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Displaying items by tag: Louth

The search for a fisherman missing after a small fishing vessel with two on board sank off the coast of Co Louth on Tuesday morning (12 December) has been called off for the night.

RTÉ News reports that a second fisherman was rescued after the incident north of Dunany Point in Dundalk Bay, and is being treated at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

A multi-agency search and rescue operation was launched following at Mayday call at 8.45am from the fishermen’s vessel, with lifeboat and coastguard teams from Clogherhead and Greenore joining the Dublin-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 at the scene.

Clogherhead RNLI says the search will resume on Wednesday morning (13 December), adding: “We are thinking of the family of the fisherman at this difficult time.”

Published in Fishing

#Kitesurfing - Tributes have been paid to the Irishman who died in a kitesurfing accident in Thailand last week.

Jonathan Wogan, 43 and originally from Co Louth, was a keen kitesurfer and a regular on the waves near his home in Hua Hin, Thailand where he lived with his wife Zulee and daughter Mia.

Local media reported that rescuers attempted to resuscitate Wogan after pulling him from the sea after the incident around noon local time (7pm Irish time) on Wednesday 20 December.

The Dundalk Democrat has more on the story HERE.

Published in Kitesurfing

#MaritimeFestivals - The 2016 Carlingford Oyster Festival kicks off this evening (Thursday 4 August) on the shores of Carlingford Lough with the official opening of the event that runs till Monday 8 August.

This Saturday (6 August) is when the festivities really under way, with local restaurants offering samples of their finest seafood dishes.

Visitors will have an opportunity to try some of the Co Louth town's renowned local oysters at the Festival Oyster Tent.

There will also be guided tours of what's one of Ireland's few remaining Medieval walled towns, to coincide with Irish Walled Towns Day on Sunday 7 August.

For more on the weekend's festivities see HERE.

Published in Maritime Festivals

#Coastguard - The Howth unit of the the Irish Coast Guard responded this weekend to a vessel that lost power at the mouth of the River Boyne.

Howth's coastguard crew were undertaking helm training with a passage to the Drogheda unit to support the Drogheda Marina launch when they were notified that a ski-boat planning to join the flotilla had lost power on the Drogheda Bar.

The vessel, with four people aboard, was taken under tow - while a mother and child on a second vessel suffering from serious sea-sickness were also transferred to the coastguard boat.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Drogheda Port Company undertook dredging works in January this year on the entrance to the port on the River Boyle, following earlier works in 2010 to remove sand accumulating at Drogheda Bar.

Published in Coastguard
Shillington's Quay in Portadown is set for redevelopment thanks to a significant grant from the European Union.
The Portadown Times reports that half of the borough's £200,000 (€230,000) funding will be used for a new floating jetty and environmental improvements for the Newry Canal quay area, which was last used as a working port in the 1930s.
A total of £2.5 million (€2.9 million) has been earmarked by the EU for promoting tourism in the cross-border East Border Region, which aside from six Northern Ireland council areas also includes the Irish counties of Louth, Meath and Monaghan.
Other improvements to marine and waterway facilities include a £125,000 (€145,000) investment for the Eisenhower Pier in Bangor, on the southern side of Belfast Lough.
The Portadown Times has more on the story HERE.

Shillington's Quay in Portadown is set for redevelopment thanks to a significant grant from the European Union.

The Portadown Times reports that half of the borough's £200,000 (€230,000) funding will be used for a new floating jetty and environmental improvements for the Newry Canal quay area, which was last used as a working port in the 1930s.

A total of £2.5 million (€2.9 million) has been earmarked by the EU for promoting tourism in the cross-border East Border Region, which aside from six Northern Ireland council areas also includes the Irish counties of Louth, Meath and Monaghan.

Other improvements to marine and waterway facilities include a £125,000 (€145,000) investment for the Eisenhower Pier in Bangor, on the southern side of Belfast Lough.

The Portadown Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Inland Waterways

A number of local Search and Rescue Units were involved in the search for a Kite Surfer who was seen being pulled out to sea approximately 3 miles off Balaggan Point, Co Louth yesterday, according to SAR Ireland.

