#CruiseBerth - An environmental Dublin Bay group’s challenge over an €18 million terminal berth for cruise ships at Dún Laoghaire Harbour writes The Irish Times will be heard later this year at the Commercial Court.

The Save Our Seafront (SOS) group opposes the planned development for reasons including that it was allegedly approved without proper identification and assessment of its impact on the environment and on recreational users of the harbour, including small boat users and on regattas.

An environmental impact statement failed to consider that people walk on the pier to enjoy fresh air and the view of the Dublin mountains, and to consider the effects on their enjoyment if a large cruise ship is obscuring the view and “emitting diesel and sulphur fumes”, the group said.

Potential Impact

It also claims the potential impact on marine mammals, including otters and the Minke whale, was inadequately assessed.

Mr Justice Brian Cregan was told on Monday the sides had agreed the challenge, brought against An Bord Pleanála with Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company as a notice party, could be heard by the Commercial Court. The judge said the case was suitable for the court and fixed it for hearing on October 10th.

The harbour company sought to have the case fast-tracked for reasons including it regards the successful development of the cruise terminal berth as “an important element” in securing the port’s financial future, and to replace the loss of revenue resulting from the cessation of ferry services.

While it had hoped to have the berth open in time for the 2018 cruise season, construction had been delayed as a result of the case, it said.

For more on the story including the Habitats Directive and Rockabill to Dalkey Island special area of conservation, click here.

#UCDBall - Dun Laoghaire Harbour is set to host the revived UCD Ball this April.

A total of 7,000 tickets will be made available to students across the capital for the event, scheduled for the former HSS Ferry Terminal on Friday 28 April, as the University Observer reports.

More than 20 artists will perform across two stages at the ball, which will also feature a fun fair and a ‘gourmet food yard’ amid ‘a festival-like atmosphere’.

However, the venue remains subject to licence, and public submissions and/or observations can be made to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council up till this Friday 17 February.

#PortTransfer - The Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DRCoCo) executive will undertake a full risk assessment into the transfer of ownership of Dun Laoghaire Harbour to the local authority, it has emerged.

The assessment process will aim to identify the best governance model for the harbour, following a meeting last month at which councillors unanimously agreed “serious risks” had been raised in the due diligence report into the harbour company’s position as commissioned by the council.

Following this assessment, a further report setting out the risks will be brought to the council along with an executive recommendation for the Minister for Transport based on the findings of both reports.

It’s also expected that the risk assessment may involve an engineering assessment of some aspects of the harbour’s infrastructure to determine whether there are liabilities beyond the scope of the original due diligence report.

DLRCoCo adds that no further commend will be made until the independent risk assessment is completed.

#PortTransfer - County councillors writes The Irish Times from all the main parties of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown have expressed concern at potential financial liabilities involved in taking over responsibility for Dún Laoghaire Harbour.

The debate on due diligience issues as Afloat previously covered took place at a council meeting on Monday (last night). Councillors unanimously agreed “serious risks for the local authority” had been raised in a due diligence report commissioned by the council into the position of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company.

Under the provisions of the Harbours Act 2015, (see National Ports Policy) responsibility for the harbour is due to be transferred from the Department of Transport to the local authority.

‘Urgent need’

However, Fianna Fail councillor Mary Hanafin said the due diligence report had identified “an urgent need for a risk assessment” in almost every area of the harbour company’s operations.
She said issues were raised about pension liabilities, legal costs, ownership of assets and liability for the repayment of grants which had been paid to the harbour company.
She told the meeting the grants could be as high as €112 million, and “the liabilities for clawback are absolutely potentially enormous”.

Fellow Fianna Fáil councillor Shay Brennan said taking over the harbour company could see its debts transferred to “every household between Dún Laoghaire and Dundrum”.

Fine Gael councillor John Bailey said the council wanted democratic control over the harbour, but not the liabilities of the harbour company - the scale of which he said was unknown.
He called for certified, audited accounts from the harbour company. “There is no way we are taking on this liability, I want the harbour but this is an absolute joke,” he said.
“Where are the audited accounts for 2015?”

Cllr Barry Ward of Fine Gael called for the dissolution of the harbour company before responsibility for the harbour is transferred to the council.
He said the council did not want a subsidiary company, because this would prevent “any oversight and governance” by the elected members.

