None shall be admitted to punt that have not taken the oaths. Addison
The full quotation can be found below
1828: PUNTING ESSENTIALS from the 'London Magazine' -
That it will give a particular relish to success, if you be successful, and wonderfully dull the edge of disappointment, if the contrary be your fate, (which all good spirits avert,) if you never take punt (for we recommend that as the easiest mode of exercise) without stowing therein a sufficient basket of ham, tongue, veal pie, stilton-cheese, bottled ale and porter, port, sherry, moselle, claret, brandy, and cigars.
Oxford Punt hiring, prices etc
Punting down the Cherwell and then up the Isis / Thames -
There are fourteen or so outings suggested below, including three round trips and five waterways:
Isis/Thames; Cherwell; Oxford Canal; Bullstake Stream; and the Old Navigation. (see map below)
Click the links to go to the places shown on this site
| Upper Cherwell: | Islip Weir: | the upper limit for punts |
| Water Eaton: | Jacobean Manor House | |
| Bypass Bridge | ||
| VICTORIA ARMS: | drinks & pub grub in lovely setting | |
| BARDWELL ROAD PUNT HIRE: | best for beginners | |
| Parson's Pleasure | ||
| Cherwell Rollers | ||
| Lower Cherwell: | Mesopotamia: | between millstream and lower Cherwell |
| MAGDALEN BRIDGE PUNT HIRE: | may be crowded and fun | |
| Botanical Gardens: | go either way round cricket ground island | |
| Old Mouth of Cherwell: | bordering Christchurch Meadow | |
| New Cut of Cherwell: | lovely | |
| Isis / Thames: | Boathouses: | experienced punters only on main river. Keep well in to bank Watch out for rowers and launches |
| Old Mouth of Cherwell: | under bridge | |
| Christchurch Meadows | ||
| FOLLY BRIDGE PUNT HIRE: | experienced punters only rowing boats and self drive launches | |
| HEAD OF THE RIVER: | Pub Grub | |
| Folly Bridge | ||
| Oxford Footbridge | ||
| Osney Footbridge: | You can turn right here and punt up to Castle weir - but its really not worth it! | |
| Osney Rail Bridges | ||
| Bullstake Stream: | to Hinksey, puntable in part | |
| Osney Lock: | make sure your punt has a Thames licence beware weir on left above lock | |
| Osney Bridge | ||
| Four Rivers: |
branch to Isis Lock (Oxford Canal); Oxford castle; under very low rail bridges to Medley Footbridge. CIRCULAR ROUTE! All puntable | |
| Medley Footbridge | ||
| THE PERCH: | food in Garden | |
| Godstow, THE TROUT: | bypass lock then turn left good food by the weir pool | |
| Godstow Lock | ||
| Godstow Nunnery: | Rosamund the Fair | |
| Godstow Bridge: | ||
| Thames Bridge: | ||
| King's Lock: | ||
| Duke's Cut | Duke's Cut Lock: | Link to Oxford Canal from above King's Lock |
| Oxford Canal | Wolvercote Lock: | NB You will need a lock key for these locks on the Oxford Canal - they are easy to work. You should also have a British Waterways license. |
| Isis Lock: | Completing the CIRCULAR ROUTE back to the river. |
View Larger Map
There are therefore quite a number of trips possible which I place in order of easiness and desirability:
1. Bardwell Road Hiring station on the Cherwell, to the Victoria Arms and back.
2. Bardwell Road Hiring station on the Cherwell, down to the Punt slide and back. (very short, no pub!)
3. Magdalen Bridge Hiring station to the punt slide and back (no pub!)
4. Magdalen Bridge Hiring station to the Isis(Thames) via the old cut, then down river and back via the new cut.
5. Magdalen Bridge Hiring Station to the Isis(Thames) and up the the Head of the River at Folly Bridge and back.
6. Magdalen Bridge Hiring Station to the punt slide and on to the Victoria Arms and back.
7. Folly Bridge Hiring station up the Cherwell to Magdalen Bridge and on to the punt slide and back.
8. Folly Bridge Hiring Station upriver and explore the Bullstake Stream and back.
9. Folly Bridge Hiring Station upriver, Osney Lock, right at Four Rivers, right before isis Lock and down to Castle and back.
10.Folly Bridge Hiring Station, Osney Lock to Perch and back.
