races. He’s also a talented boat maker and the club still cherishes those brilliantly made wooden boats. But as well as helping around the club, he’s also helped form some award-winning crews into shape.
Mark Jeffries, club president said a few words about Webb “This is an incredible achievement and we’re all proud of Stuart. He continued to say “it’s also amazing that Stuart has been rowing for that amount of time!”
Thanks to funding we acquired from Canterbury City Council during lockdown, the club was able to put this money towards this pristine Burgashell sculling boat built to take one rower but also a couple of pairs of new sweep oar blades from Concept.
Darren White, club captain explained what it means to name a new boat: “A new boat is a significant investment by the club and a huge honour for the individual who’s name is painted on its bow. It’s a time to recognise the commitment and service that someone has devoted to our club.”
Stuart took a short row out on the water in the new boat just to give it a whirl who had no idea he was the chosen name for this boat “