Through almost a year a group of early rising rowers and members of the rowing club in Sorø had prepared for a trip to Henley-on-Thames, the Mecca for rowers. Accommodation of the group had been arranged for at the Leander Club, the oldest rowing club in the world, established in 1818. The club's accommodation and servicing facilities are excellent and it is centrally located vis-à-vis the regatta area. Arrangements had been made for the loan of a coxswained eight with a local coxswain from the Henley Rowing Club, another of the city's three rowing clubs. A coxswain acquainted with the locality was needed due to the special regulations in force in the much frequented area where other rowing boats, motor boats, passenger ships along with ducks and swans impose considerate and alert navigation. Two young female coxswains offered their assistance and we were all impressed by the ability demonstrated by these young women to remain calm and convey the necessary commands in a convincing way.

The oldest participant in the trip was 83 years old Ebbe Parsner, who served his apprenticeship in the offices of DFDS from 1939 to 1942. During his apprenticeship he was encouraged to join the DFDS rowing club and at a very early stage he demonstrated his gift for boat racing. Initially, he won some Danish championships during the war and in 1948 he participated together with Aage Larsen in the Olympics in London. The rowing competitions took place in Henley and the proud couple was able to return with silver medals. During the following two years the couple won the double sculler race Callenge Cup during the prestigious Henley regatta - in 1949 the couple even defeated the gold medallists of the previous year. And during this entire period the couple represented the DFDS rowing club. Thus, for Ebbe Parsner having once again the opportunity of rowing in these beautiful surroundings brought back a lot of pleasant memories and for the other participants in the trip it was wonderful to hear his story "on location".

DFDS equipped the rowing team so that it was able to represent Danish rowing with dignity in these excellent surroundings and to serve as a good advertisement for DFDS by way of the printed company logo. The team is very grateful for this support.

Jan Preisler

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