Wow, I can’t believe it has been 10 years since we started cruising! 2015 was the year!
As I begin to write this…I’m reminded about how it all started with Rivergum Cruises!
It warms my heart to tell you this story! We started our carpentry business back in 1998, using a locals shed (Bill McLelland) to operate his machinery.
In Bill’s yard there was an old lifeboat which had been sitting there for about 30 years – James remembers playing in it as a 5-year-old when his dad visited the shed. Incredible right!
In the year 2000, James went on a “River Ramble” in a “tinny” with a mate, from the Murray Mouth to Swan Reach over about 2 weeks.
James saw lots of old wooden boats, cray boats and boats of all different shapes & sizes on this trip. It got him thinking about Bill’s lifeboat…and he thought…“I could do something incredible with that boat!”
So, when James got home, he asked Bill if he could buy the boat…he was the 13th person to have asked for the boat.
Bill had just recently purchased a houseboat and James said “how many boats do you need?” Bill was in his early 70’s at the time!
The rest is history, Bill ended up agreeing to the purchase of the boat and it was swapped for a week’s worth of labour!
In December 2000 the “old but beautiful lifeboat” made its way to our home in Ramco in the Riverland, South Australia.
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James worked on the hull for a few years, cleaning it up, adding 2 extra keels and learning the art of fibreglass. He found a top from a boat builder in Adelaide to being the magic of putting it together.
Her name: Qatar. She slowly took shape and after 8 years we decided to turn it into a business we both could share with our community and love.
Little by little and every step of the way so rewarding! I remember seeing the windows go in, the bow rail being put on, the inside cabin being built, the motor going in, the outside being painted and so much more! It was coming to life!
After 14 years of building, Qatar was ready to put in the water.
And now, we are proudly celebrating our 10th Anniversary in business.
We’ve had lots of fun taking out passengers from all over Australia and parts of the world!
We’ve also had life and natures obstacles, with Covid and the floods, but we’ve pushed through and continue to love being out on the river, showcasing our beautiful Murray River in Waikerie.
So, in celebration of this milestone, join us in our celebrations by finding us on Facebook HERE and Instagram HERE by liking and sharing our posts. It would mean the world!
We’ll be celebrating in a big way, giving away vouchers as well as a competition to celebrate our beautiful milestone.
If you haven’t been on board, we hope to have you join us soon and if you have, we hope you can come aboard again and experience once again our magnificent river, right here in Waikerie, South Australia.
See what all the magic is about HERE