He said the harbour company should be dissolved before the harbour comes under democratic accountability.

People Before Profit councillor Melisa Halpin also expressed concern over the due diligence report, saying councillors had been waiting 20 months to find out what the issues were.
She said there were “major questions” which remained to be asked in a risk assessment.

For more on the story including 'favouring dissolution' as discussed in the council chamber, click here.

#DLHarbour - Councillors are set to debate a report that identifies issues with the ownership of key parts of Dun Laoghaire Harbour ahead of its transfer to the local authority.

According to The Irish Times, the council-commissioned due diligence report notes “ownership-related issues” with St Michael’s Pier, the former home of the Stena HSS ferry and a focal point for development under the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Masterplan.

These developments include a proposed berth for cruise liners that was approved in restricted form by planners in November, but currently faces the prospect of a High Court challenge by local environmental group Save Our Seafront, as reported yesterday on Afloat.ie.

The report also queries the valuation of certain property assets around the harbour, as well as a potential deficit in its pension fund — and debt to the European Union over Government grants.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is scheduled to debate the due diligence report this coming Monday (9 January), though the harbour’s chief executive Gerry Dunne said it contained “no surprises”.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#CruiseBerth - The Save-Our-Seafront Dun Laoghaire group was yesterday granted leave by the High Court to challenge An Bord Pleanala’s decision to approve cruiseships docking in the local harbour.

As The Irish Times reports, the group, which is an environmental non-governmental organisation chaired by local TD Richard Boyd Barrett, claimed that the environmental effect of the proposed cruise berths were not adequately assessed by the Board.

Mr Justice Max Barrett granted the group leave to judicially review the Board’s decision on a number of grounds.

The court heard that independent environmental impact studies were inadequate and as a result the Board had not lawfully discharged its obligations under Irish and European planning laws.

Counsel for the group said the Board should have conducted an independent and separate assessment before having given its decision without merely relying on the information provided by the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company.

The court heard there had been a failure by the Board to conduct surveys relating to the effects on summer and winter birds and the impact on the Minke Whale population, a species listed in the Habitats Directive, and as a result of which its decision was further flawed.

Mr Justice Barrett heard that the harbour company proposed to dump the dredge spoil from the navigation channel into the sea on the Burford Bank which was within the Rockabill to Dalkey Island special area of conservation, an off shore reef vulnerable to toxins.

The group also alleged that given the toxic profile of the dredge spoil the harbour board was obliged to consider the impact of the dumping of spoil in all local special areas of conservation in Dublin Bay and Rockabill which it had not done.

It stated in an affidavit that the harbour company had failed to consider the cumulative effects on marine mammals or sea birds from other proposed or permitted developments within Dublin Bay.

The newpaper has more on the story here. 

#CruiseBerth - The Irish Times writes that a judicial review of An Bord Pleanála’s decision to approve facilities for cruiseships in Dún Laoghaire Harbour will be sought in the High Court on Thursday.

The campaign group Save our Seafront, which is taking the challenge, says last November’s decision by Bord Pleanála restricted the size of ships but still left open the possibility of the harbour being usurped by cruise liners.

The board granted permission to Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company for an €18 million development to build a new pier and dredge a navigation channel through the harbour mouth, as well as developing a turning circle outside the harbour. But the board ruled the size of ships permitted to enter the harbour should be restricted to 250m in length, rather than the 340m limit sought by the company.

The chairman of Save Our Seafront, local TD Richard Boyd Barrett of the Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit, said the development approved by the board could still result in a significant loss of amenity to existing harbour users. He said the board’s decision did not properly take into account the environmental implications of dredging and other aspects of the plan.

Save our Seafront is to ask the court to grant a judicial review of the decision on the basis of two points.

To read more including an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of proposed development click here. 

Afloat.ie’s W M Nixon is usually quick off the mark about firing in historical references on just about any sailing topic. With the Christmas season upon us, we asked him for a report from Dun Laoghaire in 2050, and to go with it he then secured a different opinion from one of Dun Laoghaire’s most experienced international sailors and administrators, which you’ll find at the end of this WMN think-piece.

