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Displaying items by tag: Spring Series

Entry for the Axiom Private Clients Spring Series in Kinsale Yacht Club is now open online.

The series starts on Sunday 3 April and runs for five weeks, finishing on Saturday 30 April. One race per day is scheduled for both Spinnaker and White Sail classes.

This series is a SCORA event and KYC says it’s looking forward to welcoming participants from other South Coast yacht clubs.

The club is also delighted to welcome Axiom Private Clients once again as title sponsor for the series for 2022.

Former KYC commodore Tom Roche is director of the company, which was founded in 2004 and specialises in dealing with clients with unique circumstances who wish to take control of their personal or corporate finances.

Tom and his wife Ursula look forward to seeing all competitors on the water from their own Solona 45, Meridian, and Axiom wishes all competitors a very enjoyable sailing season.

Published in Kinsale

#INSC - Wind, wind and more wind greeted the participants in the Rathfarnham Ford Dublin Bay Spring Series at the weekend, writes Kenneth Rumball.

This is by far the windiest winter I have known so far with lots of sailing cancelled. Nonetheless the wind gods usually shone on Dublin Bay on Sunday mornings and allowed wind speeds to drop under the usual 40+ knots to allow the two INSC race training boats to compete in the Spring Series.

We weren’t always so lucky with two Sundays' racing lost due to the high winds. Chief organiser Fintan Cairns made an excellent decision to extend the series to run an extra race on 23 March to make up for one of the lost days.

The high winds did not allow the two team INSC boats, helmed and skippered by Kenneth Rumball and Alexander Rumball, to get out and do some pre-event training in their 1720 sportsboats prior to the first race of the series.

The team changed the configuration of their boats somewhat for this series by leaving the Dacron teaching sails on the dock and through some clever thinking modified 1720 class ‘Club’ jibs were able to be mounted on the Harken cruising foils usually used for teaching. Kevlar mainsails were also added in the drive to make the boats more competitive than ever. The signature navy antifouling remained in place to keep the boats from going too fast!

Most of the clients on the two boats had already sailed with team INSC in the DBSC Turkey Shoot Series and in the DBSC Winter Series last winter, so the lost training day did not hamper the teams as much as we had thought it would.

Due to the fact the INSC race teams had done some racing with us before meant we could push our boats harder than before, with our crews definitely making the jump from novice racer to seasoned 1720 crew. We had some fantastic races with both boats honing down wind with the 1720 mast head spinnakers and excellent crew work keeping the hull under the mast.

Screaming by other cruiser-racers with mouths ajar as to the speeds the INSC teams were doing downwind, the GPS on one boat saw a max speed of 16kts one day in a big gust.

Both INSC teams were always at the front of fleet, fighting for line honours. In fact in most races the only boats to place ahead of INSC2 were Wow, the Farr 42, and other much larger boats such as J109s.

The final day of Sunday 23 March saw both boats leaving the pontoons with gusts out in the bay of 30-plus knots. Both sets of crews were a little rusty having had a ‘rest weekend’ over the St Patrick's Day break and nerves were a little high on both boats. This, coupled with a long run from the yellow outfall mark off the West Pier down to the Muglins, meant both boats knew they would have to push hard down-wind to pass the fleet.

And push they did! INSC 1, INSC 2 and Déjà vu all rounded the top mark very closely in that order. A tight top reach mean the kites stayed in the ships, however on gybing around the outfall mark, INSC 2 hoisted their yellow afterburner fractional kite and took off. INSC 1 was a little later behind but had the kite up as soon as possible, with the apparent wind shooting forwards, the two boats along with RIYC2 another 1720, blasted to the Muglins.

By the Muglins, INSC 2 had taken the fleet apart from one boat with INSC 1 and RIYC 2 on their heels. Up the final beat home, INSC 1 and RIYC 2 caught close to INSC 2 with a big left shift. However INSC 2 took line honours with RIYC 2 and INSC 1 on their heels!

In the overall results, INSC 1 finished up seventh with INSC 2 in tenth place - both boats claiming a top 10 finish.

Another fantastic race training programme and what is being dubbed the best race training programme in the bay will continue on Tuesday nights into the summer. If you want to learn how to crew a race boat, check out www.insc.ie.

Published in Dublin Bay

#KINSALE –  It was back to the big winds and waves this week for the hardy competitors in the KYC Spring Series, with UK Halsey Sailmakers sponsoring events this week, and Des McWilliam himself out on the water checking up on his handiwork writes Peadar Murphy.

