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Displaying items by tag: 'City Quays' develpment project

Plans to develop a £250m project in the heart of Belfast's historical maritime district have been announced by Belfast Harbour Commissioners. The 'City Quays' project is designed to link the 185-acre Titanic Quarter Development with the City-Centre.The 20-acre scheme is to centre around the Clarendon Dock area. The development is to provide a mix of commercial offices, shops, cafes, restaurants, hotel space and residential accommodation.

In addition there will be educational, arts and cultural space for both residents and visitors. Showcasing the latest advances in 'green' architecture, the project has been master-planned by global award-winning architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, whose projects include the internationally-acclaimed Eden Project in Cornwall.

Belfast Harbour Commissioners chairman, Len O'Hagan, said: "City Quays is an occupier led project to provide high quality waterfront landscape for business, leisure, tourism and the arts. The aim is to help regenerate and reinvigorate the heart of historic Belfast, providing an attractive setting for potential overseas investors.

"City Quays will complement Titanic Quarter, including the Northern Ireland Science Park and Belfast Metropolitan College, linking them to the City Centre through a new cycle and pedestrian bridge.The scheme has generated significant interest and support from a wide range of stakeholders who have been consulted as part of the master-planning process. We will continue to involve and engage with these groups as the scheme develops in terms of layout and uses."

The project also proposes to incorporate a new pedestrian and cycle bridge which will also integrate the City Quays with the first phase of Belfast's new bus-based rapid transit system. Most of the scheme has been set aside for commercial office space, with a further 14% allocated for leisure / hotel uses. An allocation of 6% is for local retail units and 12% is set aside for residential use. Work on site will begin once the planning process has been completed and initial occupiers have been secured.

For further information and on the activities of Belfast Harbour logon to www.belfast-harbour.co.uk

Published in Ports & Shipping

The Star keelboat is a 6.9 metres (23 ft) one-design racing keelboat for two people designed by Francis Sweisguth in 1910.

The Star was an Olympic keelboat class from 1932 through to 2012, the last year keelboats appeared at the Summer Olympics at which Ireland's representatives were Peter O'Leary and David Burrows.

Ireland has performed well in the class internationally thanks to some Olympic campaigns including a bronze medal at the Star World Championships in 2000, won by Mark Mansfield and David O'Brien.

The boat is sloop-rigged, with a mainsail larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does not use a spinnaker when sailing downwind. Instead, when running downwind a whisker pole is used to hold the jib out to windward for correct wind flow.

Early Stars were built from wood, but modern boats are of fibreglass and carbon construction.

The boat must weigh at least 671 kg (1,479 lb) with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m2 (285 sq ft).

The Star class pioneered an unusual circular boom vang track, which allows the vang to effectively hold the boom down even when the boom is turned far outboard on a downwind run.

Another notable aspect of Star sailing is the extreme hiking position adopted by the crew and at times the helmsman, who normally use a harness to help hang low off the windward side of the boat with only their lower legs inside.

At A Glance – Star Specifications

Designer Francis Sweisguth
Year 1910
Crew 2 (Skipper + Crew)
S + 1.5 C ≤ 250 kg (550 lb)[1]
Draft 1.016 m (3 ft 4 in)
Hull Type keelboat
Hull weight ≥ 671 kg (1,479 lb)
(including keel)
LOA 6.922 m (22 ft 9 in)
LWL 4.724 m (15 ft 6 in)
Beam 1.734 m (5 ft 8 in) at deck
1.372 m (4 ft 6 in) at chine
Hull appendages
Keel/board type bulb keel
401.5 ± 7 kg (885 ± 15 lb)
Rig
Rig type sloop
Mast length 9.652 m (31 ft 8 in)
Sails
Mainsail area 20.5 m2 (221 sq ft)
Jib/genoa area  6.0 m2 (65 sq ft)
Upwind sail area ≤ 26.5 m2 (285 sq ft)

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