The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration weekend coincided with the visit to London of the Queen’s Commonwealth Games Baton and as part of a number of events across the capital several stages of the relay took place in the Royal Docks area of the London Borough of Newham.
One aspect of this included the transportation of the Baton by boat through parts of the royal group of docks from near City Hall to Royal Albert Wharf.
Billed by the event organisers as an “eye-popping 25-boat flotilla” the reality was somewhat less inspiring and a real shame that there was no easy way to determine from which watersports organisations the participating craft came from.
Of the 13 vessels that actually took part two where from the Metropolitan Police’s Marine Unit that provided two of their fast patrol RIBs to provide security and as a camera platform (there was little chance of marauding vessels in the otherwise deserted expanse of the Docks!).
The locally based Windy Pandas Dragon Boat club provided one of the 4 Dragon Boats in the event and also had the honour of carrying the Baton. Other boats were crewed by the Typhoon Dragon Boat club, the Thames Dragons Dragon Boat club and a forth, as yet, unidentified club.
There were also three rowing teams from the London Otters Rowing Club.
Unfortunately the final rowing boat didn’t make it all the way to the end of the Royal Albert Dock and turned back without the participants being identified – this rowing boat was also accompanied by a RIB operated by the Atlantic Pacific Lifeboat organisation (soon to build their new Royal Docks training base).
The final 2 boats were provided by the Docks management company, one safety boat and one workboat that was used by the event organisers with more security personnell and photographers on board.
Good to witness a piece of history but a shame the event was over promised and under delivered.
A few more pictures from the event can be seen here,
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