Displaying items by tag: Tripartite class minehunter

10th April 2014

French Mine-Hunter to be Third Visitor to Capital

#FrenchMineHunter - French Navy "tripartite" minehunter Andromède (M 643) is to be the third visitor by the nation to call to Dublin Port this year, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Unlike the Type A69 corvette FS Lieutenant de Vaisseau Lavallée (F 790) which berthed in the centre of Dublin Port last week, the minehunter is to dock closer to the city centre on the Liffey.

The design origins of the 51m minehunter stems from a commitment to construct a minehunter warfare vessel to meet the needs, share technologies and also reduce costs of building units for the French, Belgium and Dutch Navies.

Andromède has served globally among international operations in the Persian Gulf in 1991 having entered into commissioned service in 1984.

The 615 tonnes displacement minehunster was completed by la Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) in Lorient, Brittany.

Published in Naval Visits

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Belgium Minehunter Visits Cork following call by Dutch Submarine

#MineHunter – Following last week's notable visit of Dutch submarine HNMLS Dolfijn (S808) to Cork City Quays, the Belgium Navy's minehunter BNS Primula (M924) is currently at anchorage in the lower harbour, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Accompanying the BNS Primula is the auxiliary vessel BNS Stern (A963) which is also anchored in Cobh Roads.

BNS Primula is a Tripartite-class minehunter and forms part of the Belgian Naval Component and she has a 595 tonnes displacement. She was launched in 1990 at the Mercantile-Belyard shipyard in Rupelmonde.

The Tripartite class vessel represents the final of ten of the series commissioned for the Belgian Navy. Neighbouring nations Netherlands and France completed the Tripartite partnership in the design and development of the class.

Tripartite class vessels from these nations have been regular visitors to Irish ports unlike the rare sight of a submarine in an Irish port as demonstrated by HNLMS Dolfijn.

The submarine's visit was made more the unusual in that she could be clearly seen moored at the Cork city-centre berth rather than a downriver location which compared to some other Irish ports can be more discreet from public view.

The 'Walrus' class submarine had made the upriver transit of Cork Harbour to the city centre (click previous report and scroll down for footage) and is seen passing near Monkstown.

Published in Naval Visits

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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.