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Displaying items by tag: LISW23

Mersey Maritime, a regional cluster organisation for the maritime industry in the Liverpool City Region and greater North West England, will be part of the forthcoming London International Shipping Week (LISW) of 11-15 September.

This year, Mersey Maritime is hosting ‘Mersey on the Thames‘, an exclusive drinks and networking session hosted by Shadow Maritime Minister, Mike Kane MP of the Terrace of the House of Commons.

Alongside our host Mike Kane MP, Shadow Transport Minister, guests will hear from Ruth Wood, Interim CEO of Mersey Maritime and Stephen Carr, Group Commercial Director of Peel Ports Group.

Guests will hear about opportunities within the Liverpool City Region and wider North West and ambitions for the region to become the test bed for emerging technologies, decarbonisation and interconnectivity of freight journeys.

As Afloat previously reported, General Lighthouse Authority, Trinity House will also be attending LISW, which is one of the most important international shipping and maritime events in the world. Since its conception in September 2013, LISW has grown consistantly and is set to become an even bigger event in 2023, when the shipping world is able to meet again in person and in earnest.

The Mersey on the Thames event which is invitation only, takes place at the terrace overlooking the Thames.

Published in Ports & Shipping

The shipbuilder, Harland & Wolff Group, is to be part of this year’s London International Shipping Week (LISW23) as Afloat previously reported is to take place 11-15 September.

The London listed H&W is to be a reception sponsor for the upcoming LISW23 Parliamentary Cruise.

The cruise on the Thames will take place on the 11th September on board a City Cruises' vessel, bringing together the UK Government and industry leaders. Afloat adds the excursion vessel is the Erasmus which has a 320 seat capacity.

In addition to this sponsorship, Harland & Wolff will host an innovation focused event entitled 'Great British Green Tugs’ – How do we get there?'

The event will be on the afternoon of 13th September and will be followed by a reception hosted by H&W.

Full details of speakers and registration can be found here.

Published in Shipyards

Trinity House, the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) for England, Wales and Channel Islands, has signed up to join London International Shipping Week 2023 (11-15 September).

The GLA's multi-function buoy tender THV Galatea is to visit the Pool of London where it will be a host to showcase its people, skills and technology-driven practices on board.

LISW is an industry-facing calendar of over 200 events across the centre of London, making great use of the capital’s maritime connections and landmark venues, including Trinity House, the International Maritime Organization and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Maritime safety organisation Trinity House is taking this opportunity to engage with industry and government by bringing THV Galatea into the Pool of London to berth alongside HMS Belfast, the iconic floating visitor tourist attraction on the Thames.

While the custom-built buoy tender THV Galatea will serve as a platform to showcase Trinity House’s people and how it approaches its dual missions as an aid to navigation prover and maritime charity.

Trinity House will make the ship also available as a space for functions and meetings during the week, among them Afloat includes to highlight a Maritime UK Careers fair following the UKSST report launch which is to take place on Monday, 11 September. 1.00am - 16.00pm.

This invite-only event will welcome students from Further and Higher education establishments and introduce the wide-ranging maritime careers available for those considering opportunities after education.

Afloat also highlights the event of Maritime Careers and Opportunities on Wednesday 13 September (09:00 - 15:00) This high-level seminar will identify innovations in training and support for industry entrants throughout their careers, at sea and beyond. For more details including to reserve a free ticket click here.

As for the main showcase, this too is to take place onboard THV Galatea on Wednesday 13 September (1830-2130) when a private event is held for industry, the government and press/media.

Visitors to the event will meet a number of our multi-disciplinary shore and vessel teams, whose work and expertise will vary from cutting edge research and development, navigational requirements, multiple engineering disciplines, cadet training, maritime welfare and giving, marine operations and commercial services.

For a list of all events and details click here.

On the importance of sending THV Galatea to exhibit at LISW, Deputy Master Captain Ian McNaught said: “While we can only show our guests a small part of what we do, we hope that everyone will appreciate the critical work being done by our people to safeguard seafarers and ships and keeping our island nation open for business, but also to raise awareness of the importance of the Red Ensign and the UK’s vital maritime sector.”

Published in Lighthouses

Dublin Bay 21s

An exciting new project to breathe life into six defunct 120-year-old Irish yachts that happen to be the oldest intact one-design keelboat class in the world has captured the imagination of sailors at Ireland's biggest sailing centre. The birthplace of the original Dublin Bay 21 class is getting ready to welcome home the six restored craft after 40 years thanks to an ambitious boat building project was completed on the Shannon Estuary that saved them from completely rotting away.

Dublin Bay 21 FAQs

The Dublin Bay 21 is a vintage one-design wooden yacht designed for sailing in Dublin Bay.

Seven were built between 1903 and 1906.

As of 2020, the yachts are 117 years old.

