1881 Arthur Benjamin Mayhew

1881, Single-Handed Row Around The Isle Of Wight An account personalised by his granddaughter, Eileen Parnwell.

Arthur’s eagerness to be actively in the forefront of things took him into rowing. He was described in the Isle of Wight Mercury of 1921 as having taken, ‘no small share in the inauguration of the Ventnor Rowing Club’. His enthusiasm was such that, on 12^th July 1881, he accomplished a feat, which was still being celebrated forty years later. So much so that, on the anniversary in 1921, he was invited back to Ventnor to mark the occasion and his presence was recorded in that week’s Press. They also reprinted the original account of his incredible achievement when, it is believed, he became the first man to row single handed right round the Isle of Wight.

The published narrative shows just how formidable a task he had undertaken when, at 6.15am, he set off from Ventnor Beach in a skiff called the ‘Arrow’ from among the boats regularly offered for hire by Messrs. Blake Bros. The first few miles presented no problems as he took off to the East with a favourable tide running. However, when he had passed the towering heights of Culver Cliff beyond Shanklin and Sandown, the weather changed abruptly and he had to contend with heavy thunderstorms and deluging rain. These conditions prevailed until he rounded Bembridge Point and reached The Solent. Here his lack of real preparation and experience told against him; he had hoped to take advantage of the ebb tide, but instead there were still hours of the full force of the flood tide against him.

He reached Ryde Pier at 9.20am, but only allowed himself the shortest of breaks as he set off again at 9.30 am.

He now had to face a fierce June sun, which blindingly turned the surface of the sea to molten silver. The tide is described as being like a sluice. This combination of conditions made progress nearly impossible so that the seven miles between Ryde and Cowes took the young man well over three hours of heartbreaking effort. He didn’t give in and eventually reached Cowes at 1.0 pm. He beached the skiff and stretched his legs for a few brief moments and with considerable courage, set out again for Yarmouth on the far Western side of the Island. Here he broke the journey long enough to send off a promised telegram to Ventnor Rowing Club to give them news of his progress. When he returned to the shore, a farcical scene ensued: a crowd of boatmen and longshoremen had gathered to warn him not to attempt to continue his foolhardy journey. They even manhandled him to prevent his getting back into the boat. He must have thought that, after what he had already endured, the rest could present few problems and argued strongly to be allowed to go on. It must also have occurred to him that he was being forced to use up precious energy in having to enter into this fracas. He finally had to agree to return to Yarmouth if conditions became too dangerous before they let him get back in the skiff. By this time it was 5.0pm

It is difficult to imagine how the exhausted rower felt as the jagged, hazardous Needle Rocks loomed above him but he must have breathed a sigh of relief as he successfully negotiated a way through them. Now he had to acknowledge to himself that, as evening drew on and the breeze freshened and the sea ran ever more swiftly, a landing anywhere before Ventnor was out of the question, whatever crisis arose. Only twenty-four miles remained, but they were likely to prove the most alarming yet for the young sailor.

With such a heavy sea running, he had to try to bale out the boat while maintaining control of the oars. When he was almost across Chale Bay, what he had feared happened: a huge double wave caught the thirteen-foot skiff and twisted her around. Before the craft could be got straight again, the second wave nearly capsized her and Arthur was thrown to the bottom of the boat. An oar was wrenched from his hand and floated away and his hat – described as a ‘Zulu’ – went overboard too. Providentially, a spare oar had been provided by Mr. Blake and, by summoning all his remaining strength and skill, Arthur was able to prevent the craft capsizing completely. Was it a matter of pride in his appearance or sheer determination not to be defeated by a ferocious sea, or even his life long impetuosity that made Arthur decide to retrieve the other oar and his hat before setting off again?

Copyright © 2003 Ryde Rowing Club - Last modified: February 01, 2012