Another fine fleet of vintage Water Wag dinghies raced in light winds inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour as part of the class's regular Dublin Bay Sailing Club Wednesday night series.

27 turned out for racing eclipsing the fleets own Bloomsday high of 26 boats for last Wednesday's race.

Race Officer Harry Gallagher only managed one race in the fickle breeze. The wind died and only nine of them finished the race.

Race Officer Harry Gallagher finishes one of nine Water Wags that completed the in harbour course

Meanwhile, the National Yacht Club has welcomed a beautiful new Water Wag, Shindilla to the East Pier Club.

Shindilla was commissioned by Neil and Pam Collen and takes its name and sail number from the original Shindilla that Neil’s grandfather Ninian Falkiner commissioned in 1932 and sailed and later his mother Effie sailed for many years.

Last Wednesday it was sailed for the first time by Alistair Kissane and Annalise Murphy. Shindilla finished a close second in the 26 boat Bloomsday fleet in the first race and then went on to win the second race.

Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy (left) toasts the arrival of new Water Wag Shindilla to the National Yacht Club Photo: NYC

Although Ireland's biggest regatta was cancelled next month due to the ongoing uncertainty over Covid, some positive news for Dublin Bay sailing is that eight of the 11 regional and national championships that were to run as part of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta will be going ahead as scheduled in July.

Barry MacNeaney, the Chairperson of the Dun Laoghaire Combined Yacht Clubs (DLCC), reports that in the "usual spirit of cooperation between all the Dun Laoghaire Clubs", the championships will be proceeding with two hosted by each of the waterfront clubs.

Barry MacNeaney, the Chairperson of the Dun Laoghaire Combined Yacht Clubs (pictured right) says the waterfront clubs at Dun Laoghaire will proceed with eight separate sailing championships that have been salvaged from July's cancelled Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

"Whilst understanding and agreeing 100% with the decision to cancel the Dun Laoghaire Volvo regatta it did mean that up to the DLCC held a meeting within days of the decision and it was agreed to contact the Class Captains, Club sailing Secretaries and the Club sailing managers to see could anything be salvaged from the cancellation", MacNeaney told Afloat.

It is understood agreement was reached following numerous zoom meetings and phone calls.

The Championships now running from Dun Laoghaire Harbour are: 

RStGYC

Dragons 2nd -4th July
R.S. Aero 2nd-4th July

DMYC

Shipmans 9th-10th July
Fireballs 23-25th July

RIYC

SB20 2nd-4th July

B21.1 2nd-4th July

National Yacht Club

Beneteau 31.7 2nd -4th July

Ruffians 2nd-4th July

26 Water Wag dinghies turned out last night for two Bloomsday races inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly ran two races for the fleet that included an on the water tribute to the late DBSC Race official Carmel Winkelmann, who died last Saturday.

DBSC Water Wag Results for Wednesday, June 16th

Race 1: 1. Hilda, 2. Shindilla, 3. Mariposa

Race 2: 1. Shindilla, 2. Swift, 3. Mariposa

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has launched a new safety patrol boat service in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

It follows an initial trial period as Afloat reported back in April due to anti-social behaviour in the 250-acre harbour.

This week DLR Council also erected new signs at the town's marina breakwaters (above) advising paddleboarders there is no entry into the marina for safety reasons.

DLRCoCo recently issued a notice to Kayak and Stand Up Paddleboarders highlighting 'areas to explore' and 'no entry' areas inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

It follows a number of infringements where kayakers and SUPs have become involved with boating traffic in the harbour fairways. 

There has also been a number of complaints about kayakers at the harbour's four shipping berths and also kayaking in and around moored pleasure craft in the town marina. 

The DLR map shows the 550 berth marina as a 'no-entry area'. Ship berths and three of the waterfront yacht clubs are also marked in read as a no entry zone.

The map also displays the bulk of the harbour's 250 acres in green as an area 'open to explore'. 

New safety patrol boat launched at @dlharbour @bigstyle @IrelandSailing @MoontourGaeilge @DublinBayCruise @dublinbiosphere @RNLIDunLaoghair @IrishCoastGuard https://t.co/laT4BXloQP pic.twitter.com/b3mbIAEcvh

— Dún Laoghaire Harbour (@DLHarbour) June 9, 2021

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has issued a notice to Kayak and Stand Up Paddleboarders highlighting 'areas to explore' and 'no entry' areas inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

It follows a number of infringements where kayakers and SUPs have become involved with boating traffic in the harbour fairways. 

There has also been a number of complaints about kayakers at the harbour's four shipping berths and also kayaking in and around moored pleasure craft in the town marina. 

The DLR map shows the 550 berth marina as a 'no-entry area'. Ship berths and three of the waterfront yacht clubs are also marked in read as a no entry zone.

The map also displays the bulk of the harbour's 250 acres in green as an area 'open to explore'.

A Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI volunteer crew of three assisted a person on Saturday evening with a suspected broken leg near Whiterock beach in Killiney.

The volunteer lifeboat crew were contacted by the Coast Guard after a request from its Dun Laoghaire Unit that lifeboat assistance was needed at Whiterock beach.

The inshore lifeboat was launched immediately at 3.33 pm and made its way to the scene arriving at 3.45 pm.

Weather conditions at the time were described as good with a calm sea, light wind, and very good visibility.

On arrival, the lifeboat crew assessed the situation and with help from Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit and the National Ambulance Service the casualty was quickly transferred onboard the lifeboat accompanied by the paramedic who was on the scene. The casualty was then transferred to land at nearby Colliemore Harbour.

Speaking following the call out, Gary Hayes, Dun Laoghaire RNLI Lifeboat Helm at the time said: ‘The teamwork within our volunteer crew and the agencies on scene was amazing and has been all weekend. It has been a very busy few days along the Dublin coast with our lifeboat crew having had five call outs in 48 hours’

‘I would like to remind everyone to never underestimate conditions along our coast even with the nice weather passing through. When you head to the coast always try to have a plan in place that ensures you can access help if you need it. If you ever get into difficulty or see someone getting into difficulty to dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Irish Coast Guard.’

May’s low water Spring tides have revealed deterioration of Dun Laoghaire Harbour's famous East Pier.

Visibly damaged stonework lies below the waterline close to the East Pier roundhead.

Large holes in the foundations of the base of the pier wall area are visible. The massive original granite stones are now out of place.

(Above and below) The damage to the East Pier is visible at low water springs 

As Afloat readers will know, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council recently completed works after a significant amount of damage to both the East and West Piers caused by Storm Emma in 2018.

Large areas were damaged by the storm as Afloat reported here including areas of the West Pier roundhead revetment.

The damage was surveyed and repaired in 2020 according to DLRCoCo.

Yet another Belgian fishing trawler arrived into Dun Laoghaire Harbour today, tripling the sporadic arrival of such visits last year. 

The trawlers are using the town's Carlisle Pier, a wharf that has seen very little shipping in recent times.

Seven of the 38-metre European boats have now made use of Dun Laoghaire's relatively deepwater berths (of approximately six metres depth) in the past fortnight.

As Afloat reported previously, the trawlers, that catch Whitefish, on Cardigan Bay off the Welsh coast used to land in Liverpool but current Brexit arrangements are causing difficulties leading to the requirement for deepwater alternatives.

The six-metre draft of the trawlers is just too deep for other east coast ports (other than Dublin) so Dun Laoghaire Harbour is proving a convenient and well-serviced location.

The Carlisle Pier provides easy access for trucks to take the catch to market. 

The main fishing grounds of the Belgians are the southern and central North Sea, accounting for 44 per cent of total catches. Other important fishing grounds are the English Channel (26 per cent), the Celtic Sea (18 per cent) and the Irish Sea (8 per cent).

No sooner than the Belgian fishing trawler fleet departs Dun Laoghaire than the Harbour's Carlisle Pier and St. Michael's Wharf are in use again such is the current demand for deepwater berths on Dublin Bay. 

The weekend saw several large trawlers from Zeebrugge make good use of the pier's convenient location following a Whitefish catch in the Irish Sea. 

Now, as south-east winds are forecast to gust to 50 knots on Dublin Bay today, the harbour berths are occupied by the Navy's LE George Bernard Shaw and the Danish Survey vessel the Arctic Ocean along with the Dublin Bay Cruises sightseeing ferry, as a refuge from the weather.

See Dublin Bay web cams

Belgian fishing trawlers continue to use the convenience of Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Irish east coast to land their Irish Sea catches since Brexit.

No sooner had the last trawler left the Dublin Bay Port on Sunday than two more arrived early this morning.

The latest arrivals follow four big Belgian vessels using the port this month, more than doubling the sporadic arrival of such visits into Dun Laoghaire last year.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour’s strategic location as an EU port in the middle of the Irish Sea may have been overlooked by commercial fishing fleets for years but since Brexit, it appears Belgian fishermen have been quick to see the advantage of the Dublin Bay port. 

Dun Laoghaire Harbour is proving a convenient and well-serviced location for Belgian fishing trawlers

As Afloat reported previously, the trawlers, that catch Whitefish on Cardigan Bay off the Welsh coast, used to land in Liverpool but current Brexit arrangements are causing difficulties leading to the requirement for deepwater alternatives.

The six-metre draft of the trawlers is just too deep for other east coast ports (other than Dublin) so Dun Laoghaire Harbour is proving a convenient and well-serviced location.

The Carlisle Pier provides easy access for trucks to take the catch to market. And it's not the only port the Belgians are accessing, they are also landing fish in Cork, according to local sources.