Displaying items by tag: Red Bull Flugtag

18th May 2018

Two Days Till Red Bull Flugtag Returns To Dun Laoghaire

#Flugtag - The long-awaited return of the Red Bull Flugtag to Dun Laoghaire Harbour is just two days away.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the event this Sunday 20 May will see over 50 teams attempt to push the limits of human flight as they launch their handcrafted flying machines in front of over 40,000 spectators.

The National Yacht Club invites its members to enjoy the spectacle “from your club’s best vantage point” with a barbecue as well as live music and entertainment from 1pm to 5pm.

Members should also be aware that there will be an exclusion zone in the Carlisle Basin with two patrol RIBs from the club to help channel the traffic.

It is also advised not bring your boat alongside the pontoons, as masts or high cabins would impede the view of the show.

The NYC’s launch service is not affected by the Flugtag, but there will be no renting of club boats this weekend.

For further details on the event, including road closures, parking and public transport, see the official Red Bull Flugtag event guide.

Published in Dun Laoghaire Harbour News

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19th February 2018

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Sees Return of Red Bull Flugtag This May

Red Bull Flugtag is returning to Dun Laoghaire Harbour this May

Taking flight from Dún Laoghaire Harbour on Sunday, 20th May, the Red Bull Flugtag will return to Irish shores this summer. It will see over 50 teams attempt to push the limits of human flight, as they launch their handcrafted flying machines in front of over 40,000 spectators.

Red Bull Flugtag challenges the brave and brainy to design, build and pilot homemade flying machines off a 9-metre high flight deck, in the hope of soaring into the wild blue yonder…or more often, to plunge into the waters below. Flugtag, which means “flying day” in German, pushes the envelope of human-powered flight but competitors need more than airtime to reach the podium. Teams are judged on three criteria: flight distance, creativity of the craft, and showmanship. These criteria have inspired flying tacos, prehistoric pterodactyls, and even Snoopy and the gang to grace the Flugtag flight decks!

In 2011, Dublin celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Red Bull Flugtag series and they are bringing back the madness to the capital on 20th May, 2018.

If you are interested in participating, applications open 21st February. Five-member teams of aspiring aviators and courageous craftsmen and women can apply for a chance to compete at Red Bull Flugtag 2018 by submitting flying-machine plans. The deadline to submit craft designs is 31st March.

Applying to participate in Red Bull Flugtag is free. Pilots and participants must be 18 or older.

Published in Dun Laoghaire Harbour News

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15th May 2011

Just One Week To Go Till Red Bull Flugtag

http://www.afloat.ie/port-news/dun-laoghaire-news/item/15214-dublin-to-host-100th-red-bull-flugtag/

http://www.afloat.ie/port-news/dun-laoghaire-news/

The site for the free event will open at 12 noon, with the show taking place from 1pm till 4.30pm. All public access to the event site is via Dun Laoghaire Harbour/East Pier beside the National Yacht Club (the viewing area for those with disabilities is on Carlisle Pier beside the Royal St George).

http://www.dlharbour.ie/content/ms/detail.php?newid=1248&catid=2&category=Events&locid=62

Visitors can also arrive by public transport, with bus routes 7, 7a, 46a, 75 and 111 all running to Dun Laoghaire. DART services will also run every 30 minutes and extra capacity will be provided.

The organisers wish to remind all spectators that the Red Bull Flugtag is a family event, and the consumption of alcohol in public will not be permitted.

Watch the world flugtag record being set in Minnesota last year. Maybe a new one will be set in Dun Laoghaire next weekend?

The Red Bull Flugtag celebrates its 100th event in Dun Laoghaire next Sunday, and organisers have posted details for spectators planning to spend the day cheering on those magnificent flying machines!

The site for the free event will open at 12 noon, with the show taking place from 1pm till 4.30pm. All public access to the event site is via Dun Laoghaire Harbour/East Pier beside the National Yacht Club (the viewing area for those with disabilities is on Carlisle Pier beside the Royal St George).

There are a number of road diversions and parking restrictions to be aware of, full details of which are listed HERE. Temporary signage will advise motorists of impending diversions, and there is ample parking available at the Pavilion, Bloomfields and the IMC cinemas.

Visitors can also arrive by public transport, with bus routes 7, 7a, 46a, 75 and 111 all running to Dun Laoghaire. DART services will also run every 30 minutes and extra capacity will be provided.

The organisers wish to remind all spectators that the Red Bull Flugtag is a family event, and the consumption of alcohol in public will not be permitted.

Watch the world flugtag record being set in Minnesota last year. Maybe a new one will be set in Dun Laoghaire next weekend?

Published in Dublin Bay

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23rd March 2011

Dublin To Host 100th Red Bull Flugtag

The Red Bull Flugtag will celebrate its 100th event when it comes back to Dublin this summer.

Twenty years on from the first flugtag in Austria, this year's contest promises an "Irish twist" on the formula, whereby homemade flying machines shoot off a 30-foot deck in the vain hope of not splashing into the water below.

Budding pilots will take their creative flying contraptions to Dun Laoghaire on 22 May for a day of entertainment and spectacle for all ages.

Organisers are hoping for "plenty of the outrageous and innovative machines for which the Red Bull Flugtag has become famous - and who knows, maybe we'll get a world record to round off what we hope will be the perfect event!"

For more details visit the Red Bull Fluhtag Dublin 2011 Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=149145891813393

The Red Bull Flugtag will celebrate its 100th event when it comes back to Dublin this summer.

Budding pilots will take their creative flying contraptions to Dun Laoghaire on 22 May for a day of entertainment and spectacle for all ages.

For more details visit the Red Bull Flugtag Dublin 2011 Facebook page HERE.

Published in Dublin Bay

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.