Full CH 67 Comms below.

Kilkeel, Greenore and later Clogher Head lifeboats were all involved along with a passing yacht as they raced in pursuit of what was thought to be an out of control Kite Surfer as he was spotted being pulled out across Dundalk Bay.

Clogher Head lifeboat eventually managed to catch up with the surfer who it turned out was being towed by a jetski, had a VHF handheld and was in no danger whatsoever.

All units were stood down and told to return to base.

Both Belfast and Dublin CG Co-ordinated at different intervals of this search.

Published in Coastguard

Round Ireland Yacht Race Information

The Round Ireland Yacht Race is Ireland's classic offshore yacht race starts from Wicklow Sailing Club (WSC) and is organised jointly with the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC). This page details the very latest updates from the 2008 race onwards including the race schedule, yacht entries and the all-important race updates from around the 704-mile course. Keep up to date with the Round Ireland Yacht Race here on this one handy reference page.

2020 Round Ireland Race

The 2020 race, the 21st edition, was the first race to be rescheduled then cancelled.

Following Government restrictions over COVID-19, a decision on the whether or not the 2020 race can be held was made on April 9 2020 to reschedule the race to Saturday, August 22nd. On July 27th, the race was regrettably cancelled due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19.

Because of COVID-19, the race had to have a virtual launch party at the Royal Irish Yacht Club for its 21st edition

In spite of the pandemic, however, a record entry was in prospect for 2020 with 50 boats entered with four weeks to go to the race start. The race was also going big on size and variety to make good on a pre-race prediction that the fleet could reach 60. An Irish offshore selection trial also looked set to be a component part of the 2020 race.

The rescheduling of the race to a news date emphasises the race's national significance, according to Afloat here

FAQs

704 nautical miles, 810 miles or 1304 kilometres

3171 kilometres is the estimate of Ireland's coastline by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland.

SSE Renewables are the sponsors of the 2020 Round Ireland Race.

Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London and The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin.

Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, August 22nd 2020

Monohulls 1300 hrs and Multihulls 13.10 hrs

Leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

It depends on the boat. The elapsed record time for the race is under 40 hours but most boats take five or six days to complete the course.

The Race Tracker is https://afloat.ie/sail/events/round-ireland/item/25789-round-ireland-yacht-race-tracker-2016-here.

The idea of a race around Ireland began in 1975 with a double-handed race starting and finishing in Bangor organised by Ballyholme Yacht Club with stopovers in Crosshaven and Killybegs. That race only had four entries. In 1980 Michael Jones put forward the idea of a non-stop race and was held in that year from Wicklow Sailing Club. Sixteen pioneers entered that race with Brian Coad’s Raasay of Melfort returning home after six days at sea to win the inaugural race. Read the first Round Ireland Yacht Race 1980 Sailing Instructions here

 

The Round Ireland race record of 38 h 37 min 7 s is held by MOD-70 trimaran Musandam-Oman Sail and was set in June 2016.

George David’s Rambler 88 (USA) holds the fastest monohull race time of two days two hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds set in the 2016 race.

William Power's 45ft Olivia undertook a round Ireland cruise in September 1860

 

Richard Hayes completed his solo epic round Ireland voyage in September 2018 in a 14-foot Laser dinghy. The voyage had seen him log a total of 1,324 sea miles (2,452 kilometres) in 54 sailing days. in 1961, the Belfast Lough Waverly Durward crewed by Kevin and Colm MacLaverty and Mick Clarke went around Ireland in three-and-a-half weeks becoming the smallest keelboat ever to go round. While neither of these achievements occurred as part of the race they are part of Round Ireland sailing history

© Afloat 2020

At A Glance – Round Ireland Yacht Race 2024

Race start: Off Wicklow Harbour on Saturday, June 22 2024

There will be separate starts for monohulls and multihulls.

Race course:  leave Ireland and all its islands (excluding Rockall) to starboard.

Race distance: is approximately 704 nautical miles or 1304 kilometres.

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