Broom Owners Club

Tony Riley awarded Chairman’s Letter of Commendation, July 2021

BOC member Tony Riley, owner of Broom 35 Sedan ‘Legacy’, has been awarded the Chairman’s Letter of Commendation.

Nominated by former Thames Region Coordinator Andrew Cotter, and supported by James Gerring, Chris Knight and Mike Fowler, Tony was put forward for the award for his tireless work on behalf of boaters on the River Thames, which particularly benefits members in the Thames and South East Regions of the Club. Additionally, Tony’s efforts to ensure that the pleasure boater’s voice is heard when the Environment Agency and Port of London Authority are considering new rules and legislation which effects all boaters, benefits members visiting the Thames from other regions too.

Tony, owner of Broom 35 Sedan ‘Legacy’, has been a member of the BOC for a number of years, and is moored in the Thames Region. Tony is a keen boater and has spent many years cruising on the Thames. For the past two years he has been Acting Chairman then Chairman of the Association of Thames Yacht Clubs, which represents boat clubs along the whole of the Thames, from the highest reaches all the way to the Thames estuary, and it is for the tireless work that Tony puts in on behalf of all Thames boaters, that he was  nominated for the award.

In his role as Chairman of the ATYC, Tony liaises with the Environment Agency (EA) on non-tidal Thames issues, and with the Port of London Authority (PLA) for all issues affecting leisure boaters on the tidal Thames. Lately this has meant presenting a boater’s voice to the relevant authorities responsible for Hammersmith Bridge, the closure of which has effectively cut off passage from the non-tidal Thames to London and beyond and prevents visitors from visiting the reaches above the bridge. He has also spent a good deal of time negotiating with the EA on locks and mooring problems, particularly the recent introduction of a car park company to oversee short-stay moorings and the problems this has caused. Tony is the first port of call for leisure boaters experiencing problems using the river, and also for the PLA and EA when they want to discuss leisure boating matters. In these issues he always puts the interests of the leisure boater first and ensures that their voice is taken into account as rules and regulations are newly imposed or existing ones are changed. He has gained a significant and trusting relationship with the EA.

Tony works tireless for boaters on the Thames, which is of benefit to members of the BOC in both the Thames and the SE Regions and of course visiting BOC members and as a member of the BOC he shows the Club in a good light in the boating community. For this, and his successful efforts to have the sometimes heavy hand of the EA and the PLA eased to allow the interests of boaters to be included, and for generally taking the argument for better amenities for leisure boaters forward, Tony has been awarded the BOC Chairman’s Letter of Commendation.