Firs : Bridgnorth Raft Regatta 2003   On the crack of dawn, well about 7.45am the Firs Car Park was an unusual sight for passers-by. Assembled in their team ranks stood the PARAS of the raft world, sleek, muscular, highly trained men armed with the latest technology in water world weaponry. Ok, Ok there were the two Firs teams for the annual Bridgnorth Raft Regatta drinking beer, smoking fags and armed with plastic buckets and the best water cannons Woolworth’s can sell but they were indeed ready for battle! The convoy of fleet vehicles, two vans kindly donated by Abbey Cleaning and Orion Powercell, set out to Ironbridge just after 8.30am to begin what was going to be a very, very long and hot day. Upon arrival at what was by now a very familiar site in Ironbridge the hustle and bustle of the day was already well under way. Rafts of every shape and size lined the banks, crewed by the biggest assortment of oarsmen/women you have ever seen. There were Vikings, Soldiers, Firemen, Nurses and even Caratacus Potts and family were in attendance with his stupendous car Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! Our noble teams armed themselves up with the essentiall buckets and beers and joined the queue to launch their rafts on what was speculated to be a three-hour journey down the Severn to Bridgnorth. Launches were eventful with a few of the competitors losing barrels and oars in their efforts, a few even launched in spectacular fashion by flipping sideways and upside down! Our noble lads were true vets and launched with the precision of five years practice, although the Lounge raft did need a little shove in the right direction! By 10.20am the Bar and Lounge team were away on what was going to be a very, very, very long journey indeed! With gear stowed the drivers hit the road to meet up with the Firs Supporters Magical Mystery Bus in Bridgnorth and await the return of those brave young men and their water pistols! Camp was set up and Severn Park was busier than ever with a fun fair, Beacon FM’s outside crew, and a lot of people! With a three-hour window projected by 1.20pm a fair few ales had been sunk, cuddly toys had been won and children ran around paling their lucky families with inflatable hammers, but something was missing! No Rafts! To fill in from here I shall relate from the stories told around the campfire that night. The river was low on water, the tide was non-existent and the sun was beating down. But this did not deter our gallant men who engaged in battle with any rafters willing or unwilling to play, the Rapids were tackled with the lads both in and out of the water navigating their raft through rocks and boulders. On inspection of the rafts later in the day it was safe to say this caused a terminal case of “scraped” to the bottoms of both rafts. It was just past 3.40pm when our first glimpse of one our rafts came into view, with the coveted Wooden Oar Trophy at stake the atmosphere was tense, were the Bar Crew going take the fourth consecutive win or were the Lounge team going to end the run by pipping the Bar to the post. The answer by now was clear, with Captain Jenko at the helm and his supercharged crew at the oars, please note Jenko is allergic to rowing or so rumour has it, the water was flying the battles were still on as in a blaze of glory the Bar Team passed us, still fighting the good fight with rafts less fortunate than our own. The Lounge it must be said, with a man down, were only 15 minutes behind and armed with Guinness Hats and they pushed their efforts in to the end and to concede graciously to the might of the Bar. The day turned to TLC with beers and a barbeque and hugs of support to wind down what had been a corking day. Upon return to the Firs the Bar Team was quick to claim the trophy of the coveted wooden oar from its resting place in the Bar and await the words BAR to be etched next to the year 2003. Another regatta behind us and monies in the bank for our chosen charities it’s a score of 4-0 to the Bar but that’s where rumour has it it will end. But who knows after all stranger things indeed have happened at sea!                         editor - Paul Griffiths