Who

The Ramble normally has a range of skippers spanning novices to Master Mariners.

The Ramble is open to all vessels that comply with boating regulations and can reliably cover each leg of the Ramble. The vessels usually range from small open tinnies to large houseboats.

The Ramble is a family oriented cruise and crews can range in age from under 8 to over 80. Children are always welcome on the understanding that their parent/guardians are responsible for their safety and behaviour at all time.

Pets are normally welcome on the Ramble, provided that they are always under effective control and do not disrupt the enjoyment of others. Further restrictions apply if the Ramble moors in a location with restrictions on domestic animals.

Where & When

The River Ramble is conducted  along various parts of the River in South Australia, although they normally start from a location within easy reach of Adelaide. It is traditionally conducted just after the Easter Holiday every second year. Since Easter often marks the end of the water skiing season, the river is usually quieter just after Easter.

Cost

Because the Ramble fees only cover the cost of planning and conducting the Ramble, it is  family budget friendly.

The Ramble fee covers the skipper and three crew. Additional crew are welcome, but a fee is charged for each extra person to cover their use of the facilities  provided.

Each skipper must be a current member of the Association, but there is usually a concessional membership for skippers who join with their Ramble application. This concession usually cover the current and following membership year.

Vessel Insurance

Advice for the RMBOA's insurance company is that the Association could be leaving itself open to litigation if it knowingly allowed uninsured boats to take part in an Association organised cruise and there was an accident on the river that caused damage or injury beyond the resources of the uninsured skipper to pay.

For this reason, the RMBOA has to unfortunately insist on sighting evidence that Ramble vessels have at least Third Party Insurance Cover of at least $10 million for the duration of the Ramble.

Third Party Insurance Cover provides cover for your legal liability to pay compensation for death or bodily injury to other people or damage to their property arising from your ownership or operation of your boat.

Assistance

While each Rambler is responsible for their own vessel, the more experienced members assist where they can. Experienced members also provide advice about local river conditions and offer assistance to inexperienced members when they go through Locks or selecting mooring sites.

Ramble Facilities

To support the wide range of vessels in the Ramble, the RMBOA provides portable toilets and a BBQ at each overnight mooring location. The mooring locations are a mixture of bush camping as well as moorings in townships. This provides an opportunity for Ramblers to refuel, re-provision and buy ice for the Esky at the local shops.

Entertainment

At selected locations, the RMBOA arranges entertainment for Ramblers. This entertainment can either be on the riverbank or in a nearby venue. Besides professional entertainers (and talented members), the RMBOA arranges other events such as fancy dress evenings.

Competitions

The Ramble also runs competitions such as "Spot the Mascot" where Ramblers have to identify which boat "Spot" travels in each day, a photography competition, a Carp fishing competition and "Cryptic Clues" where ramblers have to identify locations along the river based on cryptic clues. Many of the competitions have a children's division.

Optional Catered Meals

The RMBOA also arranges for optional meals to be provided by local service clubs at most town moorings. The provides Ramblers with the opportunity to have a relaxed evening meal without having to cook and clean up. These optional meals inject money into the local service clubs.

Memorabilia

The RMBOA produces a range of memorabilia for the Ramble such as commemorative medallions, Ramble Flags and (optional) Ramble clothing.

Ramble Information

Ramblers receive a range of documentation including the RMBOA Voyage Planning Guide, RMBOA Members Handbook, Daily Running Sheets and local tourist information.

The Voyage Planning Guide provides information about provisioning for a voyage and provides information such as contact numbers for each Lock, river refuelling locations between Goolwa and Wentworth, Internet access points, Waste Disposal Stations, public toilets near the river, emergency service locations/contact numbers and more. The Voyage Planning Guide and the Members Handbook are part of the kit provided to members when they join the RMBOA.

The Daily Running Sheets are specific to each Ramble and outline the events for each day of the Ramble, recommended departure times, estimated travelling times and local river conditions. The running sheets are updated at the afternoon briefings each day.

The next RMBOA River Ramble is currently scheduled to start on the 26^th April 2011.

While you are waiting for that counter to tick down to zero, check out the RMBOA's Mini-Ambles and Members Meetings. Non-members are welcome at these no-cost events so that they can see what the Association is about.