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Displaying items by tag: Serenissima

The arrival of the five star luxury cruise ship Serenissima into Dun Laoghaire this morning kicks off the town's summer cruise-liner visits this morning.

Weighing in at over 2,500 tonnes, the Serenissima is the length of a soccer pitch, has 59 cabins and a passenger and crew complement of 160 people, will call today, allowing its passengers and crew take in the sights of Dun Laoghaire and surrounds.

Welcoming the ship into Dun Laoghaire, Carolyn Hanaphy of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company said today that “the Serenissima is the first of 8 cruise ship visits scheduled for Dun Laoghaire this summer, bringing with them nearly 3,000 passengers and crew into the town. We are always delighted to see these ships come to our town and spend some time here. Each of these ships is welcomed alongside the historic Carlisle Pier leaving disembarking passengers and crew just 500 metres from the town centre where they can enjoy all that Dun Laoghaire offers in terms of hospitality, shopping and good restaurants and pubs all within a short stroll from the ship.”

Cruise ship dun LaoghaireCruise ship 'Serenissima' berthed at the Carlisle Pier in Dun Laoghaire

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Master Capt. Simon Coate today said that “Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company work hard to secure luxury ships of this kind to come and visit our harbour. The Serenissima which will stop off on her way around the “Gardens of the British Isles” is a charming vessel with a unique style. During a major refit the owners commissioned Swedish interior designers to create an 18th century influenced Gustavian style interior. The unique style and grandeur of this vessel certainly is in keeping with the unique aesthetics of our 200-year-old harbour, making Dun Laoghaire a sought-after port of call on her voyage.”

The ship is on a 12-day cruise of the “Gardens of the British Isles”. She left Portsmouth 7 days ago and has already made numerous stops along the English coast, has stopped off in Bantry Bay to visit Garnish Island and Waterford and now she is calling to Dun Laoghaire to visit Powerscourt Gardens. The ship will continue onto Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland on route to her final destination in Oban in Scotland.

#BantryCruiseships – As previously reported, Serenissima (1960/2,598grt) a 110 passenger exploration cruiseship which called to Glengariff mid-week was yesterday followed by Saga Sapphire to the secluded west Cork anchorage, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Operated by Serenissima Cruises, she reflects a different era with classically designed hull forms and overall appearance of an era that remains with the Hurtigruten final traditional ship, Lofoten which celebrates her 50th anniversary this year.

Saga Sapphire (1981/37,301grt) with a 710 passenger capacity is easily the largest cruise ship caller this season to call to Bantry Bay. Operated by Saga Cruises, she had sailed from Killybegs, having also visited Belfast and Dublin.

She is the third caller this season out a total of six to visit Bantry Bay Port which at the turn of this year, saw responsibility for the control of Bantry Bay Harbour transferred to the Port of Cork Company.

The transfer order was made by Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar TD, and for the purposes of managing operations in Bantry Bay, the Port of Cork Company established a subsidiary company, Bantry Bay Port Company Limited.

To date, Le Boreal and Minerva have called in late May opening the cruise ship season which will also see Amadea call in August make a repeat visit in October to mark the end of the season.

As for the interim fifth visitor to call to Glengariff, Club Med 2 is to make an appearance in September, her 'tallship' presence will further add to the allure of cruising is such a scenic setting.

As there are no berthing facilities to cater for cruiseships alongside charming Glengariff, this all lends to the experience of anchoring in the surrounds of beautiful Bantry Bay.

Nearby is Garnish Island, where many visitors take the small ferry service to the island, where the world renowned gardens are laid out with specimen plants that are rare in this climate.

 

Published in Cruise Liners

#CruiseSailing – As Serenissima departed scenic Glengarriff, west Cork yesterday evening, the exploration cruiseship shares connections with Soufriere, an entrant in today's start of the three-day ICRA Nationals held off Dun Laoghaire Harbour, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As W.M. Nixon drew our attention in his Saturday Sailing column of the Spirit 54 sailing classic, Soufriere,  she will clearly have a racier sporting presence among the 100 plus ICRA fleet but also the added allure of her debut appearance in a James Bond film.

It was that scene in 'Casino Royale' which saw Daniel Craig as 007 and his co-star Eva Green at the helm along the Venetian waterway of the Canal Grand.

The glamorous pairing of the silver screen stars set in the jewel of Venice, is from where the name of the cruiseship operator, Serenissima Cruises, that takes its name from 'La Serenissima'. The title given to the 'Repubblica di Venezi' that existed until 1797 and which literally translates to 'the most' or 'very serene'.

Such a description is easily applicable to the Italian city on the Adriatic and the same could be said for those sweeping lines of the cruiseship and that of the stylish yacht-racing boat.

So when Stephen O'Flaherty's Soufriere gathers Dublin Bay wind in her sails, having departed the ICRA Nationals host of the Royal Irish YC, the harbour of Dun Laoghaire is also where as previously reported the Serenissima (photo) too made a visit last summer. For footage of her underway off Sandbanks, Poole Harbour click HERE.

To continue on the theme of royalty, on the same day of Serenissina's debut call, Cunard's flagship, Queen Mary 2 also made her inaugural visit while anchored offshore.

 

Published in Cruise Liners

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