#CRUISE LINER–Up to 900 delegates from the fuel industry in Brazil are being rewarded for their business with a high end incentive trip in 2012 which will include a visit to Cork. They will travel on the cruise liner MV Independence of the Seas which will berth at Cobh Cruise Terminal overnight. The group, which is being co-ordinated by Kuoni Destination Management Company will experience Cork over a day and a half. This is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the region of Cork, voted one of the top ten European destinations to visit in 2011 by Yahoo Search Engine.

Cork Convention Bureau (CCB) has been working with Kuoni on an impressive itinerary for next year. A group of 12 visited Cork on September 17th and 18th last on a fact finding mission. CCB ensured they experienced the best of the region including a visit to the coastal town of Kinsale, the Queenstown Heritage Centre in Cobh, Fota House and even a night at the dog races! As a result of this site inspection a programme has been devised. A gala dinner in the grounds of Castlemartyr Resort Hotel with the backdrop of the castle ruins has been proposed followed by a day of excursions including the Jameson Distillery in the town of Midleton and the obligatory kissing of the Blarney Stone. Two hours of free time in Cork's city centre will allow the group to browse the chic boutiques and have lunch at many of Cork's great restaurants tasting local artisan produce.

'This business will be worth an estimated €500,000 to the Cork region. Since its inception in 2007, CCB has been responsible for more than €20 million worth of conference, meeting and incentive business in Cork. Cork is at its peak right now and international event organisers looking for new destinations are very impressed with the product offering.' Evelyn O'Sullivan, Business Tourism Manager CCB. (Cork Convention Bureau is an initiative of Cork City and County Councils, Failte Ireland and is also supported by the regions hotels.)

Commenting on the delegate visit to Cork, Captain Michael McCarthy Port of Cork said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for Cork to leave a very positive welcoming experience for the 900 visitors. It is very encouraging to see commercial companies using the cruise liner business as a method of visiting the region. Statistics available from the cruise lines indicate that 30% of cruise passengers make a return visit to a region they visited on their cruise itinerary. This would be excellent for Cork if some or all of these delegates return in the future with their family or friends or indeed looked at future business opportunities." In order to ensure that their visit is memorable, the Port of Cork will coordinate a special welcome with the Tour Operator, Cobh Tourism, Town Council and Chamber, Irish Rail and Cork City TEAM.

He continued: "The Port of Cork has been involved for the last 3 years with Spanish, French and Portuguese Ports in developing the European Atlantic Area as a premier cruise destination. This work under an EU Initiative "Cruise Atlantic Europe" is aimed at developing the historic links between these countries and the Latin nations in South America, particularly Brazil to encourage them to visit this region. The Independence of the Seas is due to berth in the Port of Cork between the 6th-7th May 2012 with over 5,000 passengers and crew.

#CORKHARBOUR–An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny T.D. and Minister Simon Coveney T.D. today helped start construction on Arkady Feed Ltd.'s  110,000 square foot bulk feed store at the Port of Cork's Deep-water berth in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork.

Arkady Feed Ltd is a leading player in the importation and trading of feedstuffs for the animal feed sector in Ireland. The animal feed sector is a vital link in Ireland's €8bn agri-food sector. The construction of this new store by Arkady Feed Ltd is a vote of confidence in the animal feed and agri-food sectors by the company. BAM contractors have been awarded the contract to build the facility on behalf of Arkady Feed Ltd.

Minister Simon Coveney today said: "I wish Arkady Feed Ltd every success for their new bulk feed store here in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork. The dry bulks sector is up 9% for the first 9 months of 2011, according to figures recently published by the IMDO, which shows that this sector is likely to see further growth in the future."

Gary McGuigan, a Director of Arkady Feed Ltd said: "This very important strategic investment in our own storage facility in the Port of Cork, will allow us to grow our business here in Ireland and be a stronger partner with our customers as they too grow over the coming years. While our industry is facing a number of serious issues that will hamper growth in the short term we feel very strongly that our industry is well placed for growth in the medium to long term."

