Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: InterCounties

#inland – Sailing will be centre stage when teams from around Ireland battle it out in the Grand Canal Dock, Dublin over two days for the second edition of the Inter-Counties Sailing Championship to see which county has the best sailing team. 

Notice of Race is downloadable below as a PDF.

Sailors are invited to submit a team comprising a crew of up to 5 people capable of handling a 27ft keel boat, to include at least 1 female, to represent counties in what will be the battle of the sailing tribes & colours of Ireland. Which county is the best?
Racing will comprise a series of sprint flights (heats) of approximately 20 minutes duration leading to a final to decide the winner.

With boats constantly in close quarters and potential crash situations both with each other and the immovable solid quay walls, this event promises to be a testing and thrilling experience for the sailors crewing onboard and a highly entertaining spectacle with viewing areas for spectators on the quay walls and the Grand Canal Square.

The championship will run over the weekend of 7th & 8th September 2013 from 1000hrs - 1600hrs each day.

A fleet of one design boats 27ft in length is being provided so teams can compete on a level playing field. Ownership of a boat is not necessary, and sailors and clubs wishing to enter a team to represent their county should contact Waterways Racing for more details.

The Grand Canal Dock is part of Ireland's inland waterways system and comprises 44 acres of non-tidal freshwater in Dublin's Docklands. It has its own marina, Waterways Interpretive Centre, watersports centre and is surround by a multitude of bars and restaurants and is overlooked by the majestic Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.

The event is being supported by Waterways Ireland, an all island body set up to manage & promote all of Ireland's waterways. Commenting on their support of the event "We are delighted to be involved in this sailing championship which invites participation from the whole island of Ireland in keeping with our own remit as an inter-governmental agency. We are looking forward to welcoming teams, supporters and the general public to this historic dock in Dublin for the inaugural Waterways Ireland Inter-Counties Sailing Championship" Éanna Rowe, Marketing Manager, Waterways Ireland.

Published in Inland Waterways

The Waterways Ireland Inter-Counties Sailing Championship 2011 is seeking more entries for the fresh water event taking place on June 26th in Dublin. So far six counties are entered but organiser Paul O'Riain is hoping to double that number for the inaugural event in three weeks time.

The championship will take place on the Grand Canal Dock a huge 44 acre dock in the heart of Dublin’s sparkling new Docklands.

Boats are being provided and event entry fee is only €200 for a team of 5 people, that’s only €40 per head with everything included so teams can just turn up and race. Boats will be available the day before for practice and familiarisation.

 The organisers still have places for the following counties, which have yet to formally enter a team;

Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Cork, Down, Dublin, Derry, Fermanagh, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath Wexford and Wicklow.

This is an open invitaton to sailors, clubs and teams keen to do battle & represent their country, to contact the organisers about entering their team and county without delay as entry is limited to 20 county teams only for this inaugural event

The Deadline for entry is in ten days time, Friday 10th of June 2011.

For more information please contact the event director Paul Ó Riain at; +353 (0) 87 23 55 900

Published in Inland Waterways
Paul Ó Riain, one of the country's elite band of sailors who have represented Ireland internationally, is working with Waterways Ireland to create the first All-Ireland Counties Sailing Championship.

He has come up with the idea of a Waterways Ireland Inter-Counties Sailing Championship, which will be held on Sunday, June 26, at the Grand Canal Dock in Dublin.

Waterways has responsibility for the management, maintenance, development and restoration of inland navigable waterways, principally for recreational purposes. It is one of the six North/South Implementation Bodies established under the British-Irish Agreement of 1999.The waterways under the remit of the body are the Barrow Navigation, the Erne System, the Grand Canal, the Lower Bann, the Royal, the Shannon-Erne Waterway and the Shannon Navigation.

"What we intend is to make sailing centre stage in midsummer," he told me. "We are inviting teams from counties throughout Ireland to battle in the heart of Dublin for the first time to see which county has the best sailing team."

The invitation is not limited to clubs only.

"Sailors from around Ireland are invited to form teams composed of a crew of up to 5 people capable of handling a 27ft keel boat, including at least 1 female, to represent their counties in what will be the battle of the sailing tribes and colours of Ireland. We will find out which county is the best. This is the chance to find out. Racing will be in a series of sprint heats of approximately 20 minutes each leading to semi-finals and finals to decide the winner."

With boats constantly in close quarters, both with each other and the quayside walls, this should be a testing and somewhat 'thrilling' experience for the sailors! It should also be an entertaining spectacle for the public with viewing areas on the quay walls and at Grand Canal Square.

The championship will be sailed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A fleet of the 1720 one-design boats, 27 feet in length, will be provided so that teams compete on a level basis, making skill the deciding factor.

