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Displaying items by tag: Cranes

Three huge cranes which left Cork Harbour at the end of August have arrived at their final destination the New York area, as RTÉ News reports.

Tom MacSweeney covered the three Limerick-built cranes upon their departure from Port of Cork on board the Big Lift Baffin for their transatlantic journey.

As our own Jehan Ashmore previously wrote, the three 150m ship-to-shore (STS) Liebherr cranes represent the largest single objects ever engineered in Ireland.

Logistics for transporting the massive ‘megamax’ cranes were complicated by the presence of the Bayonne Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey, which has a clearance less than half that of their fully assembled height.

But the Big Lift successfully passed the bridge on schedule on Saturday afternoon (10 September) and the cranes will now be installed at Maher Terminals at Port Newark in New Jersey.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

Published in Port of Cork

#CorkHarbour - The first of three Liebherr cranes has been loaded onto the Albatross heavy lift vessel at the Port of Cork.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the three 85-metre-tall cranes — each weighing more than 1,000 tonnes — are bound for Puerto Rico after being assembled from kit form at Cobh by employees from the Liebherr plan in Kerry.

Liebherr Marine has posted photos captured by drone as the first crane was loaded onto the specially adapted Albatross in Cork Harbour yesterday (Wednesday 22 February):

Published in Cork Harbour

Three cranes, each weighing more than 1,000 tonnes and 85 metres high will be loaded on to a massive ship next week in Cork Harbour bound for Puerto Rico. It will be an amazing feat of engineering and an equally spectacular sight at the Port of Cork to see the massive cargo depart Roches Point.

The cranes have been asembled from kit form having first been shipped by sea from Fenit in County Kerry to the Doyle Shipping Group Terminal at Rushbrooke in Cork Harbour.

60 employees from the Liebherr crane plant in Kerry have been constructing the massive cranes prior to their transatlantic voyage.

The specially adapted ship, The Albatross from Holland, arrived yesterday into the Port of Cork awaiting its giant cargo alongside at Cork Dockyard, as the photo below shows. Known as a 'heavy lift' vessel, the Albatross is 264.45 metres long and 42.54 metres wide, the ship has a maximum speed of 9.5 knots.

HEAVY LIFT ALBATROSS AT CORK DOCKYARDThe heavy-lift ship, Albatross, is making maritime history in Cork Harbour this weekend having arrived at Cork Dockyard to transport three huge, fully-completed dock cranes to Puerto Rico Photo: Tom MacSweeney

Tom MacSweeney in Cork Harbour adds:  It is the first time that the Liebherr crane manufacturing company based at Killarney has exported fully-assembled cranes from Ireland for which they used the Cork Dockyard facility at Rushbrooke near Cobh to assemble them over the past few months.

The ship can automatically lie level alongside the dockyard quayside at all stages of the tide during the loading operation which is expected to take 4 to 5 days. Tracks will be laid to move the cranes onto the vessel.The Albatross will then move across Monkstown Bay to Ringaskiddy deepwater port where the cranes will be bolted to the ship and she will ballast for the voyage to Puerto Rico.

Published in Cork Harbour

Royal Irish Yacht Club - Frequently Asked Questions

The Royal Irish Yacht Club is situated in a central location in Dun Laoghaire Harbour with excellent access and visiting sailors can be sure of a special welcome. The clubhouse is located in the prime middle ground of the harbour in front of the town marina and it is Dun Laoghaire's oldest yacht club. 

What's a brief history of the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

The yacht club was founded in 1831, with the Marquess of Anglesey, who commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo being its first Commodore. 

John Skipton Mulvany designed the clubhouse, which still retains a number of original architectural features since being opened in 1851.

It was granted an ensign by the Admiralty of a white ensign with the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Ireland beneath the Union Jack in canton.

Many prominent names feature among the past members of the Club. The first Duke of Wellington was elected in 1833, followed by other illustrious men including the eccentric Admiral Sir Charles Napier, Sir Dominic Corrigan the distinguished physician, Sir Thomas Lipton, novelist, George A. Birmingham, yachtsman and author, Conor O'Brien, and famous naval historian and author, Patrick O Brian. 

In the club's constitution, it was unique among yacht clubs in that it required yacht owners to provide the club's commodore with information about the coast and any deep-sea fisheries they encountered on all of their voyages.

