Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: MGM Boats

One interesting outcome of this weekend's MGM New and Used Boat Show in Dun Laoghaire Harbour is that the majority of show-goers were first-time boaters keen to get on the water this season or next. 

As Afloat previously reported, the leading Irish yacht broker MGM Boats has 13 new models on display including a recently arrived Sun Odyssey 349 yacht and a Prestige 420 Fly. The show has been a very positive experience both in terms of new and used boat markets. 

"We have two offers under consideration by owners as of this morning on our brokerage listings", Managing Director Gerry Salmon told Afloat.

The firm also picked up three new boats for its 300-boat brokerage listing.

A Jeanneau Merry Fisher motorboat has also been sold subject to a trade-in being in good condition. 

On the Sailboat front, MGM Boats have three test sails lined up for the new Sun Odyssey 349 (on display) and are expecting two further offers this week, Salmon says.

The show continues at the Coal Harbour today.

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under

Leading Irish yacht broker MGM Boats will stage a New and Used Boat Show in Dun Laoghaire Harbour from Friday 7th June to Sunday 9th June.

At least 13 new models are going on display including a recently arrived Sun Odyssey 349 yacht and a Prestige 420 Fly.

Broker Martin Salmon says the firm will have 'a host of new and used boats on display in the water and on the hard' at MGMs headquarters at the Coal Harbour.

Here is a sample of the MGM Boats boat show line-up:

  • Sun Odyssey 349
  • Prestige 420 Fly
  • Jeanneau NC 9
  • Jeanneau Merry Fisher 695
  • Bayliner Element 5
  • Jeanneau Leader 33
  • Jeanneau Merry Fisher 795
  • Flipper 640 DC
  • Prestige 36
  • Jeanneau Leader 46
  • Dufour 36
  • Bayliner 246
  • Hanse 350

Please contact [email protected] or call us on 01 2802020 if you require more information or directions.

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under

Dublin Bay's MGM Boats have been showing off the versatility of the firm's 50–Ton Marine Travel Hoist at its Dun Laoghaire Harbour boatyard.

'Ever wondered how we get a 50 foot yacht from hard standing to the water?' is the question posed on a social media post. The answer of course is with the proper equipment and to prove the point the Irish Jeanneau agents added a short vid (below) revealing how a brand new Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 490 is launched with the custom-built hoist.

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under

In Hall 5 Stand E45 of Boot Dusseldorf, Ireland's MGM Boats did their best to give Europe's largest Boat Show a fair wind on Saturday, especially after the loss of the London Show.

The Irish broker, that also has a presence on the Prestige and Jeanneau stands at Boot, is flying the flag for the Irish marine trade at the show.

"We'd a busy day here yesterday and lots of Irish boaters turned up. We had over 60 people on the stand at one stage – all were Irish! MGM's Martin Salmon told Afloat.ie

"Tom Crean's Lager and Tayto Crisps were flowing!"

"Our Isle of Wight Gin, Tom Crean's Lager and our Tayto Crisps were flowing!" Salmon added.

For the seventh year running MGM Boats has its own dedicated brokerage stand in Hall 5 with a wide selection of used powerboats and sailboats.

The 50th anniversary German Show is the largest indoor Boat Show in the world and features over 1,500 boats on display in 16 halls along with chandlery, electronics and accessories. Afloat.ie's WM Nixon previewed the massive German show here.

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under

MGM Boats will be showcasing the new Sun Odyssey 410 at the 50th anniversary Dusseldorf Boat Show which runs from the 19th to 27th January.

With the absence of the London Boat Show this year, the leading Irish brokerage firm has managed to encourage most of their customers to the Dusseldorf event and have lined up a substantial number of viewing appointments for the newly designed Sun Odysseys.

The latest edition in the eighth generation of the Sun Odyssey range is the Sun Odyssey 410. This new design combines some of the same tried and tested features of its predecessors with the latest technology and sailing innovations.

Like the 440 and 490 launched in 2018, this new model is Designed by naval architects Philippe Briand and Marc Lombard, with contributing designer Jean-Marc Piaton. Innovative features such as the walk around side deck and cathedral rigging provide uninhibited ease of movement on board for enjoyable sailing.

Exploring the open sea has never been so thrilling as with the Sun Odyssey 410’s powerful hull, perfect for navigating during calm and windy days alike.

The 410 is available in two or three-cabin versions, with the possibility for further interior customizations. Additional available features include a retractable bow thruster, cathedral standing rigging, an L-shaped keel, and an integrated bowsprit.

If you can make it to the show and would like to secure VIP passes please contact [email protected] or call 01 2802020

For those who cannot make it to Dusseldorf MGM have a brand new Sun Odyssey 490 in stock in Dun Laoghaire and available for viewing.

