The 2008 rally took place between Friday 13th and Sunday 15th June at Saul Junction on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. Thirty boats belonging to RNR members attended.
Russell Newbery Register
Boat rally 2008
Many boats spent a night or two in Gloucester on the way to the rally, hence Gloucester docks became a mini-rally site and several convoys of RN powered boats travelled to Saul on Wednesday and Thursday.
Saul Junction is a quiet rural spot, however the crane at the R. W. Davis boatyard dominates the scene, from dawn
The rally this year featured an expanded bar, both from opening hours (with a Thursday evening session) and an larger range of beers and ciders. The beer line up featured two special RNR bottled beers, brewed by Slaughterhouse Brewery of Warwick. Severn Eleven the rally special brew and Three-99 the special brew for the 3rd birthday of the RN Royal Oak Works at Daventry. Draught beers came from Uley Brewery at Uley and Severn Vale at Cam, the nearest brewery to Saul Junction. A cider and a perry were supplied by Kevin Minchew, Aston Cross, near Tewkesbury. Both of these are fermented in former whisky casks which impart additional flavours.
Rally events started with a social get together on Thursday evening. The popular engine workshops and engine service demonstations took place around the RN Diesel Companys show engine on the trailer. This was much more comfortable than a tight fit into a boat engine room. The cyclinder heads workshops were lead this year by Jamie Mason, the company's apprentice.
Other activities included:
Saturday evening entertainment was an excellent three hours in the company of Fred Wedlock, The Oldest Swinger in Town.
As usual, the AGMs of Russell Newbery Register Property Ltd. and of the Register concluded the weekend.
One well attended event was repeated because of high demand. This was a guided walk around the Saul Junction area lead by Hugh Conway-Jones. Hugh is a very knowledgeable expert on the Gloucester and Sharpeness Canal and author of comprehensive web site covering Gloucester Docks and the canal. On the walk we looked at the chamber of Whitminster lock (3W), the chamber was restored in 1995. Hugh also expalined the complex feeds from the River Frome into the Stroudwater at this point which is used as a feeder for the Gloucester and Sharpness.
Many RN rally boats stayed on for a few weeks to attend the 2008 Saul Canal Festival.
2009 Rally | 2007 Rally