In 1846, the club was granted permission to use the Royal prefix by Queen Victoria. The club built a new clubhouse in 1851. Despite the Republic of Ireland breaking away from the United Kingdom, the Royal Irish Yacht Club elected to retain its Royal title.

In 1848, a yachting trophy called "Her Majesty's Plate" was established by Queen Victoria to be contested at Kingstown where the Royal Irish Yacht Club is based. The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland at the time, George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon suggested it should be contested by the Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Royal St. George Yacht Club in an annual regatta, a suggestion that was approved by both clubs with the Royal St. George hosting the first competitive regatta.

The RIYC celebrated its 185th Anniversary in 2016 with the staging of several special events in addition to being well represented afloat, both nationally and internationally. It was the year the club was also awarded Irish Yacht Club of the Year as Afloat's W M Nixon details here.

The building is now a listed structure and retains to this day all its original architectural features combined with state of the art facilities for sailors both ashore and afloat.

What is the Royal Irish Yacht Club's emblem?

The Club's emblem shows a harp with the figure of Nice, the Greek winged goddess of victory, surmounted by a crown. This emblem has remained unchanged since the foundation of the Club; a symbol of continuity and respect for the history and tradition of the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

What is the Royal Irish Yacht Club's ensign?

The RIYC's original white ensign was granted by Royal Warrant in 1831. Though the Royal Irish Yacht Club later changed the ensign to remove the St George's Cross and replace the Union Jack with the tricolour of the Republic of Ireland, the original ensign may still be used by British members of the Royal Irish Yacht Club

Who is the Commodore of the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

The current Commodore is Jerry Dowling, and the Vice-Commodore is Tim Carpenter.

The RIYC Flag Officers are: 

What reciprocal club arrangements does the Royal Irish Yacht Club have?  

As one of Ireland's leading club's, the Royal Irish Yacht Club has significant reciprocal arrangements with yacht clubs across Ireland and the UK, Europe, USA and Canada and the rest of the World. If you are visiting from another Club, please have with a letter of introduction from your Club or introduce yourself to the Club Secretary or to a member of management staff, who will show you the Club's facilities.

What car parking does the Royal Irish Yacht Club have at its Dun Laoghaire clubhouse?

The RIYC has car parking outside of its clubhouse for the use of its members. Paid public car parking is available next door to the club at the marina car park. There is also paid parking on offer within the harbour area at the Coatl Harbour (a 5-minute walk) and at an underground car park adjacent to the Royal St. George Yacht Club (a 3-minute walk). Look for parking signs. Clamping is in operation in the harbour area.

What facilities does the Royal Irish Yacht Clubhouse offer? 

The Royal Irish Yacht Club offers a relaxed, warm and welcoming atmosphere in one of the best situated and appointed clubhouses in these islands. Its prestige in yachting circles is high and its annual regatta remains one of the most attractive events in the sailing calendar. It offers both casual and formal dining with an extensive wine list and full bar facilities. The Club caters for parties, informal events, educational seminars, themed dinners and all occasions. The RIYC has a number of venues within the Club each of which provides a different ambience to match particular needs.

What are the Royal Irish Yacht Club's Boathouse facilities?

The RIYC boathouse team run the launch service to the club's swinging moorings, provide lifting for dry-sailed boats, lift and scrub boats, as well as maintaining the fabric of the deck, pontoon infrastructure, and swinging moorings. They also maintain the club crane, the only such mobile crane of the Dun Laoghaire Yacht Clubs.

What facilities are offered for junior sailing at the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

One of the missions of the Royal Irish Yacht Club is to promote sailing as a passion for life by encouraging children and young adults to learn how to sail through its summer courses and class-specific training throughout the year. 

RIYC has an active junior section. Its summer sailing courses are very popular and the club regularly has over 50 children attending courses in any week. The aim is for those children to develop lifelong friendships through sailing with other children in the club, and across the other clubs in the bay.
 
Many RIYC children go on to compete for the club at regional and national championships and some have gone on to represent Ireland at international competitions and the Olympic Regatta itself.
 
In supporting its young sailors and the wider sailing community, the RIYC regularly hosts junior sailing events including national and regional championships in classes such as the Optmist, Feva and 29er.
 
Competition is not everything though and as the club website states:  "Many of our junior sailors have gone on the become sailing instructors and enjoy teaching both in Ireland and abroad.  Ultimately, we take most pleasure from the number of junior sailors who become adult sailors and enjoy a lifetime of sailing with the club".