For Classes Zero, One and Two, the much anticipated coastal race was the order of the day, with OD Tony Ireson setting a varied and demanding course that tested the stamina of the fleets. Starting in the vicinity of the Bulman, a short beat to Sandycove was followed by a spinnaker reach to CentrePoint and then a two sail reach to the Old Head. The fleets were then faced with a long beat up to the green-coloured Black Tom buoy in Courtmacsherry Bay before launching into a rock and roll run back to the Old Head. Class Two boats headed for Centre Point at that stage, while the bigger boats reached eastwards to the eventually located (thanks Meridian!!) South East Mark and then back to base via Centre Point. With winds constantly above 20 knots at the start, many had taken in a reef and were flying smaller headsails, but by Black Tom, most of the reefs had been shaken out.

In Class Two, Mac Magic II showed their class in the conditions, overhauling the Desmond, Ivers and Deasy outfit on Bad Company at the Old Head and the Beneteau 31.7 showed everyone her transom from then on for a bullet in IRC. A fine provisional second in IRC for Clem and Wendy McElligott's Sea Hawk remains subject to protest due to a mark rounding issue. Iker Martinez was unavailable for comment on the matter as we go to press, but Sea Hawk could lose her pole position overall in ECHO and overall third in IRC if matters go against her! It couldn't be closer at the top of IRC Two overall with Brian Goggin's Allure and Bad Company tied on 14 points.

Class One saw Dave Scott's Eos storming back to winning ways while her arch-rival Jelly Baby had a day that will definitely be discarded by the Nagle and O'Malley team. In IRC, it's down to a single point between the two now, with the RCYC boat edging it. Watch out for some fireworks on Saturday!! Just three points separate the top four boats in ECHIO overall, with Jelly Baby shading it from Dan Buckley's Justus by a point.

Despite having been over the line at the start, and having difficulties with her kite, somehow Kieran Twomey's Gloves Off was still in the shake up at the South East mark, and in the beat up to Centre Point snatched the lead from Tom Roche's Meridian, which had led the fleet from the gun. Gloves Off claimed the bullet in IRC and now holds a three point lead overall from Conor Doyle's Freya, which broke her spinnaker pole as she headed east from the Old Head. John Godkin's Godot lies third overall in IRC, somewhat adrift, but with plenty of sea room between her and the remainder of the fleet. Meridian claimed the bullet in ECHO as her reward for her endeavours. Just 2.5 points now covers all five boats in ECHO with Meridian leading by her bow roller, and Godot and Tony O'Brien's White Tiger tied for second.

Class One boats dominate IRC Restricted with Jelly Baby, Eos and Justus making up the top three, but in truth it's between Jelly Baby and Eos at this stage.

East of Centre Point, OD Tony Small was marshalling Classes Three and Four on windward/leeward courses and his mark layers were kept busy with the shifting winds. In the first race, Finbarr Dorgan's No Half Measures got the better of Marron and O'Connell partnership on Bandit in Class Three IRC, but Padraig O'Donovan's Chameleon held on to claim her second bullet of the series in ECHO.

In Class Four IRC, Alan Mulcahy's Sundancer and Richard Hanley's Saoirse had the racing to themselves with Mulcahy continuing to string the bullets together and almost certain to claim the series overall. In ECHO, the story is much the same with Sundancer and Saoirse out in front, though the Higgins and Morrison duo on La Maraquita remain close enough to keep the top two on their toes.

For the White Sail fleet, OD Donal Hayes sent competitors up to the Spit Mark first, providing welcome entertainment to walkers on Kinsale's Scilly Walk. John Whelan's Wheels continued her eventful Spring Series outing taking up temporary residence on the sand bank off the Block House, but eventually got free. No such troubles hampered John Downing and Samba, which romped home ahead of Dave Akerlind's Paragon and Stephen Lysaght's Reavra in Class One, presenting a wonderful spectacle as they reached to the finish in unison with the returning Class Zero, One, Two and White Sail Two fleets! Overall, Reavra holds a two point lead over the Dann, Murphy and Hennessy team on Val Kriss with Paragon a further point behind. But with the discard not coming into play in White Sail until next week, it's still all to play for here.