11.Folly Bridge Hiring Station, Osney Lock to Trout at Godstow and back.
12.Folly Bridge Hiring Station, Osney Lock, right at Four Rivers, left before isis Lock, very low bridges (60cm!) to Medley Footbridge and back down main river.
13.Folly Bridge Hiring Station, Osney Lock, right at Four Rivers, through Isis Lock (key needed) up Oxford canal, 2 more locks, left to above Kings Lock, Godstow Lock and back down river.
14.Folly Bridge Hiring Station to Kings Arms at Sandford and back.
All these I have done, launching my punt from Donnington Road Bridge.
1903: The Underdog by F Hopkinson Smith -
Landlord Hull, of the White Hart Inn [at Sonning] - what an ideal Boniface is this same Hull, and what an ideal inn -
promised a boatman to pole the punt and look after my traps when the Henley regatta was over;
and the owner of my own craft, and of fifty other punts besides, went so far as to say that he expected a man as soon as Lord Somebody-or-Other left for the Continent,
when His Lordship's waterman would be free, adding, meaningly:
"Just at present, zur, when we do be 'avin' sich a mob lot from Lunnon, 'specially at week's-end, zur, we ain't got men enough to do our own polin'.
It's the war, zur, as has took 'em off.
Maybe for a few day, zur, ye might take a 'and yerself if ye didn't mind."
I waved the hand referred to - the forefinger part of it - in a deprecating manner.
I couldn't pole the lightest and most tractable punt ten yards in a straight line to save my own or anybody else's life.
...
Poling a rudderless, keelless skiff up a crooked stream by means of a fifteen-foot balancing pole is an art only to be classed with that of rowing a gondola.
Gondoliers and punters, like poets, are born, not made ... No, if I had to do the poling myself, I should rather get out and walk.
...
You perhaps think that you know the Thames. You have been at Henley, no doubt, during regatta week, when both banks were flower-beds
of blossoming parasols and full-blown picture-hats, the river a stretch of silver, crowded with boats, their occupants cheering like mad.
Or you know Marlowe with its wide stream bordered with stately trees and statelier mansions,
and Oxford with its grim buildings,
and Windsor dominated by its huge pile of stone, the flag of the Empires floating from its top;
and Maidenhead with its boats and launches,
and lovely Cookham with its back water and quaint mill and quainter lock.
You have rowed down beside them all in a shell, or have had glimpses of them from the train,
or sat under the awnings of the launch or regular packet and watched the procession go by.
All very charming and interesting, and, if you had but forty-eight hours in which to see all England,
a profitable way of spending eight of them. And yet you have only skimmed the beautiful river's surface as a swallow skims a lake.
Try a punt once.
Pole in and out of the little back waters, lying away from the river, smothered in trees;
float over the shallows dotted with pond-lilies;
creep under drooping branches swaying with the current;
stop at any one of a hundred landings, draw your boat up on the gravel, spring out and plunge into the thickets, flushing the blackbirds from their nests,
or unpack your luncheon, spread your mattress, and watch the clouds sail over your head.
Don't be in a hurry.
Keep up this idling day in and day out, up and down, over and across, for a month or more, and you will get some faint idea of how picturesque,
how lovely, and how restful this rarest of all the sylvan streams of England can be.
HOW TO PUNT
This is for those who are concerned simply to punt for pleasure (rather than learning a racing technique). There are people who will dogmatically tell you that they know an exact method. That may well be the case for racing. But for pleasure punting the fact is - it doesn't matter how you do it as along as it is reasonably efficient and does not soak you or your passengers. And if it can also have that certain elegance that the best punters show then why not? I have developed the method outlined here over some forty two years (250 miles last year) so it undeniably works.
WHAT IS A PUNT?
