Our Story...

We receive no long-term funding, grants or subsidies and rely upon our fundraising efforts, donations and other external support to deliver watersports sessions to schools, community groups, adults and young people many of whom are disadvantaged and hard to reach. We have many volunteers who give their valuable time to help us in this worthwhile endeavour.

Donations to the charity can be given at any time throughout the year. All monies made from the hire of the venue go directly to support the watersports activities for young people.

We are a recognised leader in our field for sports provision in London and unique in our ability to deliver this with an unparalleled social awareness of the disadvantaged young people in our communities. Our recent accreditation by Sport England/British Canoe Union to the status of a Clubmark accredited ‘Top Centre’ demonstrates our professionalism, dedication and commitment to the delivery of the highest quality of watersports training.

Here are comments by our members - past and present - on Westminster Boating Base, our work, aims and their experiences.

If you feel you have something to say please contact us

Whitewater Kayaking in France 2011, by Caitlan Lister

On my summer kayaking trip to France with Westminster Boating Base I had the best time ever.
There was never a dull moment in an action-packed 10 days.
I learned so many new skills (including how to eskimo roll) and it was a fun way of learning. We surfed waves (well, tried to), crossed fast-flowing eddies and, after lots of persuasion, I even managed to go down "fluffy" (the main big drop on the course).
At the beginning of the trip we started with the basics on the easier parts of the man-made course and worked our way up.
As the days passed we began trying out more challenging areas, such as "Devil's Cauldron". Everyone encouraged me to do this and eventually I plucked up the courage to have a go, even if it was only for a second. But the support made me want to do it all again.
In fact, throughout the holiday, everyone else from the base gave me an enormous amount of support in everything new I tried and it made me feel like I could take on anything, well, almost anything.

Away from the water, we had a fantastic time with lots of activities to keep us entertained, such as campfire nights and roasting marshmallows. I even had a crack at roasting my cola sweets, something I probably wish I hadn't.
We made lots of new friends, especially amongst the French group situated near us. We played England v France at football, which I think we won, and had water fights. Great fun.
I would not hesitate to go on this trip again. I never realised before I went just how much fun it was.

Comment by Sean Garnett (Caitlan's dad):

Before Caitlan left for the trip to France with Westminster Boating Base, she was a little apprehensive as there were no girls her age and only one boy. The rest were older teenagers and although she knew most from her WBB kayaking sessions, she had not built up very close ties with them.

However, she put those worries behind her to go, having heard what a great trip it is. And when she returned she was as delighted as we've ever seen her after a holiday. In fact, she described the trip as "epic" and spoke about it for weeks to come. She raved about the thrilling aspects of the whitewater kayaking and told us about how she was nervous about trying certain activities on the rapids, but with the encouragement of others in her group, she eventually had a go and said it was such a thrill she wished she'd tried those things earlier.

Away from the water, Caitlan told us of the heaps of fun they had around the campfire, playing games and generally having a laugh. She and her group made new French friends and Caitlan still keeps in touch with them.

All in all, it sounded like Caitlan had a fantastic time and she returned with much more confidence in her ability to kayak and even within herself. The trip dispelled her fears about certain aspects of the sport on rapids and rough water. She formed a much stronger bond with other members of the group and came away with new friends.
We would have no hesitation letting Caitlan go on this trip again, or any others like it.

The Westminster Boating Base, by Steffan Meyric Hughes

To learn to sail or canoe on the Thames is to become part of London's oldest estate, and to navigate confidently on that great river so feared by landsmen, is to make some of the river's power your own.

The kids don’t know this: they sense it, and when they’re older, they’ll put that feeling into words. For them, as it was for me, it’s just a huge adventure, with the important chance to make new friends.

If there’s one thing the Westminster Boating Base (WBB) experience gives a young person, aside from confidence, it’s a rounding of character, and the first steps on the ladder to that elusive and seldom-mentioned quality – worldliness. My memories are of long Sundays kayaking and going up through the ranks to instructor; companionable summer days having splash-fights; freezing weekends at slalom events at home county weirs; the yearly whitewater kayak trips to the south of France; tacking a fast dinghy into the eye of a cold wind howling upriver from the North Sea on a freezing day; taking the SAS for a paddle in the cooling water outlet of Lots Road Power Station; then always relief of warm showers and dry clothes.

Taking to the water in a small vessel can change a child’s life – but WBB also caters for just as many adults. And though we might be beyond hope or change, we still do a good job of enjoying ourselves – on and off the river! Today I’m still on the water, as a yachting journalist, and still on the Thames with WBB. It’s fair to say that my life’s course was helped in those first days on the river in the late 80s. And I’m not the only one, nor will I be the last.
Many places claim to be London institutions. The WBB actually is one. For £10 a year, where else in central London can any child, of any background, have the biggest adventure of a lifetime?

Steffan Meyric Hughes
News Editor
Classic Boat Magazine

My River Story, by Charlotte Moseley, age 15

It all started five years ago with a young girl standing watching the fast moving river with terrified eyes. All she was really thinking as she was being told about what to do if she capsized was “Oh no, this was a bad idea, I am definitely going to get eaten by sharks or alligators”
Little did she know that this first trip out on the river was probably going to change the rest of her life forever and open doors to new experiences, new adventures and many new friends on the way.
I started kayaking on my tenth birthday. My first session was easy. It went without a hitch and most importantly without a capsize. We got onto the water, me in a nice big boat, and mainly played games. I learnt how to manoeuvre my boat and had some lovely hot chocolate and then for the next five years I didn’t stray far from the Westminster Boating Base where I spend more or less most of my life outside of school. I kayaked and sailed about five days a week. On the weekdays it is mostly training but on Sundays we go for longer trips up to Putney, Tower Bridge or even the Thames Barrier.
The most memorable kayaking and sailing experiences I have had are journeying through the city and back because you see all London’s famous buildings and you see all the life on the river.
I love both kayaking and sailing and have competed in both. I paddle a slalom kayak and was promoted to Division 3 which I am very proud of as I have never really been the kind of person to do that well at sports. I am really looking forward to the next few years so I can progress more and do better. Through kayaking and sailing I have met many incredible and influential people and I hate to think what my life would be like without it.