#FERRY TO FRANCE – Brittany Ferries flagship Cork-Roscoff route is underway, as the first sailing in 2012 of the seasonal-only operated service started last weekend and runs to early November. Serving on the 14 hour route which is the shortest sailing to France, is the luxurious flagship Pont-Aven, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 2,400 passenger /650 vehicle capacity Pont-Aven is unique to Irish services as she features a swimming pool. The indoor facility located on the top deck,  includes a leisure area and pool bar which is open during the summer season and on busy off-season crossings.

In addition there are restaurants, a piano bar, main lounge, café and shop facilities. She has a wide choice of cabin accommodation that includes 'Commodore' cabins complete with balconies. For details about sailing schedules click HERE.

Roscoff is set in picturesque surroundings on the north-west Breton coast and the ferryport is a short distance even by foot to the town which has restaurants facing the coast. There is a botanical garden and a century-old thalassotherapy that has seawater and seaweed treatments used for healing and relaxation therapies.

The Port of Cork has scooped another two cruise awards for 2011. The awards for 'Best Shore side Welcome' and 'Best Tour Guides' were announced at Seatrade Miami, the global annual cruise shipping conference. This is the second year in a row that the Port has won such prestigious awards for their cruise business.

This announcement comes as the Port of Cork prepares to start their 2012 cruise season next week with the arrival of MV Balmoral and MV Marco Polo. In total up to 60 cruise liners will visit the port between April and November bringing over 100,000 passengers and crew to the region.

Receiving these awards, Chairman of the Port of Cork Mr Dermot O'Mahoney said: 'Receiving these global cruise awards shows the dedication and efforts made by the Port of Cork to ensure new and existing cruise companies continue to call to Cork. As well as investing in cruise facilities, the Port is also proactive in marketing the port and the region directly to the cruise companies.'

The winners of 'Cruise Insight' Annual Awards (formerly Dream World Cruise Awards) are based on surveys that are collected and analysed from Cruise Line Executives from all of the major cruise companies. The awards, launched in 1993, announce the ports and destinations that have provided outstanding services to ships, passengers and crew. The geographical mix of large and small ports receiving awards from Dubai, Far East, the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Baltic and Americas, reflected the global nature of the business. In 2011 there were a total of 87 worldwide winners, with 22 receiving more than one award, such as the Port of Cork.

Brendan Keating, Chief Executive of the Port of Cork also commented on the cruise awards saying: 'We as a port are very satisfied to have received these cruise awards two years in a row and we hope to continue our success next year. 2012 will be a another busy year for the cruise business in Cork, with 60 liners calling, of which three are operating part turnaround calls and ten liners are maiden visits to the port.'

He continued: 'While the port puts in a huge effort to bring the liners to Cork, the business would not work without the relationship and continued joint efforts of the Tour operators, Ship agents, Bus companies, Irish rail, local tourism groups and Cobh & Harbour Chamber, as well as the great tourist attractions on offer within the region, to help make the cruise business what it is today in Cork.

'2012 will also mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic which will attract many visitors to the town of Cobh. Both MV Balmoral and MV Marco Polo are carrying out themed Titanic cruises next week to commemorate the anniversary and Titanic 100 will also host a number of exciting events throughout the month in Cobh town.'

The Port of Cork is home to Ireland's only dedicated cruise berth in Cobh

On Sunday 15th April from 10am to 4pm, the Port of Cork will host a Boat Jumble on Custom House Quay. The Boat Jumble, which comes to Cork for the first time, is an open air market for the sale of boating, sailing and water sports equipment and accessories, both old and new. Second hand boats/dinghies, sails, engines and nautical "car boot" items will also be on sale.

The Boat Jumble format has a proven appeal for trade and "car boot" participants as a low cost way of reaching a high footfall of people interested in marine products and services. The Boat Jumble offers value, bargains and of course the unusual.

To sell at the Boat Jumble (trade pitch or "car boot") pre booking is essential and restricted to marine related products and services. The booking form is on www.portofcork.ie and must be completed before the day, in order to secure your place.

As well as buying and selling, the Boat Jumble will also have catering on site and some light entertainment during the day. The RNLI will have a presence on the day and will provide a free check on Personal Flotation Devices (PFD). This is an important service to the boating public as the season commences.

The Boat Jumble is a great day for the boating public to find a bargain or that unusual kit suitable for your boat.

For visitors hunting for bargains on the day, admission is €5 and supervised children are free. Due to the restriction of space there will be no on site casual car parking available, however there are city car parks available close by.

#WATERFRONT PROPERTY - A beautifully restored period house on 14 acres of Great Island in Co Cork could be a dream home for any big spender.

Accepting offers over €3 million, the house at East Grove believed to date from the early 19th century and is constructed of stone under a slate roof, with attractive shallow gables.

Approached via a long wooded avenue, the house commands a magnificent position overlooking a peaceful inlet of Cork Harbour.

