Displaying items by tag: Manx fastCat

2nd April 2022

Manx Fast-Cat Makes Dash to Dublin Port for Examination In Advance of Resuming Services this April

Isle of Man fast-ferry catamaran Manannan made a recent call to Dublin Port to facilitate a safety inspection carried out by the Irish Maritime Administration prior to resuming services throughout the Irish Sea leading up to and during the summer months.

Manannan the fast-ferry catamaran of the Isle of Man Steam Packet, called to Dublin Port for the first time this year, but firstly to undergo an examination of the 96m craft prior to entering service, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 43-knot fast-ferry built in 1998 by InCAT of Hobart, Tasmania and acquired by the IOMSP in 2009, Afloat had tracked to Dublin Port having on Monday made a morning passage from Douglas Harbour.

The arrival of 865 passenger/200 vehicle Mananan did not involve berthing at Dublin Port's busy main Ferry Terminal No. 1 but upriver to Alexandra Basin and alongside Ocean Pier.

Manannan was boarded by officials of the Irish Maritime Administration (part of the Dept of Transport) to enable an inspection of the craft.

Among the roles of the IMA (equivalent of the UK's Maritime & Coastguard Agency) is to facilitate international safety levels and by enhancing infrastructure needed to secure employment in the shipping, fishing and leisure sectors.

Commenting to Afloat, a spokesperson of the IOM Steam-Packet said the reason for the call by Manannan was to asses the fitness of the fast-ferry to operate to and from Ireland. The examination by the IMA of the Manx-flagged fast-ferry, added the ferry spokesperson had passed with flying colours.

Yesterday, Manannan marked the resumption of the Steam-Packet's core summer route, Douglas-Liverpool by running the 2hr 45 minute crossing. This it to be followed with further connections between the Manx capital and Belfast Harbour (3hrs) on 13 April and calls to Dublin (2hrs 55mins) the next day on 14 April.

Facilities of the fastferry include standard seating areas, two cinema lounges, a large bar area at the stern and a cafe, a shop in addition to reserved and premium lounges.

Previously to this week's call to Dublin Port, Afloat had also tracked Manannan arrive in Douglas Harbour on 26 March having completed a routine annual dry-docking. This year the overhaul took place at A&P Falmouth, Cornwall.

The sailing back from the south-west of England to the Isle of Man involved a passage time taking almost 10 hours.

Published in Ferry

Tagged under

About the 29er Skiff Dinghy

The 29er is a one-design double-handed, single trapeze skiff for youth sailors.

There is an active class in Ireland, just one of the 38-countries from across all continents now racing the high-performance skiff.

The 29er is one of the latest dinghy classes to arrive in Ireland and has a 50/50 split between boys and girls.

The class like to describe the boat as "The most popular skiff for sailors who want to go fast!".

Derived from the Olympic class 49er class and designed by Julian Bethwaite the 29er was first produced in 1998.

Two sailors sail the 29er, one on trapeze.

The 6.25-metre high rig features a fractional asymmetrical spinnaker; a self-tacking jib decreases the workload of the crew, making manoeuvres more efficient and freeing the crew to take the mainsheet upwind and on two-sail reaches.

The 15.00 m2 spinnaker rigging set-up challenges crews to be fit and coordinated, and manoeuvres in the boat require athleticism due to its lack of inherent stability and the high speed with which the fully battened mainsail and jib power up.

The 74kg weight hull is constructed of fibreglass-reinforced polyester in a foam sandwich layout.

The fully battened mainsail and jib are made from a transparent Mylar laminate with orange or red Dacron trimming, while the spinnaker is manufactured from ripstop Nylon.

The mast is in three parts - an aluminium bottom and middle section, with a polyester-fibreglass composite tip to increase mast bend and decrease both overall weights, and the capsizing moment a heavy mast tip can generate. Foils are aluminium or fibreglass.

About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):

ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2

ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2

ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2