The website is www.waterwaysracing.com

This builds on the Liffey Docklands Challenge which initiated sailboat racing on the Liffey near the city centre. The Grand Canal Dock is part of Ireland's inland waterways system and comprises forty-four acres of non-tidal freshwater in Dublin's Docklands. It has its own marina and a watersports centre, with adjacent hostelries and restaurants, as well as the Grand Canal Theatre.

"This event will be a centrepiece in the Docklands Summer Festival," says Paul, who competed in the French single-handed Figaro Race and is one of those developing the Irish Double and Solo Racing Group. The event will be sponsored by Waterways Ireland.

"We are delighted to do so and hope for participation from both North and South, in keeping with our own remit as an All-Ireland inter-governmental agency," said Martin Dennany, the Waterways Marketing Director. "We are looking forward to this historic dock in Dublin becoming a sailing centre for the challenge."

Published in Island Nation

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Information

Dun Laoghaire Harbour is the second port for Dublin and is located on the south shore of Dublin Bay. Marine uses for this 200-year-old man-made harbour have changed over its lifetime. Originally built as a port of refuge for sailing ships entering the narrow channel at Dublin Port, the harbour has had a continuous ferry link with Wales, and this was the principal activity of the harbour until the service stopped in 2015. In all this time, however, one thing has remained constant, and that is the popularity of sailing and boating from the port, making it Ireland's marine leisure capital with a harbour fleet of between 1,200 -1,600 pleasure craft based at the country's largest marina (800 berths) and its four waterfront yacht clubs.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Bye-Laws

Download the bye-laws on this link here

FAQs

A live stream Dublin Bay webcam showing Dun Laoghaire Harbour entrance and East Pier is here

Dun Laoghaire is a Dublin suburb situated on the south side of Dublin Bay, approximately, 15km from Dublin city centre.

The east and west piers of the harbour are each of 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) long.

The harbour entrance is 232 metres (761 ft) across from East to West Pier.

  • Public Boatyard
  • Public slipway
  • Public Marina

23 clubs, 14 activity providers and eight state-related organisations operate from Dun Laoghaire Harbour that facilitates a full range of sports - Sailing, Rowing, Diving, Windsurfing, Angling, Canoeing, Swimming, Triathlon, Powerboating, Kayaking and Paddleboarding. Participants include members of the public, club members, tourists, disabled, disadvantaged, event competitors, schools, youth groups and college students.

  • Commissioners of Irish Lights
  • Dun Laoghaire Marina
  • MGM Boats & Boatyard
  • Coastguard
  • Naval Service Reserve
  • Royal National Lifeboat Institution
  • Marine Activity Centre
  • Rowing clubs
  • Yachting and Sailing Clubs
  • Sailing Schools
  • Irish Olympic Sailing Team
  • Chandlery & Boat Supply Stores

The east and west granite-built piers of Dun Laoghaire harbour are each of one kilometre (0.62 mi) long and enclose an area of 250 acres (1.0 km2) with the harbour entrance being 232 metres (761 ft) in width.

In 2018, the ownership of the great granite was transferred in its entirety to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council who now operate and manage the harbour. Prior to that, the harbour was operated by The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, a state company, dissolved in 2018 under the Ports Act.

  • 1817 - Construction of the East Pier to a design by John Rennie began in 1817 with Earl Whitworth Lord Lieutenant of Ireland laying the first stone.
  • 1820 - Rennie had concerns a single pier would be subject to silting, and by 1820 gained support for the construction of the West pier to begin shortly afterwards. When King George IV left Ireland from the harbour in 1820, Dunleary was renamed Kingstown, a name that was to remain in use for nearly 100 years. The harbour was named the Royal Harbour of George the Fourth which seems not to have remained for so long.
  • 1824 - saw over 3,000 boats shelter in the partially completed harbour, but it also saw the beginning of operations off the North Wall which alleviated many of the issues ships were having accessing Dublin Port.
  • 1826 - Kingstown harbour gained the important mail packet service which at the time was under the stewardship of the Admiralty with a wharf completed on the East Pier in the following year. The service was transferred from Howth whose harbour had suffered from silting and the need for frequent dredging.
  • 1831 - Royal Irish Yacht Club founded
  • 1837 - saw the creation of Victoria Wharf, since renamed St. Michael's Wharf with the D&KR extended and a new terminus created convenient to the wharf.[8] The extended line had cut a chord across the old harbour with the landward pool so created later filled in.
  • 1838 - Royal St George Yacht Club founded
  • 1842 - By this time the largest man-made harbour in Western Europe had been completed with the construction of the East Pier lighthouse.
  • 1855 - The harbour was further enhanced by the completion of Traders Wharf in 1855 and Carlisle Pier in 1856. The mid-1850s also saw the completion of the West Pier lighthouse. The railway was connected to Bray in 1856
  • 1871 - National Yacht Club founded
  • 1884 - Dublin Bay Sailing Club founded
  • 1918 - The Mailboat, “The RMS Leinster” sailed out of Dún Laoghaire with 685 people on board. 22 were post office workers sorting the mail; 70 were crew and the vast majority of the passengers were soldiers returning to the battlefields of World War I. The ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat near the Kish lighthouse killing many of those onboard.
  • 1920 - Kingstown reverted to the name Dún Laoghaire in 1920 and in 1924 the harbour was officially renamed "Dun Laoghaire Harbour"
  • 1944 - a diaphone fog signal was installed at the East Pier
  • 1965 - Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club founded
  • 1968 - The East Pier lighthouse station switched from vapourised paraffin to electricity, and became unmanned. The new candle-power was 226,000
  • 1977- A flying boat landed in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, one of the most unusual visitors
  • 1978 - Irish National Sailing School founded
  • 1934 - saw the Dublin and Kingstown Railway begin operations from their terminus at Westland Row to a terminus at the West Pier which began at the old harbour
  • 2001 - Dun Laoghaire Marina opens with 500 berths
  • 2015 - Ferry services cease bringing to an end a 200-year continuous link with Wales.
  • 2017- Bicentenary celebrations and time capsule laid.
  • 2018 - Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company dissolved, the harbour is transferred into the hands of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