For more information visit www.mgmboats.com

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under

Jeanneau's new Sun Fast 3300 high-performance sailboat will be launched next Spring, Irish agent Gerry Salmon of MGM Boats told Afloat.ie at the opening of the Paris Boat Show this weekend.

Jeanneau has enlisted not one, but two renowned naval architects: Daniel Andrieu and Guillaume Verdier to design the new marque which is to be sailed either fully crewed or short handed.

David Andrieu, the naval architect behind the Sun Fast line since its inception, is a 'proven expert' in optimising for the IRC rating rule, as well as working with the Jeanneau builders to deliver boats of exceptional quality which Jeanneau customers expect. Guillaume Verdier, who is renowned for his work in the America’s Cup and Vendee Globe, will bring a 'mastery of computational fluid dynamics'  to this project, as he has in the past with other high-performance boats, such as the 100’ Commanche and the IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss.

Jeanneau Sunfast 3300This new Sun Fast 3300 was launched yesterday in Paris

"Jeanneau has enlisted not one, but two renowned naval architects: Daniel Andrieu and Guillaume Verdier to design the new marque"

The hull of the Sun Fast 3300 shows a double 'concave', forward and aft according to the designers who say as follows: 

These curved hollows on the centre line enable an improved distribution of dynamic pressure while limiting drag on the hull and minimizing the surface below the waterline for greater performance.

The structure and shape of the keel, carefully studied on this new Sun Fast, also enable a reduction in drag and an optimised centre of gravity.

The sail plan has been designed to be large and powerful while being highly efficient and easy to handle.

The hull features maximized buoyancy aft, so the rig has been moved aft as well. The maximum area square top main is controlled by a long traveller and twin backstays for improved upwind sailing.

The long list of international awards won by Sun Fast 3200s and Sun Fast 3600s is impressive at home and abroad, with victories in such iconic races as the Sydney Hobart, the Spi Ouest France, the Transquadra, the Giraglia, the Commodores’ Cup and the Caribbean 600. And of course, Irish Sailor of the Year 2017 Conor Fogerty achieved his magnificent solo success on his 3600 BAM! from Howth.

Today, nearly 400 Sun Fast 3200s and 3600s sail in waters around the world.

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under

MGM Boats in Dun Laoghaire Harbour are well represented at this week's Salon Nautico de Barcelona – the Barcelona Boat show – one of Europe's fastest growing on the water boat shows.

Jeanneau Sailboats have an impressive display including the new generation of Sun Odyssey’s the 490, 440 & 410 which will be arriving in Irish shores in 2019.

 MGM's Martin Salmon and Ross O'Leary are present on the Jeanneau power and sailboat stand.

Catamaran brand Lagoon has the 40,42, 50 and 630MY on display and Ross O'Leary is dealing with Irish enquiries. Regular Afloat.ie readers will recall how one Irish couple bought a Lagoon 450s from O'Leary with the dream of a retirement cruise.

Meanwhile, Gerry Salmon is on the Prestige stand where the line out includes the Prestige 460, a sister ship to the one MGM boats debuted at Cork Week in July.

Also present is a Prestige 520 (which will debut in Dublin in March 2019) and a Prestige 590 new model (replacing the Prestige 560 displayed this year in Dun Laoghaire Marina) along with the new Prestige 630 and Prestige 680.

Prestige 590 main pic7The Prestige 590

With easy access with regular from flights from MGM Boats say they have an increasing number of clients visiting Salon Nautico de Barcelona this year.

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under

Enterprising Dublin boat dealer Gerry Salmon of Dun Laoghaire left no stone unturned in MGM Boat's pre-show preparations for this month's international boat shows at Cannes and Southampton running until this Sunday 23rd September.

Salmon's publicity drive included a visit to leading Dublin Tailor Louis Copeland and Son on Capel Street with a model of the new Prestige Sport-Fly Motor Yacht exhibit.

As Afloat.ie reported previously, MGM Boats have been active this season in promoting the new joystick controlled cruiser.

As well as the Prestige Stand, MGM Boats are also showcasing a brokerage stand with up to 300 used boats on offer in Southampton.

MGM boats Southampton standMaking a stand for the Irish Marine industry – the Irish-based MGM Boats Brokerage stand at this week's Southampton Boat Show

As well as its Dun Laoghaire Harbour HQ, MGM Boats have locations in Cork, Belfast, the UK and the Mediterranean.

The Southampton Boat Show runs until September 23rd with daily direct flights from Ireland with Flybe.

