Dublin Maritime Festivals

DUBLIN MARITIME FESTIVAL 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:36:00 +0000

DUBLIN MARITIME FESTIVAL 2008
Originally uploaded by infomatique

Probably the biggest (and best) outdoor summer market in the city, the Maritime Festival market features over 50 colourful stalls offering a vast selection of gourmet goodies and crafts fro around Ireland and beyond. Having ambled around the spectacular tall ships, you will be gasping for a latte or a beer! Or for something more substantial check out the mouth watering array of pastries, breads, chocolates, paella, cheeses, crepes and more.

Dublin Maritime Festival 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 18:28:00 +0000

Majestic tall ships, lively street theatre, uplifting music and a colourful outdoor market - the Docklands Maritime Festival had something for everybody this June Bank Holiday weekend and we were there to photograph the event.

With over 60,000 visitors flocking to the Festival, this year's event was, in our opinion, much better than the 2006 festival but the weather was not nearly as good and some street traders reported a reduction in business (street traders always say that, don't they).

There was a spectacular fleet of tall ships, exciting maritime-related street theatre and musical entertainment performed by Waterford-based arts group Spraoi. Dublin's largest outdoor market offered fine food, clothing, jewellery and plants and there were boat trips along the river liffey.

Some of the most beautiful ships in Europe took up residence on the River Liffey and for those of you who are interested in Tall Ships we have listed below some of them.

Jeanie Johnston and Asgard II
Matthew
Atlantis and Tolkien
Tenacious
Thalassa
Mercedes
Stavros S Niarchos

Jeanie Johnston is a remarkable replica of the original Jeanie Johnston ship which was built in Quebec in 1847 which carried Irish emigrants during the Famine from Tralee Co. Kerry to the United States and Canada. The reborn Jeanie Johnston is a 19th century replica built to 21st century marine safety standards. Some concessions have been made to modernity, but these, as far as is practicable, have been cleverly concealed within the traditional 19th century timber hull.

Matthew: A modern recreation of the square-rigged caravel in which John Cabot sailed from Bristol in 1497. Struck by the success of Christopher Columbus and backed by the wealthy merchants of Bristol, Cabot and his crew set sail for Asia hoping to trade goods and commodities with the people who lived there. Instead of China or Japan, he discovered what he called "New Founde Landes (modern day Newfoundland, Canada) and claimed it for King Henry VII. In 1997 she celebrated the 500th anniversary of the original voyage by following the same course to Newfoundland as John Cabot. The majority of children really loved this little ship as they were all convinced that it was a real pirate ship.

Atlantis and Tolkien:

Atlantis was launched in Hamburg in 1905 and then named the lightship ELBE 2, this ship with stood all weather conditions for 70 years until it was removed from service. A German owner converted it into an elegant three master barquentine and henceforth sailed with guests in Western Europe and the Caribbean under its new name, Atlantis until it was taken over by the Tallship Company in 2005.

J.R. Tolkien is an elegant gaff-topsail schooner of 42 metres. J.R. Tolkien often sails in the Baltic. With so much luxury, it's hard to believe that this ship was launched originally as the tug Dierkow in 1964. The tug was sold on and converted to her present use in 1994.

Tenacious is owned by the Jubilee Sailing Trust charity. The ship is purpose-built to enable physically disabled and able-bodied people to work and live alongside one another on board. Tenacious has special facilities on board -- from speaking compasses to vibrating pads in the bunks and flat wide decks and lifts to enable wheelchairs to get around easily.

Thalassa - the 47 metres tall ship makes an impressive appearance with her 16 sails. Under the best conditions she can make 13 knots. Rigged according to century-old tradition and equipped according to the latest security regulations, tallship Thalassa sails and seven seas on its way to maritime events in busy harbours and idyllic isles. In the characteristic saloon and the large bar everyone feels at home right away.

The two-masted and total square-rigged sailing ship Mercedes is a newly-built and magnificent tall ship.

The Tall Ships Youth Trust owns 2 magnificent 60 metre square-rigged ships. One of world's magnificent brigs Stavros S Niarchos was open to the public during the Maritime Festival. The Tall Ships Youth Trust is dedicated to the personal development of young people aged 16 to 25 through the crewing on Tall Ships.

