Displaying items by tag: American Football Week

1st September 2012

West Meets East: As Semester at Sea Ship Heads for The Gathering

#SEMESTER SHIP – Having made a recent visit to Galway, the cruiseship Explorer with more than 800 students, academics and crew are on board, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, is currently heading to the opposite side of the island, with a visit to Dublin Port, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 25,000 tonnes vessel with its floating campus is due to dock in the capital tomorrow morning at Ocean Pier. The 180m vessel, formerly the Olympic Explorer built in 2000 for Royal Olympic Cruises is currently providing a "semester at sea" (SAS) programme through a world tour.

The SAS is operated on a not-for-profit initiative for the Institute for Shipboard Education, in co-operation with the University of Virginia in the US. Students taking the educational programme had set off on the world voyage from Halifax, Nova Scotia, with the first leg to Galway.

When Explorer berths in Dublin Port, she will join the United States Navy landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) which as previously reported on Afloat.ie had already arrived last Thursday for the American Football Week.

It was downriver from her Ocean Pier berth at the nearby O2 Arena, where last night's televised "The Gathering: Notre Dame- A Welcome Home" , a special concert which was held for fans in the Docklands venue.

Today the Emerald Isle Classic with 33,000 fans of the games two big boys, Notre Dame and the Navy, is been held this afternoon, on the far side of the Liffey at the Aviva Stadium.

After her two-day call to Dublin the Explorer continues on its global tour with calls to the UK, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Dominica.

Published in Cruise Liners

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United States Navy Landing-Ship Open to Lottery Tours Visit in Dublin Port

#USS NAVY VISIT - The United States Navy landing-ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) is to make a courtesy call to Dublin Port tomorrow, and remain for the next 11 days, so to include American Football Week, writes Jehan Ashmore.

She is scheduled to dock at Ocean Pier, berth 33, where the vessel will be available for public tours organised through a lottery held next weekend (1-2 September). To register for the tours, follow this visit: http://dublin.usembassy.gov/uss-fort-mchenry.html

To see more information about USS Fort McHenry, www.fort-mchenry.navy.mil/

The United States Naval Academy will host the University of Notre Dame this September 1st in their annual NCAA fixture. For only the second time since this great fixture started in 1927, the game will be played outside the United States, with Ireland's Aviva Stadium staging the match.

The response from the Irish and American public has been exceptional with tickets selling out almost six months ahead of the game. Over 30,000 US patrons will travel to Dublin for this game, making it one the biggest international sporting events to be staged in Ireland in 2012.

For a list of events around the game click HERE.

The visit of USS Fort McHenry, is similar to that of the aircraft carrier, USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) which anchored off Dun Laoghaire Harbour in 1996, again on that occasion, a lottery was held for the public during the visit of the 82,000 tonnes giant. Her call to Dublin Bay was during Jean Kennedy-Smith's tenure as US Ambassador to Ireland, and during the early days of the northern 'peace process'.

Returning to the present, the Irish Naval Service 'flagship' OPV L.É. Eithne (P31) arrived into the port today, albeit her call is of a typical short duration, where the 1,800 tonnes vessel will only make an overnight stay.

Notably she is the first and only Naval Service vessel to visit the US, when she visited Boston, Hamilton and New York in 1986. In addition the helicopter patrol vessel is the last naval vessel built in this state for the Naval Service and also is the last ever ship built in the the republic, when completed by Verolme Cork Dockyard in 1984.

It is ironic that the L.E. Eithne should visit the United States before making any call to Northern Ireland, which did not materilise until a historic first visit was made to Belfast Harbour in 2003. Her visit to the north was the first since partition in 1922 and the OPV docked in the port to where HMS Tyne was also berthed.

Published in Naval Visits

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National Yacht Club Facilities

Facilities include a slipway directly accessing Dun Laoghaire Harbour, over eighty club moorings, platform parking, pontoons, fuelling, watering and crane-lifting ensure that the NYC is excellently equipped to cater for all the needs of the contemporary sailor. Berths with diesel, water, power and overnight facilities are available to cruising yachtsmen with shopping facilities being a short walk away. The club is active throughout the year with full dining and bar facilities and winter activities include bridge, snooker, quiz nights, wine tasting and special events.

