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Dublin Bay Boating News and Information

Displaying items by tag: Albert Quay Cork

Alliance Franҫcaise de Cork and Fondation Belém in association with the Port of Cork are pleased to announce arrival of the French tall-ship fleet, Belém, a 116-year old barque at one stage owned by the Guinness family, writes Jehan Ashmore.

During her four-day stay the pride of the French tall-ship fleet is to berth at Albert Quay, in the heart of Cork city-centre where the public can thread her timber decks on Saturday (2 July) between 11.30-17.00 hours and on Sunday (3 July) starting from 10.00 till 18.00 hours. There is an admission of €5 for adults, a concession of €3 and a family ticket costs €10.

Visitors can trace her long and varied career with an exhibit housed below decks of the historic vessel which was built in 1896 in Nantes. For nearly two decades she crossed the Atlantic transporting a diverse cargo but mostly spices, sugar and cocoa beans from her namesake port of Belém do Pará, on the north-east coast of Brazil bound for France. She would sail upriver on the River Seine to supply the cocoa beans for a Paris-based chocolate-maker.

Belem would later become under the British flag and she became the property of the Duke of Westminster, who converted her to a luxury pleasure yacht. In 1921 she was sold to the Hon. Arthur Ernest Guinness, who renamed her Fantôme II and took part in the Cowes regattas and cruised around the world between 1923 and 1924 with his family.

To read more on the vessel's other career's under several owners until her present-day role as a sail-training vessel operated by the Fondation Belém click HERE and also www.portofcork.ie

In addition to visitors boarding the Belem, the public are invited to attend free readings by the Cork poets William Wall and Thomas McCarthy. Accompanying the poets are French writers Maylis de Kerangal and Olivier Sebban for a session of Franco-Irish readings which too takes place on the Saturday evening between 18.00 -19.30 hours.

For further information contact Vytenė Laučytė, Cultural Coordinator, Alliance Franҫaise de Cork Tel: (021) 431 0677 or by email: [email protected]

All advance bookings for the visit on board the Belem are to be made at Alliance Franҫaise de Cork. Tickets are also available at the entrance to the tallship alongside Albert Quay, Cork. Last year Alliance Francaise celebrated its 50th anniversary

Published in Tall Ships

The tallship used in the 1962 film of 'Mutiny and the Bounty' starring Hollywood screen legend Marlon Brando is to make a Bloomsday arrival to the rebel city, writes Jehan Ashmore.

H.M.S. Bounty is a replica of the ship in the famous 1789 mutiny against Captain William Bligh. The tallship is to dock at Albert Quay in Cork city-centre and will be made open to the public on Friday 17th, Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th June (daily between 11am – 6pm).

Tours on board the Bounty are self-guided with crew assistance and the admission charge is €10 for adults and children €5, children under four years go free.

In recent years the Bounty has appeared in 'Pirates of the Caribbean II' and in the Lone Wolf Production Group documentary on 'Blackbeard'. The ship also appeared in 2003 for a documentary on Captain Bligh for the History Channel, and the Sponge Bob Square Pants movie, which was released in November 2004. Also in that year the tallship was used in an episode for MTV.

For more information about the Cork visit click HERE and for the Bounty's voyages and background, visit www.tallshipbounty.org

Published in Tall Ships

Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

© Afloat 2020