A punt is the countryman's boat. It can be seen on African Lakes and in Far Eastern river markets. Its basic characteristic is a flat bottom, which is what makes it very stable in flat water (and very unstable in choppy water - but that is unlikely to be your problem) It is basically a box afloat. On the Thames it has been used for cargo carrying since time immemorial (and probably slightly before that.) In one of its forms it became the fishing punt with a central flooded well with holes in the bottom so that live fish could be kept. The Victorians developed this into the elegant pleasure craft that is the Thames Punt. This is traditionally 32 inches to 34 inches wide and between 24 feet and 26 feet long (though shorter punts may be for hire). Racing punts are 2 feet wide down to 14.5 inches and up to 35 feet long. The pole which propels it is 16 feet long as a standard though it may be found from 13 feet to 20 feet. The Thames Punt has a TILL or BOX or DECK at one end (sometimes the other end has a smaller version). The bottom is curved from one end to the other, as are the sides. The ends (HUFFS) are flat (that is not pointed). (Racing punts are defined as flat bottomed boats having the width of the ends not less than half the width in the centre) The sides are joined together by TREADS (cross wise planks on the bottom, placed at intervals). The joint to the side is reinforced at each tread by a KNEE which may extend to the top of the side. The bottom is then made up of lengthwise planks secured to the treads. The area between each tread is often filled with a grating. There are usually two, sometimes one or three, seats. The area between them is the SALOON. The passengers sit on the bottom on MATTRESS(ES) (cushions).
The old cargo and fishing punts were often "RUN". That is they were
propelled by one or more punters walking towards the stern during the SHOVE and
then returning towards the bows before the next stroke.
This was however not suited to the new use of the punt as a pleasure boat. So a
method of propulsion from a fixed point at the stern was developed. This was
known as "PRICKING". I wonder how many browsers will not allow this
site to be seen? Gentlemen with imagination will realise that punting is all an
extended metaphor anyway - but there we are.
FIRST CATCH YOUR PUNT
Punts are to be found for hire in regrettably few places.
No visit to Oxford or Cambridge is complete without a little punting.
In Cambridge they are the way to see the backs (the backs
of the colleges - but that is their best side!) and then an expedition to the
Orchard at Grantchester for a cream tea is a vital part of anyone's life. (It
snowed in May last time I tried it) . In Cambridge you can cheat by using a
chauffeured punt - but you will miss half the fun!
In Oxford there are three hire places, at Folly Bridge on
the Thames (Isis), at Magdalen Bridge on the Cherwell, and at the Cherwell Boat
House, Bardwell Road on the Upper Cherwell. The boat rollers on the Cherwell
are very useable and fun. (But Parsons'
Pleasure has gone! No longer will you have to try not to look at nude dons as
they try to engage you in intelligent conversation!) The boat rollers at Iffley are
no longer locked - but not as easy as the Cherwell rollers, and the stretch below
Iffley Lock is the worst on the whole river for punting. Watch out for racing rowing craft
- see below.
At Stratford on Avon there are punts (I think).
There may be perhaps a dozen punts to be seen at the Royal Henley
Regatta - though these are private and not for hire. It is a great way to see
the regatta. You are actually within feet (sometimes inches!) of the racing,
safely moored alongside a boom.
Recently a fleet of chauffeured Cambridge punts have been brought to the
regatta – expect to pay not just for the time on the river – but also for the
transport from Cambridge and back!
Other than that there are several Punting (and Skiff)
Clubs and the regattas they organise on the lower Thames. I have seen the regattas at Wargrave and
Hurley. Altogether what a come down
from the days when they were the most frequent craft to be seen on the Thames!
SO WHY BOTHER?
Because a punt is the most elegant and peaceful means of
water transport known to man. It glides where other boats splash and make rude
noises. It gives you an intimate experience of the river, which is denied to
larger, faster and noisier boats. It is stable and ideal for small children, a
sort of floating play pen (tether them somehow - then all you will have to do
if you hear a splash is haul them out again!) It is ideal for lovers. It is the
best way to have a conversation. It is the ultimate in luxury on a summer's day
to lie back in a punt and watch the world go by. It is the perfect way to have
a picnic. It is almost the only way to combine capacious transport to the
picnic with the picnic site itself!
Punting, you will have the satisfaction of centuries of history behind you -
unlike these flashy plastic boats that make such a noise and kick up such a
fuss whilst their passengers glance occasionally at the scenery through double
glazed windows! Manually propelling a
boat is not only the most satisfying exercise - it also does you good, and
keeps you fit.
FIRST STROKES
Most people take their first strokes punting in exactly the wrong place! They start from a punt hiring station on a crowded river where they have to extricate the punt from the bank and negotiate the other punts around - whilst passengers and onlookers make helpful comments … Let somebody else do that - if all else fails, sit down and use the paddle to get away from there. Find a quiet stretch with few other boats about. Ideally there should be little current and little or no wind.
