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Displaying items by tag: Galway Port Company

#GALWAY CRUISECALLS –The World, the exclusive ultra-luxury residential passenger ship is to open the 2013 cruise season to Galway Harbour when she is to make a two-night visit during July, writes Jehan Ashmore.

In addition three cruiseships are also to call during the summer months from operators Compagnie du Ponat, Holland America Line and V-Ships. The port in recent years has raised its international profile considerably since the hugely successful hosting of the Volvo Ocean Race twice.

The Norwegian built The World was launched in 2002 and operated by ResidenSea. She is to anchor off Galway Harbour close to Mutton Island. Tenders will transfer passengers ashore as the 43,188 tonnes ship is too large to be accommodated in the single (Dun Aengus) dock.

Her arrival is to generate an economic boost to the city, where the port claim conservatively that 35 cruise liners could call on an annual basis coupled with a visitor spin off of €9.9m.

Galway Port Company Harbour master Captain Brian Sheridan has commented that The World can be accommodated in the proposed new port where the 196m long ship would be able to moor alongside and allow passengers to stroll ashore.

Published in Galway Harbour

The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929 as an entry for a competition run by the Royal Yacht Club of Gothenburg, to find a small keel-boat that could be used for simple weekend cruising among the islands and fjords of the Scandinavian seaboard. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP is the most popular material, but both new and old wooden boats regularly win major competitions while looking as beautiful as any craft afloat. Exotic materials are banned throughout the boat, and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing value for a fractional increase in speed.

The key to the Dragon's enduring appeal lies in the careful development of its rig. Its well-balanced sail plan makes boat handling easy for lightweights, while a controlled process of development has produced one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.