Displaying items by tag: Phoenix Reisen

1st October 2014

Phoenix Reisen Marks End of Cork Cruise Season

#EndofSeason - Amadea, Phoenix Reisen's Japanese built cruiseship launched in 1991 marks the final cruise call visitor to Cork Harbour this season, having berthed alongside Cobh today, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Its been a busy season with 54 cruise ships calling to the Port of Cork, bringing around 108,000 passengers and 30,000 crew.

Under the command of Captain Morten Hansen, the 29,000 tonnes vessel run by the German operator, had involved a last port of call to Falmouth before she made an Irish landfall.

A view to east side of Cork Harbour can be seen from overlooking her bow by clicking her on board web-cam here. Tomorrow the web-cam will bring another view of the Cork coastline when she is to lay anchor off the secluded surroundings of Glengariff.

Like her fleetmates, Artania and Albratros, they are all vessels which has had previous careers with Amadea having begun cruising as Asuka.

Artania which was in Portsmouth last week started her career as the Royal Princess for Princess Cruises. The same name is given to last year's newbuild (of the same operator) which is to make her debut call of Dun Laoghaire Harbour in May 2015.

The Albratros (to visit Rosslare Harbour in 2015) was formerly an original member of a trio built for Royal Viking Line. As for Amadea she was launched for Japanese interests as their Asuka.

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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.