A VERY HAPPY LITTLE WORLD
The Thames SC based in the far west London suburb of Surbiton on the non-tidal Thames, is the oldest river-sailing club in the world and last year celebrated its 150th year, covered in CB at the time. You might these days associate dinghy sailing with rubber-clad, spotty teenagers tearing across reservoirs in fast planing – or even foiling craft – but for many years, competitive riversailing was a sport for gentlemen of the era. And as such, TSC has played an amazing role in the development of not just dinghy sailing, but yachting too, through innovators like the yacht designer Linton Hope and the boatbuilder-designer Alfred Burgoine, both of whom were heavily involved with river racing in the pre-war years of the 20th century. TSC is best known for its fleet of superlative Thames A Raters, many of which are still sailing today. Rather poignantly, the foreword is by the late HRH Prince Philip, who was an active patron of the club for an astonishing 61 years. One of the great joys of the book is the huge number of top-quality photos that richly illustrate the club’s history from its very dawn.