Henley At Home Programme - Flipbook - Page 42
THE COURSE
Since the foundation of the Regatta in 1839, four different Courses have been used.
The “Old Course” in use from 1839 to 1885 started on the Berkshire side at the
top of Temple Island and extended upstream for about 1 mile and 550 yards to finish
near Henley Bridge.
The “New Course” was inaugurated in 1886, and at the same time the number
of crews in a heat was reduced from three to two. The “New Course’’ started on the
Buckinghamshire side near the bottom of Temple Island and finished at Poplar Point.
It was piled and eventually boomed throughout and included two slight angles.
The “Experimental Course”, straight but only 1¼ miles in length, was tried in
1923. The Start was on the Berkshire side of the Island and the Finish a little above
the Point.
The “Straight Course” first used in 1924 necessitated the removal of part of
Temple Island and of the opposite Berkshire bank. This Course is the same length
as the “Old” and “New” Courses, is 80 feet wide and runs straight from below the
Berkshire side of Temple Island to finish at Poplar Point.
The traditional length of the Course is 1 mile 550 yards (2,112 metres), which was
the longest distance of open water that could be obtained in 1839 on the Henley
Reach. The distance from the start-line to Remenham Barrier is 2,089 feet, to Fawley
3,435 feet and to the winning post 6,930 feet, which is 1 mile 550 yards. The length of
the second part of the Course—from Fawley to the winning post—remains sixty feet
longer than the first part—from the Start to Fawley.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
COMPETITORS’
CAR PARK
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