dún laoghaire harbour company

Summer 2007

Bandstand and shelter

At the same time as the resurfacing preparatory work, contractors working for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council will temporarily remove the bandstand and shelter on the East Pier for refurbishment and restoration. This process will take approximately six months to complete. The Council has the legal responsibility for both structures.

When the refurbishment and reinstatement of the structures has taken place, they will both pass into the care of the Harbour Company which will maintain them in perpetuity. The bandstand and shelter were built in the 1890s and are protected structures.

Phase two of East Pier resurfacing begins

Exploratory work for phase two of the resurfacing of the East Pier began on June 18th. This work will involve the digging of a series of trenches on the upper level of the Pier and its partial closure in three stages over a four week period. The work will begin at the seaward end of the Pier. The East Pier is approximately 1300 metres long and was built between 1817 and 1823.

Subject to a satisfactory outcome from the exploratory work, phase two of the resurfacing project will begin in October and will see the entire upper level of the East Pier resurfaced in a similar fashion to the lower level over a period of approximately 8 months. The work is part of a major refurbishment programme for both the East and West piers in the Harbour costing in excess of €15 million and funded entirely from the Harbour Company's commercial activities. The lower level resurfacing work on the East Pier was completed in the summer of 2005 at a cost of approximately €3 million.

Regatta draws thousands to Dun Laoghaire

With up to 500 boats, some 3,000 sailors, 100 race management personnel afloat and a further 170 administrative volunteers ashore, the four-day Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta starting on July 12th and supported by the Harbour Company certainly defies the myth that sailing is a minority sport!

In fact, with the obvious exception of major marathons and mini-marathons, the Regatta is the single largest 'participant' sporting event in Ireland this year. And while around 300 of the entered boats hail from the four Dun Laoghaire waterfront clubs who are jointly organising the event, the balance are visitors, not just from neighbours Howth but as far afield as the UK, Europe and even Hong Kong.

A fleet of up to 20 boats from the UK is expected to compete in a 'feeder race' from Liverpool to

Howth the week before the Regatta, with the joint organisers Liverpool Yacht Club and Royal Dee Yacht Club putting up the Lyver Trophy for the winner.

A feature of the Volvo-sponsored Regatta will be the incorporation of the Ecover Half Ton Classics Cup which has attracted an entry of 25 'half-ton' rated yachts from such places as Finland, France and Britain. They start racing on their own dedicated course area on Tuesday 10th July and then merge with the regatta on July 12th.

The massive fleet of keelboats and dinghies will be spread across Dublin Bay on a series of race courses, each one headed by a Principal Race Officer who is either an International, National or Regional level Race Judge. In case of disputes over on-the-water incidents, an International Jury includes experts from Belgium, Slovenia, Britain and Ireland.

The competing boats range from the traditional wooden Water Wags and Howth 17 Footers with two or three crew to the state-of-the-art 52ft. high-tech racing machines in the Super Zero class with crews of up to 18 sailors on each one.

One of the major visiting attractions will be the Volvo 60 "VENOM" yacht, a former winner of the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race. It is one of the world's fastest ocean-going yachts and features carbon fibre spars and masts to reduce weight, alongside some of the most advanced electronics and safety equipment.