Displaying items by tag: Hansa

29th November 2022

Belfast Lough Sailability Celebrates Successful President’s Cup This Autumn

Belfast Lough Sailability has had a lot to celebrate in recent months with sailors taking part in the 2022 President’s Cup, Hansa Irish Championships and 2.4mR Irish Nationals.

In August, Belfast Lough Sailability hosted the 2022 President’s Cup which incorporated the Hansa Irish Championships and 2.4mR Irish Nationals. The event was organised in partnership with Carrickfergus Sailing Club, with significant planning, sponsorship and organisation required.

The President’s Cup is the only event of its kind where people with disabilities and able-bodied sailors sail together in competition and the helm of each boat must have a disability.

The event has representation from the four provinces across Ireland. Team Ulster consisted of competitors from Belfast Lough Sailability, Foyle Sailability and Lough Erne Sailability.

With favourable weather conditions, the 47 competitors across 25 boats were able to showcase their skills gained through training and delivered a colourful and eventful spectacle for supporters and spectators.

Boats at Carrickfergus Sailing Club which co-hosted the 2022 President’s Cup with Belfast Lough Sailability

Racing was competitive, with Team Ulster successfully retaining the 2022 President’s Cup. The region also hailed success in the Hansa Irish Championships, with Sophie McClenaghan of Belfast Lough Sailability taking the Best Girl Helm (U18) trophy and Willie J Thompson (also Belfast Lough Sailability) the boys’ equivalent. Meanwhile, Belfast Lough’s John Patrick took first place in the 2.4mR Irish Nationals.

David Todd, chair of Belfast Lough Sailability said: “Sailing is an activity that is enjoyed by a variety of people but is not readily accessible to most of the community and certainly not to those members of the community with disabilities.

“Belfast Lough Sailability, based at Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, offers access to the sea to those in the community who would not normally have that opportunity and promotes equality of opportunity by providing education and training to people with disabilities in a safe and enjoyable environment.”

The spokesperson added: “This was a very successful event but it’s not all about winning. The benefits of having the opportunity to participate in an event representing your province or in a national event are far reaching for each participating individual. Competitors — both helms and crew — will benefit from increasing their skills through training and education to sail competitively. This includes significant positive impact on each individual’s confidence and self-esteem.

“They will aspire to represent their club, county, province and country at other levels of competition. They will also inspire others with disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in the healthy sport of sailing; and to undergo training and education to increase their skills.”

Published in Belfast Lough

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Offshore wind

ESB know the importance of offshore wind in tackling climate change and delivering net zero. Ireland has a unique capability given its prime location to take advantage of the potential of offshore wind. ESB are working hard to develop offshore wind projects for the benefit of everyone across society in Ireland and the UK. This includes ongoing engagement with marine users and local communities so ESB can deliver these significant projects.

Offshore wind will play a major role globally in our fight against climate change. It will help to replace energy generated by burning fossil fuels with that from a clean, safe and secure renewable energy source. Ireland’s geographic location on the exposed edge of the Atlantic presents us with a significant opportunity to generate electricity from wind – both offshore and onshore.

Power from onshore wind farms currently provide over one-third of Ireland’s electricity needs. But, whilst its marine area is many times the size of its landmass, Ireland’s offshore wind potential is only starting to be realised. ESB have a coastline stretching over 3,000km but only one operational offshore wind farm – Arklow Bank, with a capacity of 25 MW. In contrast, Belgium’s coastline is only 63km long, but it has already developed more than 2,000 MW of offshore wind. In Great Britain, with a coastline four times the length of ours, offshore wind generation now equates to over 440 Arklow Banks, with an installed capacity of 11,0000 MW as of late 2021.

The Irish Government's target to install 5,000 MW of offshore wind capacity in our maritime area by 2030 is set out in the Climate Action Plan 2021. It also has the objective to source 80% of Ireland’s electricity needs from renewables by the same year. In line with this, ESB is applying its professional and proven engineering expertise to the challenges set within the Climate Action Plan.

ESB are committed to playing a strong role in developing Ireland’s offshore wind potential for the benefit of the people of Ireland. This will be done in consultation with marine users and local communities, and with due care for the marine environment.