About our Sponsors
Network Rail
As the main sponsors of the Forth Bridge Raft Race, Network Rail is proud to be associated with this unique and enjoyable day in the Queensferry calendar. Network Rail is the 'not for dividend' owner and operator of Britain's railway infrastructure, which includes the tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, viaducts, level crossings and stations - the largest of which they also manage. The Forth Bridge is one of the 'jewels in the crown' of Britain's rail network.
David Simpson, Network Rail Route Director, Scotland commented, "We are fully committed to our stewardship of this fabulous working monument and making sure that we maintain this national asset and historical landmark for future generations. We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the communities surrounding the bridge through sponsorship of this event”.
Network Rail announced a new £74 million contract in February 2008 to have the current painting of the bridge completed by 2012. The team currently working on the bridge has already overcome the most significant challenges that this project posed and Network Rail have subsequently increased the annual investment from £13m to £18.5m to secure the structure's long term future.
Network Rail wishes all the teams participating at the Raft Race the best of luck and hope both competitors and spectators have an enjoyable day.
Targe Towing
Targe Towing Ltd.was formed in 1988 through the creation of a dedicated tug service for Peterhead. The company grew in the 1990's, becoming the principal towage operator in the North East Scottish ports of Peterhead, Aberdeen and Dundee whilst at the same time specialising in coastal and ocean tows to the Baltic, Black Sea and as far afield as Greenland. Targe has established links with BP which includes the management of one of the largest terminal/escort tugs in the world, at the BP Hound Point terminal in Scotland.
The state-of-the-art fleet of tugs, which help crude-carrying tankers to load safely at BP mid-river Hound Point Marine Terminal, CRAMOND, DALMENY and HOPETOUN have become familiar sights not only at the twin loading terminals, but also up and down the estuary when additional horsepower and marine expertise is required. Although dwarfed by the huge tankers they assist, these powerful vessels are giants in their class and among the most advanced and sophisticated of their type. HOPETOUN, in fact, is the most powerful docking tug in the world.
With a combined bollard pull of nearly 250 tonnes the tugs are Class One Fire-fighting vessels and for the task of pollution control they carry 61,000 litres of dispersant, are fitted with specially designed containment and recovery equipment and can store more than 400 tonnes of recovered water or oil.
"The Hound Point tugs form an important part of two major marine activity contingency plans on the estuary," explained Tom Woolley, Managing Director of Montrose-based Targe Towing who manage and operate CRAMOND, DALMENY, and HOPETOUN on behalf of BP Amoco “ and we are pleased to support the Raft Race by demonstrating the tugs capabilities in fire fighting techniques as seen in the attached photographs.'
Tesco
Tesco plc is a British-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share with profits exceeding £2 billion. In 2008, Tesco became the world's fourth largest retailer, the first movement among the top five since 2003. Originally specialising in food and drink, it has diversified into areas such as clothing, consumer electronics, financial services, telecoms, health and car insurance, dental plans, retailing and renting DVDs, CDs, music downloads, internet services and software.
Since the local store at Ferrymuir was opened the store management have provided support for many of the initiatives organised by the Rotary Club of South Queensferry.
Virtualeye Media
SEO West Lothian is a subsidiary of Virtual Eye Media.
SEO West Lothian has been formed to provide a unique service to ambitious clients based anywhere and their areas of specialism include search engine optimization (SEO) and website enhancement.
The effective use of SEO ensured that your website shows up effectively on the all-important search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Msn etc.
SEO West Lothian can also host your website cost-effectively and efficiently, enabling better control of your site and services can be tailored exactly to your requirements.
Check out their website at http://www.virtualeyemedia.com, or click here.
Lothian and Borders Police
Lothian and Borders Police is the police service for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian and the Scottish Borders. The force’s Headquarters are in Fettes Avenue, Edinburgh.
The Force was formed in 1975 by an amalgamation of Edinburgh City Police, Lothian and peebles Constabulary and Berwick, Roxburgh and Selkirk Constabulary.
The Force has around 2,600 officers and 1,100 support staff and the current Chief Constable is David Strang.
RNLI.
The RNLI aims to save lives by changing attitudes and behaviour among people who use the sea regularly. Located close to the Forth rail bridge, Queensferry lifeboat station has operated an inshore lifeboat for nearly 40 years.
Volunteer crew members readily exchange leisure, comfort and sleep for cold, wet and fatigue. Their lifesaving work is essential, often difficult and sometimes dangerous. The crews have been presented with three awards for gallantry.
The Rotary Club of South Queensferry is extremely grateful for the safety support provided by the RNLI crew on the day of the Raft Race and for the safety and rescue demonstration provided offshore
The City of Edinburgh Council
The City of Edinburgh Council is responsible for providing political leadership and governance for a comprehensive range of services across the city.
The Rotary Club of South Queensferry are extremely grateful for the approval of the use of the Hawes Pier on Raft Race day from the Hawes Pier User Group and to the Public Safety Manager for the advice and support provided during the pre-planning stages for Raft Race day.
The Forth Bridges Accordion Band
The Forth Bridges Accordion Band is a new marching accordion band whose main aim is to provide learning facilities for people who want to learn an instrument. They are currently looking for accordion players/drummers, experienced or learners. They even give you an instrument, so no need to worry about costs.
As a marching band they are taking part in local gala days, church parades and parades to celebrate Homecoming 2009. Their music is mainly Scottish traditional music but they also play some hymns and good old sing-along songs such as Grandfathers Clock and Pack up your Troubles.
Since its formation the band has taken part in various parades such as the South Queensferry Christmas lights switch on parade. It has also played in towns and cities such as Edinburgh, Falkirk and Livingston.
Further information on the band is available at www.forthbridgesaccordianband.webs.com, or you can click here.
