Hold onto your hats, a new red Rocket lands on the Thames – "Rocket Rebel"! 

THAMES ROCKETS, UK's favourite family tourist attraction, is upgrading its fleet. The brand-new speedboat, christened Rocket Rebel, launches to the public on April 4, 2025. It will be the largest, fastest and most eco sightseeing speedboat ever seen on the River Thames.

• Multi-award-winning UK's No. 1 Outdoor Tourist Attraction and World's No.8 Outdoor Tourist Attraction [TripAdvisor]
• First-of-its-kind British flagship sightseeing boat Rocket Rebel – the new rebel in the fleet - is the latest addition to Thames Rockets' fleet of five boats.
• At 16-metres, seating 26, it's more than twice the capacity of existing London speedboat RIBS (12.5-metre Rigid Inflatable Boats). This allows for larger parties and private hire: corporate, celebrity, family, engagement, stags, hens and kids' pirate-themed parties.
• Her new revolutionary lightweight aluminium design and fuel efficient twin 725hp jet-propelled engines makes her the largest, fastest, most long-wearing (RIBS wear out, aluminium boats last generations) and eco commercial speedboat on the Thames ever
• Thames Rockets was founded by Guernsey boat entrepreneur Charlie Matheson  – the pioneer of London's speedboat sightseeing. In 2006, he brought the first ever sightseeing speedboat (RIB) to the Thames. ROCKET REBEL is his latest brainchild.
• Thames Rockets offers a unique sightseeing 'history humour'. See London's landmarks and learn fun facts from London's finest comedic performers acting as on-board guides - when not rocketing downriver at up to 30 knots.
• Female skippered by Charlene Peck, a highly qualified and experienced Thames Rocket boat skipper.
• Bright red with Union Jack graphics, look out for Rocket Rebel rocketing up The River Thames this Summer – licensed to thrill, ready for the Easter holidays

Designed for high-speed carving turns skimming over the water, the lightweight, stripped-back, aluminium design is fitted with two 725hp (1,440hp) low-emission jet-propelled engines. (The current fleet have twin 440hp engines.) Five years in-planning, British-flagship Rocket Rebel is UK-designed-and-built at a cost of £1.5 million. 

A UK first-in-class vessel, she is designed by British naval architects Chartwell Marine and built by Isle of Wight's Diverse Marine (who have a long maritime history of building strong, fast, lightweight aluminium commercial boats). Charlie Matheson, founder and MD of Thames Rockets, has worked with maritime barristers and the MCA maritime and coastguard agency to reinterpret uk licensing law to allow 26 passengers for the first time (up from 12) at high speed on this type of craft.

Rocket Rebel departs from the London Eye Pier heading downriver, passing some of London's most iconic sights - Houses of Parliament, London Eye, Cleopatra's Needle, Somerset House, Tate Modern, St Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London Bridge, HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge (the Crown Jewels) and The Tower of London before opening up in the 'no speed limit zone' down to Canary Wharf to speeds of 35mph.

Founder MD Charlie Matheson, 48, said: "Rocket Rebel has met all the passenger vessel licensing requirements whilst giving customers sensory connectivity with the elements, exciting turns and eye-watering acceleration. Rather a strong brief for British naval architects but they have delivered.

"She is what our amazing capital deserves – an exciting, eye-catching and contemporary way of seeing our glorious city at speed, from the water, with a massive sound system, all hosted by our actor-comedian guides.

"We have not only doubled our capacity but also significantly reduced our carbon footprint with a more efficient engine and lower emissions, whilst carrying twice the numbers."

Rocket Rebel launches April 4 from London Eye Pier, SE1 7PB.

Tickets cost from £54.95 (adult) and £49.95 (child) - available online and from the London Eye ticket office. Boat rides last 50-minutes and run daily, 365 days a year (family friendly - no minimum age restrictions). 

To book, or find out more, visit: www.thamesrockets.com, 020 7928 8933 

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A small selection of images and a taster video clip for media viewing only* can be downloaded here: we.tl/t-FvoxwiaBkm 

*the taster video is for your viewing only, not to be shared or published, thanks. 

