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Displaying items by tag: Amadea cruiseship

As the cruise season draws to a close, passengers from the German 28,856 tonnes Amadea, visited Bantry Bay, west Cork today, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The former Japanese cruiseship launched in 1991, anchored off picturesque Glengariff and neighbouring Garinish Island. Amadea had called to Waterford Estuary yesterday and before her first Irish port of call she called to Dartmouth en-route from embarking passengers in Bremerhaven.

At 192m in length, the 600-passenger capacity cruiseship is operated by Pheonix Reisen. The German based travel agency also runs fleetmates Albratross and Artania. The later Finish built vessel was best known as Princess Cruises Royal Princess, when launched by the late Diana, Princess of Wales in 1984.

Apart from the handful of cruiseships that call, Bantry Bay is otherwise used by oil tankers bringing supplies to the Whiddy Island Oil Terminal. The terminal consists of an offshore single point mooring, tanker Jetty, and an onshore tank farm. The bay runs some 35kms long and is 10km wide at its broadest at the entrance and steadily narrows to 3-4kms at its head. In addition the bay is largest of the main inlets in the south-west.

Glengariff in recent years has also welcomed another German operator, Peter Deilmann's Deutschland (1988/22,496grt) and the UK based Cruise & Maritime Voyages Marco Polo (1966/20,080grt). To read more on this vessel which regularly calls to Irish ports click HERE.

Published in Cruise Liners

About Pamela Lee, Irish Offshore Sailor

Ireland has produced some of the world’s most dedicated offshore sailors, and Pamela Lee of Greystones is one of them. She has made a name for herself in the sailing world, having worked as a mate on a charter Super-yacht for two and a half years. After coming ashore, she has been fully committed to her offshore sailing ambitions since 2019.

Lee has raced in various craft, including Figaro 3s, Class 40, Tp 52s, and multihulls, and has eight transatlantic crossings under her belt. In partnership with Kenny Rumball, Lee supported Rumball’s La Solitaire du Figaro sailing campaign to secure the Irish berth in the proposed Mixed Offshore Keelboat event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

One of Lee’s stated main aims is to promote female empowerment in sport, and she set out to establish a double-handed Round Ireland speed record with Englishwoman Cat Hunt in the winter of 2020. This campaign gained much publicity, and Lee expressed pride in bringing sailing and offshore sailing, in particular, into the conversation for 2020.

To further her offshore sailing career, Lee moved to France, where she has recently secured a place to skipper a yacht in the Transat Jacques Vabre Challenge in October 2023. Lee’s passion and dedication to offshore sailing are inspiring, and her achievements are a testament to her hard work and perseverance.