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Following the recent acquisition of two Scottish based sites, Infratrata, owners of Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff, is to open to prospective employees a careers open day.

The careers open day is to take place at H&W's (Methil) Forth of Fifth site this Thursday, 2nd June and aims to set a solid workforce foundation in preparation for its highly anticipated new contracts. (See related ESB offshore wind project story). 

It will provide an opportunity to meet and speak with existing Harland & Wolff employees who can share their experiences of working with the iconic brand.

The careers event day will run from 10am – 7.30pm, with prospective employees booking a time slot.

Prospective employees should register to attend here.

Published in Shipyards

There has been in recent years an explosion of public interest in historical photographs. As The Irish Times reports, the profusion of social media sites dedicated to the past, and cultural institutions such as the National Library and National Museum now regularly host exhibitions of historical photos.

Public companies have also recognised the importance of photographic archives. One Irish company now delving into its heritage is Dublin Port Company, whose archive dates back 300 years. It recently appointed a full-time heritage officer to oversee the company’s archive of photographs (including ships & dockers), engineering drawings, maps, charts and company records dating back 300 years.

A sizeable amount of the Dublin Port Company archive is made up of photographs from the late 19th century up to the late 20th century, including black and white glass plate negatives and colour transparencies. The majority are glass plates depicting site reports of engineering projects undertaken by the Dublin Port and Docks Board, such as the construction of Butt Bridge, completed for the 1932 Eucharistic Congress.

For more click here. On a related story, last month the DPC stepped in to preserve historic archives. 

Published in Dublin Port

#ISLAND NEWS - Cill Rónáin Harbour in the Aran Islands has been voted by the public as Best Engineering Project of the Year for 2012.

Silicon Republic reports on the announcement, made at the third Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards last Friday.

The harbour on Inis Mór is twice the size of Croke Park and was constructed from more than 77,000 of stone blocks from Connemara, a choice aimed at protecting the breakwater from erosion by the sea.

Its modern design is also the result of scale model testing by a UK-based hydro lab, while during construction the process was overseen by a marine mammal observer to ensure the disturbance to local marine wildlife was minimal.

The harbour was shortlisted along with other waterfront projects such as the Clonmel Food Relief Scheme, the Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre, the Michael O'Shaughnessy Bridge over the Eglinton Canal in Galway City, the north Co Dublin Waste Water Treatment Scheme and Titanic Belfast.

Silicon Republic has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Island News

The Half Ton Class was created by the Offshore Racing Council for boats within the racing band not exceeding 22'-0". The ORC decided that the rule should "....permit the development of seaworthy offshore racing yachts...The Council will endeavour to protect the majority of the existing IOR fleet from rapid obsolescence caused by ....developments which produce increased performance without corresponding changes in ratings..."

When first introduced the IOR rule was perfectly adequate for rating boats in existence at that time. However yacht designers naturally examined the rule to seize upon any advantage they could find, the most noticeable of which has been a reduction in displacement and a return to fractional rigs.

After 1993, when the IOR Mk.III rule reached it termination due to lack of people building new boats, the rule was replaced by the CHS (Channel) Handicap system which in turn developed into the IRC system now used.

The IRC handicap system operates by a secret formula which tries to develop boats which are 'Cruising type' of relatively heavy boats with good internal accommodation. It tends to penalise boats with excessive stability or excessive sail area.

Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium. 

At A Glance – Half Ton Classics Cup Winners

  • 2017 – Kinsale – Swuzzlebubble – Phil Plumtree – Farr 1977
  • 2016 – Falmouth – Swuzzlebubble – Greg Peck – Farr 1977
  • 2015 – Nieuwport – Checkmate XV – David Cullen – Humphreys 1985
  • 2014 – St Quay Portrieux – Swuzzlebubble – Peter Morton – Farr 1977
  • 2013 – Boulogne – Checkmate XV – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1985
  • 2011 – Cowes – Chimp – Michael Kershaw – Berret 1978
  • 2009 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978
  • 2007 – Dun Laoghaire – Henri-Lloyd Harmony – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1980~
  • 2005 – Dinard – Gingko – Patrick Lobrichon – Mauric 1968
  • 2003 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978

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