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Displaying items by tag: Seafarers Service

The annual Irish Seaman's National Memorial service this year was again cancelled given ongoing Covid circumstances, however a small low-key ceremony did take place along Dublin's south quays, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Attending the ceremony last Friday at City Quay, was the president of the Maritime Institute of Ireland, Joe Varley, who laid a wreath on behalf of the Institute at the Seafarers Memorial monument.

In addition a second wreath was laid by Rose Kearney on behalf of the Stella Maris Seafarers Mission with their club and centre located across the Liffey, on Beresford Place near to Busaras.

Normally the ceremony which is also attended by other maritime organisations, is to remember those Irish Seafarers who were lost while serving on Irish merchant ships during World War II.

The ceremony which is organised by the M.I.I., had in the previous month marked its 80th anniversary as the Maritime Institute of Ireland was incorporated during WW2 in October 1941.

Asides the role of the Institute, they opened the Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire in 1978 which is located aptly in the former Church of Ireland Old Mariners' Church. The atmospheric 180 year-old historic building (near the East Pier) is located opposite of the DLRCoCo's LexIcon Library.

To read much more about the history of the M.I.I. and the National Maritime Museum of Ireland which includes a gift shop and library, click here.

Published in Ports & Shipping

Beneteau 211 sailing in Ireland

A small, fast cruiser/racer – in style very much a miniature Open 60 or early Figaro, the Beneteau First 211 offers high sailing performance for her size, plus simple accommodation for up to four people.
The boat is very dinghy-style to sail, although the keel makes her self-righting, and foam buoyancy renders her unsinkable, according to the French manufacturer.

Designed by Groupe Finot and introduced in 1998 as a replacement model for the 1992 model First 210, the Beneteau First 211 is a small high-performance yacht designed to be simple to sail and take the ground or be trailed. The words' pocket rockets' tend to be used to describe these boats!
The design was revised to become the Beneteau First 21.7 in 2005. All three models, 210, 211 and 21.7, are very similar in style and concept and share many actual components.

The hull of the Beneteau First 211 is solid GRP, with sandwich construction for the deck moulding. There is foam buoyancy at the bow and stern, guaranteeing unsinkability. The ballasted drop keel is raised by a manual jack and allows easy transport of the boat and drying out if required, supported level by the twin rudders.
The sailplan has a non-overlapping jib to keep sheet loads down and a large spinnaker to achieve high speeds downwind. With almost six foot of draught with keel down and twin rudders for control, upwind performance is also excellent.

The design is popular in Ireland's boating capital at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, where up to a dozen race as part of a one-design class in regular Dublin Bay Sailing Club racing. The boats also race for national championship honours annually. The boats are kept on Dun Laoghaire Marina and look all the more impressive as the fleet of pocket rocket racers are all moored together on one pontoon.

At A Glance – Beneteau First 211 Specifications

LOA: 6.2m (20ft 4in)

Draught: 1.8m to 0.65m (5ft 11in to 2ft 2in)

Displacement: 1,100kg (2,200lb)

LWL: 6m (19ft 7in)

ARCHITECT
• Finot Conq et Associés

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