Stroud Raft Race

Sunday Oct 1 - the day of the Stroud Raft Race.

It has to be said, our trusty raft has had quite a chequered history.  Originally constructed  by the Stroud Rotary Club as a much larger raft, they enjoyed considerable success in the Monmouth Raft race several  years ago.  We subsequently took it on, when they reached the stage of finding it difficult to raise the required manpower, a fate which may well befall us one day.

Having suffered major damage three years ago, following an argument with the rocky bottom of the River Wye, it became necessary to make a few modifications.   We chopped about a metre of damaged tube from the rear end and converted it to a 4 man raft rather than a 6 man one.         At the same time we stuffed the ends of the tubes with a whole lot more inflated footballs, ensuring that no water could enter.  

These modifications resulted in a much better craft, which has stood us in good stead through two subsequent Monmouth Raft races and the winner of last year’s Stroud Raft race.

Having won last year, we thought it might be a generous gesture, to let another team borrow it and  have a go.   A scratch team put together by Mark Dangerfield,  Director of Space Centre SelfStorage, in Stroud, together with friends Piers Marks, Jon Gazzard and Tom Pobjoy made a splendid effort for their first time aboard and were the outright winners.

Despite a less than encouraging weather forecast on Sunday, the event was well supported with eleven rafts entered (one was a no show) and the drizzle held off until the last raft returned.

Another splendid fund raising effort by organisers Luciano and Sarah Magalotti.

Bryan Webster.

The winning crew  - 

Mark,  Piers,  Jon  and Tom.

Really well done guys!