Accommodation comprises five reception rooms, including a drawing room, dining room and library; six bedrooms including a master bedroom with ensuite; and a fully fitted kitchen with black granite countertops and pantry.

Outside there is a courtyard with stables, a work shop and storerooms, as well as a one-bedroom apartment arranged on two floors, while further accommodation is available in the two-bedroom gate lodge with its own gardens.

Other amenities include a delightful walled garden, an indoor swimming pool, tennis courts and a boathouse with private harbour and boat slipway with a floating yacht pontoon and moorings.

Viewing of East Grove is strictly by appointment only with joint agents Knight Frank and Dominic Daly. More on the property is available HERE.

#PHOTO EXHIBITION -'The Pier' a collection of images created by French photographer Charlie Jouvet was launched this evening at Alliance Francaise, Dublin and continues into next month, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The images portrayed capture a meditative journey from the centre of the island of Cobh to the sea and features the town's former White Star Line pier. It is from this pier that liner tenders took the last passengers to board the R.M.S. Titanic which was anchored offshore.

Jouvet created the images while in residency with the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh where there have been calls to preserve the historic 19th century pier also known locally as the 'Heartbreak' Pier as many emigrants departed Ireland for the last time and to seek new lives abroad.

Constructed of timber, the pier is in a perilous condition and according to experts could collapse unless urgent funding is found, as previously reported on Afloat.ie

The Berlin-based photographer has exhibited in his native France and also in Cambodia, Germany, Poland and Switzerland. His most recent work was at the PhotoPhnomPenh Festival which was held last November.

The Dublin exhibition continues to 21st April and is open to the public (free of charge) at Alliance Française, 1 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. For further information Tel: (01) 676 1732 and opening hours visit www.alliance-francaise.ie/gallery/

#TITANIC- In the centenary year of commemorating the R.M.S. Titanic, the pier from where her last passengers boarded at Cobh (Queenstown) is in danger of collapsing unless funding is made available to carry out immediate preservation reports The Irish Times.

The 19th century pier constructed of timber is one of the most tangible links between the town and the liner which anchored offshore and where passengers boarded by tenders.

In addition many emigrants also trundled the pier's planks to depart Irish shores for the final time on ocean-going journeys to the four corners of the world in an effort to start new lives.

To read more about the story click HERE.

#ROWING – Debra Searle MBE, Atlantic rower and motivational speaker addresses Cork business people today. Searle defied the odds and the critics when she rowed single-handedly across the Atlantic in her boat The Troika. She is to deliver a major motivational talk to business owners as part of the Cork City and South Enterprise Boards' NEW Business Network on February 29th in the Rochestown Park Hotel.

When Debra's rowing partner left her alone at sea less than two weeks into a transatlantic rowing race, the sceptics gave her little chance of surviving the harsh conditions, loneliness and physical toll that faced her. The odds were stacked against her: most people would have seen the obstacles and adversity that loomed and would have quit. Yet in one of the World's most inspiring adventures, Debra faced down those obstacles and 111 days later she rowed into Port St Charles, Barbados, to a rapturous welcome from friends, family, supporters and the world's media

Debra will share this experience with Cork business people on February 29th. This event is an absolute must for every business person who is trying to keep positive and overcome obstacles in 2012 and beyond, as Debra will share powerful tools and techniques that she used to survive and keep on going in her journey alone, that we can use in our everyday and business lives. Debra Searle is not just a woman with an amazing story to tell. She is also an accomplished business woman having started her first company aged 24 and her second aged 27. She is a managing director, the youngest Trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a published author and has presented over 40 programmes for the BBC.

Debra's overwhelming positivity and 'go for it' attitude are contagious. Through her own experiences she has helped numerous businesses, both large and small, to choose the right attitude, however impossible the end goal may seem. She has worked with organisations including IBM, Ford Motor Co., Microsoft, KPMG and England Rugby to get them to successfully step outside their comfort zone and thrive; find the positives when everything is changing; focus only that which can be changed; and stay motivated and determined, even when the journey only seems to be getting harder.

Debra Searle's lessons can help anyone to re-focus their efforts and overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. As Alan Farnsworth, President, Bausch & Lomb EMEA said of one of Debra's lectures, "I have never heard a better speech, anywhere, in any context ... People are still talking about it."

Sponsored by Cork City and South Cork Enterprise Boards and QED Training, Debra Searle will be speaking at the NEW Network in the Rochestown Park Hotel on Wednesday 29th February 2012 (Arrival and Networking from 6pm)

To register for the event go to (http://conta.cc/DebraSearleCork) or call Joanne on 0872882688. Members of the NEW network can attend this event as part of their annual membership. Non-members must register and the event fee of € 25 will apply.

