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Displaying items by tag: De Grasse

#FrenchFrigate –French anti-submarine frigate De Grasse (D 612) is currently on a courtesy call to Dublin Port, having arrived yesterday for the St. Patrick's festival weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore.

A crew of more than 200 operate the 4,650 tonne displacement vessel which is based in Brest, where she is primarily deployed on operations along the Atlantic front.

The frigate was built in 1972 and entered service five years later. Among her armoury are 6 Exocet MM 38 missiles and there is a 155m² helicopter hanger, where she can carry up to two Lynx helicopters.

De Grasse is moored at Ocean Pier (berth 35) which is nearly opposite the Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club Marina, Ringsend. She is scheduled to remain in port until Tuesday morning.

 

Published in Naval Visits

The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929 as an entry for a competition run by the Royal Yacht Club of Gothenburg, to find a small keel-boat that could be used for simple weekend cruising among the islands and fjords of the Scandinavian seaboard. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP is the most popular material, but both new and old wooden boats regularly win major competitions while looking as beautiful as any craft afloat. Exotic materials are banned throughout the boat, and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing value for a fractional increase in speed.

The key to the Dragon's enduring appeal lies in the careful development of its rig. Its well-balanced sail plan makes boat handling easy for lightweights, while a controlled process of development has produced one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.