Brendan Keating, CEO of Port of Cork Company said: "The Port of Cork Company is delighted that Arkady Feed Ltd has chosen Ringaskiddy as the location for this significant investment. We are confident that with our unique deep-water port facilities in Ringaskiddy we can help and support Arkady as they expand their business. In offering our full support we commit to working with Arkady Feed Ltd in the achievement of growth."

#CORKSAILING – Cove Sailing Club's annual prizegiving hosted by Commodore Derry Allister was held with a certain vibrancy at the weekend. Members are buoyed up with the news that its new Junior section at Whitepoint has recruited 152 members, a great boost to sailing in Cork Harbour. The Cobh club is pressing ahead too on its own marina plans, another big area of progress for marine leisure berthing in the harbour.

Earlier this year Cove Sailing Club was granted full planning permission for a 74 berth marina (including visitor berths) at Whitepoint. The proposal being developed is that Cove Sailing Club shall develop and manage the marina in order to provide facilities for use by club members and visitors to Cove.

This year's laying up supper was held at the Commodore Hotel in the seaside town. Members met in the downstairs bar before heading for the Jack Doyle room for lay-up dinner and prizegiving.

There were plenty of annual prize winners from the season of club events (SEE PHOTOS BELOW). Sailing Correspondent and Photographer Claire and Bob Bateman of this Parish received special mention for their work in promoting sailing in the harbour.

Cove Sailing Club Commodore Derry Allister (left) presents Sailing Journalist's Claire and Bob Bateman with the Foley Rose Bowl

The Bateman's were presented with the Foley Rose Bowl trophy. The trophy was first presented to Cove Sailing Club in 1974 when the late Bryan Foley was Chairman of the Cork Harbour Commissioners. It has many illustrious names on it and is awarded on merit, to the class, club, boat, person or group who have in the opinion of Cove Sailing Club contributed significantly to the promotion of sailing in Cork Harbour.

Boat of the year No Half Measures - Finbarr Dorgan (with trophy) and with Derry Allister crew (L-R)Kieran and Gareth Dorgan, Hal Courtney andRichard Marshall. They also won the overall Friday Night League for Kites IRC division.

Damian Aherne, skipper of Re Eile being presented with the September league IRC trophy for class 3. Derry and Brendan Ryan (Sailing Secretary) in
background

Ann Aherne being presented with the September League Echo trophy for class 3

John Doyle, Chanteuse presented with the Friday Night League Whitesail trophy

Dave Marshall and Rob Scandrett receiving the Ballinacurra Cup

Club Person of the year Brendan Ryan (Sailing Secretary)

 

#ISLAND NEWS - Cork County Council has set up a working group to examine the future of the Dursey Island Cable Car.

The group, established with the objective of securing the future sustainable operation of Ireland's only cable car – and the only sea-going cable car in Europe - had its first meeting on Friday 4 November.

The cable car between Dursey Island and Ballaghboy on the mainland is the main method of access to the island. It operates year round, weather permitting.

Featured in the working group are residents of the island and the local farming community, Comhar na nOileán, the Islands Division of the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs, Fáilte Ireland, the Bere Island Projects group, West Cork Development Partnership and other island representation.

Cork County Council recently commissioned an expert engineering report on the Dursey Island Cable Car, which the group is now working from.

Take a trip on the Dursey Island Cable Car courtesy of YouTube:

#CORK HARBOUR - A never-before-seen collection of images and memorabilia from Cork celebrating the harbour city and its heritage has just been published, the Cork Independent reports.

Pure Cork features photos, postcards, maps and other items collected by Blarney Street native Michael Lenihan over the last 40 years, and he claims that "95 per cent" of them have never been seen before.

The selection represents just a fraction of the more than 2,000 postcards and countless photographs in Lenihan's collection.

From paddle steamer boats in the famous harbour to the landing of the first plane at Cork Airport in the 1960s, the changing face of transport in the city is also documented.

Pure Cork is available in bookshops across Cork, priced at €25. An exhibition of original photos from Lenihan's collection is also on display at Liam O'Shea's Bookshop on Oliver Plunkett Street.

