Vote for your Sailor of the Year 2011

#SAILING BY THE LEE – Maritime journalist Bob Fisher entertained 400 guests today at the annual RNLI "Sailing by the Lee" Lunch 2012 in Cork. SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS BELOW BY BOB BATEMAN. Kinsale and Crosshaven RNLI hosted the renowned International maritime journalist Bob Fisher at the Maryborough Hotel, Douglas, Cork. The event has earned a reputation for showcasing high p...

#MODEL YACHTS – A large turnout is expected at the RC Laser Sailing Club racing this Sunday from 2pm at the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire. Eight boats are already signed up for the model racing fixture that starts from the club pontoon....

#YOUTH SAILING – The Dublin Bay 2012 Youth world sailing championships sponsored by Four Star Pizza looks set to break the record for the most numbers of countries attending. The full list of 33 countries entered into the regatta so far is at the end of this post. To date 102 nations have competed at previous ISAF Youth Worlds and that number is set to grow at Dublin Bay 201...

#DALKEY ISLAND PROSPECT – An urgent meeting to discuss calls for a public enquiry in respect to the Dalkey Island Prospect is to be held in Dun Laoghaire next Tuesday (31st January). The meeting which is to address the serious environmental and public consultation concerns is to be held in the Royal Marine Hotel (7.30pm) and follows an 'information' meeting held earlier this...

#CLIPPER – The founder and chairman of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, has been awarded with an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Hull. The award was made in recognition of his work with the Clipper Race and the legacy youth programmes established in the wake of Hull and Humber's participation in Clipper 07-08 and Clipper 09-10. Sir Ro...

#MARINE – Simon Coveney, T.D., Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be a keynote speaker at 'The Atlantic Area Conference, the Marine Economy' – a key component of the EU Integrated Strategy for the Atlantic Area", hosted by the Border, Midland and Western Regional Assembly on 7th February 2012. will provide a unique opportunity to inform the various stakehold...

#PORTS & SHIPPING – Harland & Wolff Heavy Industries Ltd (H&W) have secured a contract to dry dock and service the Searose (2004/139,950dwt) a Canadian east coast based floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel later this year. The 272 metres long by 46 metre beamed FPSO is operated by Husky Oil and is based at the White Rose oilfield, 350km off th...

#FERRY NEWS - Approximately €500,000 is to be sought from three local authorities in the south-west region so to help restart the Cork-Swansea route which was served by the M.V. Julia (1982/22,161grt) until sailings ceased in November last year. Representatives from Fastnet Line Ship Holdings Ltd are expected to attend a special meeting of Cork County Council next Monday at ...

#MOCR – A place in this weekend's medal race is the likley prize for Olympic Star keelboat pair Peter O'Leary and David Burrows who have scored top ten results for the third day in a row at the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. The Cork–Dublin duo, now in seventh overall after a seventh and a sixth scored yesterday, need to continue the consistent performance into today's fina...

#BOATS FOR SALE – A 'lightly used' Dufour 385 built in 2006 has been further reduced by €15,500 and is now available at €99,000. The family cruiser is described online as 'solid and well equipped'. The yacht, which can be seen at Crosshaven boatyard, Cork comes with an upgraded engine (40HP Volvo). The yacht has twin wheels and an In-mast furling mainsail. The full advert...

#CORK WEEK – South Africa's Tokoloshe, Holland's Tonnerre de Breskens, Hong Kong's Signal 8 and Ireland's own Ker 39 Antix will make up one of the most competitive class zero divisions for Cork Week in many years and the early news such an international line up is bound for Cork Harbour is a major advance for Crosshaven organisers, Royal Cork Yacht Club. From Cape Town, Sout...

On Saturday 21st January Suzuki Motor Corporation launched two new fuel-efficient and high performance four stroke outboard motors – the all-new DF20A and the new generation DF15A. These new models were unveiled at the Düsseldorf Boat Show and are the first in their class to feature battery-less Electronic Fuel Injection. The new Electronic Fuel Injection system will also ...

#DALKEY ISLAND PROSPECT -With only days left until the public consultation closes on an application for oil and gas exploration off Dalkey Island, Co. Dublin, locals are grappling with the potential risks and benefits of such a development following last Tuesday's community meeting held in the south-side suburb. Providence Resources has applied for a foreshore licence to searc...

#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - Top chef Maurice Keller was in Abu Dhabi last week to fly the flag for Irish food at the third stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race, Waterford Today reports. Keller spent a few days away from Waterford's Arlington Lodge to join members of Good Food Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Irish embassy staff for a special 'Ireland Day' at the VOR Village. The initiative w...

#WATERFRONT PROPERTY - A hotel with adjacent apartments in Schull, West Cork has come to the market with a guide price of €1.025m, PropertyPlus reports. Located on Schull's main street, the Harbour View Hotel has pictureque views of Schull Harbour and its islands, which are very popular with tourists. The hotel features 30 en-suite bedrooms, a bar and restaurant, breakfast ...

#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - An appreciation night was held in Galway last week for John Killeen, who has played a significant role in bringing the Volvo Ocean Race to the city. As the Galway Independent reports, prominent business leaders and tourism officials were on hand at the Galway Bay Hotel on 17 January to honour the president of Let's Do It Galway - who was also one of three f...

Following its support of the highly successful J/24 Europeans last year, BMW Ireland is continuing its association with Howth Yacht Club by sponsoring the ICRA National Championships in May, making it the outstanding event in the Club's 2012 calendar of 26 national, regional and local regattas. The BMW Cruiser Nationals, as the event will be known, will be the single biggest k...

#GRAND CANAL – Works will commence on an Ardclough Flood Alleviation Scheme on 30th January 2012 necessitating closure of the 13th Level of the Grand Canal at Ardclough, Co. Kildare east of Henry Bridge. The canal will be closed to boat traffic until 17th March 2012. There will also be no through access on the towpath between Henry Bridge and Aylmer Bridge during this period...

#MOCR – Consistent sailing in the third day of the Miami Olympic classes regatta moves Peter O'Leary and David Burrows right up the leader board in the Star keelboat. Currently sitting in sixth overall, up three places from yesterday, O'Leary and Burrows finished third in both races today, a fine performance from the Cork-Dublin duo that puts them two points off third place a...

#YACHT OF THE YEAR AWARD – Irish Beneteau distributor BJ Marine is celebrating at the Düsseldorf boat show tonight as the new Oceanis 45 was named the winner of the family cruiser category in the 2012 European Yacht of the Year Awards. The Irish dealership headed by Bernard Gallagher is at the big German show with a full Irish crew on the Benteau stand, the French boat build...