An tSciocháin, a 1956 Bounty ll, crewed by five volunteers from the Crosshaven Lifeboat and skippered by Pat Fagan was the sole Irish entry in La Coupe des TROIS Phares that departed Crosshaven for France at the weekend.

An tSciocháin is skipperd by Pat Fagan with crew members Brendan Fagan, Pat Harris, Alan Barton and Gus O’Donovan

The competitors crossed the start line at the mouth of the harbour between the committee boat and the E4 mark under National Race Officer, Richard Leonard assisted by RCYC Admiral Paddy McGlade writes Claire Bateman.

The event is a long-range cruising-race the classic yachts from Western Europe . The race starts simultaneously from Crosshaven and Fowey, England to sail to Brest and will finally join La Rochelle on August 15th  The organisers say the cruising race is a unique possibility to join common efforts: yachts clubs, sailors and classic yachts lovers.

With a northerly wind and an ebbing tide (PHOTOS BELOW) the sailors were wise in being a little bit shy of the line but with spinnakers hoisted off they went and made a pretty sight as they headed out into the open sea watched by spectator boats including the Crosshaven Inshore Lifeboat. returning from exercise. The fleet was accompanied by their mother ship Notre Dame des Slots and other vessels.

There was a very nice gesture from the competitors as each yacht saluted and thanked the Race Officer as they passed the committee boat.

No doubt many of the boats had stories attaching to them but none more so than the yacht Pen Duick ll formerly owned by the late Éric Tabarly and now in the ownership of the École Nationale de Voile. Monsieur Tabarly, a former French Naval Officer was often known as the father of French sailing.

It has been a very enjoyable week for both the Competitors and the Royal Cork Yacht Club concluding with a dinner in their honour last evening (Fri) complete with traditional Irish entertainment consisting of music and dancing with the French visitors joining in with gusto. The partying went on until the early hours of the morning. Many friends were made and there is expectation they will return again to the Royal Cork Yacht Club in 2012.

Pat Fagan's 'An tSiochain' departs Cork Harbour for France. Photos: Bob Bateman

More Photos on the Gallery HERE 

The first in the seven race series of the HM Yachts August/September League took place at Royal Cork last night. Competitors were given a boat start from Corkbeg and beat to the Cage in a good south westerly breeze before a run to No. 7 and thence on to No. 13 off Cuskinny. There was a very good turnout of approximately twenty boats, an excellent number in view of the fact many boats have gone west for Calves week.

The first gun for these August races will be 18.50hrs each Thursday and 18.25hrs for the September races in order to allow for fading light.

A Gallery of photos from last night's race is HERE.

Match Racing Ireland (MRI) has cancelled the Cork Match Racing Open due to be held in ten days time.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) was running the Open, an event that forms the final leg of the Irish Match Racing Tour before the National Championship to be held in Kinsale at the end of October.

However in a statement issued this morning MRI says that "due to the unavailability of a suitable race management team Royal Cork YC and Match Racing Ireland have regrettably come to a decision to cancel the Open".

The MRI statement goes on to say:

"This is obviously very disappointing for every one concerned but we felt that invitations should not be sent out, committing teams to accommodation and transport arrangements, unless we were confident that we would be able to arrange an event of the quality we all expect.

We apologise to the teams who where looking forward to attending.

Looking at the reasons for the cancellation the main issues seem to be a question of scheduling. Post Cork Week burn out, other championship commitments and plain simple family holidays have spoken for a number of the race management teams that would normally be supportive of match racing. On the other hand the extra resources we need and challenges of running 30-40 races a day mean that it unfair to throw
some one in at the deep end at short notice"

There were also issues with the Dublin Match Racing Open in May because of the availability of crews and MRI says it won't schedule events around this time again because of exam timetables.

The statement continues: "Any sailing series in Ireland with out the involvement of Cork, well it's just not the real deal. There are plenty of Cork sailors involved with match racing, our main pool of Irish umpires are based in the county and RCYC and Kinsale have been at the forefront in terms of pushing match racing forward in this country."

