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The popular Red Bay boating area on the North Antrim coast is to gain protection under EU Law as a marine animal protection area.

The area was chosen because it contains rare species that are in danger of becoming extinct.

The new marine protection area restricts human activity to protect living, non-living, cultural, and/or historic resources.

Protections in various areas range from limits on development, fishing gear types, fishing seasons, catch limits, moorings, to complete bans on removing marine life of any kind.

It is understood Red Bay is a nursery ground for many commercial fish species.

Published in Marine Wildlife

County Antrim's Red Bay Lifeboat crew launched this evening (Saturday 7 August 2010) to rescue a brother and sister who had got into difficulty in the Boulder Field on Fair Head rocks on the North Antrim Coast.  This is the first callout for Red Bay's new Atlantic 85 lifeboat Geoffrey Charles.

The call for help was received at 18.25 this evening when the siblings went walking in the Boulder field and got into difficulty.  The Red Bay lifeboat was launched and in a heavy swell manoeuvred close to the rocks.  One of the volunteer lifeboat crew then swam from the lifeboat onto the rocks with another crewmember's drysuit and a lifejacket.  He then assisted the casualties one at a time using a rope.

Under difficult conditions the two casualties were recovered onto the lifeboat and landed at Ballycastle.  No further medical attention was needed.  Commenting on the rescue Red Bay RNLI helm Paddy McLaughlin said, " Although people like to walk in this scenic area of North Antrim it can be a very dangerous spot.  This was a successful first callout for our new lifeboat and the two people are recovering well from their ordeal."

The new lifeboat was only put on station less than a fortnight ago.  It has a number of improvements on its predecessor including a faster top speed of 35 knots; radar; provision for a fourth crew member and more space for survivors. It can operate safely in daylight in up to force 7 conditions and at night in up to force 6, it is also capable of being beached in an emergency.

Related Safety posts

RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland


Safety News


Rescue News from RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland


Coast Guard News from Ireland


Water Safety News from Ireland

Marine Casualty Investigation Board News

Marine Warnings

Published in RNLI Lifeboats
Page 4 of 4

The Star keelboat is a 6.9 metres (23 ft) one-design racing keelboat for two people designed by Francis Sweisguth in 1910.

The Star was an Olympic keelboat class from 1932 through to 2012, the last year keelboats appeared at the Summer Olympics at which Ireland's representatives were Peter O'Leary and David Burrows.

Ireland has performed well in the class internationally thanks to some Olympic campaigns including a bronze medal at the Star World Championships in 2000, won by Mark Mansfield and David O'Brien.

The boat is sloop-rigged, with a mainsail larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does not use a spinnaker when sailing downwind. Instead, when running downwind a whisker pole is used to hold the jib out to windward for correct wind flow.

Early Stars were built from wood, but modern boats are of fibreglass and carbon construction.

The boat must weigh at least 671 kg (1,479 lb) with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m2 (285 sq ft).

The Star class pioneered an unusual circular boom vang track, which allows the vang to effectively hold the boom down even when the boom is turned far outboard on a downwind run.

Another notable aspect of Star sailing is the extreme hiking position adopted by the crew and at times the helmsman, who normally use a harness to help hang low off the windward side of the boat with only their lower legs inside.

At A Glance – Star Specifications

Designer Francis Sweisguth
Year 1910
Crew 2 (Skipper + Crew)
S + 1.5 C ≤ 250 kg (550 lb)[1]
Draft 1.016 m (3 ft 4 in)
Hull Type keelboat
Hull weight ≥ 671 kg (1,479 lb)
(including keel)
LOA 6.922 m (22 ft 9 in)
LWL 4.724 m (15 ft 6 in)
Beam 1.734 m (5 ft 8 in) at deck
1.372 m (4 ft 6 in) at chine
Hull appendages
Keel/board type bulb keel
401.5 ± 7 kg (885 ± 15 lb)
Rig
Rig type sloop
Mast length 9.652 m (31 ft 8 in)
Sails
Mainsail area 20.5 m2 (221 sq ft)
Jib/genoa area  6.0 m2 (65 sq ft)
Upwind sail area ≤ 26.5 m2 (285 sq ft)

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