From East pier to West Pier the waterfront clubs are:

  • National Yacht Club. Read latest NYC news here
  • Royal St. George Yacht Club. Read latest RSTGYC news here
  • Royal Irish Yacht Club. Read latest RIYC news here
  • Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club. Read latest DMYC news here

 

The umbrella organisation that organises weekly racing in summer and winter on Dublin Bay for all the yacht clubs is Dublin Bay Sailing Club. It has no clubhouse of its own but operates through the clubs with two x Committee vessels and a starters hut on the West Pier. Read the latest DBSC news here.

The sailing community is a key stakeholder in Dún Laoghaire. The clubs attract many visitors from home and abroad and attract major international sailing events to the harbour.

 

Dun Laoghaire Regatta

Dun Laoghaire's biennial town regatta was started in 2005 as a joint cooperation by the town's major yacht clubs. It was an immediate success and is now in its eighth edition and has become Ireland's biggest sailing event. The combined club's regatta is held in the first week of July.

  • Attracts 500 boats and more from overseas and around the country
  • Four-day championship involving 2,500 sailors with supporting family and friends
  • Economic study carried out by the Irish Marine Federation estimated the economic value of the 2009 Regatta at €2.5 million

The dates for the 2021 edition of Ireland's biggest sailing event on Dublin Bay is: 8-11 July 2021. More details here

Dun Laoghaire-Dingle Offshore Race

The biennial Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race is a 320-miles race down the East coast of Ireland, across the south coast and into Dingle harbour in County Kerry. The latest news on the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race can be found by clicking on the link here. The race is organised by the National Yacht Club.

The 2021 Race will start from the National Yacht Club on Wednesday 9th, June 2021.

Round Ireland Yacht Race

This is a Wicklow Sailing Club race but in 2013 the Garden County Club made an arrangement that sees see entries berthed at the RIYC in Dun Laoghaire Harbour for scrutineering prior to the biennial 704–mile race start off Wicklow harbour. Larger boats have been unable to berth in the confines of Wicklow harbour, a factor WSC believes has restricted the growth of the Round Ireland fleet. 'It means we can now encourage larger boats that have shown an interest in competing but we have been unable to cater for in Wicklow' harbour, WSC Commodore Peter Shearer told Afloat.ie here. The race also holds a pre-ace launch party at the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

Laser Masters World Championship 2018

  • 301 boats from 25 nations

Laser Radial World Championship 2016

  • 436 competitors from 48 nations

ISAF Youth Worlds 2012

  • The Youth Olympics of Sailing run on behalf of World Sailing in 2012.
  • Two-week event attracting 61 nations, 255 boats, 450 volunteers.
  • Generated 9,000 bed nights and valued at €9 million to the local economy.

The Harbour Police are authorised by the company to police the harbour and to enforce and implement bye-laws within the harbour, and all regulations made by the company in relation to the harbour.

There are four ship/ferry berths in Dun Laoghaire:

  • No 1 berth (East Pier)
  • No 2 berth (east side of Carlisle Pier)
  • No 3 berth (west side of Carlisle Pier)
  • No 4 berth  (St, Michaels Wharf)

Berthing facilities for smaller craft exist in the town's 800-berth marina and on swinging moorings.

© Afloat 2020