It is understood Royal Cork has requested that MRI set-up an open meeting later in the year to get every one in the county with an interest in match racing together and look at how to take it forward. 

Competitors in Cork Harbour are gearing up for Thursday's first race of The HM Yachts August/September League which takes place at the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC), Crosshaven. The regatta series will be sailed under handicap for Cruisers. Dates as follows:

HM Yachts Series

Race 1 Thursday August 5th 2010 1850

Race 2 Thursday August 12th 2010 1850
Race 3 Thursday August 19th 2010 1850
Race 4 Thursday August 26th 2010 1850
Race 5 Thursday September 2nd 2010 1825
Race 6 Thursday September 9th 2010 1825
Race 7 Friday September 17th 2010 1825

A Notice of Race is attached for download below

Cork Harbour marine electronics dealer Complete Marine Solutions is having a Raymarine blow out sale. 25% is being taken off all Raymarine products while stocks last.
The firm who are also Nanni diesel and Yanmar  engine agents are based in Unit 11, Kilnagleary Business Park,Carrigaline, Co. Cork. Web site (under construction) www.completemarinesolutions.ie or call +353 (0)21 4376766

The ten competitors in the Crosshaven to Schull overnight race had a glorious spinnaker run out of Cork harbour as far as Cork Head before settling in for the long trip west with the freshening western breeze writes Claire Bateman. The trip was uneventful until the Class One fleet had passed Galley Head when in the early hours of Saturday morning Aidan Heffernans 'Indulgence' developed a steering problem. With three of his fellow competitors standing by a call was put out to Baltimore Lifeboat who towed the casualty safely to Baltimore.

The race continued to Schull where Donal O'Learys 'D Tox' took line honours finishing shortly after 7am. With numerous requests for redress, the race committee had a busy time sorting Class One results, which resulted in 'D Tox' taking first in both IRC and Echo, with Exhale and Saxon Senator filling second and third.

The spoils were shared in Class Two With Kieran O Briens 'Magnet' taking the IRC trophy, with the Barrett/Conlon team in 'Y Knot' winning Echo.

In the combined Classes Three and Four dogged determination finally paid off for Eddie Higgins and the crew of La Maraquita who, sailing the smallest boat in the race, crossed the Schull line in an elapsed time of sixteen and a half hours to capture the Echo trophy, with David Kenefick's 'Tiger' winning IRC.

West Cork bound. Photo: Robert Bateman

Compared with their companions from the previous night, the five White Sail boats that started from Kinsale on Saturday morning had an uneventful long slog to Schull where Bryan Heffernans 'Aisling' took first ahead of Doherty and Co in 'Free Spirit' and Julian Dockery's 'Flying Fish',while Kieran Dwyer's 'Brazen Huzzie' was the sole finisher in White Sail Two.

On Sunday the Wind Gods totally deserted Schull, where Race Officer Neill Prendeville was finally forced to fly the abandonment flag after a four hour postponement.

Cork Harbour

Open Day will take place on Saturday 4th September 2010. Aimed at embracing what Cork Harbour has to offer, the Cork Harbour Open Day seeks to raise awareness of the different activities available for people in the harbour both on and off the water.

Cork Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world, next to Sydney Harbour, offering beautiful locations for enjoying the outdoors, dramatic coastlines, and excellent leisure facilities. It is home to some very talented artists, sportsmen and women, and people who are passionate about the history, heritage and cultural value of Cork Harbour.

To get involved in Cork Harbour Open Day or to organise an event on the day, please visit www.corkharbour.ie  or contact Sara Dymond at [email protected] or 021-4625375.

The idea for a Harbour Open Day emerged from discussions between various stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of the Integrated Strategy for the Harbour. A group comprising representatives from UCC, City and County Councils and the Port of Cork set about working together to engage users of the Harbour and to organise the Open Day. 
Info: www.corkharbour.ie

The ports of Dublin and Cork are scheduled to receive a record 139 cruiseships in total this year, bringing 180,000 visitors and crew. Many more of these cruiseships are due to visit over the next two months and stretching into late Autumn. Between €35-55m is expected to be generated into the Dublin region from high-spend cruise visitors
while a further €5m is predicted for the local economy at Cork, writes Jehan Ashmore.

