Displaying items by tag: European Tour

12th August 2012

MOD70 European Tour Comes to Dun Laoghaire Next Month

#DUN LAOGHAIRE NEWS - Dun Laoghaire will play host to sailing’s most exciting new global championship series when the MOD70 European Tour visits from Wednesday 5 to Sunday 9 September.

Ireland has hosted many of the world’s top sailing events during 2012 and the welcoming of this new series surely positions Ireland as one of the best sailing locations in the world. The MOD70 fleet - Race For Water, FONCIA, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Spindrift Racing and Musandam-Oman Sail - will be hosted by the National Yacht Club (NYC) and the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company (DLHC), and a five-day family festival will be held on the East Pier to celebrate the arrival of the most innovative racing trimarans in the world.

The festival will include food courts, a farmers' market, Fairtrade and ethnic stalls, craft stalls, street entertainers and vintage amusements.

On Friday 7 September and Saturday 8 September the MOD70s will be competing in Dublin Bay in the Dublin City Race and Speed Match Races, and there will be live commentary from the East Pier. The trimarans will then leave Dun Laoghaire at 3pm on Sunday 9 September for the start of the second leg of the European Tour from Dun Laoghaire to Cascais.

Gerry Dunne, CEO of the DLHC, said: "We are delighted to welcome the world’s most innovative trimarans to Dun Laoghaire Harbour which has witnessed 200 years of maritime history. 1.4 million people walk the East Pier on an annual basis and we hope that the hosting of this global event will attract many more people to our beautiful harbour in September."

The high-speed MOD70 class of trimarans are a new innovation for sailing, and have already proven to be the fastest offshore one-design class in the world. Each MOD70 is completely identical, built from the same moulds, so that success – both inshore and offshore – reflects the skills of the sailing crew and not any technological advantage.

"The National Yacht Club has played host to many world championships and in July this year we co-hosted the ISAF Youth World Championships. We are delighted that the MOD70s has chosen Dun Laoghaire to host a stopover on the European Tour and we look forward to thousands of people visiting Dun Laoghaire to enjoy the spectacle," said Paul Barrington, Commodore of the NYC.

The MOD70 European Tour starts in Kiel, Germany before visiting Dublin, Cascais near Lisbon and Marseille before finishing in Genoa, Italy. Over the five weeks of the MOD70 European Tour the teams will sail nearly 5,000 miles over five offshore stages.

The tour is the second event of the Multi One Championship, following on from July’s inaugural Krys Ocean Race which saw the MOD70s race the Atlantic from New York to Brest in France at remarkable speeds. The first three boats finished within less than two hours after traversing the Atlantic in less than five days, with the winning boat making more than 711 miles in one 24-hour period.

Already the MOD70 fleet has attracted a cross-section of some of the best ocean racing sailors in the world. Michel Desjoyeaux of France has twice won the Vendée Globe solo round the world race and skippers FONCIA. There are more than eight sailors across the different boats who hold round the world records including Britain’s Brian Thompson who sails for Musandam-Oman Sail.

Thompson has more than 20 offshore sailing speed records to his name and was the only Briton on board Banque Populaire V when the giant multihull set a new record for sailing non-stop around the world in January.

Marco Simeoni, president of MOD SA, said of Dun Laoghaire's hosting of the tour: "Local knowledge and local expertise in hosting world-class sailing events is widely appreciated. We thank all the institutions involved in this stopover and we look forward to spending five wonderful days in the heart of the local culture. Sports and entertainment is guaranteed in the Dublin Bay from 5-9 September!"

Programme of events

Wednesday 5/Thursday 6 September

All day Wednesday: Estimated arrival of MOD70s
10am–6pm: Food courts, farmers market, Fairtrade and ethnic stalls, craft stalls, family entertainment, vintage amusements (every day)

Friday 7 September

2pm: Dublin City Races and Speed Matches Day 1 (vantage points from the East Pier to Sandycove with live commentary from the East Pier)
10pm: Firework display in Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Saturday 8 September

2pm: Dublin City Races and Speed Matches Day 2

Sunday 9 September

3pm: Start of Leg 2 from Dublin (Dun Laoghaire) to Cascais (vantage points from the East Pier to Sandycove with live commentary from the East Pier)

Published in Dublin Bay

Tagged under

Dun Laoghaire Earmarked For Stop on First MOD70 Euro Tour

#DUBLIN BAY NEWS - The inaugural European Tour for the MOD70 trimaran class is set to come to Dublin next summer, pending agreement with the relative authorities in January.

The Irish Times reports that the National Yacht Club is at the head of efforts to include an event in Dun Laoghaire on the first tour for the new 70-foot design.

But apart from the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, there has so far been little support from local or national authorities despite organisers waiving the €250,000 franchise fee.

John McKenna of tour organiser OC Thirdpole says he is determined to ensure Dublin is included, and that costs will be borne by the competing teams.

However, he added: "The tour needs to be assured that it will have a major public occasion in Dublin if it is to commit to coming here."

mod70

The MOD 70 fleet – plans are afoot to bring the fleet to Dun Laoghaire and moor them off the National Yacht Club at the Carlisle Pier

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Dublin Bay welcomed its first MOD70 earlier this year when yachtsman Roland Jourdain tested his Veolia Environnement trimaran ahead of the Fastnet Race.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Dublin Bay

Tagged under

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

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

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.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

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.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

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.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

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).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

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.