The Hydroptère is an experimental sailing hydrofoil designed by French yachtsman Alain Thébault. Her multihull hydrofoil design allows the sail-powered vessel to reach high speeds on water. The design is based on experience from a range of hydrofoil sailcraft that Thébault built in cooperation with Éric Tabarly since the 1990s. On October 5, 2008 she reached a record speed of 52.86 knots (97.90 km/h; 60.83 mph), however this was over a shorter distance than the 500m necessary to qualify for an official world record. On December 21, 2008, the Hydroptère briefly reached 56.3 knots (104.3 km/h; 64.8 mph), but capsized shortly thereafter. read more…
Remscheid is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on south side of the Ruhr area. The population was 113,935 in 2007. read more…
Guimarães is a northern Portuguese city located in the district of Braga, in the Ave Subregion, with a population of 52 181 inhabitants, distributed throughout 20 parishes (freguesias in Portuguese), in an urban area of 23,5 km² with a population density of 2 223,9/km². read more…
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of the Crimea in Ukraine. Founded 2,600 years ago as an ancient Greek colony, Kerch is considered to be one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine. The city experienced rapid growth starting in the 1920s and was the site of a major battle during World War II. Today, it is one of the largest cities in Crimea and is among the country’s most important industrial, transport and tourist centres. read more…
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, which in recent history came to the public’s attention for being the location of many artists’ lofts and art galleries, but is now more noted for its variety of shops ranging from trendy upscale boutiques to national and international chain store outlets. The area’s history is an archetypal example of inner-city regeneration and gentrification, encompassing socio-economic, cultural, political and architectural developments. The name “SoHo” refers to the area being “SOuth of HOuston (Street)”. This began a naming convention that became a model for the names of emerging and re-purposed neighborhoods in New York such as TriBeCa for “TRIangle BElow CAnal Street”, DUMBO (“Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”), NoHo (“NOrth of HOuston Street”), Nolita (“NOrth of Little ITAly”) and NoMad (“NOrth of MADison Square”), among others. read more…
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is also the second most important manufacturing hub in South Africa after Johannesburg. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa and Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the city’s warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. The municipality, which includes neighbouring towns, has a population of almost 3.5 million, making the combined municipality the biggest city on the Indian Ocean coast of the African continent. Durban is the busiest container port in Africa. The Golden Mile, developed as a welcoming tourist destination in the 1970s, as well as Durban at large, provide ample tourist attractions, particularly for people on holiday from Gauteng. The Golden Mile was redeveloped late 2009 in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It was resurfaced and widened between Ushaka Marine World and Moses Mabhida Stadium. Durban’s most popular beaches are also located along the Golden Mile. The city is also a gateway to the national parks and historic sites of Zulu Kingdom and the Drakensberg. read more…
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 596,233, making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is located some 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Stockholm (Sweden), 300 kilometres (190 mi) west of St. Petersburg (Russia) and 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn (Estonia). Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. read more…
Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall in England. At the time of the 2001 census, it had a population of 2,273. Fowey is in the South Coast (Eastern Section) of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It lies at the end of the Saints’ Way and has ferries across the river to Polruan (foot) and Bodinnick (vehicle). There are many historic buildings in the town, including the ruins of St Catherine’s Castle, while Readymoney Cove possesses a local beach. read more…
Val di Noto is a geographical area of south east Sicily; it is dominated by the limestone Iblean plateau. The Val di Noto owes its fame to the reconstruction which underwent after the year 1693, when the entire area was decimated by an enormous earthquake. Following the earthquake, many towns were rebuilt on entirely new sites, such as Noto and Grammichele. The rulers of the time, the kings of Spain, accounted the nobleman Giuseppe Lanza with special powers, which allowed him to redesign the damaged towns based on rational and scenographic town plans. read more…