A notable visitor due to grace Dublin Bay is the return of The World, albeit not strictly a cruiseship but the first custom-built time-share ship. The vessel is to dock in the capital for four-nights from 4-8 August and then sails overnight to Cobh, for two-nights from 9-11 August.

In essence, The World presents an exclusively unique lifestyle experience. Instead of passengers, there are 'residents' who live onboard. Residents of the 43,188 gross tonnes (GT) vessel don't merely occupy a cabin but own large-sized luxurously appointed private apartments that are 'home' complete with balconies.

On 9 August, Silver Cloud docks at Dublin from Oban, Scotland. Measuring 16,927 GT, the vessel may not be the largest with only 315 passengers, but is an ultra-luxury cruiseship, regarded as one of the highest standards in the cruise-sector industry.

Returning to Cork Harbour, Cobh awaits the mighty Independence of the Seas. At 154,407 tonnes, she is the biggest ever cruiseship to dock at any Irish port. With a massive 4,375 passenger capacity, attractions include rock-climbing or surfing-boarding  using a special pool. The 'Independence' berths mid-afternoon on 29 August for an overnight call, departing 18.00hrs the next day.

Among smaller cruiseships, the private-motoryacht like, Island Sky of 4,000 tonnes and with 200 passengers, calls to Dublin on 11 August, and may berth upriver close to the new Samual Beckett Bridge.

Those keen on traditional ships, can look forward to the visit of Classic International Cruises Princess Danae, built in 1955. The veteran is due 16 August, and her sister, Princess Daphne is expected 2 September. Unusually the 16,000 tonnes pair were converted from general cargo-ships for a career in cruising.

New cruiseship, Costa Luminosa (92,700 GT) costing US $ 548m makes a second call to Cobh on 3 September and is operated by Costa Cruises.
This is the first time the Italian company has ventured into Irish cruising waters.

Without doubt the largest Dublin caller this season will be Emerald Princess. The giant weighs some 113,000 gross tonnes and at 288m long will certainly provide a spectacle, with lights blaring over a dozen or so decks, during a dusk departure on 14 September.

Also entering service this year, P&O Cruises 116,000 tonnes new Azura, is set to visit Dublin on 23 September and Cork the next day. The Italian built newbuild cost US $ 535m and has a capacity for 3,076 passengers.

Ocean Countess departing Dublin. Photo: Jehan Ashmore/ShipSNAPS

A newcomer to Irish ports is Cruise & Maritime Voyages Ocean Countess which is making round Ireland itineraries with calls at Cobh on 13 August and 12 September. Incidently the 'Countess' was converted into a troopship for the Falkland Islands conflict in 1982.

Jewel of the Seas (90,090 GT) makes a Cobh call on 7 September and exactly a month later returns, marking the last cruise-call to Cork in 2010 while Fred Olsen's Boudicca will be Dublin's last caller on 20 November.

For further information on other visiting cruiseships, please click links:

www.dublinport.ie/not-in-menu/cruise-ship-scheduled/

www.portofcork.ie/index.cfm/page/cruiseschedule2010

Pictures of Dolphins jumping off Roches Point in Cork harbour have been captured for youtube viewers courtesy of a Cork fishing trip this week. The three harbour dolphins jump clean out of the water in the clip below from about 2:20 on the timeline.  A Lovely marine animal sight on a summers evening! 

Excalibur RIBs of Cork have been busy this summer not only with a new 65 knot RIB for Round Ireland record holder Philip Fitzgibbon but also with new boats for Civil Defence teams in two locations around the coast. Joe McCollum of Excalibur will deliver a 7m RIB to Mayo Civil Defence on the West coast this week. A 6.5 metre boat for Cork Civil Defence is also due this month. The Cork harbour yard is also completing a 9m full cabin P5 boat for a West Cork commercial application later in the summer. More news from Excalibur at www.ribs.ie or mobile 087 2198651.