Cachella Smith
Live reporter

Throughout the day we've been following 270 boats as they made their way along the Thames from Millwall through to Richmond.

We've seen smurfs, vikings and glitter, heard from the RNLI and the Sea Scouts - and the weather has stayed fine throughout it all.

Termed London's river marathon, about 2,000 people progressed under 28 of London's bridges during the race, passing historical landmarks as they did so.

As we reported earlier, the first boat to cross the finish was "Crazy Daisy" from Portsmouth - but that doesn't necessarily mean her crew are the winners.

We're closing our page shortly but you'll be able to find the winners on the Great River Race site., external

The race will be back next year for its 37th event. So the only thing left for us to say is hats off to all the crews...

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

It’s a big feat to put on the race, which is now in its 36th year.

Organisers at theGreat River Race Trust charity have to apply to the Port of London Authority - which is in charge of safety of vessels and the public on the Thames - and ask them to partly close the river to commercial traffic.

The Port of London also sets some rules,, external telling competitors to stay on the starboard side of the Thames (the right hand side of the route).

Boats also aren’t allowed to overtake each other under bridges. Another charity, Northern Exposure Rescue, provides safety boats and volunteers.

There have been some pretty impressive sights from today's race - as much for us on the newsdesk as for the crews taking part.

Have a close look at the images below and see if you can see any of the teams we've spoken about. We've managed to spot one or two.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

Cachella Smith
Live reporter

Sandra May has been racing on the Royal Shallop Jubilant today alongside staff and students from St Philip’s special educational needs school in Chessington, Surrey.

The school is completing the race to celebrate its 70th anniversary and will have the headmaster, the site manager and two students on board among the 14-strong crew.

"We might not be the fastest boat in the race this year, but we’re definitely going to be the proudest," says May, who is one of the trustees for the boat – and has done plenty of these races before.

The Jubilant’s eldest crew member, Robin Corti, died since suggesting St Philip’s help race the boat. They will be completing the race in his memory and raising money for the Royal Marsden Hospital.

Image source, Clare Malston

We've just heard that the first boat, a gig called Crazy Daisy from a club in Portsmouth, is now through the finish line (and we imagine soon onto their celebrations).

However, we don't yet know if they are the winners. If you remember, the slowest boats set off first in this race so the overall winners will need to be worked out once more boats pass through at Richmond.

Image source, The Great River Race Trust

Image source, The Great River Race Trust

As we mentioned earlier, a range of rowing boats are allowed to take part., external

They include Celtic longboats - which seat four people and a cox, and have a long history in Wales - as well as various types of gig boats, including the Cornish pilot gig which were some of the earliest lifeboats to rescue sailors from shipwrecks.

Other rowing boats include several types of skiffs, sloops as well as shallops, jolly boats and whalers (our vocabulary today has definitely improved).

This year there’s also a couple of Hawaiian outriggers (a type of canoe), two Spanish traineras (a traditional boat from the Cantabrian coast), and a cockle boat.

The type of craft affects what trophies crews are eligible to compete for - with specific trophies for different types of boat categories, external.

Image source, PA Media

We've just been sent some more photos from some of the crews we're in touch with on the water:

Image source, Albert Postma

Image source, Girls in a boat

Cachella Smith
Live reporter

This is "one of the biggest events of the year" for the Sea Scouts, Richard Hunt tells me.

Hunt - who is group leader of 1st Cuddington (Warspite) Sea Scouts - says his crew have been taking part in the Great River Race almost since it was founded.

"We primarily row it in what are called Home Counties’ Gigs which is a 20ft long fibreglass and wood boat - most of ours date back to the 1960s," he explains.

Their youngest crew member is Archie who has only just turned 13.

Image source, 1st Cuddington (Warspite) Sea Scouts

Francesca Gillett
Live reporter

Here in the newsroom, we've enjoyed watching some of the live footage of the rowers speed along the Thames.

We're keeping our eyes peeled for some of the teams we've spoken to, like the friends who decided to form a crew on a night out and now find themselves in a boat with a mix of complete newbies and ex-Olympians.

Or the brother and sister from Shetland who are trying to beat each other in separate boats.

One of the oldest crews in the competition are the Flushing and Mylor Gig Club Vikings from Cornwall - all aged between 60 to 80.

But the record for the oldest entrant goes to an 83-year-old rower who was set to travel all the way from Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts, USA. Some of their team row all through the winter in temperatures below 0C - so safe to say they're pretty hardcore.