The Cork Independent has more on the story HERE.

Recognising that Cork's long and varied coastline is one of its greatest assets, the Mayor of Cork County, Councillor Kevin Murphy, and the County Manager, Martin Riordan, launched two major reports on Cork's coastal areas earlier this Summer; a Marine Leisure Strategy for South Cork, and a Draft Study of Cork Harbour.

The Marine Leisure Infrastructure Strategy for South Cork, 2010-2020 is a document that has paved the way for additional marine leisure facilties to get established in the harbour namely the recently installed Cork Harbour marina at Monkstown.

Councillor Kevin Murphy said that, following completion of the Marine Leisure Strategy for South Cork, survey information on marine leisure infrastructure and activities is now available for the entire coastline of Cork. In 2008 Cork County Council and the Coastal and Marine Research Centre (CMRC), UCC, produced A Marine Leisure Infrastructure Strategy for West Cork, covering the coast from the Kerry border to Courtmacsherry (700km). In 2010, they completed the picture, with the South Cork Strategy covering another 500km of coastal inlets, bays, beaches and harbours, from Timoleague to Youghal. This involved auditing the coastal infrastructure and assessing the current offering in relation to tourism and leisure. As a result, Cork is uniquely placed to take advantage of the marine leisure opportunities offered by its coast.

There is an extensive legacy of marine infrastructure all along the coast of Ireland, from the heyday of the 20th century fishing industry. The 21st century brought a change in how much of this marine infrastructure was used, so that in certain areas it became less critical to livelihoods. The motive behind the 2008 Strategy was to use these resources, re-assess their value and tap into the potential of marine infrastructure to develop sustainable products, services and jobs, as well as encourage investment along the coast.

Preparatory research for the Marine Leisure Infrastructure Strategy for the Southern Division of Cork County Council included asking over 100 stakeholder organisations to submit suggestions on the future development of marine infrastructure and recreation on the South Cork coast. The responses from people directly involved in marine leisure and tourism at local level have informed the development of this Strategy, and will help promote future use of Cork's coast as part of a sustainable tourism product.

The Marine Leisure Strategy is an Action Plan for the coast, developed with inputs from these stakeholder organisations and a Steering Group with representatives from Cork County Council, CMRC, Fáilte Ireland, the ports of Kinsale, Cork and Youghal, the Town Councils of Kinsale, Cobh and Youghal, funding partnership groups (South and East Cork Area Development and West Cork Development Partnership) and Inland Fisheries Ireland. It identifies the untapped potential of the coast, contains extensive information on marine leisure activities and infrastructure, and outlines the next steps key to creating a top class coastal tourism and leisure product for County Cork.

Draft Cork Harbour Study

The Draft Cork Harbour Study looks at the most intensively used part of the South Cork coastline, on a broader and longer term basis, which includes the other activities on Cork Harbour as well as marine leisure, and looks forward up to the middle of the 21st century.

Cork harbour is one of the largest in the world, but the range, scale and importance of its functions is also exceptional - as a major port, as the setting for Cork City, most of its satellite towns and the main energy and pharmaceutical industry clusters in the State, as an over-wintering site for birds area, as a centre for boating and fishing, and as the country's main naval base, both currently and historically, with the historical aspect represented by an exceptional coastal defence heritage. All of this happens in a Harbour in which agriculture and forestry still account for more than half the land within O.5 kilometres of the shoreline.

However, this balance will not maintain itself. The proportion of land adjoining the Harbour which was developed rose from around one ninth in the 1930s to around one third now, and on a trend basis will be around two-thirds in the 2050s. This trend is not sustainable in the longer term, and the Draft Study seeks a shift in approach. More development can occur on disused or underused Harbour side industrial land, for port uses and dockland type re-development, and perhaps also for new industries such as wave power devices, which may be a thousand tons each, and need to be built beside deep water and launched like a ship. Greenfield land adjoining the Harbour should not be developed for uses that have no strong reason for being there. In practice, a balance between the development and amenity roles of the Harbour is only likely to be maintained if there is public support for this. Greater use and better public access to its amenities and recreational facilities will make this more likely.

