Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Google Science Fair

An ingenious technique of using magnetic fluids to filter microplastic from water has netted a West Cork student a major world science award, as The Irish Times reports.

Eighteen-year-old Fionn Ferreira from Ballydehob topped a group of 24 finalists from around the globe to win the 2019 Google Science Fair — an accolade that also comes with a $50,000 educational bursary.

Ferreira, who has just completed his Leaving Cert and was a regular BT Young Scientist entrant at school, experimented with ferrofluid, which adheres to plastic, to see if it would help clear water samples of microplastic.

His findings showed that at least 87% of microplastic could be removed from a given sample — and he is eager to see his research applied in a bigger setting.

The Irish Times has more on the story, and Google has further details on Fionn’s research HERE.

WM Nixon adds: Fionn Ferreira comes from a creative and talented background in Ballydehob – his mother is craft worker Anke Ekhart while his father is the highly-skilled classic boat-builder Rui Ferreira, who has breathed remarkable new life into some old craft, and is noted for building new classics to the highest standards – one of his latest creations is the Dublin Bay Water Wag No 50 Hilda for Martin & Triona Byrne of Dun Laoghaire, which some observers reckon is the best Water Wag ever built in the class’s 132 year history.

rui ferreira Renowned Ballydehob classic boat-builder Rui Ferreira of Ballydehob – seen here with the Dublin Bay Water Wag Hilda which he completed this year for Martin & Triona Byrne of Dun Laoghaire – is father of award-winning junior scientific inventor Fionn Ferreira. Photo: Ian Malcolm

Published in Marine Science

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

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Please show your support for Afloat by donating