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Displaying items by tag: Oceanfast

With sweeping lines the 54m private motor-yacht Fortunate Sun became the largest vessel to transit Dublin's Samuel Beckett swing-bridge, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The motoryacht (click PHOTO) which has luxurious accommodation for 10 guests and 12 crew had sailed from the Scottish western isles and made a lunchtime arrival on Wednesday, where the vessel initially docked at Ocean Pier, Dublin Port.

She remained alongside this berth which is normally used by large commercial ships until the vessel sought a berth much closer to the city-centre. This led to a shift of berths in the evening when the 2003 built vessel headed upriver to the Dublin City Moorings facility at Custom House Quay, but this firstly required transiting through two bridges.

With a beam of 10.6m Fortunate Sun entered through the East-Link toll-lift bridge followed by the Samuel Beckett bridge, the Liffey's newest crossing point which opened in late 2009. The €60m bridge was commissioned by Dublin City Council and designed by the Spanish architect engineer Santiago Calatrava. To read more on the bridge click HERE.

Fortunate Sun is registered in the Caymen Islands and is capable of over 17 knots on a range of 5000 nautical miles. She has a steel hull and an aluminium superstructure and interiors also by Tim Heywood Design. In the early hours of tomorrow morning the vessel built by Oceanfast is to depart through the 5,700 tonnes bridge which was delivered by barge after a five-day voyage from Rotterdam.

There has been previous transits of the bridge notably the annual Dublin Rally organised by the the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI). This year's Dublin Rally took place on 1 May when boats travelling on the Royal Canal descended via Croke Park and entered the Liffey at Spencer Dock. This required the Iarnrod Éireann bridge-lift and the water level in Spencer Dock to be lowered so to allow safe clearance under the Sheriff St. bridge.

From there the IWAI flotilla made the short passage downriver to re-enter another inland waterway system at the Grand Canal Dock, marking where the Liffey connects with the city's southern canal. The 2011 Dublin Rally was the first time since 1955 that boats could enter Dublin from the Shannon via the Royal Canal and the first time since 2004 that boats also joined from the Royal Canal.

Published in Ports & Shipping

Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023 Cruisers One

A 24-boat fleet will contest Cruisers IRC One at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023: 

  • IRL 2160 Blast on Chimaera J109 Barry Cunningham
  • GBR 8529C Mocking-J J109 Ben Shelley
  • IRL 29213 Something Else J109 Brian John Hall
  • GBR 9470 Banshee Corby 33 Charlie Frize
  • IRL 28898 Powder Monkey J109 Chris Moore
  • GBR 8933R Bon Exemple Colin Byrne
  • GBR 1508R Salamander XXIII J109 Craig Corson
  • IRL 9898 Indecision J109 Declan Hayes
  • IRL 1095 Dear Prudence J109 Dp Partners
  • IRL 1003 FINAL CALL II RC35, ARCHAMBAULT A35 Gareth Flannigan
  • IRL 19109 Outrajeous J109 John And Suzie Murphy
  • IRL 1206 Joker 2 J109 John Maybury
  • IRL 3307 JACOB VII Corby 33 John Stamp
  • GBR 2068R Blue Jay J109 John Stanley-Whyte
  • IRL 13500 D-TOX X-35 Kyran McStay
  • IRL 1699 Snapshot Michael and Richard Evans
  • IRL 1141 Storm J109 Pat Kelly
  • GBR 9498R Going to Red J109 Peter Holden
  • GBR 7377 Imposter Corby 33 Richard Fildes
  • GBP 1242R White Mischief J109 Richard Timothy Goodbody
  • IRL 53222 Riders on the Storm J109 Robert Kerr
  • GBR 8543R Jings J109 Robin Young
  • GBR 704R Game Changer Beneteau 40.7 Shaun Douglas
  • IRL 1543 Indian J109 Simon Knowles
  • GBR 732R HIJACKER CUSTOM KER 32 Stuart Cranston
  • IRL 1383 Ruth J109 Tom Shanahan