The OD's foresight ensured that the Irish Lights Vessel Granuaile would indeed have the Bulman Buoy back in place after servicing it by the time the White Sail Two fleet arrived there. At that stage Kevin Murray's Objection! had built up a commanding lead and duly claimed the win from Billy Joyce's Windrose and Dave Cullinane's Delos. Windrose now leads by two points overall from Delos, but with Delos unable to take to the race course next weekend, there may be an opportunity for the ladies on Guiness Kann to swoop in to claim second spot. Objection! can't be discounted from a podium finish either following her fine finish this week.

The final series of races takes place on Saturday 28th April. If you wish to attend the Prize-giving Dinner, book your tickets now with Ann Kelly in KYC.

Published in Kinsale
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Ireland's Offshore Renewable Energy

Because of Ireland's location at the Atlantic edge of the EU, it has more offshore energy potential than most other countries in Europe. The conditions are suitable for the development of the full range of current offshore renewable energy technologies.

Offshore Renewable Energy FAQs

Offshore renewable energy draws on the natural energy provided by wind, wave and tide to convert it into electricity for industry and domestic consumption.

Offshore wind is the most advanced technology, using fixed wind turbines in coastal areas, while floating wind is a developing technology more suited to deeper water. In 2018, offshore wind provided a tiny fraction of global electricity supply, but it is set to expand strongly in the coming decades into a USD 1 trillion business, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). It says that turbines are growing in size and in power capacity, which in turn is "delivering major performance and cost improvements for offshore wind farms".

The global offshore wind market grew nearly 30% per year between 2010 and 2018, according to the IEA, due to rapid technology improvements, It calculated that about 150 new offshore wind projects are in active development around the world. Europe in particular has fostered the technology's development, led by Britain, Germany and Denmark, but China added more capacity than any other country in 2018.

A report for the Irish Wind Energy Assocation (IWEA) by the Carbon Trust – a British government-backed limited company established to accelerate Britain's move to a low carbon economy - says there are currently 14 fixed-bottom wind energy projects, four floating wind projects and one project that has yet to choose a technology at some stage of development in Irish waters. Some of these projects are aiming to build before 2030 to contribute to the 5GW target set by the Irish government, and others are expected to build after 2030. These projects have to secure planning permission, obtain a grid connection and also be successful in a competitive auction in the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).

The electricity generated by each turbine is collected by an offshore electricity substation located within the wind farm. Seabed cables connect the offshore substation to an onshore substation on the coast. These cables transport the electricity to land from where it will be used to power homes, farms and businesses around Ireland. The offshore developer works with EirGrid, which operates the national grid, to identify how best to do this and where exactly on the grid the project should connect.

The new Marine Planning and Development Management Bill will create a new streamlined system for planning permission for activity or infrastructure in Irish waters or on the seabed, including offshore wind farms. It is due to be published before the end of 2020 and enacted in 2021.

There are a number of companies aiming to develop offshore wind energy off the Irish coast and some of the larger ones would be ESB, SSE Renewables, Energia, Statkraft and RWE.

There are a number of companies aiming to develop offshore wind energy off the Irish coast and some of the larger ones would be ESB, SSE Renewables, Energia, Statkraft and RWE. Is there scope for community involvement in offshore wind? The IWEA says that from the early stages of a project, the wind farm developer "should be engaging with the local community to inform them about the project, answer their questions and listen to their concerns". It says this provides the community with "the opportunity to work with the developer to help shape the final layout and design of the project". Listening to fishing industry concerns, and how fishermen may be affected by survey works, construction and eventual operation of a project is "of particular concern to developers", the IWEA says. It says there will also be a community benefit fund put in place for each project. It says the final details of this will be addressed in the design of the RESS (see below) for offshore wind but it has the potential to be "tens of millions of euro over the 15 years of the RESS contract". The Government is also considering the possibility that communities will be enabled to invest in offshore wind farms though there is "no clarity yet on how this would work", the IWEA says.

Based on current plans, it would amount to around 12 GW of offshore wind energy. However, the IWEA points out that is unlikely that all of the projects planned will be completed. The industry says there is even more significant potential for floating offshore wind off Ireland's west coast and the Programme for Government contains a commitment to develop a long-term plan for at least 30 GW of floating offshore wind in our deeper waters.

There are many different models of turbines. The larger a turbine, the more efficient it is in producing electricity at a good price. In choosing a turbine model the developer will be conscious of this ,but also has to be aware the impact of the turbine on the environment, marine life, biodiversity and visual impact. As a broad rule an offshore wind turbine will have a tip-height of between 165m and 215m tall. However, turbine technology is evolving at a rapid rate with larger more efficient turbines anticipated on the market in the coming years.

