Diamond anniversary Shannon Boat Rally sparkles on its return
EVENTS organised by the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland ( IWAI) have dominated the headlines this summer and look to continue doing so into the autumn with a full calendar of rallies, cruises in company and social gatherings still to come.
After a two- year absence the most prestigious of these, the Shannon Boat Rally, returned with a sparkle to celebrate its 60th anniversary to the theme of diamonds and offered a packed itinerary of family-friendly events to entertain members over 10 days of boating activity on Lough Ree.
As well as visiting many of the harbours of Lough Ree, the rally fleet also partook in an anchor out on Ballykeeran Lough, one of the smaller and more sheltered bodies of water to be found in the network of Lough Ree’s Inner Lakes. The fleet also visited Coosan Point to tour the new IWAI HQ Dunrovin and the RNLI Lough Ree Lifeboat Station with no fewer than 20 of the SBR past rally commodores in attendance.
As well as offering plenty of fun and laughter, organisers of the boat rally pride themselves in the promotion of water safety and boat handling and organise a number of starred competitions, d e m o n s t ra t i o n s and events during the rally aimed at educating boaters. The rally culminates with a prize giving for participants of the starred competitions, the winner of which is presented with the Premier Award Cup at the end- of- rally dinner – the highlight of the event.
Find out more about IWAI at: www.iwai.ie