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Displaying items by tag: Class Association

22nd July 2009

Laser SB3 Ireland

Laser SB3 Ireland is the class association for the largest and newest Irish keelboat class. We have over 90 boats in Galway, Lough Derg, Dunmore East, Cork, Kinsale, Belfast Lough, Howth and Dun Laoghaire. We represent the full spectrum of age, (ranging from 20 to 70+) and skill sets (from Olympians to occasional club sailors) playing at all levels for big trophies throughout the country. We have five regional championships each year and vibrant local racing too.

What about the boat?
It’s as much fun you can have at 16 miles an hour. The SB3 is fast, furious and fun – but surprisingly stable and easy to sail. In the light stuff it sails upwind beautifully and is tactical downwind, in the heavy it’s a beast uphill and a roaring pleasure the other way. It’s truly one design – the best sailors always win, which, perhaps, is not so good for the rest of us – but the fun makes up for it. It’s added value, to most, is that is can be rigged quickly, towed by a normal family car, has a great price point and, finally, it can be both slip and crane launched.

What to do and who to talk to?
If you are interested in getting involved we can help. Contact your local fleet captain from the list on the contact page page and they can organise a test drive, recommend second hand boats and generally tell you all about it. If you’re new, selected members of the class will also help you get started with tips and tricks sessions.

We’ll see you on the water!

Laser SB3 Ireland, c/o Joseph Hughes, Class Chairman, 4 Clanbrassil Terrace, Dublin 8. Tel. 087 747 8883, email: [email protected]

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here

Published in Classes & Assoc

About Brittany Ferries

In 1967 a farmer from Finistère in Brittany, Alexis Gourvennec, succeeded in bringing together a variety of organisations from the region to embark on an ambitious project: the aim was to open up the region, to improve its infrastructure and to enrich its people by turning to traditional partners such as Ireland and the UK. In 1972 BAI (Brittany-England-Ireland) was born.

The first cross-Channel link was inaugurated in January 1973, when a converted Israeli tank-carrier called Kerisnel left the port of Roscoff for Plymouth carrying trucks loaded with Breton vegetables such as cauliflowers and artichokes. The story, therefore, begins on 2 January 1973, 24 hours after Great Britain's entry into the Common Market (EEC).

From these humble beginnings however, Brittany Ferries as the company was re-named quickly opened up to passenger transport, then became a tour operator.

Today, Brittany Ferries has established itself as the national leader in French maritime transport: an atypical leader, under private ownership, still owned by a Breton agricultural cooperative.

Eighty five percent of the company’s passengers are British.

Key Brittany Ferries figures:

  • Turnover: €202.4 million (compared with €469m in 2019)
  • Investment in three new ships, Galicia plus two new vessels powered by cleaner LNG (liquefied natural gas) arriving in 2022 and 2023
  • Employment: 2,474 seafarers and shore staff (average high/low season)
  • Passengers: 752,102 in 2020 (compared with 2,498,354 in 2019)
  • Freight: 160,377 in 2020 (compared with 201,554 in 2019)
  • Twelve ships operating services that connect France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain (non-Covid year) across 14 routes
  • Twelve ports in total: Bilbao, Santander, Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo, Roscoff
  • Tourism in Europe: 231,000 unique visitors, staying 2.6 million bed-nights in France in 2020 (compared with 857,000 unique visitors, staying 8,7 million bed-nights in 2019).