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Displaying items by tag: RS Feva Worlds

Irish sisters Kitty and Lily O’Halloran reached the podium twice at the RS Feva Worlds in Weymouth last week.

Based in Cornwall, the siblings race under the flag of Ireland — according to their father Donal, they only have Irish passports — and recently claimed the Irish title at the RS Feva Nationals in Dun Laoghaire, just weeks after finishing sixth overall (and first among females) at the UK Nationals in May.

They followed up that convincing victory with third place among female entrants and third among families (siblings) in the RS Feva World Championship 2022 at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, which concluded on Wednesday (27 July).

With their 17th placing overall out of 186 entries in Weymouth, not to mention their Southerns success in Monkstown Bay this past Easter, win Kitty and Lily are “adamant” to further represent Ireland on the international stage, Donal says.

Elsewhere at the Worlds, there were respectable results in the Bronze Fleet for the Ridout siblings out of Ballyholme Yacht Club, with Emily and Annabel finishing 24th and their brothers Matthew and Peter in 25th. Full results are HERE.

Published in RS Sailing
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#RSFeva - Entries for the 2013 RS Feva Worlds in Tuscany broke the 100 mark on Friday 1 February, as Yachts and Yachting reports.

More than five months remain till the start of the event at Marina di Grosetto, which runs from 19-26 July - but with just 180 places in total, the rush is surely on for Feva sailors to stake their claim.

So far 14 countries across three continents will be represented, with newcomers including the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Switzerland, while Los Angeles will also send a boat for the first time.

Full details of the event including entry forms and the Notice of Race are available vis the RS Feva Worlds website. The entry deadline is 30 June 2013 but with more than half the available spots booked already, there's no time to waste.

Here's hoping Ireland will be as well represented as we were in 2010, when 34 Irish Feva sailors took part in the Worlds at Carnac in France.

Published in RS Sailing

A day of consistent results for Irish teams at Carnac yesterday saw the top six split evenly between British and Irish crews at the RS Feva Worlds. 

Vicky Cudmore and Amy Harrington leapfrogged into third place, taking full advantage of the strong sea breezes which reached 20 knots during racing yesterday. 

Top Irish boat overnight, Brendan Lyden and Marc Cudmore improved from seventh to sixth, but were also passed by the crew of Dermot Lyden and Peter Stokes, who now sit in fourth. 

The top two boats enjoy a 31-point cushion ahead of the bronze, so the real race on today's final day of racing is for bronze, with third to sixth split by just nine points.

Full results are HERE.

Published in Youth Sailing
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As the 140-boat fleet at the RS Feva World Championships splits into silver and gold, it's Brendan Lyden and Marc Cudmore who lead the Irish charge, seventh overall.

In a range of wind strengths yesterday, from 10 to 18 knots, it was the British pairing of Jack Hawkins and Christopher Thomas who put in the most impressive performance, recovering from an early stumble to 16th with two straight wins to finish the three-race day on the water on a high.

Eleven of Ireland's crews qualified for the gold fleet, an impressive achievement, and there are two more days of racing left.

 

Full results are here.

Published in Youth Sailing
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34 Young Irish sailors are taking part at the 2010 RS Feva Worlds, in Carnac, France.

The 140-boat fleet was broken into four groups for the first day of racing yesterday in 9-12 knots, with Irish crews in the top five in three out of four groups.

Racing continues today, with three races scheduled per day every day between now and Friday.

The event is being updated live on the RS Feva Worlds website, rsfeva.org/worlds and we'll bring you updated results on the Irish teams as they progress from the group stages to silver and gold fleets. 

Published in Youth Sailing
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Ferry & Car Ferry News The ferry industry on the Irish Sea, is just like any other sector of the shipping industry, in that it is made up of a myriad of ship operators, owners, managers, charterers all contributing to providing a network of routes carried out by a variety of ships designed for different albeit similar purposes.

All this ferry activity involves conventional ferry tonnage, 'ro-pax', where the vessel's primary design is to carry more freight capacity rather than passengers. This is in some cases though, is in complete variance to the fast ferry craft where they carry many more passengers and charging a premium.

In reporting the ferry scene, we examine the constantly changing trends of this sector, as rival ferry operators are competing in an intensive environment, battling out for market share following the fallout of the economic crisis. All this has consequences some immediately felt, while at times, the effects can be drawn out over time, leading to the expense of others, through reduced competition or takeover or even face complete removal from the marketplace, as witnessed in recent years.

Arising from these challenging times, there are of course winners and losers, as exemplified in the trend to run high-speed ferry craft only during the peak-season summer months and on shorter distance routes. In addition, where fastcraft had once dominated the ferry scene, during the heady days from the mid-90's onwards, they have been replaced by recent newcomers in the form of the 'fast ferry' and with increased levels of luxury, yet seeming to form as a cost-effective alternative.

Irish Sea Ferry Routes

Irrespective of the type of vessel deployed on Irish Sea routes (between 2-9 hours), it is the ferry companies that keep the wheels of industry moving as freight vehicles literally (roll-on and roll-off) ships coupled with motoring tourists and the humble 'foot' passenger transported 363 days a year.

As such the exclusive freight-only operators provide important trading routes between Ireland and the UK, where the freight haulage customer is 'king' to generating year-round revenue to the ferry operator. However, custom built tonnage entering service in recent years has exceeded the level of capacity of the Irish Sea in certain quarters of the freight market.

A prime example of the necessity for trade in which we consumers often expect daily, though arguably question how it reached our shores, is the delivery of just in time perishable products to fill our supermarket shelves.

A visual manifestation of this is the arrival every morning and evening into our main ports, where a combination of ferries, ro-pax vessels and fast-craft all descend at the same time. In essence this a marine version to our road-based rush hour traffic going in and out along the commuter belts.

Across the Celtic Sea, the ferry scene coverage is also about those overnight direct ferry routes from Ireland connecting the north-western French ports in Brittany and Normandy.

Due to the seasonality of these routes to Europe, the ferry scene may be in the majority running between February to November, however by no means does this lessen operator competition.

Noting there have been plans over the years to run a direct Irish –Iberian ferry service, which would open up existing and develop new freight markets. Should a direct service open, it would bring new opportunities also for holidaymakers, where Spain is the most visited country in the EU visited by Irish holidaymakers ... heading for the sun!