The King & Queen Poker RIB Raid 2011   Press Release

Unseasonably warm weather provided almost perfect conditions for the 2011 K&Q Rib Raid, organised by The King & Queen pub in Hamble.

Held since 2010, the Poker Rib Raid is one of many fundraising events throughout the year to support Hamble Inshore Lifeboat, a privately funded organisation dedicated to the safety of sailors in our local waters. The day began for the skippers and crews of the 16 ribs (rigid inflatable boats) taking part with a briefing by Race Officer Tony Lovell, who had set the courses, and Safety Officer Andy Norton at the King & Queen.

After being firmly told it was not a race and every rib completing the course would be in with a chance of winning regardless of how long it took, Skippers collected a course for the first leg, joined their ribs and all gathered in the Solent near racing mark ‘William’.  Each leg was expected to take approximately 30 minutes, and a total of 17 courses had been crafted to eliminate any temptation to simply follow the rib in front.With the sound of two loud bangs, the fleet was off to complete the course provided and return to the Start Boat. They then collected a course for the next leg and a sealed envelope, containing a playing card. Once five legs had been completed, the teams returned to Hamble with their sealed envelopes and met up at The King & Queen, to see which team has the winning poker hand.

Janet Bradley from the King & Queen, said “The K&Q 2011 Rib Raid raised over £1000 for the Hamble Inshore Lifeboat. Thanks to JM Yachting for sponsoring the event and offering additional prizes for Wild Cards and Jokers. Thanks also to all the businesses that donated such wonderful prizes and to Tony Lovell and his team for organising the event. This is now firmly on our calendar and we hope to attract even more ribs to take part in 2012.”

The 2011 Rib Raid was won by ‘Female Intuition’, skippered by Jane Windsor. Wave 105’s Charlotte Butt was a member of the winning crew, and commented: “It turns out being a complete novice when it comes to anything on the water does not get in the way of having plenty of fun for a worthwhile cause. Thanks to everyone involved. It was a great and thoroughly enjoyable day out.”

Jane added: “Sunshine, friends, fun navigational challenges, super organisation by the King & Queen and a healthy dose of luck - what a great way to raise money for such a good cause.  I’d like to say a big thank you to Tom Sanderson from JBT Marine who very kindly lent me his rib for the day.  I hope he will let us borrow it again next year!”

Recently, The Guardian Newspaper listed The King & Queen as one the Ten Quirkiest Pubs in the UK - no its wasn't because of the staff, the building, or the patrons.... BUT because we have a laundrette!!

The much loved Soap Box Derby that runs during Hamble Week, has been cancelled this year due to Health & Safety issues. Please see the newspaper article at the following link:

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8923552.Soapbox_derby_is_victim_of_its_own_success/

Trust us, we are working on trying to revive this event in our own special way for the community of Hamble and take it back to what it was intended to be, a fun event involving local people competing with what we've got....  the cobbled High Street, and the Hamble River.

The Annual King & Queen Pursuit Race is on 2nd April and we are now accepting entries.

Please get your boat crew out and come and join in the fun whilst raising money for the Hamble Lifeboat

Click the image on the right to download the Entry Form for the Pursuit Race and get your entries in asap.

Please click here to goto the Pursuit Race page for more details.

King and Queen Yacht Club Membership cards for 2011 are now available at the bar for £5 each, or alternatively for boat owners £15, which includes a KQYC Burgee.

The membership fee pays our affiliation to the RYA, which enables us to run the famous King and Queen Charity Pursuit Race annually, where we raise much needed funds for the Hamble Inshore Lifeboat - Please support this very worthy cause. The 2011 Pursuit race is scheduled for Saturday the 2nd of April, and the Poker Rib Raid is on Saturday the 24th of September.

This is the cheapest Yacht Club in the World!    For Drinkers with a Sailing Problem!

We are proud to annouce we have been voted as the Top Yachting Bar in Europe!! Thank you for everyone who supported us by voting, we were placed 4th overall world wide. We will do everything possible to be the top in the world for 2011 - Watch this space... and please do keep on visiting us!!

From all the staff at the King and Queen, we would like to wish you all a happy new year!!

We are very proud to have made the short-list as one of the TEN BEST YACHTING BARS in the World, organised by Wight Vodka & Scuttlebutt Europe. Please take the time to vote for us, or one of the others if you have to!  To vote, visit: http://www.scuttlebutteurope.com/sailors-bars.html

We would love to hear why so many of you treasure this pub - we are trying to compile the anecdotes which make this such an amazing place - please take the time to email us your funnies, photos and stories so that we can share them. Please send contact details as we have some King & Queen goods to give away for some of the best stories!  Please send your entries to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

"What a fun day";  "An event not to be missed";  "I'm so glad we entered, we all had a brilliant day on the water"

We were overwhelmed with the enthusiastic response to our inaugural Rib Poker Raid, held on Saturday 2nd October 2010.