WHICH STYLE?
For pleasure punting (i.e. this does not apply to racing punts which use entirely different methods)
there is essentially NO DIFFERENCE between the three normal styles of OXFORD, CAMBRIDGE and THAMES.
A considerable amount of rubbish is talked about the styles. The only real difference is where the punter stands.
And the punter always stands at the back!
STAND UP
Stand on the punt.
In Cambridge stand on the till, the decking at the stern of a punt.
In Oxford stand at the other end from the decking, on the
sloping bottom of the punt about four or five feet from the end.
Below Oxford on the Thames stand on the bottom just in
front of the decking.
There are ongoing
arguments about which is best. The Oxford punting expert R.T.Rivington says
that in Oxford punts are punted STERN FIRST.
I think that there are two good reasons for this – the first being that
it always has, since late Victorian times, been done that way – and the second being that there was probably
a practical reason for it in that Oxford punters had to shoot Medley weir – and
that a punt in that situation is much safer decking first. For compatibility I shall refer to the end
you stand on as the back and the other end as the front.
WHICH SIDE?
Hold the pole trailing in the water on the side which seems most natural to you. (I learnt with a friend who punted on the right - so I punted on the other side so that we could double punt from the back, one on either side, which is a good way to learn.) Whatever you decide, stick to it, and never punt on the other side. Stand with feet slightly apart, across the centre line of the punt, facing where you are going. Do not be tempted into the beginner's error of facing backwards (even in Oxford!) Many punters, particularly in Oxford, do however face towards the pole side.
POLE HAND
In what follows the pole hand is the hand nearest the pole side of the punt and the offside hand is the other. (So if the pole is on the right of the punt your pole hand is your right hand and the offside hand is your left hand.)
AT EASE
Hold the very end of the pole with the offside hand as if it were a sword in a scabbard which you are preparing to draw. The pole hand should hold the pole about 18" from the top and probably somewhere down near your hip. This is the "at ease" position. When all is well with the world and you are lazily admiring the scenery as it drifts by - assume this position. When all has gone disastrously wrong and there are problems - assume this position. It is the safe, do nothing, stable, controlled position. From it you can easily assume the position of last resort. You can sit down! Notice that the offside hand is above the pole hand. This is always the case.
BALANCE
Now test the balance.
(You can swim can't you? If not you should be wearing a lifejacket.
Even a light hearted trip
on a summer's day can suddenly become life threatening if you fall in,
unless you can swim confidently with clothes on.)
The pole is a great help in keeping your balance - hold it gently but firmly. Left and
right balance is in your hands - or rather in your feet. Rock the punt and then
stop it rocking. Play with the balance a little so that you become confident.
You can't do that so easily if you are facing to one side.
TURN
If your punt is not actually facing the way you want to go, turn it by moving the pole. Use the pole side hand as a pivot - don't move the pole hand too much! Push or pull the offside hand to move the front of the punt in the required direction. The front will move in the opposite direction to the way you move your offside hand. In other words a punt steers like any other boat with a rudder - the only difference being that the rudder in question is so long that it is not necessary for the punt to be moving at all for its orientation to be controlled by the pole. Do not take the pole out of the water whilst doing this. Ideally don't move from this position until facing exactly the required direction.
WHOOPS!
Sometimes you may find that the correction required, means that the pole has moved through too great an angle. This will probably be because you are not holding the very end of the pole. It is possible to turn most punts through 180 degrees without taking the pole out of the water. But it is so easy to forget to hold the very end of the pole and then problems arise. The best way to get out of the situation is to take a stroke. You cannot lever the pole out of the water unless you hold it nearer the centre. But if you move to that position then you must remember to let it slide out again so that you are holding the very end before trying to steer again. Otherwise you land up waving it about like an ungainly paddle, to very little effect.
DRAW THE SWORD
Now you are ready to take the stroke. Draw the sword! That is, with the offside hand, pull the pole as if it were coming out of a scabbard, sliding through your pole hand. When it has gone as far as that movement will take it, grip with your pole hand and throw the pole up into a vertical position, keeping your pole arm straight, letting it slide through your offside hand which remains above the pole hand. The end of pole should actually come out of the water but not above the side of the punt. There are other ways to do this - but this one should always work.
