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A Sigma 33 One Design keelboat racing on Dublin Bay Photo: AfloatA Sigma 33 One Design keelboat racing on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

Displaying items by tag: Repairs Completed

Engineering works which took place over recent months in Dalkey, Co. Dublin involving the Coliemore Harbour Remedial Repair project have been completed this week, writes Jehan Ashmore.

A section of bedrock along the cliff face as Afloat reported in 2020, had collapsed into the water at the stone cut harbour which in medieval times was the port of Dublin. The small harbour is home to local boat users, a seasonal ferry boat service to Dalkey Island and the Dalkey Rowing Club.

The section of bedrock had been supporting the pathway leading to the southern pier which resulted in this part of the harbour to be temporarily closed. Prior to the engineering works starting in September, the ferry-boat service to Dalkey Island was able to operate this season operated by ‘Ken the Ferryman’ using the 12 passenger boat, Emma.

Afloat sought a comment on the project from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (dlr) which are delighted to have completed the Coliemore Harbour Remedial Repair project. 

A series of remedial options were considered and that planning permission was subsequently granted for the installation of a series of rock bolts anchored into the granite bedrock.

The completed engineering works at Coliemore Harbour where rock-bolts have been anchored into the face of the bedrock, this permits access to the south pier via a pathway and above a public viewing area that has also been recently reopened.    Photo: DunLaoghaireRathdownCountyCouncil/FacebookThe completed engineering works at Coliemore Harbour where rock-bolts have been anchored into the face of the bedrock, this permits access to the south pier via a pathway and above a public viewing area that has also been recently reopened Photo: DunLaoghaireRathdownCountyCouncil/Facebook

The coastal engineering works, Afloat adds required the use of a crane to lower personnel to carry out works along the bedrock, noting the varying tidal conditions of the harbour. The large piece of dislodged bedrock that had fallen into the harbour was subsequently removed and is where a boom still remains in place. 

The DLR have expressed thanks to their staff across departments for their invaluable contribution in delivering the scheme. In addition to Ove Arup, the lead consultant, and PJ Edwards as the main Contractor in successfully delivering the project in an environmentally constrained marine environment.

DLR also thank local stakeholders and users of the harbour for their support and accommodation in delivering the project. 

The harbour project Afloat adds was co-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, under the Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme.

On completion of the project, this has also led to the reopening of the public plaza viewing area that overlooks the harbour on Coliemore Road.

Also sited here is a binocular-scope, donated by Dalkey Tidy Towns along with a plaque in memory and celebration of the late Dr. John de Courcy Ireland, the maritime historian who resided locally and is widely regarded as the father of ‘maritime’ Ireland.

Published in Dublin Bay

How to sail, sailing clubs and sailing boats plus news on the wide range of sailing events on Irish waters forms the backbone of Afloat's sailing coverage.

We aim to encompass the widest range of activities undertaken on Irish lakes, rivers and coastal waters. This page describes those sailing activites in more detail and provides links and breakdowns of what you can expect from our sailing pages. We aim to bring jargon free reports separated in to popular categories to promote the sport of sailing in Ireland.

The packed 2013 sailing season sees the usual regular summer leagues and there are regular weekly race reports from Dublin Bay Sailing Club, Howth and Cork Harbour on Afloat.ie. This season and last also featured an array of top class events coming to these shores. Each year there is ICRA's Cruiser Nationals starts and every other year the Round Ireland Yacht Race starts and ends in Wicklow and all this action before July. Crosshaven's Cork Week kicks off on in early July every other year. in 2012 Ireland hosted some big international events too,  the ISAF Youth Worlds in Dun Laoghaire and in August the Tall Ships Race sailed into Dublin on its final leg. In that year the Dragon Gold Cup set sail in Kinsale in too.

2013 is also packed with Kinsale hosting the IFDS diabled world sailing championships in Kinsale and the same port is also hosting the Sovereign's Cup. The action moves to the east coast in July with the staging of the country's biggest regatta, the Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta from July 11.

Our coverage though is not restricted to the Republic of Ireland but encompasses Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Irish Sea area too. In this section you'll find information on the Irish Sailing Association and Irish sailors. There's sailing reports on regattas, racing, training, cruising, dinghies and keelboat classes, windsurfers, disabled sailing, sailing cruisers, Olympic sailing and Tall Ships sections plus youth sailing, match racing and team racing coverage too.

