In the serene world of rowing, where the rhythmic splash of oars against water usually just creates puddles, the disruption of a major flood and its aftermath can be daunting.
Flooding can test any rowing club and when the waters recede the task of clearing and restoring can seem overwhelming. However, with Monmouth Rowing Club's usual good planning and team spirit we have quickly restored some resemblance of normality and hopefully have said goodbye to our 'one' flood of the season.
Following weeks of heavy rain, the inevitable flood of the River Wye came this week, covering the ground floor of the club. Whilst the design of the club is quite resilient to flooding (with most of our club rooms and boats on the first floor), each flood always brings its own challenges, not to mention the usual inch of dirty sticky mud.
Once Dan gave us the green light, operation cleanup sprung into action. With volunteers from all the club squads ready with buckets and mops, we managed to clean and get most of the ground floor clean within two hours. Of course, things are still very damp and will take a few weeks to properly dry out.
With the main task complete, we then reached out to help our neighbours. With the schools not back from Christmas holidays yet, we helped clean out Hab's boat house and then it was off to Dixon Church. Dating from the 12th Century, St Peters Church Dixon, is a jewel on the Wye, so it was a priority for the club to help and we managed to get the ground floor of the church clean again.
Whilst no one wants to get flooded, it is these occasions that show the true resilience of a rowing community, both in its infrastructure, but more importantly, its people. Well done everyone.