SPEAR THE FISH
At this moment throw the pole downwards with the pole
hand as if trying to spear a fish on the bottom. Be certain the bottom is down
there and it is unlikely to be further away than the length of your pole. (And
if it is, the pole will bob back upwards and can be nonchalantly caught - at
which point you should remark to your passenger(s) that you are now getting
this pole well trained.)
It is almost impossible to punt by lowering the pole down hand over hand. You
do actually have to let it run through your hands.
MONKEY UP A STICK?
If the punt is stationary the pole will need to be thrown slightly backwards, so that when you push there is a component moving the punt in the direction you wish to go. Pushing vertically down on a vertical pole from a stationary punt will merely waste energy. If you succeed in doing anything you will climb the pole or drive the pole down into the mud.
STEER DURING STROKE
Strictly speaking punts are not steered!
Or at least only by beginners. If they are propelled by pushing against the
right position on the river bottom they will go in the required direction.
This is a counsel of perfection. So if you are not perfect then steer during
the stroke. (Once you are experienced it is normally unnecessary to steer at
any other time) To turn towards the pole side simply pull the pole so that it
presses against the punt during the stroke. To turn to the offside takes a
little bit of thought. During the stroke push towards the pole side with the
upper, offside, hand and pull in towards the punt with the lower, pole hand.
This is the same movement as steering when the pole is at rest. Experiment with
this as soon as you are able. Of course if you have picked the exact position
on the bottom against which to push, the punt will go in the required direction
without any further correction. Only experience will teach you how to find that
position.
Many people will tell you not to worry about steering during the stroke, and
that you can steer between strokes. Well yes you can - but it is rather like
telling a walker not to worry about steering whilst taking steps, because you can
always change direction before taking the next step! It is most efficient to apply the
stroke in such a direction that no further effort needs to be put into
steering. Then if you want to punt at speed there need be no pause between
strokes. But unless you have a racing punt you must settle for the fact that
you are in the slowest sort of boat on the river and if you wanted to go fast
you wouldn't be punting in the first place.
EFFICIENCY
During the stroke, as the pole becomes less and less vertical, so the push becomes more and more efficient. It pays therefore to start gently (when much of your effort will simply push the pole down into the mud) and then work harder towards the end of the stroke. The last moments before it comes off the bottom are the best for propelling the punt - so make the most of them. The fastest punting involves bending the knees at the end of the stroke so as to reach down to use the maximum length of the pole. As the stroke ends give the pole a sharp pull.
BETWEEN STROKES
When the stroke is finished assume the "at ease" position. Do not immediately try to take the pole out of the water. If you have to, steer to correct any error during the stroke. Try to stop the punt turning before you make the next stroke. If you have to steer in the "at ease" position, then remember it is because you failed to steer correctly during the stroke. So think about that as you take the next stroke.
AVOIDING OBSTACLES
In general remember that if you have to turn to avoid an obstacle, it is easy enough to move the front of the punt to one side of it, but then, if you continue to turn, the back will hit it. So having turned one way you then need to turn the other way. A short time on the Cherwell will soon have you wishing that everyone was aware of this simple truth. Remember the punters' motto: "Every action has an opposite and equal reaction".
POLE CAUGHT
When the pole catches in the bottom at the end of the stroke, show it who is in charge! Give it a quick hard twist and yank it out! If you can feel it happening during the stroke be gentle and end the stroke early. If it doesn't come out you have a choice: fight it or let it go. If you choose to fight you will have to stop the punt before you can no longer comfortably reach the pole. If you are standing on the till I recommend letting go of the pole with the offside hand and grabbing the front of the till (only make sure it isn't a small lifting hatch you hold - you will only make that mistake once!) Once the punt has stopped and begins to drift back you will almost always find that the pole releases itself. It was the angle to which it had moved that was trapping it. If you choose not to fight then let go! This is why you have a paddle with you (not for passengers to assist you). Use the paddle immediately. The time you wait before stopping the punt will be doubled before you can get back to the pole. You may well find that the pole releases itself when you let it go, and being still angled towards you pops up and swims gently along to catch you up. But whatever you do don't indulge in the film cliché of the punter stuck up the pole. By all means fall in if you want to get wet - but let go of the pole, because otherwise you might break it - and that is the ultimate punting sin.