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under

One of the largest Lagoon Catamaran Motor Yachts ever to go on display at Southampton boat show will be promoted by Ross O'Leary of MGM Boats in Dublin.

Building from the success of the sailing Lagoon 620, the Lagoon 630 Motor Yacht was developed – a long-range performance motorboat with a luxury interior.

630my interieur 4The massive interior on board the Lagoon 630 MY

To prove her reliability and range the Lagoon 630MY recently completed a transatlantic voyage and, says O'Leary, is an 'ideal blue water long-range luxury motor cruiser'.

The massive interior has six different interior layouts and three different levels giving lots of ‘real estate’. A top-level flybridge area for dining and lounging, deck level area with luxury interior and exterior spaces and hull level with all the comforts and sleeping area.

This multiple award winner can only been seen by appointment in Southampton.  More from [email protected]

Previously, in 2014, Afloat.ie featured Lagoon's 52–foot sailing cat here and, earlier this summer, Afloat.ie reported on a couple setting off on retirement in a new Lagoon 450S here

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under

Leading Irish broker Gerry Salmon of MGM Boats, will debut the new Prestige 590 motor cruiser at the Cannes Boat Show in France next week.

In a busy month for the Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin marine firm, the Irish yacht brokers will be in the South of France and at the UK's Southampton Boat Show too.

Salmon, who debuted the smaller Prestige 460 flybridge at this year's Cork Week regatta, says the unique feature of the new €895k (ex VAT) design is the 'independent access to the master stateroom from the saloon'. This, says Salmon, offers increased privacy for the owner and also for guests in the forward section.

Skyhook dynamic positioning

With the Cummins Zeus pod drives the Prestige 590 comes with built-in in Autopilot and Skyhook dynamic positioning and trim tab functions at no extra cost.

P590 INTERIEUR Jean Jacques BERNIER1An interior shot of the new Prestige 590

Exterior Features

  • Large hydraulic platform with auto steps: facilitates tender handling and access to the water
  • Cummins with Zeus pods: Performance and joystick manoeuvring, as well as built-in autopilot, Skyhook dynamic positioning and trim tab functions
  • Available with tender garage for jet tender or with fully-equipped crew cabin

Interior Features

  • 360° vision: exceptional natural light and visibility
  • Independent access to master stateroom: live in your private suite
  • Wrap-around galley with cockpit bar: blending interior and exterior entertaining
  • Main saloon with large seating area and lounge
  • Sliding door in saloon: access to side deck and ventilation
  • Full beam bathroom with adjoining walk-in closet
  • Exclusive VIP with walk-in closet
  • Available 3rd bathroom version

More MGM Boats news from Afloat.ie here

Published in MGM Boats
Tagged under
Page 7 of 13

The Irish Coast Guard

The Irish Coast Guard is Ireland's fourth 'Blue Light' service (along with An Garda Síochána, the Ambulance Service and the Fire Service). It provides a nationwide maritime emergency organisation as well as a variety of services to shipping and other government agencies.

The purpose of the Irish Coast Guard is to promote safety and security standards, and by doing so, prevent as far as possible, the loss of life at sea, and on inland waters, mountains and caves, and to provide effective emergency response services and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.

The Irish Coast Guard has responsibility for Ireland's system of marine communications, surveillance and emergency management in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and certain inland waterways.

It is responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue and counter-pollution and ship casualty operations. It also has responsibility for vessel traffic monitoring.

Operations in respect of maritime security, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration and fisheries enforcement are co-ordinated by other bodies within the Irish Government.

On average, each year, the Irish Coast Guard is expected to:

  • handle 3,000 marine emergencies
  • assist 4,500 people and save about 200 lives
  • task Coast Guard helicopters on missions

The Coast Guard has been around in some form in Ireland since 1908.

Coast Guard helicopters

The Irish Coast Guard has contracted five medium-lift Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters deployed at bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo.

The helicopters are designated wheels up from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours and 45 minutes at night. One aircraft is fitted and its crew trained for under slung cargo operations up to 3000kgs and is available on short notice based at Waterford.

These aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains of Ireland (32 counties).

They can also be used for assistance in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and aerial surveillance during daylight hours, lifting and passenger operations and other operations as authorised by the Coast Guard within appropriate regulations.

Irish Coastguard FAQs

The Irish Coast Guard provides nationwide maritime emergency response, while also promoting safety and security standards. It aims to prevent the loss of life at sea, on inland waters, on mountains and in caves; and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.

