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Displaying items by tag: Waterways Ireland

Waterways Ireland wishes to advise masters and owners of vessels that there will be a regatta of "DRAGON BOATS" in Grand Canal Dock on 10th and 11th September 2011 between 10:00hrs and 18:00hrs daily.

Racing will be on the North Side of the outer dock. Masters and owners of vessels operating in Grand Canal Dock should refrain from entering the race course and comply with guidance instructions from race officials.

Waterways Ireland apologises for any inconvenience caused by this restriction and thanks its customers for their cooperation.

Published in Inland Waterways
A triathlon swim event will take place on the Shannon Navigation in the vicinity of the recreational facilities in Lough Key on Sun 4th Sep from 0900 hrs until 1200 hrs.

Masters of vessels are requested to note the advice of marshals when passing near the course and to proceed at slow speed with minimum wash.

Published in Inland Waterways

Waterways Ireland wishes to advise all masters and users of the Royal Canal that the above National Championships will take place in Richmond Harbour on Sat 23rd. and Sun 24th. July.
The following timetable will apply:

DateTimeEvent
Fri 22 Jul 14.00hrs onwards Course set up
Sat 23 Jul 09.00hrs to 13.00hrs Competitions
  13.00hrs to 14.00hrs "Harbour open to through traffic
  14.0hrs to 19.00hrs Competitions
Sun 24 Jul 09.00hrs to 13.00hrs Competitions
  13.00hrs to 14.00hrs "Harbour open to through traffic
  14.0hrs to 17.00hrs Competitions

All vessels will be required to be clear of the harbour by 14.00hrs on Fri 22 July to facilitate the setting up of the course but may return after 17.00 hrs on Sun on completion of the event.Further information may be had from Mr Ciaran Clinton , North Kildare Canoe Club on 00-353-87-8482191.

Published in Inland Waterways

The Docklands Summer Festival takes place this weekend in Dublin's 'Docklands' and it is to host the Waterways Ireland Inter-County Sailing Championship, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Other events taking place on the River Liffey and throughout the docklands range from a Dragon Boat display in the Grand Canal Dock (outer basin) and a Boat Show (inner basin) see map. In addition the Waterways Ireland Visitor Centre will be open, noting all these activities and venues are to take place between 10am-6pm on Saturday.

On the following Sunday the Waterways Ireland Inter-County Sailing Championship Races are  scheduled between 10am-4pm in the Grand Canal Dock's outer basin. City Canal Cruises will operate each day as well as an International Food Market, held in the Grand Canal Square, opposite the Grand Canal Theatre.

The pristinely kept M.V. Cill Airne, now a floating restaurant and bar will be open at her berth alongside North Wall Quay, close to the striking Samuel Beckett Bridge and The Convention Centre.

The historic veteran vessel built in Dublin at the Liffey Shipyard in the early 1960's was launched as a passenger tender to serve trans-Atlantic liners that called to Cobh. During her tender-duties she brought the rich and famous ashore to include Laurel & Hardy and US President Eisenhower.

The festival is sponsored by Waterways Ireland and the Docklands Business Forum. To see the full festival programme and a map of the docklands click HERE and www.ddda.ie

Published in Maritime Festivals
Carrick-on-Shannon - Rowing Regatta

Waterways Ireland wishes to advise all Masters and users of the Shannon Navigation of mooring and navigation restrictions in Carrick-on-Shannon on Sun 31st July 2011, to facilitate rowing competitions.

The regatta will be held on a 400 metre stretch of water immediately south of the town bridge commencing at 08.00hrs and finishing at approx. 18.00hrs on Sun 31st July 2011.

Craft wishing to make a through passage during the course of the regatta will be facilitated every 2 hrs approximately.

Waterways Ireland will commence monitoring access to the public floating jetties on Mon 25th of Jul.

Masters should note that ONLY vessels of an overall length of 22ft. / 6.8m or less will be permitted on the floating jetties from Fri 29th July to Sun 31st of July

This is necessary in the interest of marine safety and to facilitate the laying of the competition course.

Vessels berthed from Fri 16.00hr will be required to remain in place until racing finishes at approx 18.00hr on Sun 31st of July

No vessels should approach the jetties between 16.00hr Fri and approx. 18.00hr Sun as the entrance to the berths will be closed off and manoeuvring room will be severely restricted due to the proximity of the course.

Masters are advised to proceed at slow speed and with due caution and to take note of advice from course marshals when passing through the area.

Waterways Ireland takes this opportunity to thank its customers for their co-operation with these arrangements.
C.J.Lawn
Lt Cdr RNS
Inspector of Navigation
22 Jun 2010
Tel: 353 90 6494232 Fax: 353 90 6494147

Published in Inland Waterways
Shannon Navigation

Lough Key (North Shannon) -Erris Bay - Aids to Navigation

This notice supersedes Marine Notice No. 7 of 2011.

