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Displaying items by tag: Fast ferry repairs

#FastFerryRepairs - Following the planned withdrawal of Manx fast-ferry Manannan from Liverpool-Douglas service last Wednesday afternoon (6 Aug) as previously reported, it has emerged that it will take longer than anticipated to complete repairs to a damaged engine of the craft.

According to operators, Isle of Man Steam Packet, the Manannan has been running on three engines since a crankshaft failed. In the interim period the affected engine has been fully disassembled and the failed crankshaft has been removed.

Precautionary checks on the engine block, necessary before the crankshaft can be replaced and the engine rebuilt, have revealed more extensive damage than first expected.

It was hoped that the commitment and careful scheduling of additional resources over the next fortnight would allow repairs to be completed while Manannan was in port overnight. The intention was to ensure no further sailings would be affected and the vessel would be back to full power for the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling.

However, because of the detailed inspection findings, Manannan will continue to operate on three engines during the Festival of Motorcycling, meaning journey times will be slightly longer than advertised. To read more click this LINK and for latest information on all sailings, click HERE.

 

Published in Ferry

Esailing & Virtual Sailing information

The concept of e-sailing, or virtual sailing, is based on a computer game sailing challenge that has been around for more than a decade.

The research and development of software over this time means its popularity has taken off to the extent that it has now become a part of the sailing seascape and now allows people to take an 'active part' in some of the most famous regattas across the world such as the Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum, Sydney Hobart, Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup and some Olympic venues too, all from the comfort of their armchair.

The most popular model is the 'eSailing World Championship'. It is an annual esports competition, first held in 2018 and officially recognised by World Sailing, the sports governing body.

The eSailing World Championship is a yearly competition for virtual sailors competing on the Virtual Regatta Inshore game.

The contract to run the event was given to a private company, Virtual Regatta that had amassed tens of thousands of sailors playing offshore sailing routing game following major offshore races in real-time.

In April 2020, the company says on its website that it has 35,000 active players and 500,000 regattas sailed.

Virtual Regatta started in 2010 as a small team of passionate designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs gathered around the idea that virtual sailing sports games can mix with real races and real skippers.