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Displaying items by tag: Public Ownership

Shipyard Ferguson Marine has officially been taken into public ownership, the Scottish Government has announced.

The move, reports STV News, came on Tuesday after administrators agreed the final terms of the transaction with Scottish Ministers.

The yard will now be known as Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd.

There had been three other offers for the Inverclyde site, however administrators concluded the sale to the Scottish Government represented the best outcome for creditors.

Staff at the shipyard have been told of the latest position.

For more click here to read.

Published in Ports & Shipping

A contract has been signed by the Scottish Government to take the troubled Ferguson Marine shipyard into public ownership, reports The National.

It follows an agreement reached last month for the Government to take over the yard after the firm entered administration in August. A meeting of the board of directors of Macrocom – the company wholly owned by Scottish ministers that will own the Ferguson Marine business and assets – was held yesterday to consider and sign the contract.

Full completion of the contract and the final transaction is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said the action taken would help to ensure a future for the yard. “Our focus has always been on ensuring completion of the two public sector ferries at the best value for money for the taxpayer, while also working towards the delivery of the other vessels under construction at the yard, and in doing so, securing jobs for the workforce,” he said.

More on the story here. 

Published in Ports & Shipping

#BullochPublic - In a move being considered by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the local authority could bring land at Bulloch Harbour in Dalkey into public ownership.

The decision reports DublinLive, would also see the land developed in the public’s interest, was made at this month’s full meeting of the council.

A masterplan for the area cannot be considered by any planning authority unless it is submitted by the owners of the land being considered for development.

As a result, councillors have called on the council to consider taking ownership of the land.

In February, a residential and retail development proposed for Bulloch Harbour was refused permission, on the grounds that the development was “completely out of scale” with the harbour.
 
The move faced strong opposition from from local residents in Dalkey, along with singer Christy Moore and Solidarity/PBP TD Richard Boyd-Barrett.
 
This month's council meeting also sought to arrange a meeting between the Dun Laoighaire-Rathdown and the Dublin Port company, which it is hoped will allow for the discussion of a masterplan for the Sandycove and Bulloch Harbour areas.
Published in Coastal Notes

The GP14 is a popular sailing dinghy, with well over 14,000 boats built.

The class is active in the UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and parts of north-eastern USA, and the GP14 can be used for both racing and cruising. 

Designed by Jack Holt in 1949, with the assistance of the Dovey Yacht Club in Aberdyfi. The idea behind the design was to build a General Purpose (GP) 14-foot dinghy which could be sailed or rowed, capable of also being powered effectively by a small outboard motor, able to be towed behind a small family car and able to be launched and recovered reasonably easily, and stable enough to be able to lie to moorings or anchor when required. Racing soon followed, initially with some degree of opposition from Yachting World, who had commissioned the design, and the boat soon turned out to be an outstanding racing design also.

The boat was initially designed with a main and small jib as a comfortable family dinghy. In a design philosophy that is both practical and highly redolent of social attitudes of the day the intention was that she should accommodate a family comprising parents plus two children, and specifically that the jib should be modest enough for "Mum" or older children to handle, while she should perform well enough to give "Dad" some excitement when not taking the family out. While this rig is still available, and can be useful when using the boat to teach sailing, or for family sailing, and has some popularity for cruising, the boat is more commonly seen with the full modern rig of a mainsail, genoa and spinnaker. Australian boats also routinely use trapezes.

GP14 Ireland Event Dates 2023

  • O'Tiarnaigh (Apr 22-23) Blessington Sailing Club
  • Ulsters (May 20-21) East Antrim Boat Club
  • Munsters (Jun 17-18) Tralee Bay Sailing Club
  • Leinsters (Jul 7-9) Dun Laoghaire Regatta
  • SOYC (Aug 19-20) Rush Sailing Club
  • Nationals (Sep 1-3) Sutton Dinghy Club
  • Hot Toddy (Sep 30-Oct 1) Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club

 

At A Glance – GP14 Dinghy Specifications

Crew 2
Draft 1,200 mm (47 in)
Hull weight 132.9 kg
LOA 4.27 m (14 ft)
Beam 1.54 m
Spinnaker area 8.4 m2
Upwind sail area 12.85 m2

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