Waterways Ireland wishes to advise masters of vessels that recent works to place additional aids to navigation in the Erris Bay area of Lough Key are now complete.

These include new red and green conical markers plus two 'End of Navigation' markers as indicated in the attached drawing.

Please refer to the drawing for approximate locations of new and existing markers in this area.

Charles Lawn
Lt Cdr (rtd)
Inspector of Navigation
22 Jun 2011
Tel: 00 353 (0)90 6494232

Published in Inland Waterways
Shannon Navigation - Lough Ree

Aquathon Events - Masters and owners are advised that the swimming elements of aquathon events will take place at the following locations:

Coosan Point – Lough Ree (south)
Wed 22 and Wed 29 Jun at 1900 hrs for 1 hr

Portrunny – Lough Ree (north west)
Sun 21 Aug at 1200 hrs for 3 hours

Masters of vessels are requested to proceed at slow speed and with minimum wash when passing this stretch of the navigation and to heed any advice or instructions issued by race officials.

Waterways Ireland thanks its customers for their cooperation in this matter.

C.J.Lawn
Lt Cdr (rtd)
Inspector of Navigation
22 Jul 2010

Tel: 353 90 6494232
Fax: 353 90 6494147

Published in Inland Waterways
GRAND CANAL BASIN -DUBLIN

Waterways Ireland Inter-County Sailing Championship and Docklands Summer Festival 24, 25 and 26 June 2011

Waterways Ireland wishes to advise masters and owners that as part of the Docklands Summer Festival, yacht racing will take place in the Grand Canal Basin from 09.00 hrs until 16.00hrs on Sun 26th June.

Course set up will take place between 10.00 hrs and 18hrs on Fri 24th while on Sat 25th, there will be a practice session from 13.00hrs until 19.00hrs.

In addition 'Come and Try It' activities including canoeing and paddle-boarding for novices will take place in the inner basin beside the Waterways Ireland Visitors Centre, from 10.00hrs until 18.00 on both days.

There will be restricted movement of vessels in the Grand Canal Basin during the events, lock operations will be suspended once the events have commenced.

Commercial operators in the Dock are requested to adhere to these restrictions and the planned routes and schedules for the duration of the event.

Boat owners presently in the Grand Canal Basin should comply with all reasonable instructions and guidance from event marshals.

Waterways Ireland thanks its customers for their cooperation in this matter

Charles Lawn
Lt Cdr (rtd)
Inspector of Navigation
22 Jun 2011.
Tel: 00 353 (0)90 6494232

Published in Inland Waterways

Waterways Ireland wishes to advise masters and owners that as part of the Docklands Summer Festival, yacht racing will take place in the Grand Canal Basin from 09.00 hrs until 16.00hrs on Sun 26th June.

On Sat 25th, there will be a practice session from 13.00hrs until 19.00hrs.

In addition 'Come and Try It' activities including canoeing and paddle-boarding for novices will take place in the inner basin beside the Waterways Ireland Visitors Centre, from 10.00hrs until 18.00 on both days.

There will be restricted movement of vessels in the Grand Canal Basin during the events, lock operations will be suspended once the events have commenced.

Commercial operators in the Dock are requested to adhere to these restrictions and the planned routes and schedules for the duration of the event.

Boat owners presently in the Grand Canal Basin should comply with all reasonable instructions and guidance from event marshals.

Published in Inland Waterways

The Waterways Ireland Inter-Counties Sailing Championship 2011 is seeking more entries for the fresh water event taking place on June 26th in Dublin. So far six counties are entered but organiser Paul O'Riain is hoping to double that number for the inaugural event in three weeks time.

The championship will take place on the Grand Canal Dock a huge 44 acre dock in the heart of Dublin’s sparkling new Docklands.

Boats are being provided and event entry fee is only €200 for a team of 5 people, that’s only €40 per head with everything included so teams can just turn up and race. Boats will be available the day before for practice and familiarisation.

 The organisers still have places for the following counties, which have yet to formally enter a team;

Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Cork, Down, Dublin, Derry, Fermanagh, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath Wexford and Wicklow.

This is an open invitaton to sailors, clubs and teams keen to do battle & represent their country, to contact the organisers about entering their team and county without delay as entry is limited to 20 county teams only for this inaugural event

The Deadline for entry is in ten days time, Friday 10th of June 2011.

For more information please contact the event director Paul Ó Riain at; +353 (0) 87 23 55 900

Published in Inland Waterways
Page 62 of 68

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

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

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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