Trustees of one of Ireland's most exclusive yacht clubs were holding a crisis meeting last night after losing most of their moorings in a row with the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company.
The already bitter relations between the Royal Irish Yacht Club and the company deteriorated further yesterday when the harbour master, Capt Jim Carter, deployed cutting equipment to remove pontoons used by the club for moorings. The 70-metrelong pontoons were towed away by harbour staff and dismantled.
A spokesman for the harbour company said that the structures were in a "fairway" between the club and the new £18 million marina, due to be opened shortly. The pontoons were "temporary", he added, and had been there "longer than they should have been". The club refused to comment, but officials were furious.
The harbour company and the yacht club have been at loggerheads throughout the development of the marina - the largest in Ireland - by Marina Marketing and Management Ltd, a private consortium.
Last September, the harbour master cut the moorings of a number of yachts at the club, saying they were obstructing development work. The club also claims that the harbour company is in breach of the lease for the marina issued by the Department of the Marine, which it says required the company to provide alternative moorings for boats displaced by work on the project.
Situated directly in front of the yacht club, the marina is charging boat owners £245 per metre for mooring space, much more expensive than the traditional "swinging" moorings.
Only seven of the Royal Irish's 100-plus boat owners have so far taken places in the new marina facility, however, and take-up from the harbour's other clubs has also been low. The shelter provided by the marina's breakwaters has indirectly facilitated the erection of temporary pontoons.
The Royal Irish was founded in 1831 and past members include Daniel O'Connell and the Duke of Wellington.
Its first commodore, the Marquis of Anglesea, commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo and had his right leg shattered by a shell, occasioning a famous exchange with the nearby Wellington. "By God, sir, I've lost my leg", said the marquis. "By God, sir, so you have", replied the duke.
