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Displaying items by tag: Delays

#Delays - The Scenic Carlingford Ferry, which was set to launch this month has stated that it is "looking like it could be another couple of weeks" before the car-ferry is ready to get underway.

In the Dundalk Gazette, the Chief Executive of the ferry operator Pamela Houston said, “We are still hoping to set sail officially in June but it is looking like it could be another couple of weeks. We are quite simply at the mercy of bespoke navigational aids and once they are delivered and installed, we can get underway.”

“We are, as you would expect, following due process in terms of the official sequence for final approvals before opening the service for passengers. All the Captains are hugely experienced and already carry the official Certificate of Competency to operate a range of vessels, hence they can be seen putting the Ferry through its paces.”

For more on the story click here.

Published in Ferry

#StormDoris – A pair of rival ferries have not been able to enter Rosslare Harbour from Wales since this morning due to Storm Doris. The gale to storm force conditions have battered coasts and caused high seas leading to ferry travel disruption throughout the Irish Sea.

For approximately the last seven hours, due to the adverse weather conditions both Irish Ferries and Stena Line ferries have been forced to ride out the storm off the Wexford coast. This has had a knock-on effect as subsequent scheduled sailings in the reverse direction to Wales this morning were cancelled.

Isle of Inishmore and Stena Europe were both due to dock at the Wexford port before 07.00hrs this morning, however the ferries headed as far as the South Arklow buoy. This passage away from Rosslare has been repeated several times by the ferries as they wait for conditions to moderate so to enable berthing at the Wexford ferryport.

The next scheduled sailing for Isle of Inishmore for 20.45 is on time from Rosslare to Pembroke. For the latest information from Irish Ferries routes, click here.

The next scheduled sailing of the Stena Europe at 21.15 is on time from Rosslare to Fishguard. To check the latest sailing updates from Stena Line services, click here.

Further north on the central corridor, Dublin-Holyhead sailings as previously reported were also caught up in the storm. Notably a Stena Line ferry from Holyhead, Stena Adventurer was also unable to enter the capital port due to high winds. Stena Adventurer finally docked at around 12.30.

The next sailing this afternoon of Stena Adventurer from Dublin to Holyhead has been cancelled.

According to the latest information correct at time of posting, Stena Line, (all vehicle passengers) were to be accommodated on Irish Ferries 14:15hrs Epsilon sailing.

As for (foot passengers) they are been accommodated on the 15:10hrs Stena Nordica. For more information contact ferrycheck on +353 (0) 1 907 5300.

For those travelling with P&O information on the Larne-Cairnryan by clicking here. And for Dublin-Liverpool follow this link.

A weather update from Met Eireann can be consulted here 

Published in Ferry

Round Ireland Yacht Race Information

The Round Ireland Yacht Race is Ireland's classic offshore yacht race starts from Wicklow Sailing Club (WSC) and is organised jointly with the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC). This page details the very latest updates from the 2008 race onwards including the race schedule, yacht entries and the all-important race updates from around the 704-mile course. Keep up to date with the Round Ireland Yacht Race here on this one handy reference page.

2020 Round Ireland Race

The 2020 race, the 21st edition, was the first race to be rescheduled then cancelled.

Following Government restrictions over COVID-19, a decision on the whether or not the 2020 race can be held was made on April 9 2020 to reschedule the race to Saturday, August 22nd. On July 27th, the race was regrettably cancelled due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19.

Because of COVID-19, the race had to have a virtual launch party at the Royal Irish Yacht Club for its 21st edition

In spite of the pandemic, however, a record entry was in prospect for 2020 with 50 boats entered with four weeks to go to the race start. The race was also going big on size and variety to make good on a pre-race prediction that the fleet could reach 60. An Irish offshore selection trial also looked set to be a component part of the 2020 race.

The rescheduling of the race to a news date emphasises the race's national significance, according to Afloat here

FAQs

704 nautical miles, 810 miles or 1304 kilometres

3171 kilometres is the estimate of Ireland's coastline by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland.

SSE Renewables are the sponsors of the 2020 Round Ireland Race.

Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London and The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin.

Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, August 22nd 2020

Monohulls 1300 hrs and Multihulls 13.10 hrs

Leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

It depends on the boat. The elapsed record time for the race is under 40 hours but most boats take five or six days to complete the course.

The Race Tracker is https://afloat.ie/sail/events/round-ireland/item/25789-round-ireland-yacht-race-tracker-2016-here.

The idea of a race around Ireland began in 1975 with a double-handed race starting and finishing in Bangor organised by Ballyholme Yacht Club with stopovers in Crosshaven and Killybegs. That race only had four entries. In 1980 Michael Jones put forward the idea of a non-stop race and was held in that year from Wicklow Sailing Club. Sixteen pioneers entered that race with Brian Coad’s Raasay of Melfort returning home after six days at sea to win the inaugural race. Read the first Round Ireland Yacht Race 1980 Sailing Instructions here

 

The Round Ireland race record of 38 h 37 min 7 s is held by MOD-70 trimaran Musandam-Oman Sail and was set in June 2016.

George David’s Rambler 88 (USA) holds the fastest monohull race time of two days two hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds set in the 2016 race.

William Power's 45ft Olivia undertook a round Ireland cruise in September 1860

 

Richard Hayes completed his solo epic round Ireland voyage in September 2018 in a 14-foot Laser dinghy. The voyage had seen him log a total of 1,324 sea miles (2,452 kilometres) in 54 sailing days. in 1961, the Belfast Lough Waverly Durward crewed by Kevin and Colm MacLaverty and Mick Clarke went around Ireland in three-and-a-half weeks becoming the smallest keelboat ever to go round. While neither of these achievements occurred as part of the race they are part of Round Ireland sailing history

© Afloat 2020