Most ‘Ribbers’ arrived early for a King's (two of each) or a Queen's (one of each) full English Breakfast at the Pub, followed by a briefing and instructions for the first leg. Boats then met at 'Bald Head' for a rolling start with Tony Lovell in charge of proceedings.

Five legs were completed in total, with some nifty navigation required in order to collect a poker card at the end of each leg, which had to remain sealed until competitors re-grouped at the pub. There was much anticipation from most of the teams as cards were revealed and placed on the scoreboard.

Some very generous prizes where donated by our sponsors, JMYachting, Coastline RIB's and Wight Vodka without whom this day would have not been possible. The winning hand went to Greg Oldfield-Hodge, whose team managed to pick out a pair of fours, and a pair of Aces thanks to the Joker in the pack.

Thank you also to Jill for donating the fun raffle prizes, which helped raise over £70 towards the grand total of £500+ in aid of the Hamble Inshore Rescue charity.  All in all, a fun day on the water, even the weather gods were with us, rounded off with some fabulous live music from Stu Simpson who played an extra set to keep the party going.

Let's hope we see you all on the water next year, watch out for the dates to be announced. Sign up to the newsletter to make sure you don't miss out!

Thank you everyone for being involved.

The poker hands are listed below, try beating this next year!

Greg Oldfield-Hodge					J O K E R	Best Hand - Powerboat Level II Couse, Coastline Trophy, Bottle of Wight Vodka, £50 cash Joker in the Pack - Wight Vodka T-Shirt
Ian Gould						Powerboat Level II Course and RIB Valet
Ann Jubb
Elliot Easterby						Wild Card (7C)- Mt Gay T-Shirt Powerboat Level II Course (Lucky Dip)
Simon White						Powerboat Level II Course (Lucky Dip)
Peter Delbridge						Powerboat Level II Course (Lucky Dip)
Nick Stag
Terry Hawkes
Mike Webb
Andrew Norton						Powerboat Level II Course (Lucky Dip)
Bill Blain						Worst Hand - Bottle Mt Gay rum donated by Mike Penney

Bigger and Better "King And Queen" Battle Flags are now available - (Collectors items) - at a cost of £30 each.

The K&Q Yacht Club Burgee is also available @£15 each.

Available at the bar or we can post.

Please send us photos of the K&Q flag flying from all over the world - we've already had some unusual images from unusual places!

A jug of rum on your next visit in appreciation!

A big thank you to everyone that turned up to watch the race, all those who entered, and everyone who helped set up and run the event - Especially Jim & George Webb from Casse Tete marine!

This year was by far our biggest ever Soap Box Derby event, with a whopping 23 teams entering.  Unfortuanatly 3 teams didnt show up, or wimped out at the last minute!  There were plenty of photographers out on boats and on the street,  aswell as an onboard Camera on one of the boats... so over the next week or so, all of the pics should be up in the photo gallery, and there should be some interesting videos aswell!

Please sign up to our newsletter if you havent already, and you will be informed as soon as all the videos and photos are online!

Once again, the K&Q where the fastest PUB team, and also had the fastest ever all-girl team!!

A date has now been set for the King & Queen Soap Box Derby: Wednesday the 30th of June 2010 from 6pm onwards.

Start getting your teams ready now!!  Teams of 5 people, £25 per team - all proceeds goto the Hamble Independent Lifeboat.

Last year we had eleven teams enter, this year we are hoping for twenty!! Please visit the soap box derby page for more info!!

A Big thank you for everyone who entered the race, donated auction items and prizes, helped organize the event, and most importantly and turned up to the party! You helped us raise over £2000 for the Hamble Independent Lifeboat!!! This years results will be published on the Pursuit Race page shortly!

A date has now been set for this year's famous 'K&Q Pursuit Race'

It will be on Saturday the 10th of April, and we are expecting a huge turn out. Please click here to goto the Pursuit Race page for more details and the entry form.

From all the staff at the King and Queen, we would like to wish you all a happy new year!!

Christmas Eve: Lunch is available from 12 to 4pm, Bar is open till midnight.

Christmas Day: Open from 12-3pm, no food served but do come in for a "Happy Christmas" drink

Boxing Day: Normal Hours and serving Lunch 12 to 4pm

New Years Eve: 11am-3am, No ticket required however entrance will be at the Landlady's discretion.

New Years Day: Noon-12.30am Sat 2nd:

This Saturday night (28th) we are expecting 200+ guests for the J-Boats end of season party, supported by Wight Vodka. Pop down and join in with the celebrations... there will be plenty of vodka to go around!!

Its that time of year again! We will be serving our Christmas Menu from the 1st of December onwards. Please take a look in the menu section. We are operating a pre-book only table service, so please book as soon as possible!

We offer a Two course Meal at £16.50 p.p and a Three Course Meal at £20.00 p.p

Our focus is on cooking locally sourced food from fresh, using top quality suppliers.

The events calender has been updated with Live Music at The K&Q over the next few weeks!! Please check it out and dont forget to put it in your diary.

Welcome to our new website, please browse around, you will find information about the pub and events. Please sign up to our new mailing list to recieve monthly emails about special events and offers.