 

The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme is designed to support the development of renewable energy projects in Ireland. Under the scheme wind farms and solar farms compete against each other in an auction with the projects which offer power at the lowest price awarded contracts. These contracts provide them with a guaranteed price for their power for 15 years. If they obtain a better price for their electricity on the wholesale market they must return the difference to the consumer.

Yes. The first auction for offshore renewable energy projects is expected to take place in late 2021.

Cost is one difference, and technology is another. Floating wind farm technology is relatively new, but allows use of deeper water. Ireland's 50-metre contour line is the limit for traditional bottom-fixed wind farms, and it is also very close to population centres, which makes visibility of large turbines an issue - hence the attraction of floating structures Do offshore wind farms pose a navigational hazard to shipping? Inshore fishermen do have valid concerns. One of the first steps in identifying a site as a potential location for an offshore wind farm is to identify and assess the level of existing marine activity in the area and this particularly includes shipping. The National Marine Planning Framework aims to create, for the first time, a plan to balance the various kinds of offshore activity with the protection of the Irish marine environment. This is expected to be published before the end of 2020, and will set out clearly where is suitable for offshore renewable energy development and where it is not - due, for example, to shipping movements and safe navigation.

YEnvironmental organisations are concerned about the impact of turbines on bird populations, particularly migrating birds. A Danish scientific study published in 2019 found evidence that larger birds were tending to avoid turbine blades, but said it didn't have sufficient evidence for smaller birds – and cautioned that the cumulative effect of farms could still have an impact on bird movements. A full environmental impact assessment has to be carried out before a developer can apply for planning permission to develop an offshore wind farm. This would include desk-based studies as well as extensive surveys of the population and movements of birds and marine mammals, as well as fish and seabed habitats. If a potential environmental impact is identified the developer must, as part of the planning application, show how the project will be designed in such a way as to avoid the impact or to mitigate against it.

A typical 500 MW offshore wind farm would require an operations and maintenance base which would be on the nearby coast. Such a project would generally create between 80-100 fulltime jobs, according to the IWEA. There would also be a substantial increase to in-direct employment and associated socio-economic benefit to the surrounding area where the operation and maintenance hub is located.

The recent Carbon Trust report for the IWEA, entitled Harnessing our potential, identified significant skills shortages for offshore wind in Ireland across the areas of engineering financial services and logistics. The IWEA says that as Ireland is a relatively new entrant to the offshore wind market, there are "opportunities to develop and implement strategies to address the skills shortages for delivering offshore wind and for Ireland to be a net exporter of human capital and skills to the highly competitive global offshore wind supply chain". Offshore wind requires a diverse workforce with jobs in both transferable (for example from the oil and gas sector) and specialist disciplines across apprenticeships and higher education. IWEA have a training network called the Green Tech Skillnet that facilitates training and networking opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

It is expected that developing the 3.5 GW of offshore wind energy identified in the Government's Climate Action Plan would create around 2,500 jobs in construction and development and around 700 permanent operations and maintenance jobs. The Programme for Government published in 2020 has an enhanced target of 5 GW of offshore wind which would create even more employment. The industry says that in the initial stages, the development of offshore wind energy would create employment in conducting environmental surveys, community engagement and development applications for planning. As a site moves to construction, people with backgrounds in various types of engineering, marine construction and marine transport would be recruited. Once the site is up and running , a project requires a team of turbine technicians, engineers and administrators to ensure the wind farm is fully and properly maintained, as well as crew for the crew transfer vessels transporting workers from shore to the turbines.

The IEA says that today's offshore wind market "doesn't even come close to tapping the full potential – with high-quality resources available in most major markets". It estimates that offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 420 000 Terawatt hours per year (TWh/yr) worldwide – as in more than 18 times the current global electricity demand. One Terawatt is 114 megawatts, and to put it in context, Scotland it has a population a little over 5 million and requires 25 TWh/yr of electrical energy.

Not as advanced as wind, with anchoring a big challenge – given that the most effective wave energy has to be in the most energetic locations, such as the Irish west coast. Britain, Ireland and Portugal are regarded as most advanced in developing wave energy technology. The prize is significant, the industry says, as there are forecasts that varying between 4000TWh/yr to 29500TWh/yr. Europe consumes around 3000TWh/year.

The industry has two main umbrella organisations – the Irish Wind Energy Association, which represents both onshore and offshore wind, and the Marine Renewables Industry Association, which focuses on all types of renewable in the marine environment.

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