The main role of the Irish Coast Guard is to rescue people from danger at sea or on land, to organise immediate medical transport and to assist boats and ships within the country's jurisdiction. It has three marine rescue centres in Dublin, Malin Head, Co Donegal, and Valentia Island, Co Kerry. The Dublin National Maritime Operations centre provides marine search and rescue responses and coordinates the response to marine casualty incidents with the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Yes, effectively, it is the fourth "blue light" service. The Marine Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) Valentia is the contact point for the coastal area between Ballycotton, Co Cork and Clifden, Co Galway. At the same time, the MRSC Malin Head covers the area between Clifden and Lough Foyle. Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) Dublin covers Carlingford Lough, Co Louth to Ballycotton, Co Cork. Each MRCC/MRSC also broadcasts maritime safety information on VHF and MF radio, including navigational and gale warnings, shipping forecasts, local inshore forecasts, strong wind warnings and small craft warnings.

The Irish Coast Guard handles about 3,000 marine emergencies annually, and assists 4,500 people - saving an estimated 200 lives, according to the Department of Transport. In 2016, Irish Coast Guard helicopters completed 1,000 missions in a single year for the first time.

Yes, Irish Coast Guard helicopters evacuate medical patients from offshore islands to hospital on average about 100 times a year. In September 2017, the Department of Health announced that search and rescue pilots who work 24-hour duties would not be expected to perform any inter-hospital patient transfers. The Air Corps flies the Emergency Aeromedical Service, established in 2012 and using an AW139 twin-engine helicopter. Known by its call sign "Air Corps 112", it airlifted its 3,000th patient in autumn 2020.

The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is responsible for the Northern Irish coast.

The Irish Coast Guard is a State-funded service, with both paid management personnel and volunteers, and is under the auspices of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. It is allocated approximately 74 million euro annually in funding, some 85 per cent of which pays for a helicopter contract that costs 60 million euro annually. The overall funding figure is "variable", an Oireachtas committee was told in 2019. Other significant expenditure items include volunteer training exercises, equipment, maintenance, renewal, and information technology.

The Irish Coast Guard has four search and rescue helicopter bases at Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo, run on a contract worth 50 million euro annually with an additional 10 million euro in costs by CHC Ireland. It provides five medium-lift Sikorsky S-92 helicopters and trained crew. The 44 Irish Coast Guard coastal units with 1,000 volunteers are classed as onshore search units, with 23 of the 44 units having rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and 17 units having cliff rescue capability. The Irish Coast Guard has 60 buildings in total around the coast, and units have search vehicles fitted with blue lights, all-terrain vehicles or quads, first aid equipment, generators and area lighting, search equipment, marine radios, pyrotechnics and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Community Rescue Boats Ireland also provide lifeboats and crews to assist in search and rescue. The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the Garda Siochána, National Ambulance Service, Naval Service and Air Corps, Civil Defence, while fishing vessels, ships and other craft at sea offer assistance in search operations.

The helicopters are designated as airborne from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours, and 45 minutes at night. The aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, on inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains and cover the 32 counties. They can also assist in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and can transport offshore firefighters and ambulance teams. The Irish Coast Guard volunteers units are expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time of departing from the station house in ten minutes from notification during daylight and 20 minutes at night. They are also expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time to the scene of the incident in less than 60 minutes from notification by day and 75 minutes at night, subject to geographical limitations.

Units are managed by an officer-in-charge (three stripes on the uniform) and a deputy officer in charge (two stripes). Each team is trained in search skills, first aid, setting up helicopter landing sites and a range of maritime skills, while certain units are also trained in cliff rescue.

Volunteers receive an allowance for time spent on exercises and call-outs. What is the difference between the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI? The RNLI is a registered charity which has been saving lives at sea since 1824, and runs a 24/7 volunteer lifeboat service around the British and Irish coasts. It is a declared asset of the British Maritime and Coast Guard Agency and the Irish Coast Guard. Community Rescue Boats Ireland is a community rescue network of volunteers under the auspices of Water Safety Ireland.

No, it does not charge for rescue and nor do the RNLI or Community Rescue Boats Ireland.

The marine rescue centres maintain 19 VHF voice and DSC radio sites around the Irish coastline and a digital paging system. There are two VHF repeater test sites, four MF radio sites and two NAVTEX transmitter sites. Does Ireland have a national search and rescue plan? The first national search and rescue plan was published in July, 2019. It establishes the national framework for the overall development, deployment and improvement of search and rescue services within the Irish Search and Rescue Region and to meet domestic and international commitments. The purpose of the national search and rescue plan is to promote a planned and nationally coordinated search and rescue response to persons in distress at sea, in the air or on land.

