Schull’s new waterfront takes shape as Calves Week nears
With less than two weeks to go before the annual Calves Week gets underway at Schull Harbour Sailing Club, Cork County Council has completed installation works of a new pontoon at the West Cork Harbour.
The new facility is expected to be fully operational by next week and it will become the latest small craft facility to open in the area following the works at North Harbour on Clear Island.
The new pontoon at Schull will free up space on the main pier where ferries will berth and the existing light pontoons can be used for punts and tenders.
“All credit to Cork County Council, they’ve done a fantastic job,” commented Tom McCarthy, sailing captain at Schull Harbour SC. “The engineering, aesthetics, and usability are all fantastic.”
McCarthy is amongst the local voices advocating for development of comprehensive facilities at Schull and sees considerable potential.
“We’re not just trying to develop a marina — that’s just one part of it,” he told the Irish Examiner.
“It’s trying to get all elements to develop together — leisure, commercial, and fisheries. When developed, Schull will become an entry-point to West Cork and a staging point to all parts of the region — Cape Clear, Baltimore, Castletownbere and more.”
The installation of the pontoon is being regarded as the start of the process to unlock the potential in the area.
“It’ll be the beginning of separation of leisure and commercial in Schull Harbour. Eventually, you’ll see a marina on one side and a fully functioning commercial facility on the other.”
McCarthy says that all permissions are now in place and ready to run — including foreshore licence and planning permission but the biggest obstacle is finance. However, some sources have already been identified.
“The benefit to the local economy and area will be significant and I don’t just mean Schull — the entire Mizen Peninsula and Bantry area will all be affected.”
Competitors at Calves Week will be able to see the new pontoon in action. Already, there are 45 boats entered for the four-day event that begins on Tuesday August 7.
In a special area of conservation like Roaringwater Bay, state bodies are rightly careful of what happens there.
Meanwhile, frustration at the domination of single-handed classes in the junior dinghy scene led a Lough Ree YC parent to start a new regatta aimed squarely at uniting the various double-handed classes in Ireland.
Last weekend saw LRYC Commodore Garrett Leech stage the first “Double-Ree” that attracted 57 competing boats on its first outing. Equating to 114 single-handed sailors, the turnout is being hailed as a success.
“The Oppie (Optimist single-handed junior dinghy) is brilliant and it has its place,” Leech told the
Examiner.
“But we needed to put it up to the sailing community that we won’t get the numbers of double-handed boats unless we pull them all together at the same event.”
The fleet comprised 18 Mirrors, 16 420s, 15 RS Fevas, and eight 29ers and created what Leech likened to the Electric Picnic festival with camping, plenty of fun and socialising, plus serious racing afloat.
“We noticed some snobbery between the double-handed classes; the Mirror has become very regionalised; the 420 is the ISA pathway boat and has been prioritised to the exclusion of other boats.
“There is a natural progression of kids going into Toppers or (Laser) 4.7s — both single-handed classes — but were missing out on all the other double-handed fleets out there.”
Leech and LRYC plan to repeat the “Double Ree” again in 2020, deliberately staying with a biennial format and also to avoid clashing with a Dinghy Fest that occurs in alternative years.
