Displaying items by tag: Isle of Man cruise season

23rd February 2016

Manx Government Upgrades Plans to Drive Cruise Sector

#CruiseIOM - The Isle of Man Government last year appointed Neptumar (IOM) Ltd, a subsidiary of Dohle (IOM) Ltd, as its cruise consultant as part of a new strategy to drive forward cruise business in the Isle of Man.

According to Cruise Europe, bookings for 2016 are looking good with 19 vessels expected to call at the Isle of Man, either at anchorage or alongside at the Victoria Pier which can take vessels up to 155m in length.

As part of the new strategy the Isle of Man is reviewing its harbour facilities and has planned some upgrades this year to the Victoria Pier, including the fenders, to make berthing more comfortable for visiting cruise vessels.

Routine maintenance and upgrade to the Douglas Sea Terminal will also take place and this year there will be a retail outlet in the welcome centre selling Manx produce and local crafts.

The Vikings are set to dominate the Isle of Man in 2016 with exhibitions hosted by Manx National Heritage, the organisation responsible for protecting and promoting the Isle of Man’s heritage and culture. Many of these sites feature in shore excursions.

On arrival passengers will see the Tower of Refuge which was built on the reef in 1832 following several shipwrecks. Sir William Hillary, who helped to found the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, ordered the construction because he wanted a refuge for survivors until help could arrive.

Published in Cruise Liners

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The Kingstown to Queenstown Yacht Race or 'K2Q', previously the Fastnet 450

The Organising Authority ("OA") are ISORA & SCORA in association with The National Yacht Club & The Royal Cork Yacht Club.

The Kingstown to Queenstown Race (K2Q Race) is a 260-mile offshore race that will start in Dun Laoghaire (formerly Kingstown), around the famous Fastnet Rock and finish in Cork Harbour at Cobh (formerly Queenstown).

The K2Q race follows from the successful inaugural 'Fastnet 450 Race' that ran in 2020 when Ireland was in the middle of the COVID Pandemic. It was run by the National Yacht Club, and the Royal cork Yacht Club were both celebrating significant anniversaries. The clubs combined forces to mark the 150th anniversary of the National Yacht Club and the 300th (Tricentenary) of the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Of course, this race has some deeper roots. In 1860 the first-ever ocean yacht race on Irish Waters was held from Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) to Queenstown (now Cobh).

It is reported that the winner of the race was paid a prize of £15 at the time, and all competing boats got a bursary of 10/6 each. The first race winner was a Schooner Kingfisher owned by Cooper Penrose Esq. The race was held on July 14th 1860, and had sixteen boats racing.

In 2022, the winning boat will be awarded the first prize of a cheque for €15 mounted and framed and a Trophy provided by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club in the world.

The 2022 race will differ from the original course because it will be via the Fastnet Rock, so it is a c. 260m race, a race distance approved by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club as an AZAB qualifier.

A link to an Afloat article written by WM Nixon for some history on this original race is here.

The aim is to develop the race similarly to the Dun Laoghaire–Dingle Race that runs in alternate years.

Fastnet 450 in 2020

The South Coast of Ireland Racing Association, in association with the National Yacht Club on Dublin Bay and the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork, staged the first edition of this race from Dun Laoghaire to Cork Harbour via the Fastnet Rock on August 22nd 2020.

The IRC race started in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday, August 22nd 2020. It passed the Muglin, Tuscar, Conningbeg and Fastnet Lighthouses to Starboard before returning to Cork Harbour and passing the Cork Buoy to Port, finishing when Roches's Point bears due East. The course was specifically designed to be of sufficient length to qualify skippers and crew for the RORC Fastnet Race 2021.