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Displaying items by tag: Cruisescapes

#CruiseEvening - A cruise evening event was held earlier this week in a south Dublin yacht club to promote a major US brand operator, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The event organised by Cruisescapes was held at the Royal Irish Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire, where Lorraine Quinn of Celebrity Cruises gave an informative presentation about their cruise line and destinations.

As Afloat previously covered in November, Celebrity Cruises is to become the first major cruise line to confirm Dublin Port as a 'home' port when a ‘Solstice’ class ship will call to the capital during early summer 2018.

For five sailings in 2018 commencing on 30 April, throughout May and until the end of June, Celebrity Cruises will offer from Dublin direct cruises to ports of call throughout northern Europe.

Afloat subsequently identified the ship to be deployed out of Dublin as the 2,800 plus capacity Celebrity Eclipse which will be a 'game-changer' for the capital port. The move is worth an estimated €6 million to Dublin and the surrounding region in knock-on economic benefits.

So far the take up for this new direct option according to Celebrity Cruises is that 20% of customers will be from the Irish market. A further 20% are from the rest of Europe and the balance of 60% from the US.

As for season 2017, Celebrity Eclipse will call to Dublin Port on standard port of call visits as distinct to been ‘home' ported.

Another Solstice class sister, Celebrity Silhouette is also call to the capital on such a basis as well to visiting Belfast, Cork and Waterford.

Published in Cruise Liners

Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U