Rowing – Sophie Neville

A magazine for sailors

I had an article published in a fabulous magazine for all those who love classic boats and traditional craft:

The balotina Nicoletta, a ceremonial gondola, pictured below, must be one of the most elegant on the River Thames.

I am rowing at No 4 in this photograph of the Drapers’ shallop Royal Thamesis taken by Peter King. The shots of the Gloriana are my own:

There is lots more to read in the magazine including a story from Roger Barnes about taking his dinghy to a sail-and-oar challenge in France, as well as news of Thames barges on the east coast.

Classic Sailor are eager to hear from readers about what kind of articles they’d like included. If anyone can send me a book review or perhaps a review of sailing films, I could forward it to the editor.

To read more about the event and see wonderful photographs, please click here

Comments from readers are flooding in:

‘I really enjoyed your article and photos.’ Richard

‘This is a really nice article you have written – well done! It is a fitting tribute to such a memorable day…’ Edwina

‘..where were BBC TV on the day?’ Juliet

‘Standing rowing is, for me, the best way to travel in the canals and rivers of Britain. Out at sea in the waves, clearly, sitting rowing has a place. But I like seeing where I’m going.’ Peter

‘..is (the gondola) from the Tudor/16th Cent period or earlier? Kenny

‘ excellent article… the “sandalo in the background” is my sandalo Piero with its crew of Tony Meadows, three delightful ladies from Venice and yours truly. One of my prouder moments although I have never concentrated so hard in my effort to keep in formation. Fortunately Tim Williams kept Nicoletta on an impeccable course making it easier for the rest of us.’ John Sykes

‘Enjoyed your article in Classical Sailor,’ Ted

Comments on ‘The Making of Swallows & Amazons’

This post comes with a huge thank you to readers who have taken the trouble to write in, send emails or add reviews on Amazon about ‘The Making of Swallows & Amazons’

Filming on Peel Island in 1973 — Sophie Neville and Sten Grendon filming on Peel Island in 1973

‘I very much enjoyed reading about all the background and stories of what is one of mine and my children’s favourite films.’ David Hambelton, Oxford

Kit Seymour and Lesley Bennet as the Amazon Pirates

‘…an absolutely fascinating account…about a film we all thought we knew so well. Like so many members of The Arthur Ransome Society I am an utter devotee… I’m finding the background to filming quite fascinating, and if I had thought it possible, yours is the book I have always longed for to exist. I’ve been absorbed in it ever since it arrived, forcing myself to take it slowly and not gobble it up in one go. Of course I’ll be back to it soon, dodging back and forth in tune with your narrative, indenifying particular scenes.’ Jeremy Gibson, Witney

Simon West and Sophie Neville in Swallow — Simon West as John and Sophie Neville as Titty in Swallow

‘If you liked the film, you MUST read this book. “Titty” is enthralling, and the story of the film is almost as exciting as the real story by Arthur Ransome. Essential reading for devotees.’ Chloe Randall, Scotland

BW Tents — Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West on Peel Island

Children still ask me questions that never occurred to me:

‘How did it feel to be on the island by yourself?’ Alex aged 7. The truth of course is that I was never on the island by myself. Perhaps I should have been left there for a while so I could experience it. I would have relished the chance.

DoP Denis Lewiston and Director Claude Whatham in Coniston Water

Another boy asked, ‘How did you do the water?’

This took my breath away for a second. ‘How did we do the water? The water was real, and it was very cold,’ I replied, explaining that we actually shot the film on four different lakes in Cumbria, all of which you can discover for yourself.

Have your children any questions? I’d love to hear them.

Simon West and Sophie Neville on Coniston Water

For more reviews of The Making of Swallows & Amazons on Amazon, please click here.

To see more still from the film that can be purchased as framed prints or on mugs etc please click here for StudioCanal’s website.

To find out more about The Arthur Ransome Society please click here

Brenda Bruce as Mrs Dixon with Claude Whatham at Tent Lodge Cottages

What we did on our holiday ~ Part 3

The Drapers’ shallop on the River Erdre

You know what it’s like; you never see photos of yourself on holiday until someone else sends them to you. Here I am, rowing in the bow of the Drapers’ shallop. By some miracle we seem to be together, in that our blades are barely visible.

The most challenging task for me is raising my oar in salute, as we did here for our landlady:

The long oars are heavy. The only way I can raise mine is by putting one end under my foot.

