Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Status Red

14th October 2017

Status Red Weather Warning For Monday As Ophelia Closes In

The latest predicted track of the former Hurricane Ophelia over Ireland

#Ophelia - Met Éireann has issued a Status Red wind warning for southern and western counties as the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia are set to bring gusts of more than 130kmh this Monday 16 October.

Mean wind speeds in excess of 80kmh have the potential for causing structural damage and disruption in Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork and Kerry, with dangerous marine conditions off the South and West Coasts from Monday morning till the small hours of Tuesday 17 October.

A Status Orange weather warning is in effect for the rest of the country with means winds between 65 and 80kmh, particularly in coastal counties.

Dun Laoghaire Marina has already issues a caution to its berthholders to ensure sufficient fendering and strong mooring warps are in place at the country’s largest marina.

Published in Weather

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Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife. It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat. Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!