The Redgrave-Pinsent Rowing Lake

Named after and officially opened in 2006 by the Olympic rowers Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent, this lake was specifically designed for training use. It is situated in South Oxfordshire, between the Reading suburb of Caversham and the village of Sonning Eye.

Created by the selective dredging and reclamation of part of the Caversham Lakes, the project was sponsored by a partnership of the Caversham Lakes Trust, Sport England, the Amateur Rowing Association, and the Thames and Kennet Marina.

Ormiston was brought in to solve corrosion problems with the existing rowing lane cables, which were installed by the original developers and suppliers. We were approached because of our extensive experience in supplying lane cable assemblies, which includes locations such as Holm Pierpoint, Dorney Lake, Docklands, Strathclyde, Cardiff Bay, Henley Royal and others.

It was immediately apparent that the replacement assemblies would have to be stainless steel to prevent any recurrence of corrosion problems. In all, we supplied 250 meter lengths of stainless steel strands with interchangeable stainless steel ferrules every 12.5 meters. The ferrules feature a swaged eye one end and a fork the other. The 1.5 meter buoy lines feature a snood clip one end and a soft eye the other. This enables them to be easily changed or serviced. It also ensures automatic release from the strand in the event of a collision, thus preventing damage to the whole lane.

The lane assemblies have a projected ten-year lifespan and have been successfully in place now since 2012.