Ever since Dun Laoghaire Harbour became a UNESCO Living Heritage Site back in 2044, the old granite pond has been in a sort of state of supervised animation, albeit beautifully maintained and lovingly preserved. Fortunately, the more recent category of “living heritage”, introduced by the UN in 2031, allows for certain developments within the spirit of the environment. But nevertheless the improvements in facilities which were undertaken in Dun Laoghaire before the “cultural clampdown” have proven to be beneficial for its continuation as Ireland’s premier sailing centre.

The title of “Premier Sailing Centre” was part of the deal in 2044. With the population of Ireland stabilised at a comfortable level of 7.5 million, it was clear that the natural advantages enjoyed by Cork Harbour would ensure the continuation of its official position as the Senior Yachting Port on the island. But the sometimes almost ludicrous levels of growth of the greater Dublin area meant that as the 21st century rolled along, the east coast was economically dominant.

However, in order to keep the highly-trained and arguably over-educated individuals who run the modern “invisible industries” from taking attractive offers career opportunities overseas, the local councils were obliged by government to provide the sort of facilities and infrastructure which such people expect in order to give them an interesting and enjoyable way of life at an international standard of recreation.

Dun Laoghaire as it was in 2016. Since then, a slight lengthening of St Michael’s Pier has been sufficient to accommodate 250 metre cruise liners, but the real change in 2050 has been the development of an Inner Harbour Village around what used to be known as the Coal Harbour. Plan courtesy Irish Cruising Club

Thus although global warming has not been as marked as was expected back in 2012, there is no doubt that Ireland is now comfortably warmer than it was in the late 20th Century. This has led to an increase to the number of people who want to sail in home waters instead of following the familiar old trail to the overly-hot Mediterranean. Thirty years ago, the Med was untenable for civilized living during August. But today, the hyper-hot phase takes in all of July and most of September as well.

Yet at these times Ireland has been serving up some wellnigh perfect summers, and the season has been extended well into September and October. However, there’s no getting around the fact that the Autumn daylight hours get much shorter, and it has to be accepted that while the gnarled old veterans of the vibrant Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association may enthuse about the special joys of sailing on balmy moonlit September nights, for the vast majority of cruiser sailors, night passages are avoided if at all possible. Thus the national policy of creating good recreational ports at convenient distances has been a backbone of the development of leisure boating in all its forms.

The existence of good improved ports within easy reach of Dun Laoghaire has heightened the strength of its placing as the supreme sailing centre. Most have now forgotten the long struggle to get Wicklow into the position where its river harbour fulfilled its true potential as an attractive and picturesque facilities-filled port of call, with good berthing for visitors. But in 2050 we are looking back over 15 great years in which the mini-cruise to Wicklow, and a warm and comfortable welcome when you get there, is a frequent and much-enjoyed ritual.

Looking to the north, it was equally challenging for the locals in Skerries to create a yacht harbour which blended well with the established character of a highly individual little port. But that too was achieved to add to the Dun Laoghaire day visit or overnight options, all in turn adding to Dublin Bay’s special status, which has been heightened by the extraordinary success in purifying the waters of the River Liffey.

Within this improving environment, Dun Laoghaire Harbour has became something of a pace-setter in its achievement of genuine environmental and facilities improvement while adding interesting new facets to its overall character. Once it had been accepted that cruise liners of only 250 metres or less would be allowed to use the harbour, real vision came into using the slightly-extended St Michael’s Pier for their berthing needs. It was found that the guests on board the smaller cruise liners include a higher proportion of people who really do wish to interact with the port they’re visiting, whereas it has been noticed that the behemoth cruise liners which now fill Dublin port’s cruise berths for nearly six months of the year – with the growing Christmas trade an interesting addition – tend to have people who live in “the cruise bubble”, spending little locally, and scarcely interacting at all.

The only ship for which an exception was allowed to the 250 metre rule. The new Titanic may be 19 metres over-length, but she matched the style of Dun Laoghaire Harbour when she came to call in 2048.

Admittedly there was one case where the 250 metre limit was disregarded in Dun Laoghaire, but that was after popular clamour to allow the superb re-creation of the Titanic – despite her being 19 metres over-length - to visit just two years ago, in 2048. Mongolian-owned and Vietnamese-built, the new Titanic is a much better piece of work than the previous Australian re-creation job of 2018, and the facts of her ownership and place of build speak volumes about the changes in global business activity and industry patterns we’ve experienced during the first half of the 21st Century.