The Study tries to understand what is happening in Cork Harbour and where it might lead, partly through analysis of around 60 shoreline areas. It is often clearest at this level how different activities interact with the inherited landscape and each other, where potentially dynamic activities offer new opportunities, and where there are tensions to be resolved. Characteristic features of Cork Harbour - such as the position of many settlements on steep slopes with their centres on narrow level areas between the base of the hill and the sea, and the concentration of transport corridors close to the shoreline - become obvious as they recur in numerous local areas

As well as having numerous different activities, Cork Harbour also has numerous organisations involved in its management and development - public, private and community based. There is growing recognition of the importance of an integrated approach to coastal areas, and Cork County Council has been a partner with other local organisations in the COREPOINT and IMCORE projects (supported by the EU INTERREG programme), and is represented on the Cork Harbour Management Focus Group. A general framework to support a more integrated approach thus already exists.

However, the Harbour will change as a result of specific choices made in particular places, and the ultimate test of an integrated approach is whether it has practical influence at that level. Cork County Council has produced a Draft Study outlining possibilities, not a Plan saying what should definitely happen next, to promote discussion of options, in the hope that a greater degree of consensus will emerge at this more practical level.

The County Manager said that it was important that Harbour residents, businesses, community and recreational groups are part of these discussions, as well as public agencies with a responsibility in the Harbour area. The Draft Study will be on public display until 15th July, in Libraries and Council Offices, and under Planning on the Council's website. Cork County Council would welcome comments from all concerned during the next seven weeks.

All our latest Cork Harbour updates here

#JOBS – Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) is recruiting an Administrator on a fixed term contract for its Cork Week 2012 regatta. 

Cork Week, a major biennial event, the next hosting of which will take place from the 7th July 2012 - 13th July 2012.

Reporting to the Club Manager, RCYC says the role is an exciting opportunity for a person with proven administrative and organisational skills.

The person appointed will have a high level of computer literacy, a knowledge of website management and a familiarity with the world of sailing. The person must be able to demonstrate strong interpersonal abilities and use of initiative in dealing with Members, event competitors, sponsors, suppliers and the general public.

Please send application and CV (by email only) to [email protected]

Closing Date for receipt of applications is 25th November, 2011

#RESCUE - A fisherman on a Spanish vessel is in hospital after being airlifted from some 150 nautical miles southwest of Co Cork early yesterday, The Irish Times reports.

The skipper of the fishing vessel Albelo Primero radioed the Irish Coast Guard's Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre on Wednesday night, reporting that a 33-year-old crewman had taken ill and required emergency medical attention.

The man was airlifted by coastguard helicopter to Cork Airport and transfered by ambulance to Cork University Hospital.

The Irish Times said his condition is not understood to be life-threatening.

#ROYAL CORK – With only two points between Jump Juice (Kerr 37) and Gloves Off (Corby 38) going into the final race of the O'Flynn Exhams Autumn Regatta at Royal Cork YC last weekend, it was all to play for in Cork Harbour. Videographer Brian Carlin jumped from Gloves to Jump to capture the action of the top 2 custom boats in IRC 0 class for the last show down of the 2011 season...

#JOBS – Cork County Council have issued a notice of intention to grant planning permission to allow the expansion of Cork Harbour Marina, Monkstown to a larger and more comprehensive 285 fingered berth marina as reported previously on Afloat.ie. The expansion will allow for 175 car parking spaces, a marina pavillion building to incorporate a provisions shop, cafe/bar/restaurant, chandlery, marine and boat sales office, Gym, changing rooms with showers, toilets and laundry facilities. All 285 berths are fully serviced, secure fingered berths ranging in size of up to 18m in length, a reception berth, a fuelling berth with diesel and petrol available and a pump out facility berth. The car park and pavillion will be encompassed by a public promenade with seating, panoramic viewing platform, viewing deck promontory and a nature awareness garden.

