Displaying items by tag: Added Capacity: Dublin route

19th December 2016

A Ferry Festive Season: Capacity Added On Core Irish Sea Route

Dublin Port: Gateway to Ireland and the core Irish Sea route of Holyhead-Dublin in which added capacity have been introduced as thousands of extra passengers are expected over the festive season.

#FerryFestive – In this week of Christmas Day, ferries on the Irish Sea are as expected to transport thousands of extra passengers as they prepare to embark making travel plans, writes Jehan Ashmore.

For information on sailings dates and schedules visit the ferry operator websites.

WALES-IRELAND (CENTRAL CORRIDOR)

Holyhead-Dublin Port (Irish Ferries)

Irish Ferries have recently transferred the 1,458-passenger Oscar Wilde ferry on to the premier central corridor Wales-Ireland route of Holyhead-Dublin. The cruiseferry having ended Ireland-France duties of Rosslare-Cherbourg sailings for 2016.

Oscar Wilde will assist the influx of inbound traffic bound for Ireland on the Holyhead-Dublin route. In addition traffic demand will also be taken by regular ferries Ulysses, Epsilon and fast-craft Dublin Swift.

Holyhead-Dublin Port (Stena Line)

Also operating on this key Wales-Ireland route is Stena Line which will too be kept busy on the Holyhead-Dublin Port. The route is run by route partners Stena Adventurer and relative newcomer Stena Superfast X which made a debut in 2015.

Liverpool-Dublin (P&O Ferries)

The longer central corridor route linking Liverpool to Dublin are served by P&O Ferries trio, sisters Norbank and Norbay along with European Endeavour.

Noting P&O Ferries on the Mersey-Liffey service do ‘not’ accommodate ‘foot’ passengers.

Liverpool-Dublin (Seatruck Ferries)

Also operating this route Seatruck which is a dedicated freight operator, have a limited service available for passengers (accompanied by motorhomes and cars). In addition Seatruck operate Heysham-Dublin again providing a motorists-only service.

WALES-IRELAND (SOUTHERN CORRIDOR)

Fishguard-Rosslare (Stena Line)

On the St. Georges Channel crossing, Stena's Fishguard-Rosslare route is operated by Stena Europe.

Pembroke-Rosslare (Irish Ferries)

Also on the Wales-Ireland link, Irish Ferries have Isle of Inishmore running Pembroke-Rosslare.

UK- N.IRELAND (NORTH CHANNEL / IRISH SEA)

For information on UK-Northern Ireland operators (except Irish Ferries) visit their respective websites.

ISLE OF MAN -IRELAND

Douglas-Dublin (IOM Steam-Packet)

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Isle of Man Steam-Packet’s future plans and referred special festive seasonal Douglas-Dublin sailings, which since coverage however at this stage only apply to post Christmas Day sailings.

On Boxing Day there is a Douglas-Dublin sailing which docks in the Irish capital in the early hours of 27 December. A return leg to the Isle of Man departs the same day at 01.00hrs.

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Ireland & La Solitaire du Figaro

The Solitaire du Figaro, was originally called the course de l’Aurore until 1980, was created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and Jean-Michel Barrault.

Half a decade later, the race has created some of France's top offshore sailors, and it celebrated its 50th anniversary with a new boat equipped with foils and almost 50 skippers Including novices, aficionados and six former winners.

The solo multi-stage offshore sailing race is one of the most cherished races in French sailing and one that has had Irish interest stretching back over 20 years due to the number of Irish stopovers, usually the only foreign leg of the French race.

What Irish ports have hosted The Solitaire du Figaro?

The race has previously called to Ireland to the following ports; Dingle, Kinsale, Crosshaven, Howth and Dun Laoghaire.

What Irish sailors have raced The Solitaire du Figaro?

So far there have been seven Irish skippers to participate in La Solitaire du Figaro.

In 1997, County Kerry's Damian Foxall first tackled the Figaro from Ireland. His win in the Rookie division in DHL gave him the budget to compete again the following year with Barlo Plastics where he won the final leg of the race from Gijon to Concarneau. That same year a second Irish sailor Marcus Hutchinson sailing Bergamotte completed the course in 26th place and third Rookie.

In 2000, Hutchinson of Howth Yacht Club completed the course again with IMPACT, again finishing in the twenties.

In 2006, Paul O’Riain became the third Irish skipper to complete the course.

In 2013, Royal Cork's David Kenefick raised the bar by becoming a top rookie sailor in the race.

In 2018, for the first time, Ireland had two Irish boats in the offshore race thanks to Tom Dolan and Joan Mulloy who joined the rookie ranks and kept the Irish tricolour flying high in France. Mulloy became the first Irish female to take on the race.

Tom Dolan in Smurfit Kappa competed for his third year in 2020 after a 25th place finish in 2019. Dolan sailed a remarkably consistent series in 2020 and took fifth overall, the best finish by a non-French skipper since 1997 when Switzerland’s Dominique Wavre finished runner up. Dolan wins the VIVI Trophy.

Dolan finished 10th on the first stage, 11th on the second and seventh into Saint Nazaire at the end of the third stage. Stage four was abandoned due to lack of wind.

Also in 2020, Dun Laoghaire’s Kenneth Rumball became the eleventh Irish sailor to sail the Figaro.

At A Glance – Figaro Race

It starts in June or July from a French port.
The race is split into four stages varying from year to year, from the length of the French coast and making up a total of around 1,500 to 2,000 nautical miles (1,700 to 2,300 mi; 2,800 to 3,700 km) on average.
Over the years the race has lasted between 10 and 13 days at sea.
The competitor is alone in the boat, participation is mixed.
Since 1990, all boats are of one design.