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Ferry operator, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has confirmed that provisional bookings for sailings to the 2023 TT will open next week, on Monday, 23rd May.

Provisional bookings, which are held with a deposit, are priced at £40 for foot passengers and £80 for vehicles.

Confirmation of bookings with final details will be sent out toward the end of 2022, with the final balance payments due in February 2023. Any bookings that are not paid in full will be put back on sale the following month.

Brian Thomson, M.D. at the Isle of Man Steam Packet, said: ‘After strong bookings for Isle of Man TT 2022, we’re anticipating high demand for 2023 TT sailings. Previously, first day bookings have exceeded the 5,000 mark within a matter of hours of the booking system opening.

‘We’re expecting our website and phone lines will be very busy on the 23rd May, but we’ve put in place several initiatives to ensure users have a good experience. This includes bringing in additional staff and updating our web booking system to include a queuing system, but would ask for the public’s patience as we deal with the high volume of customer inquiries.

‘The TT is a great event for the Island’s businesses, residents, and, most importantly, visitors and 2022 looks set to be a busy and highly entertaining festival for all, and we look forward to serving fans’ and islanders’ needs in 2023.’

Published in Ferry
Fastnet Line's Cork-Swansea route operated by the M.V. Julia will continue to be off service for annual dry-docking maintenance until the beginning of March. The next sailing will be Friday 4th March from Swansea at 20.30 hours. The route between Munster and south Wales takes 10-hours.
Bookings can be made on www.fastnetline.com up to three hours before departure. Amendments to bookings or a refund for a cancelled sailing can be made by contacting the ferry company reservation teams at the numbers listed below.

Reservations Office Ireland : +353 (0) 21 4378892

Open Monday - Friday 9.00 am - 5.30 pm

Reservations Office UK: 0844 576 8831

Open Monday - Thursday 8.00 am - 8.00 pm

Open Friday 8.00 am - 7.00 pm

Open Saturday and Sunday 9.00 am - 6.00pm

Published in Ferry

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Turkey Shoot Winter Series

Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Turkey Shoot Series reached its 20th year in 2020.

The popular yacht series racing provides winter-racing for all the sailing clubs on the southside of Dublin Bay in the run-up to Christmas.

It regularly attracts a fleet of up to 70 boats of different shapes and sizes from all four yachts clubs at Dun Laoghaire: The National Yacht Club, The Royal St. George Yacht Club, The Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as other clubs such as Sailing in Dublin. Typically the event is hosted by each club in rotation.

The series has a short, sharp format for racing that starts at approximately 10 am and concludes around noon. The event was the brainchild of former DBSC Commodore Fintan Cairns to give the club year-round racing on the Bay thanks to the arrival of the marina at Dun Laoghaire in 2001. Cairns, an IRC racer himself, continues to run the series each winter.

Typically, racing features separate starts for different cruiser-racers but in fact, any type of boat is allowed to participate, even those yachts that do not normally race are encouraged to do so.

Turkey Shoot results are calculated under a modified ECHO handicap system and there can be a fun aspect to some of the scoring in keeping with the Christmas spirit of the occasion.

As a result, the Turkey Shoot often receives entries from boats as large as Beneteau 50 footers and one designs as small as 20-foot flying Fifteens, all competing over the same course.

It also has legendary weekly prizegivings in the host waterfront yacht clubs immediately after racing. There are fun prizes and overall prizes based on series results.

Regular updates and DBSC Turkey Shoot Results are published on Afloat each week as the series progresses.

FAQs

Cruisers, cruising boats, one-designs and boats that do not normally race are very welcome. Boats range in size from ocean-going cruisers at 60 and 60 feet right down to small one-design keelboats such as 20-foot Flying Fifteens. A listing of boats for different starts is announced on Channel 74 before racing each week.

Each winter from the first Sunday in November until the last week before Christmas.

Usually no more than two hours. The racecourse time limit is 12.30 hours.

Between six and eight with one or two discards applied.

Racing is organised by Dublin Bay Sailing Club and the Series is rotated across different waterfront yacht clubs for the popular after race party and prizegiving. The waterfront clubs are National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC), Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC) and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC).

© Afloat 2020