Alfred Mylne designed the seven yachts.

The total voting population in the Republic's inhabited islands is just over 2,600 people, according to the Department of Housing.

Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) commissioned the boat to encourage inexpensive one-design racing to recognise the success of the Water Wag one-design dinghy of 1887 and the Colleen keelboat class of 1897.

Estelle built by Hollwey, 1903; Garavogue built by Kelly, 1903; Innisfallen built by Hollwey, 1903.; Maureen built by Hollwey, 1903.; Oola built by Kelly, 1905; Naneen built by Clancy, 1905.

Overall length- 32'-6', Beam- 7'-6", Keel lead- 2 tons Sail area - 600sq.ft

The first race took place on 19 June 1903 in Dublin Bay.

They may be the oldest intact class of racing keelboat yacht in the world. Sailing together in a fleet, they are one of the loveliest sights to be seen on any sailing waters in the world, according to many Dublin Bay aficionados.

In 1964, some of the owners thought that the boats were outdated, and needed a new breath of fresh air. After extensive discussions between all the owners, the gaff rig and timber mast was abandoned in favour of a more fashionable Bermudan rig with an aluminium mast. Unfortunately, this rig put previously unseen loads on the hulls, resulting in some permanent damage.

The fleet was taken out of the water in 1986 after Hurricane Charlie ruined active Dublin Bay 21 fleet racing in August of that year. Two 21s sank in the storm, suffering the same fate as their sister ship Estelle four years earlier. The class then became defunct. In 1988, master shipwright Jack Tyrrell of Arklow inspected the fleet and considered the state of the hulls as vulnerable, describing them as 'still restorable even if some would need a virtual rebuild'. The fleet then lay rotting in a farmyard in Arklow until 2019 and the pioneering project of Dun Laoghaire sailors Fionan De Barra and Hal Sisk who decided to bring them back to their former glory.

Hurricane Charlie finally ruined active Dublin Bay 21 fleet racing in August 1986. Two 21s sank in the storm, suffering the same fate as a sister ship four years earlier; Estelle sank twice, once on her moorings and once in a near-tragic downwind capsize. Despite their collective salvage from the sea bed, the class decided the ancient boats should not be allowed suffer anymore. To avoid further deterioration and risk to the rare craft all seven 21s were put into storage in 1989 under the direction of the naval architect Jack Tyrrell at his yard in Arklow.

While two of the fleet, Garavogue and Geraldine sailed to their current home, the other five, in various states of disrepair, were carried the 50-odd miles to Arklow by road.

To revive the legendary Dublin Bay 21 class, the famous Mylne design of 1902-03. Hal Sisk and Fionan de Barra are developing ideas to retain the class's spirit while making the boats more appropriate to today's needs in Dun Laoghaire harbour, with its many other rival sailing attractions. The Dublin Bay 21-foot class's fate represents far more than the loss of a single class; it is bad news for the Bay's yachting heritage at large. Although Dún Laoghaire turned a blind eye to the plight of the oldest intact one-design keelboat fleet in the world for 30 years or more they are now fully restored.

The Dublin Bay 21 Restoration team includes Steve Morris, James Madigan, Hal Sisk, Fionan de Barra, Fintan Ryan and Dan Mill.

Retaining the pure Mylne-designed hull was essential, but the project has new laminated cold-moulded hulls which are being built inverted but will, when finished and upright, be fitted on the original ballast keels, thereby maintaining the boat’s continuity of existence, the presence of the true spirit of the ship.

It will be a gunter-rigged sloop. It was decided a simpler yet clearly vintage rig was needed for the time-constrained sailors of the 21st Century. So, far from bringing the original and almost-mythical gaff cutter rig with jackyard topsail back to life above a traditionally-constructed hull, the project is content to have an attractive gunter-rigged sloop – “American gaff” some would call it.

The first DB 21 to get the treatment was Naneen, originally built in 1905 by Clancy of Dun Laoghaire for T. Cosby Burrowes, a serial boat owner from Cavan.

On Dublin Bay. Dublin Bay Sailing Club granted a racing start for 2020 Tuesday evening racing starting in 2020, but it was deferred due to COVID-19.
Initially, two Dublin Bay 21s will race then three as the boat building project based in Kilrush on the Shannon Estuary completes the six-boat project.
The restored boats will be welcomed back to the Bay in a special DBSC gun salute from committee boat Mac Lir at the start of the season.
In a recollection for Afloat, well known Dun Laoghaire one-design sailor Roger Bannon said: "They were complete bitches of boats to sail, over-canvassed and fundamentally badly balanced. Their construction and design was also seriously flawed which meant that they constantly leaked and required endless expensive maintenance. They suffered from unbelievable lee helm which led to regular swamping's and indeed several sinkings.

©Afloat 2020