Dublin Maritime Festival 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 18:26:00 +0000

GRASS VANS BY "INNOCENT"

We sell our drinks all over the place, so we needed a vehicle that could transport us around to visit the people who drink them. We settled on our Dancing Grass Van (DGV) for a few reasons.
Firstly, it's got a window at the side so you can pass drinks to people. Secondly, it's got some sort of hydraulic thing near the wheels that makes it dance about. And finally, it's covered in grass and daisies, so we can always spot it in a packed car park.

We've got a couple of these DGVs these days, so if you see them around, please say hello to the drivers and make sure you ask for a drink. You can see one of our DGV's doing its stuff here if you like.

PS We've also got some Tiny Grass Vans (TGVs) here at Fruit Towers. Although they are smaller than the DGVs, they don't feel inferior and are very useful for making emergency deliveries around town, and for giving Katie a lift to the bank when it's raining

Dublin Maritime Festival 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 18:26:00 +0000

Ship on the Liffey

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:35:00 +0000

Ship on the Liffey
Originally uploaded by infomatique

TALL SHIP ON THE LIFFEY (Dublin, Ireland)

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:27:00 +0000

TALL SHIP ON THE LIFFEY (Dublin, Ireland)
Originally uploaded by infomatique

Majestic tall ships, lively street theatre, uplifting music and a colourful outdoor market - the Docklands Maritime Festival will have something for everybody this June Bank Holiday weekend. With over 55,000 visitors flocking to last year's Festival, this year's event offers even more for all the family. A spectacular fleet of tall ships; exciting maritime-related street theatre and musical entertainment performed by Waterford-based arts group Spraoi; Dublin's largest outdoor market offering fine food, clothing, jewellery and plants; and boat trips along the river are just some of the delights awaiting visitors. So set sail for Docklands this June Bank Holiday!

SHIP'S FIGUREHEAD

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:24:00 +0000

SHIP'S FIGUREHEAD
Originally uploaded by infomatique

The figurehead embodied the spirit of a ship and was originally believed to placate the gods of the sea and ensure a safe voyage. Almost every prow had a carved figure looking down at the waves, and the variety was immense.

Ship's Rigging

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:43:00 +0000

The Dublin Docklands Maritime Festival
Originally uploaded by infomatique

The Dublin Docklands Maritime Festival returned again for a fun-filled weekend in June. An eclectic and entertaining line-up of free events each day from 3rd-5th June. Above all some very interesting ships were docked in the River Liffey including the Jeanie Johnston, Tenacious, Artemis and the Eye of the Wind.

Double Haven

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:42:00 +0000

The Dublin Docklands Maritime Festival
Originally uploaded by infomatique

The Tenacious From Southampton

noreply@blogger.com (Infomatique) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:41:00 +0000

The Dublin Docklands Maritime Festival
Originally uploaded by infomatique

Designed by Tony Castro, TENACIOUS is the largest wooden tall ship of her kind in the world. The innovative wood epoxy laminate build started in 1996 with a team made up of skilled designers, engineers, shipwrights and fitters headed up by ship build director Howard Mackenzie Wilson. These were supplemented by a volunteer force of over 1500 able bodied and disabled people who came on working "Shorewatch" holidays from all over the UK and abroad.

The JST’s, Patron, HRH The Duke of York laid the keel in June 1996. The hull was built upside down and in November 1998, the 280-ton hull was rotated upright prior to fit-out. Tenacious was launched in February 2000, and was named on April 6th by the Honourable Jacquetta Cator, the wife of the president of the JST, in the presence of the Patron. She set sail on her maiden voyage to Jersey from Southampton on 1st September 2000.

The cost of the project was £14.3 million of which £6.5 million was awarded by the Lottery Sports Fund. The balance comes from public, private and corporate fundraising by the JST but there is still £4 million to raise.

Since commencing voyages in September 2000, TENACIOUS has taken 5,764 people to sea. Of these 2,215 people were physically disabled and 773 were wheelchair users. Their disabilities included: Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Spina Bifida, Paraplegia and many more…..

TENACIOUS’ many facilities enable disabled crew to perform their duties independently alongside their able-bodied shipmates.

The ship has access throughout for disabled crew, including wheelchair users, with flat wide decks and powered lifts. There is a speaking compass for the use of blind crew members and bright track radar for partially sighted crew. An induction loop and vibrator alarms have been installed for hard of hearing crew members.

There are special cabins, toilets and shower facilities for disabled crew and the ship is fitted with a mess deck, fully equipped galley, workshop and of course, a well stocked bar and saloon area.