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#ferries - Manx minister for Enterprise wants to see fewer sailings operating at low capacity.

According to Manx Radio, the 2018 Isle of Man Passenger Survey results show the number of people travelling by sea dropped by 6% last year.

Tynwald (the island's Parliament) recently approved a plan for the future of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, after the government purchased the ferry operator last year.

Laurence Skelly is keen to attract more tourists to fill the empty seats.

To listen and watch the Minister speak on the radio station click the link here. 

Published in Ferry
The Jeanie Johnston will need €100,000 to be made seaworthy again, it has emerged.
The three-masted barque - which not long ago sailed across the Atlantic - was missed at the weekend's Tall Ships festival, which attracted half a million visitors to Waterford.
But as the Sunday Independent reports, the ship is currently a stationary tourist attraction at berth in Dublin with her sails in storage.
Hopes are high, however, that the replica famine ship will be made ready as an ocean-going vessel in time for the Volvo Ocean Races in Galway next summer, not to mention the Tall Ships Races in Dublin next August.
"At the moment we are basically putting all the money coming in from the interactive tours, which have been very successful, back into the boat," said ship manager John O'Neill. "We are hopeful we will get the financial assistance we need to get the vessel back out to sea".

The Jeanie Johnston will need €100,000 to be made seaworthy again, it has emerged.

The three-masted barque - which not long ago sailed across the Atlantic - was missed at the weekend's Tall Ships festival, which attracted half a million visitors to Waterford.

But as the Sunday Independent reports, the ship is currently a stationary tourist attraction at berth in Dublin with her sails in storage.

Hopes are high, however, that the replica famine ship will be made ready as an ocean-going vessel in time for the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway next summer, not to mention the Tall Ships Races in Dublin next August.

"At the moment we are basically putting all the money coming in from the interactive tours, which have been very successful, back into the boat," said ship manager John O'Neill. "We are hopeful we will get the financial assistance we need to get the vessel back out to sea".

Published in Tall Ships

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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