The London Regatta Centre E16 2QT

• Showers and toilets are available.
• There is limited parking at the centre. Car Parking at the Dock is managed by PPM who will be responsible for parking. Please follow instructions given. Charging for parking will start at 10 am. Rowing vehicles and trailers, any car which is used for transporting boats, umpires and officials do not need to pay, but all other vehicles need to pay (see below for parking app details).
• The venue can also be reached via the Docklands Light Railway (use: DLR Royal Albert). Please check for any engineering works on DLR

Registration

• All crew members must be registered with British Rowing and carry their British Rowing membership card.

Boating Area

•  All towing vehicles and trailers should be parked so as not to obstruct the boating area; Please follow instructions given by PPM marshals

Going Afloat

• Crews should wear suitable warm clothing while going to the start and waiting before race start. Crews deemed not to be wearing suitable clothing may not be allowed to boat
• Blades must not be left on the landing stages prior to boating; instead place blades on the pathway above the landing stages with handles through the fence.
• Crews may NOT warm-up on the Royal Albert Dock. Crews should go down the pontoon ramps stern first and proceed promptly under the Connaught Road Bridge into the Royal Victoria Dock. IF YOU ARE LATE GOING THROUGH THE ROAD BRIDGE YOU RISK A TIME PENALTY OR DISQUALIFICATION.
• DO NOT GO TO THE NORTH SIDE OF ROYAL VICTORIA DOCK ( EXCEL CENTRE side) AS THIS IS THE ROUTE OF THE RACE.
• Crews should allow adequate time to reach the start prior to each division; listen for announcements from boat marshals in the boating areas; all crews must be afloat by no later than 09.15am for 9.30 am start (Division 1) and 11.15am for 11.30 am (Division 2). No crews will be allowed to go afloat after these times and will be disqualified.  

The Course

• All crews should familiarise themselves with the course by checking the plan displayed at registration and on the boathouse notice board.
• The 2,750 metre course runs west to east. The start is at the high-level Royal Victoria Dock footbridge. The course runs under the Connaught Road Bridge and along the southern (airport) side of the Royal Albert Dock along the regatta course. The finish is the far side of the Cut just after the City airport runway.

Start area

• Crews will marshal on the south side of the Royal Victoria Dock in numerical order, lowest numbers closest to the start (footbridge), higher numbers queuing back towards the Connaught Road Bridge.
• Crews MUST NOT pass under the footbridge into the western end of the Victoria Dock until instructed to do so immediately before the race.
• All crews should be “tops off” and ready to race before passing under the footbridge for the first time (i.e. prior to turning); listen for instructions from the race marshals.
• When directed by the marshal, crews will paddle under the footbridge, spin and then proceed back under the footbridge and past the timekeepers (at the base of the footbridge) to start the race.

Racing

• Overtaking crews must pass clear of crews they are overtaking; crews being overtaken should hold their line.
• Take special care when passing under Connaught Bridge (the low road bridge which separates the Royal Albert from the Royal Victoria Dock); this area will be marshalled and instructions may be given to crews for safety reasons. There is room for two crews to pass through the bridge together but this will rely on both crews being straight and holding their line – the crew in front has the right of way.
• In the Royal Albert Dock crews should race along the southern (airport) side of the dock. Crews must not cross the line of marker buoys separating the racing lanes from the return lane on the north side of the Dock and will be disqualified if they do so.

Finish

• Crews must finish between the airport and the orange buoy moored at the finish line. Crews passing to the north of the finish boat will not be timed and will be disqualified.
• Crews must keep the area immediately after the finish clear, spinning before the road bridge beyond the finish and proceeding along the north side of the dock back to the landing stages. Crews should take careful account of the wind direction when spinning.
• Crews which have finished racing must not obstruct crews which are still racing.

Safety

• The event is held at the London Regatta Centre. The organisers will follow the existing safety systems in place at the centre at the time of the event.  In particular the centre has an on-going arrangement with the neighbouring airport in the case of any capsize. Safety boats will be stationed in both the Royal Albert and Royal Victoria Docks. Marshals will be posted at the following locations to direct competitors whilst boating, marshalling and racing.  Marshals will be equipped with loud-hailers
• Boat yard, Landing stages, Start, Connaught Bridge, Finish,
• Nearest telephone: London Regatta Centre / mobile phones. Nearest First Aid: London Regatta Centre  

Abandonment

• The procedure for abandonment due to sudden and unexpected bad weather or multiple collisions or blockage at Connaught Bridge channel will be that race control or the lead umpire will radio the safety boats and the umpires alerting them to the abandonment and they should advise the nearest crews and chaperone them if necessary back to the pontoons. The safety launches and umpires will have loud hailers. A shoreside volunteer will be responsible for checking that all boats are accounted for.

PARKING AT THE REGATTA CENTRE

PARKING CHARGES APPLY FROM 10am on Sunday 12th November. The only vehicles exempt are Minibuses towing boat trailers, cars with sculling roof-racks, and officials/umpires cars issued with an official permit.

WAYS TO PAY

• Use the JustPark app downloadable from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The location ID is 194991. There’s a booking fee via this method.
• Pay by phone on 01234 862178. There’s a booking fee using this method.
• Visit www.justpark.com. Create an account before race day and use it when you arrive to log-in and pay. NB: parking starts from the time you log-in, so do this as close to 10am as you can.
• Use coins in the machines on site. Disadvantages are: you need coins, you need to be at the machine just before 10am.
• Last time we looked, the parking charge for 4 hours was £5.00. If you start payment at 10.00am this will last you until 2.00pm which should be plenty of time (Div 2 should be over by 12.30pm).

The organisers of the Docklands Head and PBDRC are not responsible for the parking organisation and will not be responsible if you incur a parking penalty charge because of failure to pay. Charges DO apply on race day and cars WILL be checked, so please don’t risk incurring a penalty by not paying.