With the cruise liner area of activity so neatly defined with the compact yet effective berth at St Michael’s, the area immediately to the west was turned over to the needs of a Municipal Watersports Centre. But it proved to be a costly project, with huge financial over-runs, and a take-it-or-leave-it attitude among staff amid criticism that it was classic case of what’s everybody’s business is nobody’s business.

So pride was swallowed, and the Irish National Sailing School was enticed out of its established base in the inner harbour and persuaded to take on the running of the Watersports Centre. While it hasn’t been an easy business to turn round, the local, national and international regard in which it is now held speaks volumes for the dedication and special skills of those involved.

With the INSS ceasing to dominate Coal Harbour activity, the move towards creating the vision of an Inner Harbour Village could be implemented. When you see the Inner Harbour as it is in 2050, with its attractive quayside mix of appropriately-sized characterful houses, restaurants, bars and speciality shops, it’s difficult to remember that less than thirty years ago, most of it was deserted and dead at night.

The Irish Lights Centre has effectively become the HQ of Maritime Ireland

It took a mighty effort of collective will to make the change possible, but it fitted in well with the revitalization of the entire western end of the Dun Laoghaire waterfront. With increasing computerisation, the reduction of physical space required for its traditional activities meant that a large part of the iconic Irish Lights office building found a new purpose, effectively becoming the HQ of Maritime Ireland, the “go-to centre” for everything to do with boats including the offices of the Irish Sailing Association.

Immediately west of the Irish Lights Building, the old Coastguard Station is now the most easterly part of the “new-old” Inner Harbour Village, while to the north of it the modern MGM boatyard has had its borders more clearly defined. As for the ancient boatyard on the quays around the what used to be known as the Coal Harbour, the traditional users of that have long since been accommodated in the new yard to the west of the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club where – luxury of luxuries – there is now even access to covered space.

Roundstone in Connemara. In creating the new Inner Harbour Village, the planners and architects were told to “Think Roundstone, think Baltimore, think Glandore, think Cobh Waterfront”

Summercove in Kinsale was another of the inspirations for the new Inner Harbour Village

Traditional craft including the Galway Hooker Mac Duach and the trading ketch Ilen in Glandore, one of the inspirations for the concept of the Inner Harbour Vilage in Dun Laoghaire. Photo: W M Nixon
The freed-up quayside space around the Inner Harbour was much larger than casual observers had thought, and the planners and architects were told to “think Roundstone, think Baltimore, think Glandore, think Cobh waterfront”. In other words, a place which was formerly almost a social vacuum became a new yet classic Irish fishing/sailing village which the planners knew would function very well in the Dublin context, as they already had the successful example of Howth’s cosmopolitan West Pier area to see what would work and what wouldn’t.

To add interest to this new and buzzing harbourside “community within a community”, the renowned Skol ar Mor boat-building school in South Brittany was invited to take over premises in the heart of the Inner Harbour Village. This busy Irish offshoot of a French organisaton which first achieved international fame by building classic Irish wooden boats such as a Water Wag, a Shannon One Design, a Howth 17 and a Dublin Bay 24, has now become an “anchor resident” beside Dun Laoghaire’s Inner Harbour. It provides incalculable social benefit with its proven programme of training in classic and traditional skills, while its festive launching ceremonies for the latest creations have become a community highlight.

The Dublin Bay 24 Periwinkle about to be launched after her re-build by Skol ar Mor in Brittany

“A magic place to work and learn”. A new Howth 17 being built in Skol ar Mor’s user-friendly premises in south Brittany.
Launching day for the creations of Skol ar Mor is a festive community occasion.

Yet in adding this completely new life to the southwest corner of the harbour, the planners didn’t overlook the needs of the more visible southeastern corner. A significant step had been taken when 2016 Olympic Silver Medallist Annalise Murphy agreed that her winning Laser Radial, known as Good Egg and brought home to Ireland from Rio thanks to all sorts of quiet work behind the scenes, should go on permanent display in the Lexicon Library in Dun Laoghaire.

Annalise Murphy’s Medal-winning Laser came home to Ireland and Dun Laoghaire

It was a gesture which did more to unite the town, the harbour and the sailing world than anyone would have thought possible. And in due course, the powers-that-be agreed that it had been an error not to make the Lexicon’s narrow north-facing wall entirely of glass. This was put right to provide everyone with one of the best views of Dun Laoghaire Harbour and Dublin Bay, with the legendary medal-winning Laser floating serenely suspended within the midst of the vista.