My fellow rowing club member who took these shots from the water explained that his camera unexpectedly went into an ‘Impressive Art’ setting. Although this looks like a painting, it was for real, taken out on the water from a sandolo.

As you can imagine, the whole trip took quite a bit of organising, but it was worth it. This shot was also taken on art mode.

While some of us worked really rather hard on our holiday, others enjoyed the river from a different perspective.

Next week, on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th September, The Draper’s Shallop will be taking part in Countryside Live at Lee Valley in the London Borough of Hackney, when children from the inner city of London will get a chance to pull an oar and experience what it feels like to travel on the river as Queen Mary once did. I’m volunteering on the Thursday.

On Saturday 27th September, she will be competing in London’s river marathon along with 300 other crews. The course of the The Great River Race starts at London Docklands, with vessels rowing up the River Thames under all the great bridges of the capital to Ham House in Richmond, passing under Kew Bridge at about 3.00pm. Let me know if you spot her!

~ photos by Robin Privett

What we did on our holiday ~ Part Two

A newspaper report has just arrived from Nantes in France, where we arrived on 30th August in our shallop, the Royal Thamesis and Serena, a sandolo belonging to our rowing club, City Barge. As I explained in my previous post, we’d been asked to lead a procession of historic boats into the city as feature of their jazz festival – an activity holiday with a difference.

I’ve also been sent these photographs of the sandolo, showing our standing up oarsmen being applauded by the crowds.

The traditional French rowing boats taking part such as Fille de la Loire, were also admired by thousands.

Although a couple of gondolas took part, accompanying us some way down the River Erdre, I don’t remember seeing them in Nantes.

There was certainly a huge variety of boats involved in the Rendez Vous de l’Erdre 2014.

Click here for another photo on the website of Club d’Aviron de Suce sur Erdre.

The 240 vessels taking part ranged from sleek period motorboats to a barge once used to transport cattle, which was now taking jazz musicians downriver.

I loved seeing the steam boats or bateaux vapeur, including Ursula who was flying the flag of the SBA or British Steam Boat Association we once belonged to as a family.

After mooring up in the basin at Nantes,

the Mayor of the city treated us all to the most fabulous reception at the Hotel de Ville.

We found that a feast awaited us. Hungry sailors and oarsmen were rewarded for their efforts with a variety of delicious things to eat and local wines.

‘What did you do on your holidays?’

I am often asked what I get up to on holiday. We once rowed some forty-five kilometers down a tributary of the Loire, leading a procession of 240 traditional boats into Nantes for the Rendez-vous de l’Erdre –

The journey started in Portsmouth, where the crew from our boat club, City Barge, gathered to load two boats onto the cross-channel ferry to Le Havre.

We took Serena, a Venetian sandalo and The Royal Thamesis, a thirty-six foot shallop belonging to the Draper’s Company.

Towing them from Oxford to Brittany was no mean feat, but other vessels from Great Britain had also made the crossing, including a thirty-three foot steamboat.

We launched the shallop at a pretty town called Nort sur Erdre where a jazz band was already playing to herald the festival de la Belle plaisance française.

Stephanie Pasgrimaud from France Televisions Pays de la Loire came aboard to interview me – in French and English – for the regional News on France 3.

That afternoon we rowed some way down to Monsieur et Madame Courant’s B&B on the river where we met up with other members of the party and stayed for the next four nights.

I had the most lovely room overlooking the water; chambre d’Empire.

As the mist rose the next morning we put up our canopy to transport our passengers downstream.

We have a crew of six oarsmen, with a cox and a wiffler. I alternated with others, taking on all three tasks.

We row in medieval fashion, one oar each, seated on a fixed thwarts. Please click on the image for a history of the vessel. You may have seen our boat if you watched the Queen’s Jubilee pageant, rowing in third place, while old Father Thames glared down from our badge on the stern, elvers peaking from his beard.

That first morning in Brittany we practised various manoeuvres before rowing a short distance to a boat club, where we moored for a picnic lunch.

Here we met oarsmen from all over Europe.

Including those who row standing up.

We rowed on to moor up for the night at the small town of Suce-sur-Erdre

where Stephanie was reporting on our progress for France 3.

Here the crews of the 240 boats taking part in the event were treated to a special dinner held outside with a jazz band playing sea shanties.

The organisers had brought together traditional boats, passé nautique, of many kinds.

