1 January 2023
By Göran R Bckhorn
HTBS editor Göran R Buckhorn is counting last year’s numbers.
How was 2022? Well, COVID-19 was still around only with different variants, though most countries seemed to have decided that the pandemic was not so bad, so why don’t we just disregard it.
Looking at the numbers for last year, HTBS had more readers and “page views” than ever before. The year 2021 was the previous record year for HTBS with 276,049 page views and 124,397 visitors. In 2022, we hit 285,860 page views and had 132,089 visitors.
If we look at some of the other behind-the-scenes stats… (all numbers are counted until 11:59 p.m. on 31 December 2022):
During 2022, HTBS published 305 posts, and most page views had “Home page/Archives, followed by these 10 articles:
English Boatbuilders are Building Boats for “The Boys” Movie (by Göran R Buckhorn, 15 January 2022) – 5,352
New Rowing Movie: “Heart of Champions” (by Göran R Buckhorn, 10 October 2021) – 4,617
The Oarsmen of J.C. Leyendecker: Homeric or Homoerotic? (by Tim Koch, 14 March 2017) – 3,188
Jock Lewes: Famous Oxford Blue & SAS Soldier (by Göran R Buckhorn, 8 December 2011) – 2,372
The Ancient Egyptian Rowing Stroke: Propelling the Boats of Gods and Men (by Tim Koch, 2 March 2018) – 2,111
The Cambridge Cardboard Boat Race (by Louis Petrin, 19 June 2019) – 2,039
Stephen Hawking: Remembering the cox ‘with his head in the stars’ (by Tim Koch, 14 March 2018) – 1,803
Geek Special: The Ups and Downs of the Sliding Rigger (by Tim Koch, 17 October 2017) – 1,601
Seattle-on-Thames (by Tim Koch, 23 May 2022) – 1,196
Turning Blue: The 2022 Boat Race Crews (by Tim Koch, 9 March 2022) – 1,027
As can be seen above, only three out of the 10 articles were published in 2022. Like the previous two years, outside forces are to thank that readers have found their way to the other seven articles. Readers have found HTBS via outside sources like Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit, magazines’ websites and other rowing sites.
Which countries did the readers come from in 2022? Here is a list of the top 10 countries by page views:
United Kingdom – 118,604
USA – 91,532
Australia – 16,462
Germany – 7,668
Canada – 7,037
Ireland – 6,467
Canada – 3,518
The Netherlands – 3,511
France – 2,273
Spain – 2,112
The last post of 2022 was the 4,358th post since we started in 2009, and since the start we have had a total of 2,965,565 views.
My warm thanks to the 2022 HTBS contributors, who one way or the other kept us going. They were: Mark Blandford-Baker, John Cumper, Greg Denieffe, Chris Dodd, John Drew, Mark Jabalé, Robert Treharne Jones, Jane Kingsbury, Malcolm R. Knight, Tim Koch, Philip Kuepper, Bill Lanouette, Peter Mallory, Bill Miller, Michael Morgan, Sandy Nairne, Michael Nicholson, William O’Chee, Scott Patterson, Sarah Risser, Grant Sommers, Rick Stehlik, Teresa Stokes, Ralf-Peter Stumme, Daniel Walker, Tom Weil, Alan Williams, Chris Williams and Peter Williams.
Special thanks go to Mrs. B., who has supported HTBS with her technical knowledge since the start in 2009. Damn it, if it hadn’t been for her skills, you would probably be looking at a black screen right now.
It’s my sincere hope that you HTBS readers and contributors will have a healthy 2023 and continue to follow us during the new year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Hear The Boat Sing 
A very impressive year of achievements Goran and we are all indebted to you (and Mrs B) for the great job you do and the joy and entertainment you provide. For me HTBS is particularly important for its contributions around rowing history. Long may they continue
Goran,
Best Wishes to you and your Mrs. B and to all your wonderful contributors, some of whom I know personally.
Dave Kacala
Undine BC
SN Regatta Management Team,
HOSR Management Team
Dad Vail Management Team
Knecht Cup Management Team
Thank you for your kind words.
These “numbers” might not seem so impressive to compare to other websites and to non-rowers, but we have to remember that HTBS is a site for rowers by rowers on rowing. We will keep going during 2023 and hopefully beyond.
Hello Mr Buckhorn and a happy New Year,
As a regular reader of HTBS I want to offer you some feedback. I really enjoy the broad coverage and informative articles you provide about rowing and the rowing community throughout the world.
Of particular interest are your articles about the activities and history you have provided about the Tideway. I grew up on the river between Hammersmith Bridge and Chiswick Eyot. Before growing into rowing I was a coxswain from about 11 years old (1957) for about 4 years at Parkside Rowing Club (that disbanded in the 60’s) and then rowed at Latymer Upper School – just upstream. Thus the Putney to Mortlake stretch was my “home turf” and I still remember the best lines under Hammersmith Bridge and catching the “burble” from the Middlesex bank pillars under Barnes Bridge. The articles about the wooden boat builders (Ayling) and the great oarsmen of that time (Chris Davidge, Simon Cross, etc.) bring back nostalgic memories of a different time.
Your articles about the Boat Race itself are interesting. Back then it was just the one race but now it is a series of events for men and women with a variety of different crews. Great to see that expansion with the wonderful equipment and super fit athletes. However, the course remains the same as has for over 160 years and many of the sights along that course have remained unchanged for hundreds of years.
I look forward to reading more in the future.
Many thanks,
David
David Godfrey
3361 Caminito Luna Nueva
Del Mar, CA 92014
Dear David,
Thank you for reading HTBS and for your feedback. It’s always a pleasure to hear from our readers.
Kind regards,
Göran,
editor, HTBS
Congratulations, Goran and Mrs B. I’m proud to be part of it. Onwards and upwards for 2023.
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Thank you, Chris.
Yes, Onwards and upwards for 2023!
Göran
Please keep up your good work through 2023. HTBS offers a different and important perspective on rowing than any other source.
Dear David ~ thank you for your kind words about HTBS. Please, do not worry, we will keep on writing educational and entertaining pieces.