Yes, the Irish Coast Guard is responsible for responding to spills of oil and other hazardous substances with the Irish pollution responsibility zone, along with providing an effective response to marine casualties and monitoring or intervening in marine salvage operations. It provides and maintains a 24-hour marine pollution notification at the three marine rescue centres. It coordinates exercises and tests of national and local pollution response plans.

The first Irish Coast Guard volunteer to die on duty was Caitriona Lucas, a highly trained member of the Doolin Coast Guard unit, while assisting in a search for a missing man by the Kilkee unit in September 2016. Six months later, four Irish Coast Guard helicopter crew – Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith -died when their Sikorsky S-92 struck Blackrock island off the Mayo coast on March 14, 2017. The Dublin-based Rescue 116 crew were providing "top cover" or communications for a medical emergency off the west coast and had been approaching Blacksod to refuel. Up until the five fatalities, the Irish Coast Guard recorded that more than a million "man hours" had been spent on more than 30,000 rescue missions since 1991.

Several investigations were initiated into each incident. The Marine Casualty Investigation Board was critical of the Irish Coast Guard in its final report into the death of Caitriona Lucas, while a separate Health and Safety Authority investigation has been completed, but not published. The Air Accident Investigation Unit final report into the Rescue 116 helicopter crash has not yet been published.

The Irish Coast Guard in its present form dates back to 1991, when the Irish Marine Emergency Service was formed after a campaign initiated by Dr Joan McGinley to improve air/sea rescue services on the west Irish coast. Before Irish independence, the British Admiralty was responsible for a Coast Guard (formerly the Water Guard or Preventative Boat Service) dating back to 1809. The West Coast Search and Rescue Action Committee was initiated with a public meeting in Killybegs, Co Donegal, in 1988 and the group was so effective that a Government report was commissioned, which recommended setting up a new division of the Department of the Marine to run the Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC), then based at Shannon, along with the existing coast radio service, and coast and cliff rescue. A medium-range helicopter base was established at Shannon within two years. Initially, the base was served by the Air Corps.

The first director of what was then IMES was Capt Liam Kirwan, who had spent 20 years at sea and latterly worked with the Marine Survey Office. Capt Kirwan transformed a poorly funded voluntary coast and cliff rescue service into a trained network of cliff and sea rescue units – largely voluntary, but with paid management. The MRCC was relocated from Shannon to an IMES headquarters at the then Department of the Marine (now Department of Transport) in Leeson Lane, Dublin. The coast radio stations at Valentia, Co Kerry, and Malin Head, Co Donegal, became marine rescue-sub-centres.

The current director is Chris Reynolds, who has been in place since August 2007 and was formerly with the Naval Service. He has been seconded to the head of mission with the EUCAP Somalia - which has a mandate to enhance Somalia's maritime civilian law enforcement capacity – since January 2019.

  • Achill, Co. Mayo
  • Ardmore, Co. Waterford
  • Arklow, Co. Wicklow
  • Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
  • Ballycotton, Co. Cork
  • Ballyglass, Co. Mayo
  • Bonmahon, Co. Waterford
  • Bunbeg, Co. Donegal
  • Carnsore, Co. Wexford
  • Castlefreake, Co. Cork
  • Castletownbere, Co. Cork
  • Cleggan, Co. Galway
  • Clogherhead, Co. Louth
  • Costelloe Bay, Co. Galway
  • Courtown, Co. Wexford
  • Crosshaven, Co. Cork
  • Curracloe, Co. Wexford
  • Dingle, Co. Kerry
  • Doolin, Co. Clare
  • Drogheda, Co. Louth
  • Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
  • Dunmore East, Co. Waterford
  • Fethard, Co. Wexford
  • Glandore, Co. Cork
  • Glenderry, Co. Kerry
  • Goleen, Co. Cork
  • Greencastle, Co. Donegal
  • Greenore, Co. Louth
  • Greystones, Co. Wicklow
  • Guileen, Co. Cork
  • Howth, Co. Dublin
  • Kilkee, Co. Clare
  • Killala, Co. Mayo
  • Killybegs, Co. Donegal
  • Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford
  • Knightstown, Co. Kerry
  • Mulroy, Co. Donegal
  • North Aran, Co. Galway
  • Old Head Of Kinsale, Co. Cork
  • Oysterhaven, Co. Cork
  • Rosslare, Co. Wexford
  • Seven Heads, Co. Cork
  • Skerries, Co. Dublin Summercove, Co. Cork
  • Toe Head, Co. Cork
  • Tory Island, Co. Donegal
  • Tramore, Co. Waterford
  • Waterville, Co. Kerry
  • Westport, Co. Mayo
  • Wicklow
  • Youghal, Co. Cork

Sources: Department of Transport © Afloat 2020