An artist's impression of plans for an expanded marina at Monkstown

This expansion will lead to one of Ireland's finest marinas facilities which will support up to 90 jobs both directly and indirectly, of these 32 will be full time permanent jobs on the completed Marina complex. The Marina is a unique development, destined to be the South of Ireland's first Blue Flag marina with world-class facilities for berth holders and visitors alike which will allow Cork to capture a bigger slice of the world marine leisure market worth approx €928 billion annually. Initially, set up to address the deficit of safe berths in the Monkstown Bay area the facility is a credit to the Irish team that invested, designed and built it, and of their ambitious plans for its expansion to a five star facility to rival any that Europe has to offer.

A €1.5 million investment into the Irish economy was required to complete the first phase, namely an 82 berth state of the art floating concrete marina. Project co-coordinator James O'Brien advised that "having secured a grant from SECAD (South and East Cork Area Development) and private investment, Monkstown Bay Marina Company proceeded with the totally Irish construction project. All local contractors were employed, from engineering to carpentry to provision of water supplies, to mooring and anchoring specialist teams".

When questioned if he felt that it was wise to undertake such a project during a recession, Mr O'Brien felt that the project will actually help Cork recover from the recession, "In recent years, the lack of marina and berthing facilities in Cork Harbour, the second biggest natural Harbour in the world has been recognised as having a negative impact on the amount of yachts and marine leisure holidaymakers visiting the harbour, and utilising onshore facilities, both in the in the immediate locality and Cork County". Located just 7kms from Ringaskiddy Ferry Port, with access to the UK several times a week and Roscoff in France once a week. A weekly service to Spain is also under negotation, at this time making Cork Harbour Marina the ideal place to winter a visiting boat or to place it in Ireland for multiple family visits, and with the world class cruising grounds of West Cork.

Having a slip (or berth) at a marina offers convenience, security, services, amenities, and a social atmosphere to enjoy. There are broader quality of life benefits for users also, such as improved safety, to-and-from access, and the availability of other essential services, such as electricity to effect repairs, fuel at a convenient marina location, or provisions, parts or repairs being delivered directly to any boat as necessary. Berth spaces are currently available to rent long and short term, at competitive costs.

The boating public have eagerly awaited the new marina for many years, and the response has been one of huge endorsement and positivity, with rapid take-up of berths, and a high incidence of short stay and overnighting too, all bringing much needed tourism revenue to a village that most, up to now, would have sailed or motored past!

Cork Harbour Marina offers an asset-backed; Bord Failte approved BES scheme, in one of the only tax shelters left available to the Irish investor. Full details of this BES scheme are available on request. Berths are allocated on a first come first served basis, all enquiries regarding berthing space should be directed to James O'Brien on 087 3669009

Monkstown is an attractive seaside village that offers visitors beautiful walks in a stunning location - even walking the marina, visitors can enjoy this tranquil and picturesque harbour setting.

South of the city, the marina is also served by a regular bus route, No 223, allowing easy access to Cork City's shopping and social scenes, one of the top cities in the world for a short break, according to a recent Trailfinder survey. Cork Harbour Marina is also only 2kms from the Cross River Ferry, giving easy access to Great Island and East Cork.

For those choosing to stay for an extended period, various ancillary services can be organised - provisioning, refuelling, cleaning, antifouling, boat maintenance and repairs, sail repair, and winter storage both outdoor and covered. The marina team can also organise a boat delivery or recovery service provided by competent Offshore Yacht masters.

Cork Harbour marina is the closest marina to the suburbs of Douglas, Rochestown and Passage West, nestles right in front of the stunning Monkstown village, is convenient to Monkstown Sailing, Rowing, Golf and Tennis Clubs, and the world renowned Bosun Restaurant and Guesthouse, the convivial Monkstown Inn, and the proposed Monkstown Amenity Park, which the local communities are pushing toward completion.

In brief, Cork Harbour Marina is Ireland's newest coastal marina with all year round berthage. The marina itself can accommodate boats up to 17m and consists of an outer perimeter of floating concrete break waters with fingered berths contained internally.

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