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Displaying items by tag: State of the Seas

A new study of Northern Ireland's waters has found that stocks of cod and whiting are at their lowest ever recorded levels.
The Northern Ireland State of the Seas report, launched by NI environment minister Edwin Poots and agriculture minister Michelle Gildernew, showed that while herring and haddock stocks are improving, some species remain "seriously depleted", according to the Belfast Telegraph.
"This is a key time in managing our marine environment," said minister Poots. "We have an extremely rich and varied coastline with the marine species in our seas contributing to over half the overall biodiversity in Northern Ireland."
The report also evaluates the potential of other marine resources such as tourism, beaches, shipwrecks and renewable energy - all of which will contribute to new planning laws covering the marine environment.
The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

A new study of Northern Ireland's waters has found that stocks of cod and whiting are at their lowest ever recorded levels.

The Northern Ireland State of the Seas report, launched by NI environment minister Edwin Poots and agriculture minister Michelle Gildernew, showed that while herring and haddock stocks are improving, some species remain "seriously depleted", according to the Belfast Telegraph.

"This is a key time in managing our marine environment," said minister Poots. "We have an extremely rich and varied coastline with the marine species in our seas contributing to over half the overall biodiversity in Northern Ireland."

The report also evaluates the potential of other marine resources such as tourism, beaches, shipwrecks and renewable energy - all of which will contribute to new planning laws covering the marine environment.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

Published in Fishing

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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