RNR 2008 Rally

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


Saul Junction, abandoned Stroudwater Canal lock 2W in foreground, Junction House on other side of the G&S canal

The rally site was the new Saul Junction Marina, courtesy of operators The Land and Water Group. Over the weekend, and the days before and after the rally, Bob Ford and Cheryl James the marina Managers made the RNR members and the rally guests most welcome. The marina entrance is off the Stroudwater Canal, about 400 yards east of Saul Junction.

RNR marquee alongside the Stroudwater Canal

RNR boats fill the south east pontoon of the marina

Poppies add to the colourful scene

Many of the RNR boats attending the rally were moored on the pontoons in the south east corner of the marina, filling those pontoons for the first time since the marina opened in April 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.

Photo: RN boats moored in Gloucester Docks

RN boats moored in Gloucester Docks, interestingly Antares (the grey boat) and Bruin have engines with consecutive serial numbers

Departing Gloucester Docks

Since the left turn from the G&S to the Stroudwater at Saul Junction is very tight, boats proceed past the junction and turned in the wider part of the G&S canal by the yard of R. W. Davis. before returning to the junction for a less sharp right hand turn. Due to the wind, mooring in the marina required pole or rope assistance, particularly those choosing to moor stern in. Regular moorers in the maria will be no doubt used to this - the site is open to the winds from all points of the compass.

Tricky mooring in the marina

Saul Junction is a quiet rural spot, however the crane at the R. W. Davis boatyard dominates the scene, from dawn

to dusk!

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.

At one point the rally bar has 5 beers available, plus a cider and a perry (out of shot)

Photo: walkway leading to the marquee and bar

One pontoon walkway lead straght to the bar - and, no, no rally entrant fell in!

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.

The show DM2 engine on the trailer

Sign on trailer showing price per imperial pound

The sign on the trailer shows the current price per imperial pound for a new DM2, the apostrophe seems to show a greengrocer's background to the marketing team .

Other activities included:

Napkin Decoupage with Wendy Grattan
RN History - some interesting items reasearched by Brian Jarrett. This includes the sorty of the four nude photos and a shilling. Eventually this will appear on our history page.
Demonstartion of the Water-Way product from Eureauweb - a satellite navigation system for European waterways. (More information)
Necklaces in wool with beads with Ann Hampton
Open Forum discussion with RN Diesels
Decorative Knots and Ropework for narrowboats with Ken Nelson of the International Guild of Knot Tyers - this also included some interesting observations of current boating practice that is not traditional
Boat Electrics for Ladies with Paul(ine) Le Blique
A sobering view of the Oil Crisis with Allister Denyer

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.

Stroudwater Canal immediately east of Walk Bridge

Restoration of the Stroudwater and the Thames and Severn Canals are the objectives of The Cotswold Canal trust. On departure from the rally site, many boat crews took the opportunity to cruise up to Walk Bridge.

Nudging Walk Bridge - the first obstacle on the Sroudwater Canal route to Stroud and the Thames & Severn canal.

Just to the north of Walk bridge, is Whitminster Church, the bells of which ensured no one at the rally was not aware of the hour. Saul church is other side of the Gloucester and Sharpness canal over half a mile away.

The walk finished at the CCT CCT heritage centre which has a very comprehensive and interesting display of historic items relating to the Stroudwater Canal.

Many RN rally boats stayed on for a few weeks to attend the 2008 Saul Canal Festival.

Caught in the act - the register's honorary official photographer in action

2009 Rally | 2007 Rally


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