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Displaying items by tag: NoDeal

In north Wales, town councillors in Holyhead, have urged the government to think again about letting Britain crash out of Europe with no deal.

Fearing the impact of a clean break from the European Union, NorthWalesLive writes, that members of Holyhead Town Council have passed a motion urging the Prime Minister to act in the interests of such ports and secure a deal with Brussels.

The Port of Holyhead is the second largest (ferry)port in the UK (after Dover), handling two million passengers, half a million vehicles and 450,000 freight units a year with the Swedish company employing hundreds of workers in North Wales.

During a recent visit to the port Michael Gove, the minister in charge of Government preparation for no-deal, said that ports are “geared up” for Brexit and should avoid any significant delays and congestion.

But Stena Line, which is the town’s largest employer, has described leaving with no-deal and no trade agreement as “the worst of all possible scenarios.”

Clck here for more on the story.

Published in Ferry

#ferries - There have been calls for the UK Prime Minister to remove the threat of a no-deal Brexit have been repeated by the Counsel General and Brexit Minister Jeremy Miles, following a visit to Holyhead Port.

As ITV News reports, he met with the Port's manager, Captain Wyn Parry, who set out some of his concerns about operations in Holyhead if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal.

Welsh ports are the gateway between Ireland and the rest of Europe, with 80% of goods carried in Irish-registered HGVs between the Republic of Ireland and Europe passing through Welsh ports.

Holyhead is the second busiest roll-on roll-off ferry port in the UK - providing the link in the supply chain for businesses across Wales, the UK and Ireland.

To read a comment by the Brexit Minister, click here. 

Published in Ferry

#FerryNews - The British government has spent more than £100 million on ferries to ease potential problems in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The Department for Transport (DfT) reports RTE News, has signed contracts with French firm Brittany Ferries, Danish company DFDS and the UK's Seaborne to ease pressure on Dover should Britain leave without a deal.

The move would allow for almost 4,000 more lorries a week to use other ports on England's south coast to prevent a bottleneck at Dover.

The additional crossings are understood to be the equivalent to around 10% of the current traffic on the Dover Strait and will see ports in Poole, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Immingham and Felixstowe (pictured above) used.

The BBC reported the value of the contracts is £107.7 million - £47.3 million to DFDS, £46.6 million to Brittany Ferries and £13.8 to Seaborne Freight.

For more on this logistical development, click here.

Published in Ferry

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)

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