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Displaying items by tag: AClass tallships

As part of today's celebrations to mark the 180th anniversary of the Royal Irish Yacht Club, in Dun Laoghaire, a flotilla of yachts 'dressed overall' set off on a cruise-in-company around Dalkey Island, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The boats headed down Dalkey Sound and as they briefly entered into Killiney Bay some of the participants hoisted their mainsail prior to making a northerly return via The Muglins before heading back to their homeport, where the club is the oldest of the four main waterfront yacht-clubs.

At the same time across Dublin Bay, the Norwegian square-rigged tallship Statsraad Lehmkuhl was underway from her River Liffey berth at Sir John Rogersons Quay, where the 321" foot vessel had made a two-day visit to Dublin Port.

As the public boarded one of the largest tallships in the world, they were given a taste of what to expect a year from now, as the capital prepares to be the host-port of the final race-leg of the Tall Ships Races. The sailing spectacle was last held in 1998 and the high-profile event in August 2012 is expected to draw around 100 tallships.

Published in Dublin Bay
In glorious sunshine an estimated 200,000 visitors flocked to see the Tall Ships in Waterford on the final day of the festival before tomorrow's departing 'Parade of Sail' spectacle writes Jehan Ashmore.

Scenes of the tallships moored alongside the north and south quays and the surrounding festivities are captured by Gary O'Mahony. SCROLL DOWN FOR PICS.

Tall_Shipsjehan

The Columbian Navy's Sailing Training Ship ARC Gloria. Photo: Jehan Ashmore

This is the second year in which the city has been the host port of the Tall Ships Race and the prestigious event is to return for a third time. The next occasion has not been confirmed but it would be several years away according to Sail Training International, the organisers of the famous race.

View Waterford's Parade of Sail Photo Gallery Here

Published in Tall Ships

About Brittany Ferries

In 1967 a farmer from Finistère in Brittany, Alexis Gourvennec, succeeded in bringing together a variety of organisations from the region to embark on an ambitious project: the aim was to open up the region, to improve its infrastructure and to enrich its people by turning to traditional partners such as Ireland and the UK. In 1972 BAI (Brittany-England-Ireland) was born.

The first cross-Channel link was inaugurated in January 1973, when a converted Israeli tank-carrier called Kerisnel left the port of Roscoff for Plymouth carrying trucks loaded with Breton vegetables such as cauliflowers and artichokes. The story, therefore, begins on 2 January 1973, 24 hours after Great Britain's entry into the Common Market (EEC).

From these humble beginnings however, Brittany Ferries as the company was re-named quickly opened up to passenger transport, then became a tour operator.

Today, Brittany Ferries has established itself as the national leader in French maritime transport: an atypical leader, under private ownership, still owned by a Breton agricultural cooperative.

Eighty five percent of the company’s passengers are British.

Key Brittany Ferries figures:

  • Turnover: €202.4 million (compared with €469m in 2019)
  • Investment in three new ships, Galicia plus two new vessels powered by cleaner LNG (liquefied natural gas) arriving in 2022 and 2023
  • Employment: 2,474 seafarers and shore staff (average high/low season)
  • Passengers: 752,102 in 2020 (compared with 2,498,354 in 2019)
  • Freight: 160,377 in 2020 (compared with 201,554 in 2019)
  • Twelve ships operating services that connect France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain (non-Covid year) across 14 routes
  • Twelve ports in total: Bilbao, Santander, Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo, Roscoff
  • Tourism in Europe: 231,000 unique visitors, staying 2.6 million bed-nights in France in 2020 (compared with 857,000 unique visitors, staying 8,7 million bed-nights in 2019).