Ramy James Salameh enjoys rocket speed on the inaugural sailing of the ‘Rocket Rebel‘, the newest (and fastest) speedboat to traverse the River Thames taking in some of London’s most iconic landmarks from a very unique perspective.
Immediately below the majestic London Eye lurks a waterborne mechanical beast. It is 16-metres in length, bright red and tattooed with Union Jack graphics. Its sleek and piercing design is made of revolutionary lightweight aluminium, whilst its fuel-efficient twin 725hp jet-propelled engines makes it the largest, fastest and undoubtedly coolest sightseeing boat on the historic River Thames.
The English capital has just welcomed to its famous waterway, the newly launched, ‘Rocket Rebel’, a speedboat which joins an existing fleet of five 12-seat, 12.5-metre RIBS (Rigid Inflatable Boats), owned and operated by the Thames Rockets company. Since 2006, the fleet has been thrilling passengers and picking-up multiple awards along the way, as one of the world’s top outdoor tourist attractions. As of April 2025, this new and more powerful speedboat aims to send passenger adrenaline-levels soaring, and has more than doubled the capacity of seats to 26, one of which I was lucky enough to secure.
As we departed on its inaugural journey from the London Eye Pier (Boarding Gate One), hundreds of ‘eyes’ peered down upon us from the London Eye’s 32 pods, one of many weird and wonderful facts that our on-board guide Max delivered with much comedic value and continued his commentary as we passed many of the capitals’ world-renowned attractions.
The excursion experience is not all about speed, but also includes a serene sightseeing section; we got to see an intimate and unique perspective of the Houses of Parliament’s gothic façade to the 20-sided structure that is Shakespeare’s Globe and onward towards HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge and the gleaming skyscrapers of the City, whilst learning about their historical gravitas. All the while anticipation was growing, Max reminding us that when we pass under and beyond the Tower of London, we reach the ‘no speed limit zone’ around the Wapping and Canary Wharf sections of the river.
The Marine Police Station was the marker beyond which our skipper, Charlene Peck, a highly qualified Thames Rockets boat master, pushed the throttle forward and opened up the twin 725hp (1,440hp) low-emission jet-propelled engines, to an accompaniment of high-octane ballads coming from the surround-sound speakers. On these comparatively traffic-free waterways we were catapulted to speeds of 35mph or 35 knots. The streamlined speedboat zipped across the water like a skimming pebble bouncing effortlessly from crest to crest; Charlene was carving and swerving through the water in a figure-of-eight, creating ever more acute angles to encourage ‘whoops’ of joy from her passengers and enjoying her license to thrill.
Converted historic warehouses, modern residential developments, and the iconic skyscrapers of Canary Wharf became a blur for several intoxicating minutes, before the nose of the boat lowered and we rejoined the regular ebb and flow of river life and once again could admire the many attractions on both embankments, until we returned back to our boarding pier. Another bucket-list moment has been ticked-off the list!
For more information see thamesrockets.com