August Bank Holiday at the moment means only one thing to us, the annual Bampton raft race. This is the third year we have participated and we feel quite proud of the fact that we have revitalised the race and seen a marked increase in participants.
This year though it took a bit of a step backwards as the village was divided as to how it should be managed. The crew who have done it for years served notice of their retirement a couple of years ago, so this time there was no entry fee, no starter, no b-b-q or bar at the end, and no presentation of trophies. It all left a bot of a taste in the mouth, over and above that of the river!
Hopefully next year they will have their act together and it will be another true village event. We are already into costume design, with jolly jack tar's the theme for 2011. we have won the best dressed raft title twice in three years so need to keep up appearances.
The race itself was gruelling with the river too low to paddle the whole way. Pulling the raft along the river bed for several hundred yards put the lashings and our stamina to the test. i have to say our stamina stood up tot he task better.
Our thanks go to the ladies raft members who we overtook in the final stages, to avoid being last. We really do need to give some thought to a low draught raft for next time.