TOO SHALLOW
In very shallow water you may find that the pole trails on the bottom in the "at ease" position. In which case your pole is too long for the depth - but there isn't much to be done about that, so simply bring enough of the pole out of the water so that the end no longer scrapes along behind you.
TOO DEEP
In very deep water, when you find no bottom (in the stretch below Iffley in Oxford, on the very sharp meanders below St John's Lock at Lechlade, on parts of the Henley reach, and in several parts below Maidenhead) you will have to manage. Hold the pole centrally and use it like a double bladed canoe paddle, first on one side and then the other. It is a quite adequate means of propulsion and can get you out of difficulties. On the Thames there are perhaps two to three hundred yards where a nineteen foot pole cannot be used (in 126 miles Lechlade to Teddington). Of course you may well have to choose where you punt with some care.
ALUMINIUM VERSUS WOOD
Cambridge poles are of wood, Oxford of aluminium. Each has its merits and demerits:
1. Wood is nice to the touch.
2. If wood is thin enough it has a nice flexibility.
3. But thin poles can break - usually whilst crossing the Henley Regatta Course
with an eight bearing down on you, in my experience (twice!)
4. Thicker wooden poles are too buoyant and must be thrust down into the water rather
harder than for aluminium.
5. Wood needs maintenance (sanding and varnishing) otherwise splinters become a problem.
6. Aluminium removes the continual anxiety about breaking the pole.
7. Aluminium collects much less water on its surface which means punt punter and
passengers all stay drier.
8. Aluminium can feel cold.
9. Aluminium makes more noise.
10. Some older Aluminium alloys leave you with black hands.
KEEP RIGHT
Keep right! Actually river rules are not quite as simple
as that - unlike roads, the rules only apply when there is a danger of
collision. But in practice, unless there is good reason to do otherwise, keep
to the right hand side of the river. If you keep to the left, the only way to
avoid having to move to the right due to a collision risk, is to keep so close
to the bank that no one can get any nearer to the bank! The traditional Thames rule was up the sides
and down the middle – but this has now ceased to be relevant. When there are only punts about there are no
noticeable rules. Punts are not exempt and ought to keep right when there is
danger of collision - but no other punters appear to know this, so do not rely
on it - stick to the ultimate rule - Avoid collisions! A head on collision
between two punts moving at three miles an hour is quite sufficient to cause
serious injury when you consider that a punt with passengers may weigh anything
up to half a ton.
When you change direction to avoid another boat, do it deliberately, and make a
significant course change, so that the other boat can see it and realise what
you are doing. Ideally, from a head to head position, turn right and then left,
so as to pass on a parallel course. If you are going to collide try to make it
so that the side of your punt hits the side of the other punt (that is so that
they are parallel - which implies they may be moving sideways at this point).
RACING ROWING CRAFT
When there are racing rowing craft about they may well be
moving up to ten times faster than you, and they are difficult to manoeuvre and
an eight is effectively 60 feet long by 20 feet wide, with fragile blade tips.
Keep out of the way and that means keep well in to the bank. Keep a look out
behind you!
Give way to racing craft, and to sailing craft who may have to tack across the
river in front of you and then turn suddenly and have another go at you!
WASH
Wash almost always looks worse than it is. In punting the entire length of the Thames recently I took perhaps a pint of water altogether due to wash. But I was worried perhaps four or five times. Turn so as to take wash almost at right angles.
REMEMBER ABSALOM
Remember Absalom! (Killed riding through a forest when he
was caught in a tree. Holy Bible, 2
Samuel 18.9)
So beware low branches - punts can have a considerable momentum
and if you misjudge the clearance you can be seriously hurt as you try to get down under them.
Thorn bushes are also a trial, they will scratch you all
over and then drape you in weed whilst your passengers have avoided them by
lying down and are now helpless with mirth at your fate.
If you are approaching an obstacle overhead
(bridge or branch) and take a stroke such that the top of the pole catches on
the obstacle whilst the bottom is secured in mud you will have no option but to
let go.
On the backs at Cambridge beware of raising the pole too soon as you come out
from under a bridge. There are people who stand about on bridges just waiting
to give the top of your pole a sudden tug when you are not expecting it, making
you loose your balance and causing them much amusement as you fall in. Bless
them!