Although there were four steamboats and a number of canoes

most were in the class de voile-aviron ~ row and sail ~ principalement des bateaux de petites tailles, souvent anciens, et correspondent pour la plupart à des critères de rareté ou d’élégance.

At every stop for coffee or lunch, laid on by the festival au point de vue, we were accompanied by le jazz.

It was phenomenal. Much was traditional but new experimental jazz was also being played to appreciative audiences.

With the music came with the most amazing food.

We were looked after beautifully.

Having eaten well, with our passengers aboard once more,

we were honoured with the task of leading the procession of historic boats into Nantes.

On the Sunday morning we were invited to the Hotel de Ville, the town hall

for a reception with speeches

and prize giving when our club, City Barge, was awarded a very large bottle of red wine.

Rowing to Cormorant Island ~ filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ on Derwentwater in 1973

Sophie Neville rowing to Cormorant Island — Sophie Neville as Titty and Stephen Grendon as Roger rowing to Cormorant Island

‘Pull harder, Roger!’ ~ hardly a line from Shakespeare, but one that has lodged deep in my memory.Titty was even bossier in Arthur Ransome’s books ~”You keep time with me, Boy,” said the able-seaman.”All right.”Titty lifted her oar from the water. Roger gave one pull.”Boy,” said the able-seaman, “you mustn’t say ‘All right’.””Aye, aye, sir, ” said the boy.**

When we auditioned for Swallows and Amazons the emphasis was on sailing. Could we sail? In fact I needed to be good at rowing. Titty and Roger row back form the Charcoal Burners, I rowed the Amazon from Wildcat Island and here we were rowing across Derwentwater to Cormorant Island. This was more difficult than normal as Swallow was wired to the camera pontoon.

When I look at the 16mm footage my father took of me rowing at home before we left to film in the Lake District I cringe. My blades were high above the water, hitting the surface with terrible splashes but I seemed to achieve my objective. I managed to fit an improvised mast to our Thames skiff and even made my own sail. It doesn’t look great, but I think Arthur Ransome would have approved.

Cormorant Island and the camera boats — Swallow finding Amazon anchored near Cormorant Island on Derwent Water with the camera pontoon and safety boat: photo~ Daphne Neville

Simon West and Suzanna Hamilton joined us for the scene when the Swallows lower the Jolly Roger and start to sail the captured the Amazon back to Wildcat Island. I can only imagine that I changed my costume in one of the support boats. I think the scene may have been shot with two cameras on different boats ~

Cormorant Island3 trimmed — Sophie Neville playing Titty Walker in the captured Amazon, with David Cadwallader, Bobby Sitwell, Dennis Lewiston, Claude Whatham and two electricians holding reflector boards on the camera punt: Photo ~ Daphne Neville

This shot shows Claude Whatham using the punt,* which somehow managed to accommodate Dennis Lewiston, the 35mm Panavision and quite a few crew members, while Richard Pilbrow remained on the camera pontoon with Eddie Collins operating the 16mm camera.

Capturing Amazon — Richard Pilbrow and his film crew on the camera pontoon with Eddie Colluins opperating the 16mm camera. Simon West and Stephen Grendon sail Swallow. Suzanna Hamilton is cilmbing aboard the Amazon with Sophie Neville

I remember the scene itself as being difficult to achieve in terms of sailing. Swallow has a keel, and Amazon with her centre board is much the faster dinghy. It is not like racing two boats of the same class. After hauling up the anchor Suzanna and I battled to turn the Amazon, not wanting to wiggle the rudder and jeopardise her pins. I remember Simon calling advise over the water. He stalled and we caught up, trying to get close together for the shot. The result was a photograph used on the front cover of the next Puffin edition of the book.

Swallows and Amazons book cover 1974 — Stephen Grendon, Simon West, Sophie Neville and Suzanna Hamilton on the cover of the 1974 Puffin edition of ‘Swallows and Amazons’

* I may be wrong about these photographs. The still surface of the water in the shot of Titty alone in Amazon suggests that it was taken later on, when we filmed the burglars landing on Cormorant Island with Captain Flint’s trunk, but we probably had a very similar set up on this more sparking day ~ 15th June 1973.

We went on to film various shots of us sailing on to Wildcat Island, when I think the camera was in Swallow capturing close-ups of a triumphant Captain John. He did indeed do well.

**Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, 1970 Jonathan Cape edition

You can read more about our adventures here: