Capsized rower rescued near Kew Bridge

Port of London Authority boat skipper helping capsized rower out of the water

An unscheduled dip in the chilly Thames

A rower was picked up by a Port of London Authority boat on Monday 2 February after capsizing near Kew Bridge. The rower, David McLoughlin, had just intended to go out for “a little paddle”, when his boat ran into difficulty.

David was in good spirits once safely returned to Mortlake Anglian & Alpha Boat Club, where he told the Chiswick Calendar about his experience:

“I came under Kew Bridge and the wind suddenly gusted up and one of my blades just stuck in the water while it swirled. There just comes a moment when you know you’re over balanced one way and you can’t correct it, so over I went.

“It’s not a great day to be in there, it’s very cold and the river was running very fast”.

Fortunately, the Port of London Authority boat was nearby and was able to get David and his boat out of the water.

“The Port guys were great, lucky they were there. They were very concerned for my safety, saying ‘get out, get out, let the boat go. It’s my boat; it cost me £3,000, I didn’t want to let it go, so as I climbed up the ladder I was holding on to the boat”.

David was grateful to the Port of London Authority crew for rescuing him and says he won’t let the experience put him off getting back out on the water again soon.

“You don’t want that to play on your mind, it’s been many years since I’ve been in and I hope it will be many years again.”

The RNLI offers safety advice to kayakers and canoeists which is available to ready here: rnli.org/safety