Other teams of note include the all-female boat of RNLI volunteers marking the institution's 200th anniversary, and the crew from the Netherlands who are hoping to win the whole race. They're planning a party for afterwards and so came to London stocked up on beer, wine and local fish from their fishing village.

Image source, The Great River Race Trust

We've just heard that the lead boat is now at Putney.

Meanwhile, the last boats are still working their way through central London where we've been enjoying some lovely shots of them against London landmarks.

Image source, AP

Cachella Smith
Live reporter

Image source, Rhys Hughes

Out on the water right now are Mike Hughes and his friend Derek Miles, who have done this race now over 20 times.

The best part of the day? I asked Hughes earlier this week.

"Obviously the finishing line is pretty high up," he tells me.

"The evening entertainment is brilliant... I love it all," he says, adding the crew plan on having "several" pints or maybe a glass of wine once they finish.

Derek was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer last year and so the crew of four will be raising money for Prostate Cymru.

The crew from Pembrokeshire will be competing in the Margaret - which was built 42 years ago by Hughes' dad and named after his mother.

"If it wasn't for events like this, these old boats would just be rotting in a field somewhere. [And] I probably wouldn't be spending all my money [maintaining] it," he laughs.

We're now an hour in and the boats are all out on the Thames. We've spotted some of the boats already passing Waterloo and Westminster.

Most boats are expected to complete the route within an average of three hours.

All 270 crews started in Millwall, east London and are rowing 21.6 miles through to Ham, Richmond. Here's the route:

Cachella Smith
Live reporter

All the way from Falmouth in Cornwall, the Flushing and Mylor Pilot Gig Club Vikings are sporting an impressive average age of 71 today. The crew recently came third in the World Pilot Gig Championships.

Geoff Jenkins, the cox, tells me this week they are "all boating people" and are "quietly confident".

He says the race is "both a physical challenge and a mental one" and outlines the need to constantly be reading the river up to 200m ahead.

And the role for the cox, he insists, is "not an easy ride". "It's more of a mental challenge, you're making sure the guys don't overdo it.

"You've got to be paying attention all the time - where are the other boats, what's ahead of you, what's behind you."

Far from trying to put me off rowing however, he ends the call pushing me to "take it up!". "It's a fabulous thing to do... join a rowing club of any kind," he says.

It's a colourful sight seeing all the flags on the Thames as the 270 boats pass through east London. As per race rules, every boat needs to have a flag.

Image source, Port of London Authority

Image source, Samantha West

Image source, 1st Cuddington (Warspite) Sea Scouts

Cachella Smith
Live reporter

Sea Scout leader Richard Hunt is a veteran of the race, although this year he's on the riverbank as a proud parent and part of the group’s support team.

He talks me through the route, or as he calls it "the ultimate sightseeing tour".

"The first few miles you go through the middle of London, there’s a big curve round to Tower Bridge and then there’s all those bridges".

That's before you hit a "long hard slog" on the way up to Putney.

Finishing is "not guaranteed" he adds. "15 or 16 years ago we had a crew that weren’t quick enough to beat the tide – that is your race over."

When you approach the finish line at Richmond the banks are "filled with people" and there will be the "last jubilation" of being into the final section.

Image source, The Great River Race Trust

How exactly do you launch a race of almost 300 boats? It's not a flag or a whistle - when the first boats pass a yacht in the middle of the river that marks the start of the race.

The first boats are setting off from Millwall slipway in London's Docklands.

As we mentioned, the slowest boats are launching first, with the more competitive racers towards the end of the pack.

We'll keep an eye out for the club rowers, those in fancy dress and everything in between.

Good luck everyone!

Cachella Smith
Live reporter

Image source, Dusko Frost

We'll be looking out for Zoe Stanton’s crew on the water, who will be kitted out today in glitter and sparkles including sequin-covered sweatbands.

The idea to form a crew for the river race came about on a night out, Stanton tells me.

She was living abroad on a military base at the time and her friend and neighbour was Olympic champion rower Heather Stanning.

The pair decided to each recruit their friends and have ended up with a crew ranging from someone who had never rowed before through to professional GB rowers.

Stanton adds that the race will be the first time the crew will all be in the boat together.

The boats are gathering within the holding buoys and poised to make their way to the start line.

We're looking forward to covering today's race - it's the first time we've brought the event to you to follow live. It's running a bit late, organisers say.

For many of the teams taking part, today is the culmination of months of preparation. One skipper we spoke to earlier this week said his crew have been training hard for this since February.

Image source, Angus Beer

Image source, Great River Race Trust