HOW TO ENJOY THE HENLEY ROYAL REGATTA

This is the 'Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide' HENLEY ROYAL REGATTA - how to enjoy Page -
see the other regatta pages on this site
Umpires' Launches, 1839 and before, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s

Official websites:
Henley Royal Regatta; Henley Women's Regatta; Henley Town and Visitors Regatta;
History of Henley Royal Regatta

GO ON THE RIGHT DATE!

Ignore everything else but CHECK the official site hrr.co.uk The Regatta will normally be held Tuesday to Sunday in the week of the first Saturday in July. Note that it occasionally gets out of sync with Wimbledon!
NOTE: from 2021 the regatta will now be over six days.

GO WITH SOMEONE ELSE!

Preferably someone who will pay - or failing that has at least been before - or failing that knows something about rowing at Henley - or has a boat.

PLAN WHERE YOU ARE GOING!

Don't just turn up - you will be very puzzled as to how to see anything worthwhile. There is nowhere in Henley itself to actually see more than a glimpse of the Regatta! Choose your weather with care.
The possible ways to experience the regatta are:
1 Get invited as a guest by a member of the Stewards' Enclosure. You will need to follow the dress code. You may not park, picnic, drink or use a mobile. There are bars and restaurants in the enclosure away from the river. Watching races is an activity restricted to those nearest the river. In wet weather there is only shelter for members seated in the stands. The mud can take over!
2 Go to the Public enclosure and pay - rather more relaxed rules
3 Walk a mile behind the Stewards and Public enclosures, down the course to the first half where there is crowded space for picnics and actually watching races and various bars and food stalls. If you want to follow the racing find a place where the public address is intelligible. You can also drive to Remenham and park behind this section - and pay. Go early!
4 Get invited to one of the many commercial hospitality centres. (You won't see much - but you won't remember that.)
5 Get invited to Phyllis Court (private members club)
6 Hire a boat, or take your own. There is a slipway on the Henley side downstream from the bridge - but it can be very crowded and there is no parking there. Go early! With a canoe or rowing boat you can tie to the booms beside the racing. You are close enough to occasionally get splashed and will have to endure the wash from the umpires' launches. This is the best way to see the racing. Don't forget to buy a programme before you go afloat. Dress for the weather - there is no dress code on the water. Try to keep right - but accept that not everybody knows this. Try not to impede racing boats struggling to get down to the start on the first day or two.
7 Go on a powered boat. Boats without cabins can tie to the booms away from the finish. Otherwise the boat must keep moving and may only turn at specified places above the bridge and below Temple Island. Mooring is either expensive or unavailable. "No mooring" notices are becoming increasingly common and use what I consider to be offensive threatening language.

BUY A PROGRAMME!

Only available at the kiosk behind the boat tents. In 2019 they were £5, (have the cash in hand as you struggle across the bridge) - but they have some 90 pages so it is a worthwhile investment if you intend to watch the racing and understand what is happening.
Preferably find somewhere where you can hear the public address.

PROGRAMME CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION - The programme has a dozen or so pages of introduction;
TIMETABLE OF TODAY'S RACES;
RACES - the central section setting out the races by time;
RESULTS OF PREVIOUS DAYS' RACING - setout by event;
DRAW - updated each day;
CELEBRATIONS - old winning crews keeping anniversaries by rowing past in an interval;
RECENT WINNERS - by event;
FASTEST RECORDED TIMES IN PREVIOUS REGATTAS;
BAND MUSIC;
THE COURSE - summary of history and a map

HOW TO USE THE PROGRAMME

Find the race in the main section. (In my example its 6.30pm on the Friday, 2019)

Groan or cheer as the very English announcer struggles with the German.
If you know nothing of the boats involved see what the programme can tell you:
Bucks ("Buckinghamshire") is the Henley, Phyllis Court side. So called because most of it is in Oxfordshire.
Berks ("Berkshire" pronounced "Barkshire") is the boat tent, Stewards Enclosure, Remenham side.
The INTRODUCTION tells you the Thames Challenge Cup is intended for typical club crews.
The RECENT WINNERS tells you Thames Rowing Club have won it in 2015, 2017 and 2018
The RESULTS OF PREVIOUS DAYS tells you:
On Wednesday Thames beat Tyne by half a length in 6 minutes 25 seconds
On Thursday Thames beat Molesey by half a length in 6 minutes 27 seconds
On Wednesday the Germans beat London by 3.25 lengths in 6 minutes 35 seconds
On Thursday the Germans beat Tyne "B" by 4 lengths in 6 minutes 46 seconds.
The FASTEST RECORDED TIMES tells you the record is 6.06
The main section tells you the crews weights are very evenly matched.
So unless the Germans (who won their previous races easily) were holding back, whereas Thames were pushed to a close finish (so that their times are a more likely indicator) then it seems likely that Thames will win today's race.
(They did in fact do so - but only by half a length - perhaps they specialise in winning by half a length?)

AN "INFALLIBLE" METHOD OF PREDICTING RESULTS

If you have a personal interest in a crew then please ignore this bit of trivia!
But of course you don't have to be deadly serious about it!
So here is a method which I have never admitted to have failed.
COUNT THE INITIALS! Thames 18, Germans 16
ADD in any hyphens, SUBTRACT any "Mc" etc (and I notice above the German 3 has a very suspect letter! Follow your particular prejudices in this (Please politely ignore mine!). You do not have to be politically correct - this IS Henley) Thames 18, Germans 15.
GIVE POINTS for DISTANCE travelled to Henley. I award 1 within Britain, 2 within Europe and 3 for others, so 2 points to the Germans on this basis. Thames 18, Germans 17.
GIVE POINTS FOR HEAVIEST WEIGHT. (They're equal) Thames 18, Germans 17.

So the result will be a close victory by Thames. (Which it was!)
They lost in the final on Sunday to a Dutch crew with a points score of no less that 26!