Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Relocate port

Scotland's west coast ferry operator, CalMac is making moves to pull out of a key port in North Ayrshire, Ardrossan (serving Arran) in the wake of recent safety issues and adverse weather.

CalMac owned by the Scottish Government, has moved to begin trial berthing the MV Isle of Arran, which is the only ferry carrying passengers linking Brodick, Isle of Arran and Troon in South Ayrshire.

If successful, CalMac cite the ferry will begin operating the service on a "temporary" basis from Troon but there is concern that it is the first step to a permanent move for the services. The port of Troon operated by Associated British Ports (ABP), is where already the £1 million-a-month Scottish Government-chartered emergency ferry MV Alfred, a catamaran craft is based there on services.

There is no exact timetable outlined for how long the ferry might be based in Troon instead of Ardrossan which Afloat adds is operated by rival port operator, Peel Ports Group.

CalMac added that due to adverse weather forecast in the coming days and with strong easterly winds, this may led to the 1984 built not been able to berth at Ardrossan. The operator said it was "committed to maintaining the service throughout adverse weather".

Users on the Firth of Clyde crossing say any long period based in Troon would mean travelling times would increase from 55 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes. In addition they have raised concerns over a potential reduction in sailings.

HeraldScotland has more on the developing ferryport scene.

Published in Ferry

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