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Displaying items by tag: Cruiseship MV Explorer

#SEMESTER-SHIP – Last night the semester at sea cruiseship Explorer with more than 800 students, academics and crew, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, departed into Dublin Bay in a blaze of light, having visited the capital for a two-days, writes Jehan Ashmore.

It was rather unusual to see a vessel bedecked with the special display, where the lighting arrangement was strung from stem to stern along the 180m long. On board the 25,000 tonnes vessel where students from the University of Ohio, who are taking a 'semester at sea' world cruise programme operated by the not-for-profit initiative organised by the Institute for Shipboard Education in co-operation with the university.

The nightime visual spectacle, is similar to the daylight version of a ship 'dressed overall' (using the nautical flags) as perfectly demonstrated by the Tall Ships participant barque Cuauhtemoc of the Mexican Navy, as previously reported on Afloat.ie. Noting aerial video footage of her arrival to Dublin Port and featured in the accompanying Parade of Sail gallery.

As Explorer proceeded further out of Dublin Bay, and into the open sea, the special lighting display was switched off. She set a course for the Kish Bank Lighthouse and the vessel is currently off Cornwall and heading up the English Channel.

Published in Cruise Liners

The GP14 is a popular sailing dinghy, with well over 14,000 boats built.

The class is active in the UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and parts of north-eastern USA, and the GP14 can be used for both racing and cruising. 

Designed by Jack Holt in 1949, with the assistance of the Dovey Yacht Club in Aberdyfi. The idea behind the design was to build a General Purpose (GP) 14-foot dinghy which could be sailed or rowed, capable of also being powered effectively by a small outboard motor, able to be towed behind a small family car and able to be launched and recovered reasonably easily, and stable enough to be able to lie to moorings or anchor when required. Racing soon followed, initially with some degree of opposition from Yachting World, who had commissioned the design, and the boat soon turned out to be an outstanding racing design also.

The boat was initially designed with a main and small jib as a comfortable family dinghy. In a design philosophy that is both practical and highly redolent of social attitudes of the day the intention was that she should accommodate a family comprising parents plus two children, and specifically that the jib should be modest enough for "Mum" or older children to handle, while she should perform well enough to give "Dad" some excitement when not taking the family out. While this rig is still available, and can be useful when using the boat to teach sailing, or for family sailing, and has some popularity for cruising, the boat is more commonly seen with the full modern rig of a mainsail, genoa and spinnaker. Australian boats also routinely use trapezes.

GP14 Ireland Event Dates 2023

  • O'Tiarnaigh (Apr 22-23) Blessington Sailing Club
  • Ulsters (May 20-21) East Antrim Boat Club
  • Munsters (Jun 17-18) Tralee Bay Sailing Club
  • Leinsters (Jul 7-9) Dun Laoghaire Regatta
  • SOYC (Aug 19-20) Rush Sailing Club
  • Nationals (Sep 1-3) Sutton Dinghy Club
  • Hot Toddy (Sep 30-Oct 1) Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club

 

At A Glance – GP14 Dinghy Specifications

Crew 2
Draft 1,200 mm (47 in)
Hull weight 132.9 kg
LOA 4.27 m (14 ft)
Beam 1.54 m
Spinnaker area 8.4 m2
Upwind sail area 12.85 m2

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