Home | Search | Contact the IWAI | Join the IWAI

December 1998 Vol. 25 Issue 4. Front Page Waterways 1 President & Council Waterways 2 Duchas Report The Boats Royal Canal in 1999 RCAG Jubilee Rally Branch News Baggywrinkle Newsletter Index

RCAG Silver Jubilee Rally Doing the Royal In 1998 John and Ann Fleetwood Snr decided to see for themselves what the Royal Canal was like .... A couple of phone-calls to Derek Whelan at Thomastown and the Dreoilin was ours for the June weekend. Going to Kilcock involved a double lock at Ferns while Mullingar would have meant working through eight, although a later walk towards Mullingar showed cleaner water with few weeds and no visible junk. Apart from some fences extending into the channel, the run to Enfield was carefree and uneventful. The new jetty is quiet, a first-class mooring, but water and sanitation have still to be installed; a nearby garage supplies diesel. On Sunday morning we were delighted to see a small cruiser being launched from the slip. Between Enfield and Kilcock we used some sailorly language about landlubbers who regard any waterway as a dump. Kilcock Harbour had enough discarded cans and plastic bottles to fill a skip. It needs large refuse bins that are emptied regularly. On the return journey, just above Ferns lock, vibration warned us that all was not well. We opened the inspection hatch and found 2m of 5cm-wide webbing, plus a lot of weed, wrapped around the prop. Ten minutes hard work with the bread-saw solved this problem but two miles upstream more vibration started. This time the culprit was a leather jacket. The photo shows our grandson James Ryan with the webbing, the weed and the jacket. The Royal still needs development, but that means everyone in inland waterways must make an effort. Hire a barge. Bring your day-cruiser, dinghy, row-boat, pedalo: anything that floats (without causing a major wash) - even for a day or two. Walk along the banks. Sit and fish - or just sit. Then do some propaganda: let the local pubs and shops know that it was the Royal that brought you there. What's it like? Derek Whelan runs Leisureways Holidays and is providing a boat for the Rally committee. He writes from his experience of his first year of hiring on the Royal. (For more information, phone or fax 01 822 5034, email , website .) We have only encountered four or five small GRP cruisers on the Royal this year. Trailable boats can be launched at four slips between Dublin and Mullingar and one or two beyond it. Facilities are poor in terms of water (two or three taps in 50 miles) and pump-out stations (none). Pubs and restaurants are good; locks are well maintained, as are canal banks. People along the route are helpful and well-disposed to boating. Waterways staff are based at Killucan Harbour and are very helpful to boat-users. Scenery is much more interesting than on other waterways with very few industrial or housing estates. Weed can be a problem for boats with outboards though not so much for inboards. Rally arrangements The rally route is shown above. The Rally Coordinator is Allen O'Leary, 9 Great Western Avenue, Phibsboro, Dublin 7; tel 01 868 0586, fax 01 836 2597. See below for schedule. If you're interested in taking part, contact Allen as soon as possible because there is a limit to the number of boats that the system can accommodate. Already eleven Wilderness boats from the UK have indicated their interest (more on them in the next issue), as well as half a dozen Irish boats. So whether you want to hire a boat (David Woodnutt is the other hirer) or trail your own, please get in touch with Allen as soon as possible. Any changes or further developments will be reported in future issues. IWAI Home

  Rally Schedule

Ballinacargy

Abbeyshrule

Ballinacargy: Slipway

Mullingar

Mullingar

Thomastown

Thomastown

Hill of Down

Longwood

Moyvalley

Kilcock

Enfield

Maynooth: Slipway

Leixlip: Slipway (Confey)

12th lock - Blanchardstown

>>>

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

>>>

<<<

<<<

Thursday 19th August Slip out at Ballinacargy

Wednesday 18th August 5.5 Miles 3-4 Locks Final Dinner

Tuesday 17th August 11.5 Miles 9-10 Locks Evening to be arranged

Monday 16th August Rest Day

Sunday 15th August 10.5 Miles 8 locks (if not traversed on 14 August) Ecumenical service on quay

Saturday 14th August Rest day or climb 8 locks

Friday 13 August 10.5 Miles No locks Evening to be arranged

Thursday 12 August 12 Miles 1 lock Ents

Wednesday 11 August 8 Miles 1 Lock Eclipse 10.59 - 12.30 Depart 13.00

Tuesday 10 August 11.5 Miles 5 locks Ents

Monday 9 August 10.5 Miles 1 lock

Assemble Sunday 8 August Reception 11.00 Monday 9 August: Depart Monday 13.00