Page "Tyneside" Paragraph 6

From early in the 19th century it was a custom to hold boat races on the Tyne.

The river had a large number of keelmen and wherrymen, who handled boats as part of their jobs.

As on the River Thames, there were competitions to show who was the best oarsman.

As a wherryman did not earn very much, professional rowing was seen as a quick way of earning extra money.

Regattas were held, and provided modest prizes for professionals, but the big money was made in challenge races, in which scullers or boat crews would challenge each other to a race over a set distance for a side stake.

The crews would usually have backers, who would put up the stake money, as they saw the chance of financial gain from the race.

In the days before mass attendances at football matches, races on the river were enormously popular, with tens of thousands attending.

Betting would go on both before and during a race, the odds changing as the fortunes of the contestants changed.

Contestants who became champions of the Tyne would often challenge the corresponding champions of the River Thames, and the race would be arranged to take place on one of the two rivers.