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Displaying items by tag: Candian Navy

27th April 2013

A 'Maple' Visitor to Cork

#NavalVisit- While Dublin Port has a flotilla of visiting European naval visitors, the Port of Cork also has a call from a Canadian Navy frigate this weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore.

HMCS St John's (FFH 340) which arrived yesterday to Cork Harbour, is the eleventh of twelve 'Halifax' class frigates and one of the most combat capable warships in the world.

The frigate was commissioned in 1996 in St. John's, Newfoundland and is armed with systems to deal with surface and air threats as well. This combination makes the class the work-horses of the Canadian Navy task group concept.

Listed below are some principle specifications of the Halifax class frigates.

Speed: 29+ knots
Endurance:
7,100 nautical miles at 15 knots (diesel)
4,500 nautical miles at 15 knots (turbine)
Complement: 225 (including air detachment)
Range: 9,500 nautical miles

HMCS St. John's is berthed alongside J.J. Horgan's Wharf on Cork's city's central quays.

In total the Canada Navy has 33 warships, submarines, and coastal defence vessels which are divided more or less evenly between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

The naval bases of the Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) are in Halifax, Nova Scotia and for the Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) this is located in Esquimalt, British Columbia.

 

Published in Naval Visits

Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U