Displaying items by tag: Fridtjof Nansen

11th April 2022

Arrival of Tall Ship Fridtjof Nansen Will Expand Sail Training Ireland Adventures Under Sail

Seas Your Future (SYF), the youth development charity and owner of the tall ship Pelican of London that works closely with Sail Training Ireland has acquired a second tall ship, the Fridtjof Nansen, to satisfy the increase in demand in recent times.

Sail Training Ireland has worked with SYF since 2016/17. In 2022 they are undertaking 13 partnership voyages on Pelican with 300-350 young people from the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Having the additional capacity of Fridtjof Nansen means more each year will benefit from their first sail training adventure, opening doors to possible careers in the maritime and environmental sectors.

Described as 'a huge and very historic step' for the charity it more than doubles the capacity for taking young people on sail training, maritime careers and ocean science voyages for personal and character development.

The ship is on its way from Germany to Albion Dock Bristol where it will undergo a refit throughout the Spring.

Daragh Sheridan, CEO of Sail Training Ireland said: “We have been delighted to work in partnership with Seas Your Future for six years. Their acquisition of Fridtjof Nansen will enable many more young people from Ireland to realise the benefits of a tall ship sail training voyage, which can be life-changing in some cases.”

Seas Your Future is a sail training charity founded in 2008 to support the development of young people, building resilience, self-confidence, and independence.

Its tall ship Pelican of London sails for 46-48 weeks each year with up to 35 young trainees and 12 professional crew and volunteers.

Fourteen years on it has purchased the Fridtjof Nansen, a ship of similar capacity and design as Pelican, to meet the growing demand for sail training, maritime careers and ocean science voyages. Sail Training enables young people to discover and extend their abilities, values, passions and responsibilities in situations that offer adventure, challenge and the unexpected. They take responsibility by becoming the ship’s crew, communicating and working together to ensure a successful journey, developing their character, resilience, self-confidence,
and independence.

SYF work closely with several strategic partners, the two most prominent of whom are:

• Ocean College for the 6-month winter transatlantic voyage: our fourth voyage on Pelican ended in Emden, Germany on Sunday 3rd April. The growing reputation of this annual voyage has increased demand massively, and the acquisition of Fridtjof Nansen will enable two ships to sail annually and twice the number of young people benefit from the educational adventure of a lifetime. It will also enable SYF and Ocean College to deliver shorter summer voyages for youngsters who may be considering the 6-month voyage.

• Sail Training Ireland: with whom SYF has worked since 2016/17. In 2022 they are undertaking 13 partnership voyages on Pelican with 300-350 young people from the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Having the additional capacity of Fridtjof Nansen means more each year will benefit from their first sail training adventure, opening doors to possible careers in the maritime and environmental sectors.

Since 2018 SYF has offered voyages to young people interested a maritime career, working with training and skills development leaders to provide pathways into employment, and ocean science research voyages of particular interest to students and graduates of environmental and marine science and those who care passionately about the future of our planet.

The Fridtjof Nansen was originally built as a gaff-rigged freight schooner in 1919 under the name ‘Edith’ and has changed both owners and names on various occasions. The ship has a history of different activities, including transporting fresh produce, leisure, and towards the end of World War II the ship was used to transport refugees. In 1992 she was converted into a three-masted topsail schooner christened Fridtjof Nansen at the Peene shipyard by the granddaughter of the Norwegian researcher Fridtjof Nansen, Margret Greve, becoming the ship we see today.

Since 1992 she has delivered sail training for young people, including long term voyages on a tall ship. The first of those consisted of an eight-month world voyage in 1993-94, which was a first for a sailing ship from Germany, since the times of the Pamir and Passat. She sailed through the Panama Canal to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The homeward bound leg went via Cocos Island, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba and Bermuda, crossing the Atlantic via the Azores and returned to Wilhemshaven.

On the 21st of March 2022 ownership of the Fridtjof Nansen transferred to Seas Your Future, fulfilling the wishes of the previous owners that the charity continues to use her for youth sail training.

Seas Your Future CEO Adrian Ragbourne stated: “We are delighted and honoured to become the new owners of the historic tall ship Fridtjof Nansen, which for 30 years has given thousands of young people the opportunity of a lifetime. We will be welcoming her into Albion Dock Bristol next week for a refit, which will double our previous capacity, enabling Seas Your Future to offer sail training voyages to more than twice the number of young people over the coming years. We have a full programme of sail training, maritime careers and ocean science voyages scheduled for this year, and the Fridtjof Nansen will be sailing for us from July. We are extremely grateful to our strategic clients and funding partners for their financial support, without which this great step could not have been taken. Please come and visit while she is in Bristol, and especially over the weekend of the Bristol Harbour Festival on 16th and 17th July when Pelican will also be there.”

The family who has been looking after the vessel for the last 30 years was looking for a new owner, keen to ensure that the work with young people continues. They were delighted to be approached by Seas Your Future, who have shown through their work with young people on the Pelican of London, since 2008, to be a reliable organisation. Looking forward the family believes this achievement will be enhanced by SYF’s acquisition of the tall ship Fridtjof Nansen. “It is excellent news for everyone, that the ship is doing something again after the long break caused by Covid and we wish Seas Your Future every success and look forward to the coming years with confidence”.

Johan Kegler, CEO of Ocean College, Germany said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for many more young people to experience the educational adventure of a lifetime. Our partnership with Seas Your Future has grown so successfully over five years and the reputation of our six-month winter voyages means that many more ask every year to sail with us. Having the Fridtjof Nansen available means that many more dreams will come true”.

The ship will be sailing into Bristol on 12th April. The Fridtjof Nansen will be located in Albion Dock Bristol next to the SS Great Britain, and at times will be open to the public.

Voyages on the Nansen are currently planned to begin in July with our partners Sail Training Ireland (www.sailtrainingireland.com) and Ocean College (www.oceancollege.eu).

Published in Tall Ships

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.