Friday was an interesting day for us, as we were working as the camera boat for the arrival of Ben Ainslie in town. He was helming a fast catamaran into London. I had 7 cameramen on board (and one lady), who were very keen to get a picture of the boat at an extreme angle.
Unfortunately, they were getting pretty angry with the safety boat which kept on getting in the way, and the cameraman on board that boat was getting all the best pictures.
It was getting pretty hairy with all the trip boats continuing to operate as if nothing was happening, and turning all around us in the area of Tower Bridge.
After some pleas, Ben put us in the right spot and got some great pictures that then appeared in the Times. I met Ben, shook his hand and offered congratulations. What a great achievement, and he deserves all the rewards after a lifetime of commitment.
We then went on to take out guests who were on HMS President in the evening. We took out 24 people at a time, past Tower Bridge and back. They were a great bunch and had a great time.
Saturday was a busy day, with all the boats out throughout the day. Charters are very popular, with groups and companies. If you shop around, you will see that we offer the best value of any speedboat company of the Thames. This is particularly true of our Thames Barrier trip, which is great value.
Blackfriars offers the best location on the Thames, as you can see some of the sights, and then get onto the plane and some serious speed up past Greenwich, O2 and the Barrier. The other companies operating from Westminster and Embankment spend most of their trip at displacement speeds, which seems to defeat the object of a speed boat ride to me.
Took out a group of RAF pilots today, who were being entertained in London. Hopefully, I might get a trip on one of their planes? You can always hope!!
Best wishes
Paul
