Galway to host flotilla of ships of all sizes as SeaFest comes to town

Galway City will be at the centre of the country’s biggest and most spectacular seafaring festival this week as a small armada of sailing, scientific and navy ships make their way around the coast – as SeaFest finally hits our shores.

Galway Harbour Master Captain Brian Sheridan, believes it will be an unbelievable sight.

“Every inch of the port will be crammed with boats of every size and shape and the entire waterfront will be awash with spectacle and non-stop water based activity,” he said.

“SeaFest is a marvellous festival, unquestionably the best of its kind in the country. It’s going to be brilliant weekend of spectacle and family-friendly entertainment and we are delighted to be able to open the port and provide a stage for such a wonderful event.”

An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 visitors will flock to Galway Harbour for the three-day festival from Friday, June 30, to Sunday, July 2.

The weekend will see more than 100 seafaring, water sport, sea science and entertainment events being staged in and around the Harbour which will also be the location for business and industry exhibitions and a range of children’s activities and workshops.

For Galway Port it will, says Captain Sheridan, be ‘by far the busiest week of the year with more than 70 sailing and motor boats crowding into the harbour for ringside seats on the non-stop programme of events and activities’.

Although the Harbour will be packed with ships it will remain open for business and a large oil tanker ship will have to be squeezed in during the weekend.

The first of the ships taking part in SeaFest will arrive in the middle of next week. One of the most dramatic arrivals will be the famous tall ship, The Phoenix, which has played swashbuckling roles in a number of blockbuster films and TV series. It is sailing from Liverpool and will make a historic stopover at Kilronan, on the Aran Islands, on its way to Galway.

The traditional, wooden, gaff-rigged sail training ketch The Brian Boru will leave Sligo next Monday and arrive in Galway, weather permitting, on Friday June 30. The boat operated by Safe Haven Ireland, will have twelve trainees, including two Syrian refugees on board.

The Brian Boru will leave Galway on Monday, July 3, and head for Limerick on its next sail training voyage. Five children from Gaelscoil on Inishmore and five refugees now living in Galway will join the voyage.

The naval vessel the LÉ Ciara will leave its base at Haulbowline in Cork next Monday to undertake a routine patrol in the Atlantic – and on completion, it will sail for Galway to arrive in the city on Friday, June 30.  It will be open to the public during the festival weekend.

The Marine Institute research vessels the Celtic Explorer and the Celtic Voyager are both working on scientific surveys in the Atlantic and will arrive in Galway on Thursday, June 29.

The Commissioners of Irish Lights vessel, The ILV Granuaile, is working in the Atlantic this week and is due to join the other ships in Galway on Thursday, June 29.

The Irish Sailing Association is offering free Try Sailing lessons especially for those who have never been on board a sailing boat before, to experience the excitement and the adventure of getting out on the water for the first time.

The ISA is also arranging free lessons for people with disabilities. Specially adapted keelboats will be sailing every hour between 11am and 3pm from Galway Harbour.

Three sailing clubs – Galway Bay Sailing Club, Galway City Sailing Club and Spiddal Sailing Club – are combining with Báidóirí an Chladaigh, Galway Bay Boat Tours and the Port of Galway Sea Scouts to offer three days of free sailing trips.

The Galway Hookers operated by Báidóirí an Chladaigh will take up to 20 people at a time on an hour long sailing trip. A fleet of powerboats will also be taking up to 20 people on the water every hour for a trip along the Claddagh throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Traditional boatbuilding demonstrations have been organised by Galway County Council and Údarás na Gaeltachta and will take place between 10am and 5.30pm on Saturday and Sunday, July 1 and 2.

Boat builders from Báidóirí an Chladaigh and Carraroe Men’s Shed, will show how ancient skills are being preserved and passed on to new generations and how the legendary hookers are being designed and built.