Sailing Club News

There is a network of over 70 sailing clubs in Ireland and we invite all clubs to submit details of their activities for inclusion in our daily website updates. There are dedicated sections given over to the big Irish clubs such as  the waterfront clubs in Dun Laoghaire; Dublin Bay Sailing Club, the Royal Saint George Yacht Club,  the Royal Irish Yacht Club and the National Yacht Club. In Munster we regularly feature the work of Kinsale Yacht Club and Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven.  Abroad Irish sailors compete in Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) racing in the UK and this club is covered too. Click here for Afloat's full list of sailing club information. We are keen to increase our coverage on the network of clubs from around the coast so if you would like to send us news and views of a local interest please let us have it by sending an email to [email protected]

Sailing Boats and Classes

Over 20 active dinghy and one design classes race in Irish waters and fleet sizes range from just a dozen or so right up to over 100 boats in the case of some of the biggest classes such as the Laser or Optimist dinghies for national and regional championships. Afloat has dedicated pages for each class: Dragons, Etchells, Fireball, Flying Fifteen, GP14, J24's, J80's, Laser, Sigma 33, RS Sailing, Star, Squibs, TopperMirror, Mermaids, National 18, Optimist, Puppeteers, SB3's, and Wayfarers. For more resources on Irish classes go to our dedicated sailing classes page.

The big boat scene represents up to 60% of the sail boat racing in these waters and Afloat carries updates from the Irish Cruiser Racer Association (ICRA), the body responsible for administering cruiser racing in Ireland and the popular annual ICRA National Championships. In 2010 an Irish team won the RORC Commodore's Cup putting Irish cruiser racing at an all time high. Popular cruiser fleets in Ireland are raced right around the coast but naturally the biggest fleets are in the biggest sailing centres in Cork Harbour and Dublin Bay. Cruisers race from a modest 20 feet or so right up to 50'. Racing is typically divided in to Cruisers Zero, Cruisers One, Cruisers Two, Cruisers Three and Cruisers Four. A current trend over the past few seasons has been the introduction of a White Sail division that is attracting big fleets.

Traditionally sailing in northern Europe and Ireland used to occur only in some months but now thanks to the advent of a network of marinas around the coast (and some would say milder winters) there are a number of popular winter leagues running right over the Christmas and winter periods.

Sailing Events

Punching well above its weight Irish sailing has staged some of the world's top events including the Volvo Ocean Race Galway Stopover, Tall Ships visits as well as dozens of class world and European Championships including the Laser Worlds, the Fireball Worlds in both Dun Laoghaire and Sligo.

Some of these events are no longer pure sailing regattas and have become major public maritime festivals some are the biggest of all public staged events. In the past few seasons Ireland has hosted events such as La Solitaire du Figaro and the ISAF Dublin Bay 2012 Youth Worlds.

There is a lively domestic racing scene for both inshore and offshore sailing. A national sailing calendar of summer fixtures is published annually and it includes old favorites such as Sovereign's Cup, Calves Week, Dun Laoghaire to Dingle, All Ireland Sailing Championships as well as new events with international appeal such as the Round Britain and Ireland Race and the Clipper Round the World Race, both of which have visited Ireland.

The bulk of the work on running events though is carried out by the network of sailing clubs around the coast and this is mostly a voluntary effort by people committed to the sport of sailing. For example Wicklow Sailing Club's Round Ireland yacht race run in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club has been operating for over 30 years. Similarly the international Cork Week regatta has attracted over 500 boats in past editions and has also been running for over 30 years.  In recent years Dublin Bay has revived its own regatta called Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta and can claim to be the country's biggest event with over 550 boats entered in 2009.

On the international stage Afloat carries news of Irish and UK interest on Olympics 2012, Sydney to Hobart, Volvo Ocean Race, Cowes Week and the Fastnet Race.

We're always aiming to build on our sailing content. We're keen to build on areas such as online guides on learning to sail in Irish sailing schools, navigation and sailing holidays. If you have ideas for our pages we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected]