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Displaying items by tag: Cork City

The Port of Cork Company (PoCC) plans to move completely out of Cork city centre in the next eight years, as part of a €250m Masterplan for the Port that will move shipping activities to the lower harbour.

The PoCC has been holding public consultations on its ‘Port Masterplan 2050’ this week in a number of locations.

A major focus of the plan is for the PoCC to completely vacate the city centre by 2030, and vacate Tivoli by 2040, migrating all activities down to the lower harbour areas of Marino Point, Cobh, and Ringaskiddy.

“It’s not just about the Port going to the lower harbour because there are bigger ships and we have to have enough capacity for demand, it’s also about unlocking the city quays for development for urban living and sustainable active travel” said Tim Murphy, Head of Port Engineering with PoCC, speaking at the consultation day in Páirc Uí Chaoimh (yesterday).

He said that vacating Tivoli alone will unlock 150 acres for development in Cork city.

For more on the port's shift downriver, EchoLive reports.

Published in Port of Cork

#navy - Next Saturday a parade will be held in Cork, Echolive reports, to highlight concerns about pay and conditions of members of the Naval Service.

The Parade for Respect and Loyalty will take place at 12 noon on the Grand Parade and is being held to raise support for the Navy members.

It will follow the commissioning tomorrow of the latest Naval ship, the LE George Bernard Shaw, in Waterford tomorrow (today, Sunday, 28 April).

And it comes after a series of parades and actions last year by veteran Defence Force members and the Wives and Partners of the Defence Forces.

One of the organisers, Defence Forces veteran Noel O'Callaghan said: "Our Navy has nine ships, of which two are in dry dock due to a shortage of sailors. To keep the other seven ships at sea they have to change around crews, and have unqualified sailors in specific appointments."

He said the concentration should instead be on pay, allowances and contracts of existing members.

More on the story can be found here.

Published in Navy
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#CorkHarbour - A Tall Ship Hotel could be berthed on Cork's City quays before the end of October, serving food and drink and with luxury rooms for overnight stays.

According to the Evening Echo, a company which has planning permission to moor a floating hotel on Penrose Quay is planning to dock a smaller ship, the 55-metre Anna Marjorie, at the location while work continues on finalising the longer term plan for a larger vessel.

Sick & Sore Limited say they have had very constructive meetings with both the Port Of Cork and Cork City Council and the project now only requires sign off from the fire officer. They hope to get the nod in the coming weeks in order to get the ship, which is currently in the Netherlands, to Cork before the winter sets in.

“I must compliment the Port of Cork, they have been brilliant to deal with and so encouraging,” Sam Corbett said. “It is very refreshing to see how supportive the Port and City Council were.”

For more on this story, click here.

Published in Cork Harbour

#CitySmell - Strong smells affecting Cork city for the past four days are being blamed due to dredging works near the city quays.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which monitors air quality in the city, said the disturbance of marine sediments could give rise to a release of hydrogen sulphide, which would explain the sulphur or rotten eggs odour.

Shoppers, business owners and visitors to Cork have all reported a foul smell at various locations since Saturday. For more on this the Evening Echo has a report.

 

Published in Coastal Notes

#PORTS & SHIPPING NEWS – The Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) have welcomed a newly founded ship-management company, Barry Shipping, which started operations in Cork at the end of last year.

The company headed by Corkonian Owen Barry,  provides ship management, crew management, project management, training and a range of other services for the maritime industry.

Glenn Murphy, director of the IMDO said "We wish Barry Shipping well with their new venture and look forward to providing them with further strategic and network support to assist them during their continued development".

Commenting on their future strategy Barry said, "The company's aim is to provide clients with creative and profitable solutions to meet and overcome some of the unique challenges in the current climate".

Barry graduated from Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) in 1996 and started his career with BP Shipping as an Engineering Cadet. This was followed by working with leading passenger operators Irish Ferries, P&O Cruises and Dobson Fleet Management where he served as Chief Engineer and Technical Superintendent. In 2009 he returned to Cork to run operations for Fastnet Line.

For more information about the new company, visit www.barryshipping.com

In addition for details about the role of the (IMDO) which is Ireland's national dedicated development, promotional and marketing agency for the shipping services sector click HERE

Published in Ports & Shipping

#NAVY VISITS -HNLMS Evertsen (F805) a Dutch naval frigate with a crew complement of 200 is due to make a weekend courtesy call to Cork City, berthing at J.J. Horgan's Wharf, writes Jehan Ashmore.

She is a sister of HNLMS De Ruyter (F804) which docked in Dublin Port last month, as previously reported in this section. The 144m frigates form two of a total of four De Zeven Provinciën-class air-defence and command frigates (LCF). The class present sharp angular lines (see PHOTO) due to stealth design technology to minimise radar signature detection.

Armament consists of a bow-mounted Oto Breda 127 mm cannon, vertical launch systems for various missile types, a 'goalkeeper' rapid-fire gun, an Oerlikon 20mm machine gun and a Mk. 46 Torpedo weapon system. At the stern she can carry a Lynx or NH-90 helicopter.

They displace 6,050 tonnes and propulsion plant are 2 x Wärtsilä 16 V26 diesel motor engines (13,600 hp total), 2 x Rolls Royce Spey SM 1A gas turbines (52,300 hp total). The class can achieve 30 knots and entered service between, 2001-2005 from the Royal Schelde Group shipyard in Flushing.

Published in Navy

This year's Cork Harbour Open Day will take place on Saturday 10th September. The event aims to embrace the best of what Cork Harbour has to offer.

The Open Day seeks to raise awareness of the different free activities and events available for families in the harbour both on and off the water. If you would like to be involved in Cork Harbour Open Day or organise an event on the day, please contact Sara MacKeown Tel: (021) 4625375 or by email: [email protected]

All of the events will be promoted on the lead up to the day via PR, advertising and social media. For further information www.corkharbour.ie

Published in Cork Harbour

The Cork-berthed replica HMS Bounty, the purpose built movie prop tallship used in the 1962 MGM studies film release of 'Mutiny and the Bounty' starring Marlon Brando, will be open to visitors from tomorrow, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The famous tall ship is to open to the public between (11am-6pm) and these times also apply to the Saturday and Sunday. Tours on board the Bounty are self-guided with crew assistance. Admission charges are €10 for adults and children €5, children under four years go free.

The Bounty is berthed at Albert Quay which faces opposite the Cork City Marina on the south quays of the city-centre.

The public can explore her "tween" deck 8' foot ceilings, this made it easier for the film crew and their equipment to access.

As a result, Bounty has been hired by filmcrews for the making of 'Treasure Island', 'Yellowbeard', 'Sponge Bob, Square Pants, the Movie' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest'. In addition to commercial movies, Bounty has also been the stage for many documentaries.

To compare the differences between the replica and the original 18th century built 'Bounty' click HERE.

Published in Tall Ships

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

 

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.

©Afloat 2020