Meanwhile, down on the nearby waterfront, the concept of the expected Diaspora Centre on the Carlisle Pier found itself increasingly out of tune with Dun Laoghaire’s newly upbeat mood. An opinion group, “No More Monuments to Misery”, may have started as very much a minority interest. But support built up surprisingly quickly in favour of the idea that instead of marking yet another sad aspect of our past, it was time to celebrate the here and now, and the best of future prospects, with a bit of a lively museum thrown in.

Thus the Carlisle Pier’s transformation into the stylish Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow has been fascinating to behold. Some of the oddest yet most attractive aspects of Irish life are celebrated here in a changing exhibition which has won international museum awards, yet - as those running it are quick to point out - it’s not really a museum in the traditional sense at all.

The Dublin Bay 25 Acushla, once owned by the famous Irish tenor John McCormick, is the basis of the popular sailing simulator in the new exhibition centre on Carlisle Pier. Photo courtesy Pierce Purcell

You have to go there to fully appreciate it, and for sailing people the absolute winner is the array of simulators of sailing experience. Admittedly for half the time the America’s Cup racer simulator isn’t working because of technical problems, as it’s too advanced even for the electronic wizardry of 2050. But not to worry, far and away the two most popular simulators are the Dublin Bay 25, based on a class which first raced in 1898, and the Fireball dinghy, which may first have surfaced 87 years ago in 1963, but it can still be found in some enthusiastic pockets of Irish sailing, and it lives forever in Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow in Dun Laoghaire.

That the sailing community and anyone else can enjoy simulated sailing in the exhibition may explain the extraordinary fact that in 2050 the harbour still supports its array of classical waterfront yacht clubs. The barely-remembered economic crisis which started around 2008 and bounced along for at least six years may have brought some of them to the brink. But what is remembered is that when their backs were against the economic wall, the loyal members of the clubs rallied round to save them from a seemingly terminal situation.

“The more they change, the more they stay the same”. The Royal Irish Yacht Club, built 1851. By 2050, the “permanent adaptability” of the Dun Laoghaire yacht clubs has become a topic for doctoral theses. Photo courtesy VDLR.
Of course they’ve had to adjust to changing times. Indeed, the way that Irish yacht clubs can adjust to changing circumstances while still seeming to stay the same has been the topic of dozens of doctoral theses. Whatever, they’re still there, and they’ve even managed to have long-planned roof restorations completed so that the harbour’s multifarious sailing activities can be observed from an improved vantage point.

With the acceptance in 2018 that Dun Laoghaire Harbour should be seen as an amenity like the Phoenix Park rather than something from which every possible cent of income can be squeezed, the healthier atmosphere of a well-run not-for-profit organization permeates the place, and the diversity of modern boats – squeezed complete out of machines at the touch of a button - is reflected in ownership patterns with about half the boats group or club owned, but there’s still a significant cohort of private owners.

The boats themselves are not quite as extreme as had been anticipated thirty years ago. While readily available foiling boats are certainly a significant part of the scene, particularly at the high performance level, in 2050 their impact is much the same as the impact of multi-hulls forty and more years ago. When sensible yet undoubtedly fast multihulls became readily available, their adherents expected everyone to follow. But their unexpected additional costs and accommodation limitations tempered the general enthusiasm, and as foiling boat enthusiasts were to find, the reaction of your ordinary sailing Joe and Josephine was that if they were in such a hurry, why didn’t they just get an aeroplane in the first place? Why not leave the majority of sailors to enjoy themselves in the sheer pleasure of sailing, in which speed plays a part, but it’s only a part - it’s not the be all and end all.

In fact, for ordinary sailors perhaps the most significant change during the first half of the 21st Century has been the growing importance of improved electrical and storage battery technology. For most of us other than classic engine collectors, the internal combustion engine is a distant memory. The necessary basic power for a modern boat, both those with sails and without, is in the new generation of batteries which seem to get smaller and lighter for the same output with every passing year.