PR Contacts:
Lou Hall (+44 (0)7815 139405, louisejjhall@gmail.com) and Rob Stewart (+ 44 (0)7543 799338, robert@ski-press.com)  

Charlie Matheson is available for interview - contact Lou

About Charlie Matheson, 48, Founder and MD of Thames Rockets:

London-based, Guernsey-born entrepreneur Charlie Matheson, 48, explains how he came up with the idea of innovating London's speedboat sightseeing tours for thrill-seekers:

"I was an investment banker in Guernsey. I'm an islander. I've always loved the water. Every day I'd sit looking out the window wishing I was out there. I knew there was a resident bob of seals off the islands around Herm as I'd spearfished there at weekends since I was a boy. They'd pop up to try to steal the fish I'd caught. I also knew that there were no boat tours to see them.

“Along with the gannets, puffins, dolphins, stories of mermaids and pirate derring-do, it was the perfect setting for a boating adventure. So, I stopped dreaming and in 2003 I started Guernsey's first wildlife tourist sightseeing boat business.

"The trick was getting a large enough volume of customers through each day, which required speed to see the sights rather than a 'one man and his boat' half-a-day set-up.

“I wanted to create a properly structured business model with an hour turn-around and an online booking system, which didn't exist at the time. Alongside managing the business, I was the tour guide along with an onboard marine biologist.

"Once I'd cracked the model in Guernsey, I took it to Jersey. When I was scouting for another location, my father suggested that if I wanted a challenge The London Eye with the Thames meander would be a stunning spot. I was on the next flight to London.

"The London boating tours were slow and dated at the time - concerningly unamusing with rather tired guides, the same spiel every time, old battered chug-chugs. Room for improvement. I knew we were onto something when my sister fell asleep on one.

"The London Eye was the best location: at London's epicentre, with the amphitheatre of the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge. And they were keen for a new attraction. I mocked up a leaflet of what I intended, super-imposing one of our Guernsey RIBs going under Tower Bridge and by the end of the week, we'd agreed a deal.

"For guides I wanted trained performers - jobbing actors and comedians - fresh from drama college. And to get them in front of an audience with a regular pay-check in their pocket whilst they waited for their big West-End show. I had friends in the industry and knew the feast-or-famine nature of this work. This was perfect. They could read an audience and deliver the energy, humour and vitality that London and our customers deserved.

"We've now been operating for over 18-years. Millions of customers. Bagging those 'smiles for miles'. I still love to wait on the dock listening to the customers applaud, seeing the elation.

“What next? Passenger boat businesses such as ours tend to have longevity and be multi-generational. I'd like to launch Rockets Attractions to cities across the world and offer other entrepreneurs the opportunity to set up using the intelligence, operational systems and boat design that we've developed, built, supplied, installed and staff trained, ready for customers.

“Ours would be a turn-key tourist powerboat package with digital bookings and safety management systems, reseller operations, staff training manuals and in-house training at Thames Rockets. A one-stop shop for safe, successful, commercial operations internationally. A proven successful British business model, complete and ready to operate and export.”

Celebrities: Thames Rockets is a family-friendly London activity that regularly hosts celebrities and has featured on various TV shows, such as the BBC One Show, The Apprentice, and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. They are regularly enlisted to provide boats for film production on the river Thames and to take celebrities to gigs at O2. Celebrities have included: Judi Dench, Joanna Lumley, Vernon Kay, Jude Law, Pink, Robert Redford, Roger Federer, Emma Bunton, Hugh Grant, Jamie Oliver, Mick Hucknall, Neil Diamond, Peter Kay, Piers Morgan, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Portillo, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Vine, Josie Gibson, Graham Norton, Ben Fogle and Bear Grylls (celebrity.thamesrockets.com) 

Further Links:
Gin-O'clock Sunset Cruises (18+) thamesrockets.com/thames-lates-over-18/
Kids' Pirate Parties thamesrockets.com/ultimate-thames-pirate-party/
Corporate Adventures corporate.thamesrockets.com/
Stag & Hen Parties thamesrockets.com/thames-stag-hen-events/

Further Information: All families' welcome. There are no age restrictions. We suggest the Ultimate London Adventure as the perfect family-friendly experience. The only age exceptions are on 'Break the Barrier' for which aged 10 and over is recommended. And the 'Thames Lates' sunset gin o'clock experience, which has a minimum age of 18. For more information, visit https://www.thamesrockets.com/questions/