Lively Lady awarded Active Thames grant

Eleven additional community clubs are to receive Active Thames funding, thanks to a boost from Tideway, the company building London’s 25km state-of-the-art sewer. From Fulham in West London to Leigh-on-Sea in the Thames Estuary, clubs will be able to offer more opportunities to paddle, sail, row and walk along the Thames this summer.

To date the Active Thames partnership has awarded over £430,000 to 56 different clubs, encouraging sport and physical activity on the region’s blue spaces. 

One of the grant recipients is Around and Around - Lively Lady, which will receive a grant of £3,970.88 to update Lively Lady, the boat that the late Sir Alec Rose used to make his famous single-handed voyage around the world in 1968.  The funding will be used to provide updated electrical, navigation, and safety equipment that is essential to supporting the volunteer team to achieve their ambitions, including getting people out sailing who would never normally have the chance to do so, and maintaining this historic yacht.

This Frederick Shepherd designed yawl was built in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, in 1948.  Sir Alec Rose's famous voyage started at Portsmouth on 16 July 1967 and involved stops at Melbourne and Bluff Harbour, New Zealand.  It finished at Portsmouth on 4 July 1968.  In 2007, Lively Lady started her second circumnavigation, organised by the Around & Around charity and partly crewed by young people, arriving back in Portsmouth in July 2008.  After her second around the world voyage, Lively Lady was completely refurbished, however in 2020 COVID hit and all activity ceased.  In August 2023, LIVELY LADY sailed the 160 nautical-mile journey from Portsmouth to her new home of Chatham, Kent.  Lively Lady will continue to be used by young people and the community along with preserving the historic significance of the vessel and legacy of Sir Alec Rose. 

“Active Thames is an important part of our vision for the tidal Thames (Thames Vision 2050) , creating a river that is  accessible to all and a destination for sport and leisure. The boost from Tideway will bring new, diverse audiences to the river, and support sports clubs to provide taster days, courses and family-friendly events this summer. We are looking forward to seeing the positive impact that Tideway’s investment it will have.”

- Jenny Cooper-Low, Lead - Thames Vision and Partnerships