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Displaying items by tag: Schooner Superyacht Eos

#SuperyachtEOS – One of the world’s largest privately owned superyachts, Eos that sailed to Cork Harbour earlier this summer has since among her worldwide cruising grounds called to Scotland and recently to the Croatian Riviera, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The majestic three-masted Bermuda rigged schooner, Eos, named after ancient Greek goddess, is understood to be owned by American media and television executive Barry Diller.

Eos is ranked in the Top 100 superyachts (including motor-only) and despite been built a decade ago she still holds a credible 48th position. She had sailed to Cork Harbour from the St. Johns Antigua in the Caribbean via the Azores to arrive alongside Cobh’s cruiseship pontoon. After her Irish stopover visit she then headed to Scotland (Caledonia), the latin name given by the Romans.

The impressive Eos built by Lurssen Yachts in Bremen, Germany, has accommodation with interiors designed by François Catroux, to pamper 16 owner/guests served by 21 crew. At almost 93 metres long, she weighs 1,500 tonnes and all three masts tower 61m above the waterline, in addition each mast alone is complete with a pair of satellite communication domes.

As reported by Eddie English during her quayside call in Cobh (schroll down for video) the schooner is also seen above entering Brodick Bay, Arran, largest and nearest of the Caledonian /West Scottish isles to Ireland. Eos following her visit to Cobh, had continued to Greenock on the Firth of Clyde, the container and cruiseship port for Glasgow.

It was only a few hours after arriving at Arran, dubbed Scotland in miniature (see CalMac ferry excursions) that Eos was observed under motor at slow speed approaching anchorage in Brodrick Bay where the ferryport is located. To further emphasis how long Eos is, the local Brodick-Ardrossan ferry, the 1,000 passenger/120 car Caledonian Isles is 94.30m, marginally longer than the schooners 92.92m, however, she beats smaller ferrymate, Isle of Arran that also plies the seasonal-only Ardrossan-Campbeltown, Kintyre route that runs up to 25 September.

Eos was escorted into a balmy Brodick Bay by her equally matching hull coloured tender. She joined the weekend-visiting yachts that lay at anchor against the scenic backdrop of Goat Fell, the island’s highest peak.

The Caymen Islands flagged schooner is now in more, sunnier climes in the Adriatic Sea, having called to Dubrovnik, Croatia Riviera this week. The numerous Croatian isles outnumber those of Scotland, as they too prove a big attraction for the privately owned superyachts, but also tourists taking cruiseships to the medieval coastal city that strictly controls their calls.

Dubrovnik, is also where the Cork connection continues, albeit not strictly superyacht related, but that of one of the more humble local based car-ferries. That been a ferry of the city’s namesake, the Irish built Dubrovnik, launched at the Verolme Cork Dockyard, Rushbrooke in 1979 as B+I Line's Connacht.

She made her maiden sailing on the Cork-Swansea, Wales route that year and after a spell as Brittany Ferries Duchesse Anne, she moved to operator, Jadrolinija on the Dubrovnik-Bari, Italy route.

Published in Superyachts

About Brittany Ferries

In 1967 a farmer from Finistère in Brittany, Alexis Gourvennec, succeeded in bringing together a variety of organisations from the region to embark on an ambitious project: the aim was to open up the region, to improve its infrastructure and to enrich its people by turning to traditional partners such as Ireland and the UK. In 1972 BAI (Brittany-England-Ireland) was born.

The first cross-Channel link was inaugurated in January 1973, when a converted Israeli tank-carrier called Kerisnel left the port of Roscoff for Plymouth carrying trucks loaded with Breton vegetables such as cauliflowers and artichokes. The story, therefore, begins on 2 January 1973, 24 hours after Great Britain's entry into the Common Market (EEC).

From these humble beginnings however, Brittany Ferries as the company was re-named quickly opened up to passenger transport, then became a tour operator.

Today, Brittany Ferries has established itself as the national leader in French maritime transport: an atypical leader, under private ownership, still owned by a Breton agricultural cooperative.

Eighty five percent of the company’s passengers are British.

Key Brittany Ferries figures:

  • Turnover: €202.4 million (compared with €469m in 2019)
  • Investment in three new ships, Galicia plus two new vessels powered by cleaner LNG (liquefied natural gas) arriving in 2022 and 2023
  • Employment: 2,474 seafarers and shore staff (average high/low season)
  • Passengers: 752,102 in 2020 (compared with 2,498,354 in 2019)
  • Freight: 160,377 in 2020 (compared with 201,554 in 2019)
  • Twelve ships operating services that connect France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain (non-Covid year) across 14 routes
  • Twelve ports in total: Bilbao, Santander, Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo, Roscoff
  • Tourism in Europe: 231,000 unique visitors, staying 2.6 million bed-nights in France in 2020 (compared with 857,000 unique visitors, staying 8,7 million bed-nights in 2019).