It is the greater ease in the use of outboard motors which has been of most benefit to today’s demographic of participants, in which sailing centenarians are now so frequent as scarcely to arouse comment. As for those who harbour nostalgic thoughts about the “good old days” of noisy heavy outboard motors on the transoms of chubby inflatable dinghies, the Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow exhibition includes the complete 2010 “fitting the outboard on the tender” experience, which can be undertaken in its full horror, confident in the knowledge that the onsite permanent staff includes a chiropractor and a physiotherapist.

Looked at overall, it says much about the genius of the engineers and builders of Dun Laoghaire Harbour that in 2050, people see this most artificial of harbours as part of the natural landscape. Thus the instinct to maintain its character is stronger than ever. And there’s no doubt that when a ship or a yacht with classic good looks comes to call, Dun Laoghaire effortlessly provides the perfect setting.

Thus although it is long since forgotten by most, those with very long memories will recall the crazy idea to have a sort of barge permanently moored at the former East Pier Berth in order to provide a “beach experience”. The idea of a crudely artificial swimming pool taking up space within a classic harbour seems unbelievable now, particularly as the old derelict public swimming place was within a stone’s throw. Yet such was the case. But miraculously the threat was seen off, and the East Pier Berth was restored such that once again it is first choice for visiting Tall Ships and vessels which take your breath away, such as the classic three-masted schooner Shenandoah, still going strong after all these years and a very welcome visitor to the old granite pond on Dublin Bay.

Back where she belongs…..the classic schooner Shenandoah at the east Pier berth in Dun Laoghaire. Photo: W M Nixon

However concludes W M Nixon, as my views are those of someone from somewhere other than Dun Laoghaire, and one who is still very much a visitor when he calls in the knowledge that it is infinitely better to visit it by sea, the visions of one who has been born and bred in Dun Laoghaire sailing, and yet has worldwide experience of sailing and sailing facilities elsewhere, are probably of much more relevance. We’ve been given the following glimpse of 2050 on condition that the visionary remains strictly anonymous….

“As I launch my foil-assisted Olympic dinghy at the Annalise Murphy International Centre of Sailing Excellence (AMICSE), which occupies what used to be the Carlisle Pier, I use the voice recognition scheme to determine the conditions I want to use for this training session at one of the big practice bays that occupy the east side of the pier.

“Summer, Mombasa”, I say, instructing the wave and wind generator to mimic the conditions expected at the 2052 East African Olympic Games (single host cities having been done away with in 2032). Immediately the fans and wave generators kick into action, while the simulator screen displays the Kenyan coast. I train alongside half a dozen sailors from northern Europe, attracted to Dun Laoghaire by the realistic simulation system, the low cost accommodation floatel moored at berth 4, and the gym facilities available in St Michael’s Village, the prestige development overlooking the cruise terminal.

The foil-assisted Beneteau Figaro introduced in 2017 was the first production mono-hull boat with foils, and was of special interest to the many who sought ever more speed. But as with multi-hulls before them, the popularity of the foil-assisted craft was hampered by the problems they posed when berthing, and the unique difficulties they might encounter when sailing

The first Figaro Solo Race Race using the new foil-assisted boats in 2017 vividy illustrated both the advantages and disadvantages of this speed-enhancing equipment.

After a hard upwind session, I pay a visit to the recently re-located Maritime Museum occupying the premises once used by the National Yacht Club. This innovatively designed building, now connected by a stunning Calatrava bridge to the Lexicon, is linked to the historic vessels that line the East Pier, part of a world famous collection of maritime artefacts.

Time for lunch, and I take the short walk to what used to be the Royal St George Yacht Club, now the home of dinghy sailing in Dun Laoghaire. Working closely with the AMICSE, the Irish National Sailing School have developed a municipal centre that introduces more than 100,000 young people to watersports every year under the governments “Island Nation” programme, whereby every eight year old in the country learns Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) through their practical application to sailing.

St Michael’s Village looks well, with the Irish registered cruise ship “Diaspora 1” alongside the berth, her sails furled for the time being. I am reminded as I proceed westwards, that the changes in the harbour have not come without overcoming considerable opposition, particularly on the site of the Royal Irish, now housing the Council Chamber for the combined entity of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and the harbour.

