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Displaying items by tag: West Cork Sailing Centre

17th July 2009

West Cork Sailing Centre

West Cork Sailing & Powerboat Centre – 1998 to 2009

In 1998 we discovered an old breezeblock shed next to Adrigole pier and slipway. We thought the location of a building by the edge of a sheltered harbour, surrounded in hills and mountains was perfect for a sailing school.

So, West Cork Sailing Centre was set up and our first 8 dinghies bought.  We operated for two years from the old shed, with no running water. Customers enjoyed the atmosphere, quality of equipment and expert tuition, and recommended us to their friends and family to provide us with more bookings.

In 2000 we got planning permission for our new centre and construction started in December of 2000. Paddy Bat and his team of builders worked hard to complete the building for June of 2001.

The luxury of hot showers, toilets and underfloor heating was wonderful.

The new building has lecture room, offices and cafe area, so The Boat House Cafe was opened for passing customers to enjoy a cappuchino while watching the boats sail by. In 2002 we received our Wine Licence.

2004 was a very busy summer and one of our children was very ill, so we closed the cafe to passing trade at the end of the summer and the comfortable dining area is now for our sailors only. We provide a buffet lunch with lovely home made soup to our sailors every day.

In 2004, the fleet increased to 40 boats and a team of ten instructors working in the summer. The cafe is now known as the Bistro and is now only open to our customers or parties.  This gives our customers their own relaxing lounge room to catch up on the days events at lunch time and at the end of the day.

The local area has taken a great interest in the development of sailing and to try and increase the availability of boats to the area we have linked up with Bere Island Sailing Club with three 20ft Sun 2000's from Jeaneau, which are in our fleet.  We also take care of Beara Community Schools fleet of six Toppers.

2005 and our dream boat joins the fleet – A Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 37 Legende. She is just perfect for comfortable sail training. So, we now offer the ISA Cruising Scheme training courses – Yachtmaster, Day Skipper and Competent Crew. The centre also became RYA approved to provide dinghy, keelboat, powerboat and cruising RYA certificates to our UK customers.

In September 2006 the Commercial Yachtmaster Intensive training course was launched and the centre is now busy throughout each winter training complete beginners to become Yachtmasters on a six-month course.

It is now 2008 and we have a total fleet of 50 boats, kayaks, dinghies, keelboats, powerboats and yacht.

The future is bright, as we plan to build the West Cork Adventure Centre with high ropes, low ropes, indoor climbing, archery, underground mazes, orienteering, climbing and much more. All inconjunction with the development of accommodation designed specifically for the outdoor enthusiast. So watch this space as this new dream develops.

We are open to new projects and ways of developing sailing within the area, so if you have any ideas please get in touch.

We hope to see you on the water with us soon.

Gail and Niall Mac Allister

THE NEW BUILDING HAS:
DINING ROOM- with Balcony overlooking harbour and Hungry Hill
HOT SHOWERS - peel your wet suit off in a hot shower!
HEATED CHANGING ROOMS - luxury
HEATED CLASSROOMS - with French doors out to pier
HEATED DRYING ROOM - dry wet suits

Open Hours: September to June – 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and July to August – 10am to 5pm, every day

West Cork Sailing Centre, The Boat House, Adrigole, Beara, Co Cork. Tel: + 353 (0)27 60132, Email: [email protected] 

Published in Clubs

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.

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