All businesswomen in Cork are invited to become members of the Network of Enterprising Women (N.E.W.) NEW is organized jointly by Cork City and South Cork Enterprise Boards to provide a business-focused network for women. Members meet for four networking events per year, and the Network offers businesswomen a positive opportunity to make effective business contacts, develop new ideas and to be motivated by fellow members and speakers at networking events. Members also have the opportunity to promote their products and services through the network. Annual membership is €60 and new members should register for the network on www.sceb.ie or call 021 4975281 / 021 4961828.

#CORK HARBOUR  – A benefit 'Marina Overnight' event is planned for Easter Saturday April 7th at the brand new Cork Harbour Marina in Monkstown Bay. The event is being planned by friends of international sailor Joe English, who is suffering with Alzheimers Disease writes organiser Mick Mulcahy.

Coming from a career in sailing that started in 1976 in North Sails' Kinsale loft Joe represented Ireland around the three Great Capes in 1989/1990 as skipper of NCB Ireland and comes from a family steeped in a sailing tradition.

In 2010 Dublin sailors held a benefit lunch for him at Howth Yacht Club.

The Cork Harbour facilities of Ireland's newest marina have been kindly donated by it's Managing Director James O'Brien, who is now in the process of accepting final applications for the few remaining seasonal berths. In advance of the descending hordes that hopefully will support this benefit for one of our own, James plans an official opening ceremony at 1500hrs, and the event organisers will host a raffle and reception in Monkstown Bay Sailing Club from 1800 hrs.

This novel season opener will appeal to all who want to give their sailing and motorboats a quick shakedown and a nominal overnight berthing fee of €30 for sailing yachts and larger motorboats, and €20 for smaller craft, ribs and speedboats is being requested, with all funds raised going directly to 'The Joe English Fund'. Berths can be reserved by mailing [email protected] or calling Mick Mulcahy on 087-2663120.

Mick will also gratefully accept suitable items for the proposed raffle.

#POWER FROM THE SEA - A new marine research lab in Cork Harbour could help Ireland to be a global leader in renewable energy, the Irish Examiner reports.

The Beaufort Laboratory, being built on a three-acre site next to the National Maritime College of Ireland on Haulbowline Island, is set to be completed by 2016.

And scientists at the €14 million lab have told Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte that it will be the largest marine renewable energy research facility in the world.

Expected to be a base for 135 researchers from University College Cork (UCC), the lab also hopes to attract the world's top researchers in marine energy to the area, with an aim to exploiting the potential for jobs in the fast-growing ocean energy sector.

The new lab forms part of the Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster (IMERC) established to promote the country as a world-renowned research and development location, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.

#WEST CORK – Sailing Clubs stand to benefit in an allocation of over €2.6 million to harbour boards across West Cork this year to fund essential remedial works. The State funding has been approved for harbour development works in Skibbereen, Baltimore, Kinsale and Bantry by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

In Baltimore a Sailing Club Slipway extension has been allocated €35,000 and in Bantry a Sailing Club Pontoon will get  funding of €70,000. See full breakdown below.

In many cases works might involve the completion of a slipway or the construction of a pontoon adding to some other marine leisure developments along the Cork coast over the last 12 months. Royal Cork Yacht Club announced this month a five star grading for its marina in Crosshaven and elsewhere in Cork harbour a new marina has been built at Monkstown.

Development works underway at the harbour in Baltimore this week. Photo: Tom MacSweeney

The announcement by Minister Leo Varadkar sees the Baltimore and Skibbereen harbour board and the Kinsale harbour board each receive €1.25 million to fund essential remedial works. The Bantry Bay harbour commission will also receive €140,000.

This is a substantial investment that will considerably improve the operational capacity of each harbour, which will in turn have positive knock-on effects for the local economy and the environment.

The Baltimore and Skibbereen harbour, and the Kinsale harbour were recently transferred from the Department of Transport to Cork County Council and as part of that process, a two-year commitment to fund essential remedial works by the Department was agreed.

Local TD Michael McCarth of the Labour party said "I welcome the allocation of these monies and am glad the Government continue to recognise the importance of up-keeping and maintaining our local harbours, which are often important focal points for rural communities."

Harbour Funding 2012

Baltimore & Skibbereen
Western Pier final account €39,000

RoRo Slipway final account €21,000

North Pier extension final account €25,000

North Pier Phase 1 final works and account €150,000

North Pier Phase 2 works underway €745,000

Sailing Club Slipway completion of works €35,000

Proposed Inner Harbour Pontoon €70,000

Breakwater Design completion €30,000

Foreshore Licence Fees €135,000

€1,250,000

Kinsale
Commercial Town Pier contract retention €30,000

Adam’s Quay completion of work on site €555,000

Lobster Quay works completion €90,000

Fisherman’s Pontoon Remedial Works €140,000

Commercial Pier extension Phase 1 €435,000
€1,250,000

Bantry Bay
Sailing Club Pontoon €70,000

Pier Derrick €70,000
€ 140,000