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Displaying items by tag: Sten A Olsson

#FerryFounder - Sten Allan Olsson, the founder of Stena Line has died last week aged 96, reports the Belfast Newsletter.

The Swede had established the ferry company which operates routes between Ireland and Britain and throughout Scandinavia.

Sten Allan Olsson was "one of Sweden's greatest entrepreneurs of all time", according to Stena Metall Group, and built up a group of companies that produced a total revenue of over 68,848,000,000 SEK (£6,833,577,088) in 2012.

The foundations were laid in 1939 and now the Olsson family empire, Stena Sphere, boasts three companies which span freighting, passenger ferries, recycling and international steel and oil trading.

The Olsson family still own the ferry firm in which his son Dan is the chairman of the ferry giant which as previously reported on Afloat.ie celebrated its 50th anniversary last year running routes stretching from the Irish Sea to the Baltic.

 

Published in Ferry

#STENA LINE 50TH – The return today of Stena Line's HSS fastcraft festive-season Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead sailings, also marks the 50th anniversary of the Swedish-owned ferry company's maiden voyage 'Christmas Trips' across the Skagerrak, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The contrast could not be so stark between ferry operations of half a century ago and today. The inaugural sailing in 1962 saw the 350 (passenger-only) M/S Østersøen embark with Gothenburgers looking for alcohol, tobacco and food bargains in Skagen at the very northern tip of Denmark.

Present-day vessels on the Gothenburg route albeit to Frederikshavn, are operated by Stena Danica, Stena Jutlandica and HSS Stena Carisma, a smaller version of the revolutionary HSS Stena Explorer.

When the 1,500 passenger capacity catamaran HSS Stena Explorer was introduced on the Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route in 1996, she was a technological breakthrough, using gas-turbine-powered engines. She also made maritime history as the world´s first (HSS) high-speed sea service ferry put into service and the fastcraft was designed to handle large articulated lorries.

Five decades later the vision and enterprise of founder Sten A. Olsson, remains firmly rooted and as the Stena Line brand which has a route network connecting eight countries, served by more than thirty vessels, and employing 5,700 people, in an area stretching between the Irish Sea and the Baltic.

Published in Ferry

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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