A Cuffesgrange-based marine services company has installed a new, state-of-the-art, marina incorporating floating breakwater pontoons - in Ireland's oldest yacht club, the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
SF Marina Irl, trading as Milford Marina Systems, had the mammoth task of installing four 250 ton floating concrete pontoons, measuring five metres wide and 80 metres long, on Monday.
The work was in advance of a major sailing championship to be staged at the prestigious club, and sponsored by SF Marina Irl, in June.
The SF Marina Irl Squibs National Sailing Championships takes place for a week from June 18. More than 100 boats and 600 sailors from Ireland and the UK will descend on Dun Laoghaire for the event, providing a welcome boost to the local economy.
SF Marina Irl run by Rod and Julie Calder Potts from Highbank, Cuffesgrange, builds floating concrete pontoons and breakwaters for marinas.
The pontoons installed in Dun Laoghaire were manufactured in Sweden and shipped by coaster to Ireland. They were offloaded by crane at Dublin Port and were floated across Dublin Bay to Dun Laoghaire for installation last Monday. A team of experienced riggers from Bere Island in Cork who have worked closely with SF Marina Irl for the past 12 years anchored the pontoons. Because of the difficult wave conditions in Dun Laoghaire the pontoons will be anchored with 30 tonnes of heavy steel chain and 24, five tonne anchor blocks buried in the mud in the sea bed.
SF Marina Irl, sponsor of this year’s National Squib Championships, is the only company of its type in Ireland, and has built marinas and installed floating pontoons and breakwaters all over the country, North and South, as well as the UK.
“We are very proud to be associated with the Historic Royal Saint George Yacht club and with the Squibs national Championships,” said Rod Calder Potts of SF Marina Irl. “This is our third major installation in Dun Laoghaire Harbour and the eighth in the Dublin Bay area. We enjoy the challenge of dealing with the difficult Irish tides, winds, and waves. It is a pleasure and a privilege dealing with the wonderful sailing clubs around Dublin Bay.”
With such superb facilities, both on and off the water, the Royal St George Yacht Club says it is confident that the SF Marina Irl Squib National Championships will be a most memorable event.
