Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Less Emissions

An Irish flagged cargoship, Arklow Fern with a cargo of wheat partly destined for the world-famous Scotch whisky industry, recently made a coastal passage between two ports operated by Associated British Ports.

On board the 2010 Spanish built Arklow Fern was 4,393 tonnes of wheat which was taken by sea, rather than road, a saving 61,535 lorry miles. According to ABP, this more sustainable form of transport, approximately equated to a reduction of 82 tonnes in carbon emissions.

The 89m long cargoship on 20th July, completed the sailing from the ABP's Port of Ipswich in south-east England to another ABP port, Ayr in south-west Scotland.

At both ends of this sustainable maritime supply chain, the stock of wheat cargo can be stored efficiently, at the quayside in the Suffolk Port of Ipswich, and in store at the Port of Ayr. The latter port in Ayrshire, specialises in handling dry bulks, including salt, animal feed, heavy lift and forest products.

Andrew Harston, Regional Director, ABP said, “ABP is keen to support our customers in creating more sustainable supply chains. This shipment of wheat is a great example of a collaborative approach to make a positive difference towards our shared sustainability goals and shows how shifting to shipping from road reduces carbon emissions significantly.”

Together with customers, ABP’s Scottish ports of Ayr and Troon contribute over £40 million to the UK economy every year, including £28 million locally.

In another development that took place earlier this year, ABP completed its investment of £2.2 million to upgrade all front-line machinery at its Port of Ayr, demonstrating its commitment to its customers and mission of keeping Britain trading.

Also along the Ayrshire coast is ABP’s Port of Troon, which is celebrating 21 years of running the TimberLINK service, which handles over 100,000 tonnes of timber each year and has reduced carbon emissions by more than 1,200 tonnes every year since 2000.

In both its Scottish ports, ABP maintains the region’s competitiveness, agility and resilience by continued investment in infrastructure, equipment and systems, while supporting its own sustainability goals as well as those of its customers.

Published in Ports & Shipping

About the 29er Skiff Dinghy

The 29er is a one-design double-handed, single trapeze skiff for youth sailors.

There is an active class in Ireland, just one of the 38-countries from across all continents now racing the high-performance skiff.

The 29er is one of the latest dinghy classes to arrive in Ireland and has a 50/50 split between boys and girls.

The class like to describe the boat as "The most popular skiff for sailors who want to go fast!".

Derived from the Olympic class 49er class and designed by Julian Bethwaite the 29er was first produced in 1998.

Two sailors sail the 29er, one on trapeze.

The class is targeted at youth sailors aiming at sailing the larger 49er which is an Olympic class.


The 6.25-metre high rig features a fractional asymmetrical spinnaker; a self-tacking jib decreases the workload of the crew, making manoeuvres more efficient and freeing the crew to take the mainsheet upwind and on two-sail reaches.

The 15.00 m2 spinnaker rigging set-up challenges crews to be fit and coordinated, and manoeuvres in the boat require athleticism due to its lack of inherent stability and the high speed with which the fully battened mainsail and jib power up.

The 74kg weight hull is constructed of fibreglass-reinforced polyester in a foam sandwich layout.

The fully battened mainsail and jib are made from a transparent Mylar laminate with orange or red Dacron trimming, while the spinnaker is manufactured from ripstop Nylon.

The mast is in three parts - an aluminium bottom and middle section, with a polyester-fibreglass composite tip to increase mast bend and decrease both overall weights, and the capsizing moment a heavy mast tip can generate. Foils are aluminium or fibreglass.

About the ILCA/Laser Dinghy

The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):

  • ILCA 4: sail of 4.70m2
  • ILCA 6: sail of 5.76 m2
  • ILCA 7: sail of 7.06 m2

29er skiff technical specs

  • Hull weight 74kg (163lb)
  • LOA 4.45m (14.4ft)
  • Beam 1.77m (5ft 7in)
  • Crew 2 (single trapeze) 
  • Spinnaker area 15.00 m2 (181.2sq.ft)
  • Upwind sail area 12.5 m2 (142.0 sq.ft)
  • Mast length 6.25m (20.5ft)

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Please show your support for Afloat by donating