Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Scotsman's Bay

Rescue services rescued a man from off Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Sunday afternoon (August 13th).

Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 116, Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI, the local Coastguard unit, and nearby pleasure craft were all involved in rescuing a man 'treading water' in Scotsman's Bay. 

Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 116 - operating over Dun Laoghaire in the search and rescue of a man in the water in the south of Dublin Bay Photo: AfloatCoastguard Rescue Helicopter 116 - operating over Dun Laoghaire in the search and rescue of a man in the water in the south of Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

After a search that began at Sandycove Point and the Forty Foot Bathing Place, local yachts and Rescue 116 located the man in the middle of Scotsman's Bay, who was retrieved from the water by Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI's inshore lifeboat.

The lifeboat requested an ambulance to meet it on its return to the Harbour with the casualty.

Published in Dublin Bay

#DublinBay - Works on the redeveloped Dun Laoghaire Baths project at Newtownsmith reached a significant milestone given the arrival this morning by sea of the first load of rock armour to protect a newly built jetty, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As Afloat previously reported a consignment of huge granite boulders arrived last month into Dun Laoghaire Harbour by barge since identified as the Selina. The rock armour loaded in Falmouth, Cornwall, has remained in the Irish port for almost a fortnight but is now ready to be installed to protect the new Scotsman's Bay jetty quay from erosion. 

The jetty forms part of the Dun Laoghaire Baths site and is Dublin Bay's newest quay for swimming and fishing.  In addition, the facility is also intended to be an embarkation point for small boats and canoes setting off into Scotsman's Bay, located between the harbour's East Pier and Sandycove. The public amenity project for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council was contracted to SIAC Construction, while the design was carried out by DLR's Architects' Department, which will see a new public café linked to an outdoor terrace with views over both bays, along with studio workspaces for artists and new lifeguard facilities. 

At 84m long Selina and with a beam of 20m the barge was towed by Wicklow based Alphamarine's Husky at the stern while Brixham based Marine & Towage Services MTS Indus took charge at the bow. In addition, prior to departing Dun Laoghaire Harbour, a pilot from Dublin Port Company cutter Liffey embarked to assist operations that saw the flotilla round the East Pier into Scotsman's Bay where the workboats are in close proximity of the rocky coastline. 

Barge Scotsmans bayTugs Husky and MTS Indus with barge Selina offload rock armour in Scotsmans bay Photo: Afloat.ie

According to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, the rock armour will be stockpiled adjacent to the new jetty until it is ready to be placed into a more precise allocation. This will require off-loading of the barge by using several diggers on board, however, the operation only be carried out typically during a 3 to 4-hour window at high tide level. The operation may take between 3 to 4 high tide cycles before the work is completed to surround the jetty that is weather permitting expected to take a fortnight to complete.

DLRCoCo added during the rock armour process, there may be increased noise levels in the off-loading operations and that they apologised for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Commissioners of Irish Lights have deployed a temporary buoy in Scotsman’s Bay in south of Dublin Bay. 

The buoy has been deployed to test a wave generator system. The buoy is an IALA Special Mark, yellow in colour, bearing a yellow ‘X’ topmark with the light characteristic Fl.Y.5s.

The buoy is located on the following position: Latitude 53°17.519’N, Longitude 006°07.136’W, a location in an area where Dublin Bay Sailing Club will set marks for their Summer Season starting in April.

The Commissioners of Irish Lights buoy will be on station for approximately 3 months, according to a Dublin Port Company notice from Harbour Master Michael McKenna that is downloadable below.

Published in Dublin Bay
You could be in the hot seat at next month's International Match Racing Challenge - provided you'e got €200 to spend.
 
The top-level entertainment package for the Royal St George Yacht Club's second annual event, set for the weekend of 23-24 July, will put yacht racing fans on board with a team "experiencing the thrills and tension of the race as it happens along with the competitors".
 
 
A spectator package - which will set fans back €100 - gives a bird's-eye view of all the racing in Scotsman's Bay "as well as the added bonus of firing the starting gun", according to the RSGYC.
 
The second International Match Race Challenge will see Ireland’s top six match racing teams go head to head against a world team consisting of six international crews from France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Ireland will be hoping to avenge their 36-29 loss to the world at last year's inaugural event.
 
Match Racing involves head-to-head racing between two identical boats over short 20 minute courses, with each boat having four crew members. At the end of the competition and after approximately 90 races, there will be an overall individual winner. In addition, the combined scores of the six Irish teams and the six international teams will deliver an overall team winner.

You could be in the hot seat at next month's International Match Racing Challenge - provided you'e got €200 to spend.

The top-level entertainment package for the Royal St George Yacht Club's second annual event, set for the weekend of 23-24 July, will put yacht racing fans on board with a team "experiencing the thrills and tension of the race as it happens along with the competitors".

A spectator package - which will set fans back €100 - gives a bird's-eye view of all the racing in Scotsman's Bay "as well as the added bonus of firing the starting gun", according to the RSGYC.

The second International Match Race Challenge will see Ireland’s top six match racing teams go head to head against a world team consisting of six international crews from France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Ireland will be hoping to avenge their 36-29 loss to the world at last year's inaugural event.

Match racing involves head-to-head racing between two identical boats over short 20 minute courses, with each boat having four crew members. At the end of the competition and after approximately 90 races, there will be an overall individual winner. In addition, the combined scores of the six Irish teams and the six international teams will deliver an overall team winner.

Package One
THE HOT SEAT
€200 per person
Experience the thrills and tension of the race as it happens aboard!

 

12:00 Meet and Greet in Club
12:30 Race Briefing and Intro to the Event
12:45 Light Lunch
13:30 Trip on Yacht around Dublin Bay
14:30 Arrive at Spectator area to watch racing
15:00 Hot Seat Race
16:15 Return to shore
16:30 BBQ and Drinks
Hot Seaters need to be prepared to get wet and be active!

Package Two
PURE SPECTATOR
€100 per person
Get a Bird's Eye view of all the action!

12:00 Meet and Greet in Club
12:30 Race Briefing and Intro to the Event
12:45 Light Lunch
13:30 Trip on Yacht around Dublin Bay
14:30 Arrive at Spectator area to watch racing
15:00 Step on Board the Starter's Boat and fire the Starting Gun
16:00 Return to shore
16:30 BBQ and Drinks

Published in RStGYC
Not content with being the biggest (and fastest) keelboat class in the country the SB3 class association in Dun Laoghaire intends to break new ground this winter and further expand the class. In a letter to members class captain Justin Burke is urging owners to get behind a new off season initiative. "To keep the class vibrant we need to encourage new boats and members to join the fleet" he says. 

New sailors are invited to try a sail on the 'one design performance boat' in a special Open Day on Saturday, 9th October between 1030 and 1600. Registration begins at 9.30am.

Boats will be alongside at the National Yacht Club in the harbour for demo runs and class members will be available to discuss the Sportsboat design.

The recent SB3 Nationals staged in Howth this month attracted a fleet of 48 boats racing with attendance from all the major Irish sailing centres. Internationally Ireland sends a team to the World championships and the inaugural world championships were held here in Dun Laoghaire in 2008 with a massive fleet of 137 boats.

The class association will organising sailing in Scotsman's Bay on October 9th with RIB transfers to the boats. Experienced or novice sailors are all invited to participate. Those wishing to sail ideally should advise the organisers first of their time slots and make sure they bring their sailing wet weather gear and a life jacket. Short races will also be run to allow visitors get a feel of the boats.

To make a provisional booking, please call or text Justin on 087 2417542

Published in SB20

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