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Displaying items by tag: Ireland’s Eye

22nd April 2024

Tourist Rescued From Cold Waters After Attempting to Swim from Howth Head to Ireland’s Eye

A tourist was rescued from the waters off Howth in North Co Dublin at the weekend after attempting to swim from Burrow Beach to Ireland’s Eye.

As RTÉ News reports, the man in his 20s was discovered clinging to a marker buoy around a kilometre from the shore by a passing ferry on Sunday evening (21 April).

The ferry was shortly after met by the Irish Coast Guard’s Howth unit whose volunteers administered care to the casualty, who showed symptoms of severe hypothermia.

The casualty was subsequently transferred by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital.

In a statement on social media, Howth Coast Guard said: “The swimmer, unfamiliar with the area, had become hypothermic and exhausted, clinging to a buoy for safety.

“Thankfully, the last ferry of the day spotted them just in time and brought them ashore.”

Published in Rescue
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25th February 2022

Clockwise or Anti-Clockwise? The Choice Is in Sailors’ Hands as Howth’s Round the Island Race Returns

On Saturday 12 March, ask yourself whether going clockwise or anti-clockwise around Ireland’s Eye will bring you glory — as the Round the Island Race returns after a two-year break.

Supported by Key Capital, sponsors of Howth Yacht Club’s Winter Dinghy Series, the Round the Island Race (not to be confused with the Isle of Wight equivalent) traditionally marks the end of the Frostbite series which, as the offspring of the appearance of the revolutionary Laser dinghy in the 1970s, has now been running for nearly 50 years.

This year’s RTIR will be different, however. In addition to racing for the renamed ILCAs, the RS Aeros will join the fun and other dinghies wanting to get involved can race using the Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) handicap system.

The RS Aero is a modern lightweight single-handed dinghy with a growing fleet based in Howth and they expect to be joined by several visiting class-mates to enjoy the unique experience of racing around an island.

Interest has also been expressed by owners of an RS 800, RS 600, several RS Fevas, 420s and a 470. Boats that have been racing all winter in Dun Laoghaire Harbour and at the other Frostbite venues around the country are particularly welcome to take on the challenge.

Anyone sailing a dinghy, single- or double-handed, with a PY rating and a similar performance to the ILCAs and Aeros is invited to enter for a great day of racing and socialising as the RTIR makes its comeback after a two-year absence.

The winning ILCA usually completes the race in less than an hour and its skipper is the one who has sailed best and successfully resolved the clockwise/anti-clockwise riddle for the day.

Ireland’s Eye is a triangular shape with high ground towards one corner and the tides around it vary in strength and direction depending on time and location. The vagaries of wind and tide have seen many an early leader struggling to salvage a top-10 result – snakes and ladders afloat!

Dinghies already entered for the HYC Frostbite Spring Series get free entry to the event and those who have not can enter online.

The plan for the day is a 9.30am briefing ashore at the HYC race office, a warm-up race (warning signal 10.55am) over a course laid in Howth Sound to get proceedings afloat under way, and then the main event: the expedition around Ireland’s Eye.

The start and finish lines for the RTIR will be in Howth Sound and, between crossing them, the island must be left to port or starboard at each competitor’s discretion.

Lunch and the prize-giving for both the Frostbite Series and RTIR are an option after racing and, to round out a sporting day, the TVs in the clubhouse will show England taking on Ireland in Six Nations rugby at 4.45pm.

Published in Howth YC
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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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