Displaying items by tag: Sailings 2024

8th November 2023

Sailings to Dublin by Isle of Man Steam Packet in 2024 will Not Involve New Flagship Manxman

The seasonal Douglas-Dublin ferry route operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet is set to conduct 18 sailings to and from the Irish capital next year.

In the House of Keys earlier (last) week as IOM Today writes, the figures for the sailing timetable were revealed by Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson when answering questions relating to the Manx Government owned ferry-company.

Currently, the Steam Packet has no plans to deploy its flagship, the Manxman (serving Douglas-Heysham year round) to also run on the route to Ireland due to certain 'limitations'.

Dr Allinson said that while Dublin has 'never been a regular port' for the Steam Packet, the fast-ferry craft, Manannan will still conduct a number of crossings to the Irish port in 2024.

The Manannan, Afloat adds has been tracked today to Douglas where the final seasonal sailing on the route connecting Liverpool ended with the high-speed craft berthing in the Manx capital on 29 October.

Three days later, the former flagship Ben-My-Chree departed Douglas to arrive at H&W’s Belfast shipyard to the repair/outfitting quay. At the adjacent Belfast Dry-Dock is where Irish Ferries Dublin-Cherbourg cruise ferry W.B. Yeats is occupying for a routine annual overhaul.

Taking its place on the Ireland-France route is the Epsilon which mostly operates Irish Ferries Dublin-Holyhead route, however the ropax was replaced by the newly chartered Norbay from P&O, having entered service on the Ireland-Wales route yesterday (see report).

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About the Melges 15 Dinghy

The Melges 15 was designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges.

The design prioritises stability, comfort, ease of use, and performance.

The Melges 15 is built to be sailed by everyone from friends and couples to families and kids. The design offers performance, comfort, and stability in one sleek package.

The Melges 15’s stable hull shape and ergonomic cockpit make it a suitable layout for adult racing and educational sailing. Easy conversion from a club configuration (non-spinnaker) to a one-design setup, provides more versatility to club programs and options for individual owners.

“The Melges 15 creates a clear pathway for junior sailors to get started and stay excited about sailing while also being comfortable and accessible enough for adults to learn, race, or cross-train,” according to Harry Melges III.

With the main design goals focused on stability and performance in various conditions, the boat features a narrow overall beam and a flat cross-section shape for stability, righting moment, and ease of planing. For a more forgiving feel upwind and to navigate larger sea states, the Melges 15 has just the right amount of fore and aft rocker.

Melges conducted extensive research and product testing to produce this layout factoring in cockpit depth, backbone height, and floor plan. The result, they say, is a comfortable environment for both the skipper and crew. The deeper cockpit takes the load off the sailor’s knees helping them feel locked into the boat while the high boom and gnav vang system work together to make the boat easier to manoeuvre.

The asymmetric spinnaker offers an additional performance element, while the single-pull launch and retrieval system makes handling the sail easy and fast.