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Displaying items by tag: Manxman

Artists on the Isle of Man and island-based creatives are being given the chance to feature their art work in the interior of the newest ferry addition to the operator's Douglas based packet fleet.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, in collaboration with SMC Art Consultancy, has announced it will be commissioning a collection of specially curated artwork to go on permanent display on board the new vessel, the Manxman.

Local artists have been invited to submit paintings and original artwork to the Steam Packet before Wednesday, January 26 to be considered for inclusion into the collection of work, which will ultimately be displayed in three different areas of the new ship, the pet lounge, the forward lounge and the first class lounge.

There is a brief available for each area, and artists may submit a proposal which covers all of the collection within an area, or they may submit a proposal which covers just part of the collection.

Manx Today has further details on the project's brief. 

Published in Ferry

Work on the new Isle of Man Steam Packet Company's flagship ferry, Manxman, is on schedule.

As previously reported on Afloat, the vessel is under construction in a South Korean shipyard and is due to be ready by 2023.

Managing Director Brian Thomson says images of the ferry in its current state will soon be made available.

ManxRadio also has a podcast with the M.D. discussing further details on the newbuild which is to replace Ben-My-Chree on the Douglas-Heysham route.

 

Published in Ferry

As Afloat previously reported plans for a newbuild ferry to be named Manxman and due for delivery in 2023 replacing Ben-my-Chree, are progressing well according to the Isle of Man Steam Packet.

The detailed design of both the external and internal features of Manxman are currently being undertaken by a team of experts. This vital phase is the longest and where some of the most important decisions are made.

A range of work will take place over a period of around 12 months, including the development of a 3D detailed design drawing of the vessel, as well as construction drawings to allow the vessel to be built. In addition, interior design and internal layouts will be finalised and vessel equipment and machinery agreed.

Despite the ongoing impact of the pandemic, significant progress has been made over the last 12 months. In July, it was announced that the vessel will be built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in South Korea, one of the world’s major shipbuilders and a leading blue chip name in the industry.

In December, after much deliberation and taking the views of the public into consideration, it was revealed that the new vessel will be named Manxman. More than 7,500 people submitted their favourite from the shortlist of names, the results of which played a key part in the selection process.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: ‘We are pleased with how plans are progressing and that, despite the pandemic, we have largely been able to stay on schedule and continue to make significant progress. It is a large-scale project which naturally takes time and many hours of meticulous planning, however we are excited to move forward with the detailed design of Manxman.’

There are many stages involved in the process which the Steam Packet Company covers in detail in its two-part blog series, Designing & Constructing a Vessel.

Part one looks at what is involved in the planning, design and construction of a bespoke ferry and the different steps involved in the process.

As for Part two, this provides a unique insight into how long the whole process usually takes, the types of specialist organisations it will be working with and the challenges the ferry company faces over the next few years.

Published in Ferry

Manxman is the name chosen for the new Isle of Man Steam Packet Company ferry following an online public consultation.

The announcement follows months of deliberation by the Manx ferry company, which in October announced a shortlist of four potential names – Manxman, Mona’s Isle, Manx Maid and King Orry - all of which are traditional Steam Packet Company vessel names.

Throughout November, the public had the opportunity to voice their preference for the name of the new purpose-built ferry as Afloat reported is to be built in Asia. The newbuild due in 2023 is to be flagged and registered under the Isle of Man Register and will replace the Ben-My-Chree.

More than 7,500 people took the opportunity to suggest their favourite of the shortlisted names. Out of these, it was Manxman and King Orry that emerged as the most popular choices by a considerable margin. These two favourites were then considered further by the company and the name Manxman was chosen. This will mark the third ship in the Company’s history to bear the name, the last a turbine steamer launched in 1955.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: ‘After much thought and deliberation, we are excited to announce the name of our bespoke, custom-built vessel. King Orry and Manxman were both clear favourites, however, with more than 65 years having passed since the launch of our last ship called Manxman - compared to just 20 years since we named a vessel King Orry, we feel that now is the right time for the return of Manxman. It is a name that embodies the Manx spirit, signifies national pride and is suitably enduring for a vessel that will take the Steam Packet Company into its 200th year and beyond. She will be a fine addition to our fleet.

‘We would like to thank everyone who took the time to express their views on the four shortlisted names. It was pleasing to see such interest and, of course, to take the public’s views into consideration when making the final decision - something we thought very important.’

Published in Ferry

#ports&shipping - A towage firm in the UK which includes operations in Belfast, has expanded its fleet with a new tug making a recent arrival onto the Humber estuary that leads to the North Sea, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The new tug Manxman operated by SMS Towage of Hessle, north Yorkshire, now brings the Humber based fleet up to 10 vessels and this represents around £5 million worth of investment.

According to SMS, the Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) 2411 tug is capable of 4200 BKW and sports a bollard pull of 72 tonnes. A brake horsepower of 5,600 is achieved and the tug offers more power than seven Ferraris.

The arrival of the Damen built tug in the Netherlands has been welcomed by the Associated British Port group. Among its portfolio, ABP operates the ports of Goole, Grimsby, Hull and Immingham. These ports are located on both sides of the estuary which is formed by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent.

As reported last year, Afloat saw the former Belfast based Irishman operate out of the Port of Hull. On that occasion the 40 tonnes bollard pull tug was assisting cruiseship Marco Polo through a dock lock prior to setting a course bound for Harwich in Essex.

In addition to operations at the North Sea port and in Northern Ireland, SMS also have tugs located in south-east Wales and in Portsmouth, England.

Published in Ports & Shipping
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Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020