Rowing: Rowing's toff at the top

Mahe Drysdale is one of the few Kiwis to win at Henley. Photo / Getty Images

They say you don't take off your blazer in the Stewards' Enclosure at the Henley Royal Regatta unless the temperature exceeds 27 degrees. But not the tie; never the tie.

It's a far cry from the down-home, spartan environment of, say Lake Karapiro, to the pomp and ceremony of Henley but the New Zealand rowing team are there for the first time this weekend - and have shucked the shorts, singlets and jandals to make sure they gain the whole experience.

Rowing technology has changed on the water since it began in 1839 but English summer traditions have altered little off it.

Convivial chattering with chums, picnic hampers brimming with champagne and strawberries, Pimms by the cucumber-laced jugful, dresses with hemlines well below the knee, a proliferation of blazers tailored in striped hues and straw boaters bobbing everywhere. This is the life, old boy.

This year is the 160th edition and crowds stream to the Buckinghamshire and Berkshire banks of the Thames River around 80km west of central London.

That's where, in Henley parlance, oarsmen "strike" rather than stroke their way in head-to-head elimination racing through what's officially "one mile and 550 yards".

It's also where the "guts and grace" mantra of Rowing New Zealand will be put to the test tonight in the finals - having sent a team to this history-steeped occasion for the first time.

Regatta chairman Mike Sweeney has helped organise the event for 35 years and spent time striking his way to many medals on the course before that.

He says they like to maintain the theme of "an Edwardian tea party" particularly in the curiosity known as the Stewards' Enclosure, covering the last 400 metres parallel to the finish.

"We like gentlemen wearing jackets and ties or cravats, and ladies looking elegant in long dresses and hats.

"It makes it special with people dressing up. They like coming here to be seen, to meet friends and, of course, watch some rowing."

Outside that area, Sweeney admits standards loosen.

"There's a smaller enclosure with no dress code and then you can wear anything you like the rest of the way along the bank."

Mahe Drysdale has been a modern day pioneer trying to get the New Zealand team to the event.

He won the Diamond Sculls in 2006 with a course record, before defending his world championship down the road at the Eton College-owned Dorney Lake. That's the venue for the London Olympics and where the Kiwis have been training this week.

Drysdale says the team's often been wooed to compete at Henley but hasn't accepted until now - although individual Kiwis have raced, and won, before.

"It's something special to experience as a rower and the organising committee has been very accommodating. Mike Sweeney asked us for years what it was going to take to get us to come.

"Fortunately it's one of the strongest competitions they've had due to the post-Olympic year, unlike last year where, given the timeframe [a month out from the Beijing Games], they didn't have the calibre of athlete."

Also clinching the acceptance was the willingness to welcome New Zealand's Rowbox, the shipping container converted into an interactive marketing campaign for next year's world championships at Lake Karapiro.

It has a place on the main thoroughfare, providing plenty of chances to pitch to a receptive audience.

Once the New Zealanders have diverted their minds from on-water racing and off-water promotion, there's also fun to be had, provided you're dressed for the occasion, in the Stewards' Enclosure.

Late Wednesday morning was the first time in 33 years chaps had been allowed to remove jackets, with a heatwave searing southern England.

Legend has it the temperature has to reach 27 in the shade before word trickles to the outposts of Empire that it's permitted to divest the blazer.

Men's double rower Nathan Cohen is one who's packed his "number ones" in anticipation.

"Yeah, it's a bit different to most of us who are normally walking round in a singlet and shorts but we don't get that many opportunities to do this sort of thing.

"While racing comes first, we want to make the most of the whole experience."

A snobbier moment in the regatta's exclusive history was when American John Kelly snr (known as Jack) was refused entry in 1920 because he was a bricklayer.

Kelly ended up exacting revenge on three fronts. He won the Olympic gold medal at Antwerp that year against Henley winner Jack Beresford. His son, John jnr, went on to win the Diamond Sculls in 1947 and 1949, and his daughter Grace (some might know her better as Princess Grace of Monaco) presented the prizes in 1981 before having the women's quadruple sculls trophy named after her.

Guts and Grace indeed.

Kiwis at Henley

NZ ENTRIES FOR 2009 HENLEY ROYAL REGATTA

* The Diamond Sculls: Mahe Drysdale; Duncan Grant.

* The Stewards Cup: Richard Beaumont, Todd Petherick, Graham Oberlin-Brown and James Lassche.

* The Princess Grace Challenge Cup: Harriet Austin, Sarah Barnes, Louise Trappitt and Genevieve Armstrong; Rebecca Scown, Emma Feathery, Paula Twining and Anna Reymer.
* The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup: Hamish Bond and Eric Murray.
* The Double Sculls Challenge Cup: Nathan Cohen and Matthew Trott; Peter Taylor and Storm Uru.The Princess Royal Challenge Cup: Emma Twigg; Juliette Haigh.

PAST NEW ZEALAND WINNERS AT HENLEY

* Darcy Hadfield: 1919 Kingswood Cup (Henley Peace Regatta).

* Auckland Rowing Club men's four: 1963 Prince Phillip's Cup.

* Eric Verdonk: 1990 Diamond Sculls.

* Mahe Drysdale: 2006 Diamond Sculls.