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Displaying items by tag: Dublin Bay Digital Diamond

#FinnishBuoys – Finnish state-owned company Meritaito Ltd, originally Finnish Maritime Administration are joining forces with Commissioners of Irish Lights on testing of 'spar' buoys normally used in Baltic Sea ice-flows and not the Irish Sea, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Meritaito which specialises in the maintenance and development of waterways and marine infrastructure are to carry out performance and survivability tests on spar buoys as part of the Dublin Bay Digital Diamond (see interactive map) from new-look CIL website.

Finland has to contend and experience icy waterway conditions and so they have developed the Spar buoys which are of a slimmer 'tube' structure design. This design has enabled easier conditions better suited for dealing with ice-flows.

Despite the particular suitability of design, they can suffer from conspicuity problems when compared to their Irish counterparts in the use of conventional buoys.

CIL's aids to navigation tender ILV Granuaile, based at her homeport HQ in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, is scheduled to deploy the spar buoys later this late summer.

The two spar buoys, one cardinal, the other lateral, are to be deployed in close proximity to the Bennet Bank off the eastern fringes of Dublin Bay and the West Blackwater buoy which is on the Irish Sea.

 

Published in Lighthouses

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Turkey Shoot Winter Series

Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Turkey Shoot Series reached its 20th year in 2020.

The popular yacht series racing provides winter-racing for all the sailing clubs on the southside of Dublin Bay in the run-up to Christmas.

It regularly attracts a fleet of up to 70 boats of different shapes and sizes from all four yachts clubs at Dun Laoghaire: The National Yacht Club, The Royal St. George Yacht Club, The Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as other clubs such as Sailing in Dublin. Typically the event is hosted by each club in rotation.

The series has a short, sharp format for racing that starts at approximately 10 am and concludes around noon. The event was the brainchild of former DBSC Commodore Fintan Cairns to give the club year-round racing on the Bay thanks to the arrival of the marina at Dun Laoghaire in 2001. Cairns, an IRC racer himself, continues to run the series each winter.

Typically, racing features separate starts for different cruiser-racers but in fact, any type of boat is allowed to participate, even those yachts that do not normally race are encouraged to do so.

Turkey Shoot results are calculated under a modified ECHO handicap system and there can be a fun aspect to some of the scoring in keeping with the Christmas spirit of the occasion.

As a result, the Turkey Shoot often receives entries from boats as large as Beneteau 50 footers and one designs as small as 20-foot flying Fifteens, all competing over the same course.

It also has legendary weekly prizegivings in the host waterfront yacht clubs immediately after racing. There are fun prizes and overall prizes based on series results.

Regular updates and DBSC Turkey Shoot Results are published on Afloat each week as the series progresses.

FAQs

Cruisers, cruising boats, one-designs and boats that do not normally race are very welcome. Boats range in size from ocean-going cruisers at 60 and 60 feet right down to small one-design keelboats such as 20-foot Flying Fifteens. A listing of boats for different starts is announced on Channel 74 before racing each week.

Each winter from the first Sunday in November until the last week before Christmas.

Usually no more than two hours. The racecourse time limit is 12.30 hours.

Between six and eight with one or two discards applied.

Racing is organised by Dublin Bay Sailing Club and the Series is rotated across different waterfront yacht clubs for the popular after race party and prizegiving. The waterfront clubs are National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC), Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC) and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC).

© Afloat 2020