Displaying items by tag: HMS Enterprise

27th March 2023

Ex-Minesweeper HMS Enterprise All But Submerged in Kilkeel Harbour

The old minesweeper HMS Enterprise has all but submerged in Kilkeel Harbour in Northern Ireland, as Afloat.ie reader Lee Maginnis has shared with his.

His recent images of the vessel show a significant degradation from the last update in autumn 2022, when warning signage was affixed to the boat reading Abandoned Vessel - Danger Keep Out”.

As of Wednesday 22 March, the hull has almost entirely sunk beneath the water line in the Co Down harbour — an ignoble end for the former Royal Navy minesweeper which has a storied history.

“The photos say it all,” Maginnis tells Afloat.ie. “Don’t we look after our heritage well.”

Another angle showing what’s left of the HMS Enterprise dockside at Kilkeel Harbour | Credit: Lee Maginnis

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Signage Warns Public Away From ‘Abandoned’ Ex-Minesweeper HMS Enterprise in Kilkeel

Afloat.ie reader Lee Maginnis has provided an update on the current condition of the old minesweeper HMS Enterprise in Kilkeel Harbour, and the news is not good.

The former Royal Navy minesweeper with a storied history was previously anchored in Carlingford Lough, and made the news 10 years ago when it broke its moorings and beached in Rostrevor Bay a number of times.

Since relocated to Kilkeel in Co Down, the vessel has fallen into serious disrepair. Since Maginnis’ previous update to Afloat.ie in late 2020, the boat now bears signage that reads “Abandoned Vessel - Danger Keep Out”.

The warning sign taped to the remains of the HMS Enterprise in Kilkeel | Credit: Lee Maginnis

“Sadly HMS Enterprise has succumbed to the elements after languishing for years in Kilkeel Harbour,” McGinnis says. “She has been moved so that her bows are now in shallow water, her stern is underwater and she is listing to one side. A sad sight.”

If any Afloat.ie readers have any more information about the Enterprise and its current situation, please get in touch or let us know in the comments below.

The HMS Enterprise as seen by Afloat.ie reader Gerard Rooney in Kilkeel this past August | Credit: Gerard Rooney

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Ex-Minesweeper HMS Enterprise Looking Worse for Wear in Kilkeel

HMS Enterprise (also below) as spotted in Kilkeel Harbour recently

Afloat.ie reader Lee Maginnis has sent us images of the old minesweeper HMS Enterprise looking worse for wear in Kilkeel Harbour.

The former Royal Navy minesweeper was previously anchored in Carlingford Lough, and made the news nine years ago when it broke its moorings and beached in Rostrevor Bay a number of times.

Built in 1957 by MW Blackmore & Sons and once part of a fleet of minesweepers, the Enterprise is also renowned as one of the first vessels to discover the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic 34 years ago.

HMS Enterprise in Kilkeel by Lee Maginnis

Later the historic boat was refitted as a radio ship as part of a cross-community project called Pirates for Peace, as the Belfast Telegraph reports, and was subsequently sold on to an owner based in Australia with plans to relocate it there.

But the mahogany- and teak-hulled boat has since fallen into serious disrepair, as reflected by its state at its current Co Down harbour mooring, leaving questions about its future.

HMS Enterprise at Chatham in 1981, with HMS Triumph in the background | Photo: Wikimedia

If any Afloat.ie readers have any more information about the Enterprise and its current situation, please get in touch or let us know in the comments below.

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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.