National Yacht Club History

Although there are references to an active “club” prior to 1870, history records that the present clubhouse was erected in 1870 at a cost of £4,000 to a design by William Sterling and the Kingstown Royal Harbour Boat Club was registered with Lloyds in the same year. By 1872 the name had been changed to the Kingston Harbour Boat Club and this change was registered at Lloyds.

In 1881. the premises were purchased by a Captain Peacocke and others who formed a proprietary club called the Kingstown Harbour Yacht Club again registered at Lloyds. Some six years later in 1877 the building again changed hands being bought by a Mr Charles Barrington. and between 1877 and 1901 the club was very active and operated for a while as the “Absolute Club” although this change of name was never registered.

In 1901, the lease was purchased by three trustees who registered it as the Edward Yacht Club. In 1930 at a time when the Edward Yacht Club was relatively inactive, a committee including The Earl of Granard approached the trustees with a proposition to form the National Yacht Club. The Earl of Granard had been Commodore of the North Shannon Y.C. and was a senator in the W.T.Cosgrave government. An agreement was reached, the National Yacht Club was registered at Lloyds. The club burgee was created, red cross of Saint George with blue and white quarters being sky cloud, sea and surf. The Earl of Granard became the first Commodore.

In July of 1950, a warrant was issued to the National Yacht Club by the Government under the Merchant Shipping Act authorising members to hoist a club ensign in lieu of the National Flag. The new ensign to include a representation of the harp. This privilege is unique and specific to members of the National Yacht Club. Sterling’s design for the exterior of the club was a hybrid French Chateau and eighteenth century Garden Pavilion and today as a Class A restricted building it continues to provide elegant dining and bar facilities.

An early drawing of the building shows viewing balconies on the roof and the waterfront façade. Subsequent additions of platforms and a new slip to the seaward side and most recently the construction of new changing rooms, offices and boathouse provide state of the art facilities, capable of coping with major international and world championship events. The club provides a wide range of sailing facilities, from Junior training to family cruising, dinghy sailing to offshore racing and caters for most major classes of dinghies, one design keelboats, sports boats and cruiser racers. It provides training facilities within the ISA Youth Sailing Scheme and National Power Boat Schemes.

Past Commodores

1931 – 42 Earl of Granard 1942 – 45 T.J. Hamilton 1945 – 47 P.M. Purcell 1947 – 50 J.J. O’Leary 1950 – 55 A.A. Murphy 1955 – 60 J.J. O’Leary 1960 – 64 F. Lemass 1964 – 69 J.C. McConnell 1969 – 72 P.J. Johnston 1972 – 74 L. Boyd 1974 – 76 F.C. Winkelmann 1976 – 79 P.A. Browne 1979 – 83 W.A. Maguire 1983 – 87 F.J. Cooney 1987 – 88 J.J. Byrne 1988 – 91 M.F. Muldoon 1991 – 94 B.D. Barry 1994 – 97 M.P.B. Horgan 1997 – 00 B. MacNeaney 2000 – 02 I.E. Kiernan 2002 – 05 C.N.I. Moore 2005 – 08 C.J. Murphy 2008 – 11 P.D. Ryan 2011 – P. Barrington 2011-2014 Larry Power 2014-2017 Ronan Beirne 2017 – 2019

At A Glance - National Yacht Club 2024 Events

24th February Optimist Sprint
25th February Leinster Schools Team Racing
3rd March Leinster Schools Team Racing
13th April Lift in
20th April Leinster Schools Team Racing
23rd – 24th, 27th – 28th April University Invitational Match Racing Championships
11th – 12th May 29er Easterns and Invitational Match Racing Nationals
25th – 26th May Women at the Helm Regatta
15th June NYC Regatta
22nd – 23rd June Topper Southern Champs
10th July NYC Junior Regatta
5th September NYC End of Season Race
21st – 22nd September F15 East Coast Championships
5th October Start of F15 Frostbite Series
12th October Lift Out
19th – 20th October RS Aero Easterns