The association is active in Cork harbour and Kinsale, and is developing other facilties in Dublin, Galway and Lough Derg.
"We are very grateful to Dun Laoghaire Marina for the sponsorship of a berth" said IDSA Chairman Kevin Downing. "Its convenient location and excellent facilities will allow us an ideal base from where we can expand our programme in Dublin.
Dun Laoghaire marina is wheel chair accessible and has shower and toilet facilities for sailors with disabilities and it is adding a hoist to assist disabled sailors into boats for next season.
The marina, the largest in the country at 530 berths, is also set for expansion next year with the addition of a further 290 berths scheduled for next April.
The expansion is a welcome addition but given there is a waiting list of over 209 boats to get in to the marine leisure port it is hardly a solution to the shortage of berths in the capital and around the country.
In what is being termed a 'crisis' situation by industry head Brian O'Sullivan, the lack of berths is an agenda item at January's Irish Marine Federation (IMF) agm.
Users are calling for government action to cut the bureaucratic red tape that surrounds foreshore development for marine leisure usage.
The trade body fears that the the run of new boats sales could be short lived as a shortage of berths around the coast is hampering the growth of the sailing industry.
In the major sailing centres on Dublin Bay and Cork Harbour – representing 3,000 craft – all five marinas are full to capacity.
Even with its expansion to 820 berths, Dun Laogaire will be full this time next year.
There is perhaps no greater indicator of buoyancy in the marine market than a sell out boat show.
The 24th Irish boat show to be staged by the Irish Marine Federation in the RDS next February will be the biggest in the history of the event. From its small beginnings at Busarus in 1966 the show has grown to become one of the country's largest consumer exhibitions boasting over 6,000 sq. metres of stand space.
The show, sponsored by Allianz, is bigger than any hall the RDS can provide so the organisers have set about bolting on a 500 sq. metre marquee on to the Simmonscourt Pavillion to cater for demand. In spite of this the
show has officially 'sold out' to exhibitors two months before the it opens on St. Valentines day.
It is almost inevitable that the derogation on green diesel that gives pleasure craft up to a 20 per cent reduction in the price of diesel compared with high street pumps will end following an eu commission decision to cease the derogation in five other countries including the UK.
It's not officially gone in Ireland yet and the Irish Marine Federation (IMF) is still holding out hope that a last minute lobby by user groups and supported by the Dept of Finance could be successful in Europe.
Obviously powerboats will be hardest hit but the cost to sailing craft is expected to be minimal, reckoned at an extra 40 or 50 Euro per season per boat.
Meitheal mara, the body that fosters Irish maritime heritage, is hosting a fund raising dinner in February to raise funds for the construction of a Bantry longboat.
The guest speaker is Hal Sisk who will talk about the 2005 restoration of the Peggy Bawn. The dinner takes place on February 16th at the Clarion Hotel in Cork. Tickets are 100 Euro per person.
