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Displaying items by tag: Poole Regatta

Be sure to put down 23-25 May 2020 in your diaries as the International Paint Poole Regatta returns next year for three days of racing and social events on the Dorset coast.

The British Nationals in the J24 and J80 are already confirmed for the 2020 regatta, with talks ongoing for Quarter Tonners and others to host their championships in Poole over the UK spring bank holiday weekend.

In the most recent regatta in 2018, some 1,500 crew on 160 yachts competed in 16 sailing classes across five race courses where five British national and three regional titles were decided.

Last year the regatta made a special invite to Irish boats to join in the competitive spirit, marking it out as one of the highlights of the sailing calendar here.

For more visit the Poole Regatta website HERE.

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It is now confirmed that the International Paint Poole Regatta 2018 on the English south coast will be hosting a record number of championships. Five UK National Championships and two Southern Area Championships have been confirmed for the regatta so far. As the weeks go by, the 2018 regatta is shaping up to be the biggest and best since its re-launch in 2000 and the regatta committee are still working tirelessly to add exciting new features.

The classes holding their National Championship at Poole are the J24, HP30, MOCRA, VPRS and 2.4mR. The 2.4mR class will also be holding their Tidal Championship at Poole Regatta.

With no IRC National Championship in 2018 and the European Championship being held in Cowes limited to boats rating over 0.995, the IRC Southern Area Championship being run as part of the regatta takes on a far greater significance this year. With at least three IRC classes planned, crews are expected to use the event either as their premier championship in 2018 or as a warm-up for the Europeans taking place in June. The Shrimper class will also be holding their Southern Championship during the weekend.

The regatta committee confirmed to Afloat.ie that they will offer free berthing during the regatta for any entrants travelling from Ireland. 

Hopefully that is of interest to your racing community and provides that little extra incentive to head round to the channel and compete. The regatta is just a few days before Poole Boat Show and a couple of weeks before the IRC European Championships, so it could be a good warm up event for anyone participating there.

“With so much silverware available to win, multiple race courses designed to provide dynamic racing for each class and our renowned social events, we really feel that The International Paint Poole Regatta 2018 is going to exceed previous editions in terms of competitive activity on the water and overall event atmosphere. We still have a lot of work to do before May, but can’t wait to host these competitive championships.” Martin Pearson - Regatta Chairman.

To find out more about Poole Regatta click here.

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Galway Port & Harbour

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city and port is located on the northeast side of the bay. The bay is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and from 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to 30 kilometres (19 miles) in breadth.

The Aran Islands are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay.

Galway Port FAQs

Galway was founded in the 13th century by the de Burgo family, and became an important seaport with sailing ships bearing wine imports and exports of fish, hides and wool.

Not as old as previously thought. Galway bay was once a series of lagoons, known as Loch Lurgan, plied by people in log canoes. Ancient tree stumps exposed by storms in 2010 have been dated back about 7,500 years.

It is about 660,000 tonnes as it is a tidal port.

Capt Brian Sheridan, who succeeded his late father, Capt Frank Sheridan

The dock gates open approximately two hours before high water and close at high water subject to ship movements on each tide.

The typical ship sizes are in the region of 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes

Turbines for about 14 wind projects have been imported in recent years, but the tonnage of these cargoes is light. A European industry report calculates that each turbine generates €10 million in locally generated revenue during construction and logistics/transport.

Yes, Iceland has selected Galway as European landing location for international telecommunications cables. Farice, a company wholly owned by the Icelandic Government, currently owns and operates two submarine cables linking Iceland to Northern Europe.

It is "very much a live project", Harbourmaster Capt Sheridan says, and the Port of Galway board is "awaiting the outcome of a Bord Pleanála determination", he says.

90% of the scrap steel is exported to Spain with the balance being shipped to Portugal. Since the pandemic, scrap steel is shipped to the Liverpool where it is either transhipped to larger ships bound for China.

It might look like silage, but in fact, its bales domestic and municipal waste, exported to Denmark where the waste is incinerated, and the heat is used in district heating of homes and schools. It is called RDF or Refuse Derived Fuel and has been exported out of Galway since 2013.

The new ferry is arriving at Galway Bay onboard the cargo ship SVENJA. The vessel is currently on passage to Belem, Brazil before making her way across the Atlantic to Galway.

Two Volvo round world races have selected Galway for the prestigious yacht race route. Some 10,000 people welcomed the boats in during its first stopover in 2009, when a festival was marked by stunning weather. It was also selected for the race finish in 2012. The Volvo has changed its name and is now known as the "Ocean Race". Capt Sheridan says that once port expansion and the re-urbanisation of the docklands is complete, the port will welcome the "ocean race, Clipper race, Tall Ships race, Small Ships Regatta and maybe the America's Cup right into the city centre...".

The pandemic was the reason why Seafest did not go ahead in Cork in 2020. Galway will welcome Seafest back after it calls to Waterford and Limerick, thus having been to all the Port cities.

© Afloat 2020