The commodore

Dave McCabe is a Waterford native who lives in Wicklow. Yet he couldn't be more a part of Athlone if he was born and bred here. A keen sea sailor since his youth, Dave first became involved with Ireland's inland waterways when he and his wife Siobhan rented a boat from the Jolly Mariner in Athlone 22 years ago. Since then Dave has spent countless days in Athlone and has become very much part of the town's boating community. Born in 1960, Dave grew up the eldest of three boys in Butlerstown, just outside Waterford city. His parents Gerald and Ann met when Kells native Gerald got a civil service position in Ann's native Waterford. However before that Gerald had worked as a trainee estate agent in Mullingar and was a keen swimmer who held a number of records in the town. Dave's love of water may have come from his dad, but his introduction to boating came from his maternal grandparents, who had a small sailing boat in his youth. After school Dave went on to study electronic engineering in what's now the University of Limerick, and like most other graduates in the early 80s left Ireland for America. He spent time in Philadelphia on two occasions during that decade, before returned to Ireland. Working and living in Dublin, he met his wife Siobhan at a party. Dave says his first love is deep sea sailing. However though he has spent years sailing all over the world, by now the majority of his time on water has been spent on inland waterways. The move to inland waters that came about 22 years ago was prompted by Siobhan, Dave says. "My wife decided that she wasn't a fan of cold water and sailing and that I needed to do something on the water that we could both do," he explains. After renting their first boat from the Jolly Mariner, that was it. "That's really how we got involved with Inland Waterways," Dave says. "Within a year we had bought our first cruiser." Though Dave has never lived in the midlands, he and his family - wife Siobhan and daughters Sarah (24) and Jamie Rose (21) - decamp from their home in Bray to their boat in the midlands regularly, especially during summertime. The first of the family's cruisers was based in Lough Derg. Ten years later that base was changed to Carrick-on-Shannon and finally about ten years ago it moved once more to Athlone. "We liked to try and move the boat around," he explains, adding that the move to Athlone was prompted by the fact that many of the family's boating friends were based here. Dave's current boat is one of a long line of boats called "Callisto", which have seen smaller boats swapped for larger as his growing family spent more time on the water. "We've two girls and they grew up on the Inland Waterways," Dave says. "As they got bigger the smaller boats became more difficult to handle." Boats became almost a summer residence for the McCabes, with teacher Siobhan spending much of her summer living on the family boat with her children, who themselves learned to sail locally in their youth. Dave also became very much a part of the boating scene and its organisations. When based in Carrick-on-Shannon he joined the Inland Waterways Association. From there he joined the executive of that organisation and went on to become a director. That got him more and more involved with the work of the organisation: promoting the water, defending its interests and ensuring its voice was heard. Dave later became the group's liaison office, with the role of making contact with relevant interest groups and representing the association's views to government. After moving to Athlone Dave became involved with the Athlone branch of the IWAI, and became its chair from 2008 until 2011. He's also heavily involved with the Shannon Rally, and this year was its commodore. Another local project close to his heart is the RNLI lifeboat that was launched recently in Athlone. "I'm one of these people who likes to get involved," he laughs, explaining his inclusion in the variety of local groups he now works with. The current big issue, according to Dave, is ensuring a balance between interests on the waterways, including farming, industry, commerce and boating. "Sometimes for example the summer flooding can become an issue," Dave says. "At the moment that's a big issue. Our view at the moment on flooding is that it needs better management and it primarily needs modifications to the Shannon below Banagher. But it's not simply about opening and closing sluices." Dave's involvement with the Shannon Rally, which is organised jointly by the Athlone and Carrick-on-Shannon branches of the IWAI, peaked earlier this year when he assumed the role of commodore. "The commodore is actually the overall controller of the rally," he explained. The rally, thought to be the biggest leisure rally in Europe, sees a collection of boats visit a number of venues together over ten days. "It's like a village moving around," he explained. This year Dave decided to bring the rally south to Lough Derg for the first time in 20 years, and he says it went down a treat with participants. The rally was populated by about 100 boats and 400 people, which Dave says was a success by anyone's standards. Another recent success Dave is proud to be associated with is the RNLI lifeboat that has been active on Lough Ree since last July. Though traditionally rescue services have been provided by Athlone's sub aqua group, Lough Ree has until recently been with a formal rescue service. "I was concerned, being the chairman of the Athlone branch of IWAI that we should do something to try and lead a campaign to get a formal rescue service," Dave said. After kick starting a campaign on the issue in late 2010, RNLI chief Martyn Smith was convinced in May 2011. Commitment from local volunteers convinced the RNLI board to give the project the green light. "On the back of that trustees decided to invest over €200,000 in the start up station," Dave said. Work progressed quickly after that decision was reached in January last, and by July the rescue service went live. Volunteer crew members all wear pagers and are effectively on call all of the time. The station's been particularly busy, with five official call-outs since its launch. "It has been a very busy station, proving that the original idea was justified," Dave says, adding that he regards the project's successful completion as one of the greatest achievements of his voluntary activities. Life on the waterways is something Dave would recommend for anyone. "I've an abiding love for the waterways," he says. "I've been on it for many years and would hope to be on it for many more. "The biggest thing is the sense of friendship and camaraderie on the river," he says, adding that people know one another by their boats as by themselves and come from all walks of life. "You don't have to spend a lot of money to go boating," he insists. "Boats can be got for the same price as a caravan." The family-oriented leisurely lifestyle that the Shannon and its lakes afford is also something Dave is passionate about preserving. "It's an enormous, valuable asset that we have on our doorsteps," he says. "It is very much a gem in Ireland's tourist crown and we all have to work to preserve it. It can't be mistreated. My greatest passion is that we pass on this amenity at least as good and hopefully better than we received it."