Flogas Pushes The Boat Out For Vartry Rowing Club
Flogas pushes the boat out for newly established Vartry Rowing Club
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Local Flogas representative David Conroy with (from left) Emma McMaster, Caroline Meaghan, Glenda Carter and Louise Bellew from Vartry Rowing Club at photocall to launch the new Flogas boat.
Thanks to a very successful Flogas cylinder recovery drive in the Wicklow area calling door to door to collect surplus cylinders from households, the newly-formed Vartry Rowing Club in Wicklow now has a brand-new rowing boat. The drive was spearheaded by chairperson George O’Brien who works as a driver for Harbour Trading Company, a Flogas distributor based in Bray. Flogas made a donation to the club for every cylinder collected and as a result, the club was to able raise enough funds to buy a brand-new ‘One Design All-Ireland Rowing Boat’ which now sports the distinctive Flogas colours and logo.
George O’Brien, who has been rowing for 38 years, thanked Flogas for their support and said, “We got the boat, not only to compete and to encourage teenagers to take up the sport but also to help raise money for charity. We took the boat to the 18K Barrow Challenge in Wexford on 21-22 September and I am delighted to report that the ladies won their category while the men, in the Flogas boat, came second in theirs. Over 100 crews with 500 rowers took part so the result was a great one for a young club like ours. In addition, the Flogas boat really stood out and drew a lot of appreciative comments.”
David Conroy, the local Flogas representative for Wicklow, took part in a photocall with members of the team to officially launch the new boat. David said, “Boats like this are very expensive but George and the Harbour Trading team are a great crew and they really ‘pushed the boat out’ to make this happen for the Club. They deserve every success in the future and we were delighted to have been able to support them.”
The club will also use the Flogas boat to raise money for different charities and they were planning to enter it into the Celtic Challenge next May 2014 in aid of the RNLI.” George said, “The Celtic Challenge is a the world’s longest rowing race which happens every two years and goes from Arklow to Aberystwyth in Wales, a distance of over 96 miles (150 km). It’s an extreme test of endurance and generally takes between 15 and 24 hours, depending on the weather. We’re hoping to make a good impression on the high seas, not just for our colours but also for our rowing skills!”