SOME MORE ADVANCED TECHNIQUES:
LEAVING A BANK
You can't just punt away from a bank. In order to do so the front has to turn out which means the back must swing in - but the bank is in the way! The simplest thing to do is what motor launches do. They put on full rudder towards the bank and go gently ahead so that the bows go in towards the bank and the stern swings out. They then reverse out and then go ahead. The punting version is to swing the pole so that the back comes out away from the bank (The front remaining against the bank - try to restrain passengers from mistakenly "helping" by pushing the front off at this point!). Once the back is well out then swing the pole the other way and the front comes out leaving the punt parallel to the bank and several feet away from it.
TURNING ROUND
A punt can generally be turned through 180 degrees in one movement of the pole. Remember to extract the pole from wherever it ends up without attempting to move it in the water. However there is a more genteel method when the punt is stationary. Start a stroke dropping the pole slightly back and to the side and then, instead of pushing, start swinging the bows and holding the stern keeping the pole on the bottom. The punt slowly turns through 180 degrees without very much further movement from you though you will be working fairly hard. The particular advantage of this is that on completion of the turn the movement can be converted into an ordinary stroke.
COMING ALONGSIDE A BANK
If there is any stream always aim to moor with the front upstream. This is general boating practice. But punts have no brakes and a somewhat erratic reverse gear! So how do you stop? Approach the bank at right angles! It looks alarming and spectators are drawn irresistably to the prospect of a punter committing navigational suicide. When the front is about to run aground swing sharply upstream, controlling the swing so as to remain just a few inches off the bank. When the back reaches the bank the punt will be stationary and where you want it. So to accomplish this do not angle in towards the bank, remain well out in the river until level with where you wish to moor. Only then turn the punt through 90 degrees and aim for where you wish to moor. The judgement as to when to turn upstream is a little sensitive given that an error of a few inches will make people think you are stupid as they help you from your upside down position on top of your passengers! But once you have it right it is a highly satisfying method.
EMERGENCY STOP
There are two things you can do when about to hit
something (well three if you count throwing the pole away and lying down with
your hands over your eyes). You can swing through 90 degrees so that your speed
in the direction of travel will be reduced to perhaps a tenth of what it was
(sideways). This is sometimes appropriate, but unless the oncoming boat does
the same you are still vulnerable to being hit on the side (which is less
strong than the ends). Your back will have swung towards the problem whilst
the front swings away.
The other is to take a reverse stroke by throwing the pole forward so that it
touches the bottom at least several feet in front of you and then shoving so
that the punt comes to a halt. In shallow water a heavily loaded punt can be
completely stopped like this. But it is dependant on the water depth and in deep
water this would not work (because the pole could not be angled sufficiently
forwards). Continuing the reverse stroke will of course move you backwards -
but unless you counter it the back will move sharply away from the pole, and
the front towards the pole side. Perhaps you should practice punting backwards?
BOATING JARGON: SIDES
There is a useful rule to remember the jargon:"The shortest words stick together!"
LEFT = PORT = RED RIGHT = STARBOARD = GREEN
So when approaching an oncoming boat pass RED to RED (i.e. keep right)
* Unfortunately oarsmen face backwards. So though the rule still applies from their point of view,
it doesn't for the cox (or any other normal people!)
BOW = LEFT STROKE = RIGHT (but only when facing backwards!)
| ^ | ||
| ^ | ||
| BOW | -------- BOWSIDE | |
| STROKESIDE-------- | 2 | |
| 3 | -------- | |
| -------- | 4 | |
| 5 | -------- | |
| -------- | 6 | |
| 7 | -------- | |
| -------- | STROKE | |
| COX | ||
| ^ | ||
| ^ |
And of course sometimes they even rig the boats the other
way round just to confuse matters.
As a
cox I could never decide whether, if stroke was on bow side and bow on stroke
side, stroke side should be referred to as bow side and bow side as stroke
side, or not … I think philosophers
will identify this as a case of universals versus nominals … everybody else
will call for the men in white coats.
None shall be admitted to punt that have not taken the oaths. Addison
Honesty compels me to admit that this quotation is grossly out of context!
The London Encyclopaedia of 1829 defines Punt:
PUNT, v. n. Ital. punto. A point. To play at basset or ombre.
One is for setting up an assembly for basset,
where none shall be admitted to punt that have not taken the oaths. Addison
When a duke to Jansen punts at White's,
Or city heir in mortgage melts away,
Satan himself feels far less joy than they. Pope.