Perhaps the greatest development has been the merger of all the watersports clubs in Dun Laoghaire and their occupation of former Irish Lights building and the coastguard cottages, providing all the services a modern club should, from crèche to fine dining, fitness to gaming, as well as waterfront access. While the marina has been least amended recently, all the keelboats in the harbour are serviced from the enlarged MGM yard, with the large fleet of one design foiling cats stacked along the north side of the coal quay.

Tonight will see me returning to Dun Laoghaire for some fine dining at the choice of restaurants in the renovated Coal Harbour area, but first I might get a swim in the open air Olympic sized facility at the back of the west pier, where global warming has allowed for year round use without the aid of heating.”

#DirectDock - ILV Granuaile the Commissioners of Irish Lights tender today directly docked alongside the aids to navigation authority HQ in Dun Laoghaire Harbour which involved weaving a navigation around the inner harbour’s marina, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The docking of ILV Granuaile this morning at Irish Lights striking joint administration and marine maintenance depot was for general operational work which includes the exchange of various types of navigation buoys as when required. The use of pulling along the depot's quay is relatively normal otherwise the routine berth for ILV Granuaile whose homeport is the harbour is that of nearby St. Micheals Wharf. In these circumstances the vessel's own tenders assist in transferring equipment to and from the depot. 

As for the ships prefix, ILV Granuaile, this stands for Irish Lights Vessel which was built in 2000 in Romania at the Dutch owned Damen Shipyards at Galati from where she entered the Black Sea. After refitting in the Netherlands, the 2,625 gross tonnage ILV Granuaile became a game changer for CIL in terms of design particularly with technology in the form of ‘dynamic positioning’. The use of DP mode enables superior shiphandling capabilities for pinpoint deployment of navigational aids and notably in confined quarters. 

In the year of the new millenium a maiden delivery voyage to Dun Laoghaire Harbour took place almost 17 years ago in January 2000. The ship has a crew of 16 personnel. She is the first 'custom' built tender of all three General Lighthouse Authorities (GLA's) to have a ship configuration layout of working deck aft and superstructure amidships / forward. Asides Irish Lights the other GLA's are Trinity House (England & Wales) and Northern Lights (Scotland & Isle of Man) serving these waters. 

The ILV Granuaile had previously today arrived from Belfast to berth at St. Michaels Wharf and has since returned this afternoon. It is on the adjacent quay where former Holyhead fast-ferry HSS Stena Explorer was in use until seasonal sailings finally ended in September 2014. This was followed by an official announcement by Stena to confirm no service would return in 2015 and hence their withdrawal ending the historic era of the Welsh ferry link. This left ILV Granuaile as the only large commercial vessel regularly using Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

As Afloat highlighted the former ferry terminal is available to let, noting yesterday was the final day for proposals and offers to rent the entire building. Asides ILV Granuaile, St. Michaels is host to the small commercial excursion vessel St. Bridget operated by Dublin Bay Cruises whose main season linking also Dublin Port and Howth Harbour ceased in late summer. Festive cruises however are running just in Dublin along the River Liffey and on occasions up to the port's Poolbeg Lighthouse.

It should be noted that during the majority years of ILV Granauile career, the vessel would also moor close to the western bight within Dun Laoghaire Harbour. From an anchorage, buoys would be towed back and forth from the ship and marine depot ashore. This practise albeit romantic involved tug-buoy tender Puffin though this entailed a more time-consuming and expensive process.

Puffin was subsequently sold in 2011 to Shannon Workboats and in which Afloat took a trip on board the Bristol-built boat from Rusal's Aughinish Alumina plant jetty to Foynes Port. By coincidence the hull colour of Puffin changed from grey to blue likewise of her former larger fleetmate.

The tender boat name unchanged has been noted recently berthed at the Claddagh beside Galway Port.

#Floatels - The idea of floatels is still been worked out by Dublin City Council as it decides whether to move ahead with the idea of this concept of homes on big boats for students, workers or tourists. 

As the Dublin Inquirier writes some councillors are eager to explore the idea more. Some council officials seem less eager. But as the Dublin debates it, Dún Laoghaire Harbour is pressing ahead.

In the summer Afloat.ie reported that Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company put the idea of floatels for tourists out to tender. It received several responses and is now in advanced negotiations with a provider, said spokesperson Carolyn Hanophy.

“[We] hope to make a definitive decision about launching the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Flotel in the coming weeks,” she said.

For much more on the proposed floatel in Dublin click here.