Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Passenger Facilities

A call from Irish hauliers to ferry operators to shut all bars and restaurants at sea and to provide room service to individual drivers in their own cabins to keep them shielded from Covid-19, reported Independent.ie

The Freight Transport Association of Ireland (FTAI) issued its appeal as Brittany Ferries which Afloat also reported on Monday, became the first operator to suspend some of its sea links with the island.

FTAI general manager Aidan Flynn said truck drivers were critical for ensuring that agri-food and other essential supplies travel uninterrupted between Ireland, Britain and Europe.

Mr Flynn said ferry firms should “prioritise the safety and welfare of commercial drivers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their safety should take precedence to ensure our supply chain is protected at all costs.”

The association wants ferries to provide all passengers - but particularly lorry drivers - their own individual cabins and to deliver meals and drinks directly to those cabins. It says all bars and restaurants should be shut to reduce potential virus transmission.

For more on this story which refers to other ferry operators, click here and whenever the newspaper (homepage) has more and in addition to their 'Travel News' here.

Afloat has listed the ferry operators websites below with an important range of travel advice and information with FAQ relating to Covid-19.

Irish Ferries and for sailing updates by clicking here

Stena Line and for sailing updates click here

Brittany Ferries for sailing updates here 

It is strongly advised to consult these operators frequently for updates.

In addition to consulting the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFA) website HERE for the latest advice on travelling overseas and from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) HERE (re: Ireland) and also HERE.

According to today's TheJournal.ie as of midnight tonight, Ryanair flight schedules will be cut by over 80%. The airline says that almost all of its flights (“if not all”) will be grounded next week, from midnight of Tuesday, 24 March. 

Published in Ferry

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