The New Boat House
12 July 2003
Breakfast meetings aren’t just for City folk. The team have a briefing in the dining hall this morning. Raising is due to start about lunchtime so everyone must know exactly how the operation will be carried out.
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| Are you a pole vaulter? No, I’m Canadian and my name’s Gordon….But seriously, Gordon shins up that pole effortlessly, to adjust the ropes and cables. He even manages a bit of fancy footwork to entertain the audience below. | ||
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| The lower parts of the frames are put in place , then about 24 people pull on the rope for the first “raising” of a frame. The pulley system works on a lift ratio of 6:1. The heaviest frame to be raised weighs in the region of 2 tons. | ||
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| When the first frame was raised the assembled crowds applauded and cheered loudly. What a pity Mike Martin wasn’t around to see this. But he heard it! Mike was on rowing duty in Nottingham and just happened to ring on his mobile for an update on work. Perfect timing. His call came through just as the first frame was raised and he heard everyone cheering. | ||
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Photos: © Russell Ley 2003
