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Displaying items by tag: video

#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - The final leg of the latest Volvo Ocran Race from Lorient to Galway is starting now - and you can watch the live stream of the action HERE.

Yesterday's Bretagne In-Port Race saw French team Groupama - which features Ireland's Damian Foxall on deck - clinch a dream home win, edging them closer to overall victory.

But as the Kerryman said just a few days ago, that victory is by no means assured, with 500 miles of turbulent Celtic Sea lying between the fleet and the finish line.

Published in Ocean Race

#KITESURFING - Northern Ireland's Jenny Ridley will be among those joining a kitesurfing clinic for people with disabilities in Athens, Greece from this weekend, as Surfer Today reports.

The five-day workshop at the Karavi Beach Club in Schinias will be hosted by Christophe Martin, developer of a special kiteboarding seat for paraplegic athletes.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Jenny Ridley has been learning to kite on land under the tutelage of friend Jason McGrugan who has worked with her to design a custom seat and board that will enable her to get on the water.

And she's promised to do just that in Greece this week, joining many other abled and disabled riders in the warm Aegean waters.

Martin will demonstrate the latest techniques developed to teach kitesurfing for people with disabilities. Those taking part will get a chance to go on the water using modified catamarans to show how accessible watersports can to be to everyone.

Surfer Today has more on the story HERE.

Published in Kitesurfing

#SURFING - WorldIrish highlights a new documentary on Cross Culture Surf, a surfing exchange programme between Ireland and the Basque Country in northern Spain.

The video above was filmed in the Irish surfing hotspot of Lahinch in Co Clare - home to big wave surfer and Billabong XXL Award nominee Ollie O'Flaherty - during the first phase of the cultural exchange in April, as 15 Irish and 15 Basque surfers got to know each other better while riding the waves.

Published in Surfing
Tagged under

#ISLAND NEWS - Champion cliff diver Orlando Duque paid a visit to Cong in Co Mayo recently to give a taster of what we can expect when Red Bull Cliff Diving comes to the Aran Islands this August.

As the video above shows, the nine-time World Champion from Colombia dived from the unusual platform of a helicopter hovering high over the water at Ashford Castle.

But it will be just his fellow competitors, the rocks and the waves to contend with at the Serpent's Lair in Inis Mór on 3-4 August at the fourth stop of the 2012 World Series, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

“The Serpent’s Lair is one of those places you only hear stories about,” said Duque ahead of the first ever World Series in 2009. “Finding this place and being able to dive there was one of the highlights of my career."

Published in Island News

#MARINE WILDLIFE - The video above shows the moment when an angling boat was surrounded by a pod of killer whales at the mouth of Lough Swilly in Co Donegal.

Sea angler Kevin Doherty, whose boat was treated to the spectacle, told UTV News: "We knew ourselves at that moment we were going to witness something special."

Local wildlife experts say the orca family came from the Scottish Hebrides and as well known - but this is the first time the whole family group has been recorded together on Ireland's North coast.

Published in Marine Wildlife

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Conor McGuire and friends were taken by surprise when they came across a stranded minke whale in Clew Bay, Co Mayo - but thankfully this whale of a tale had a happy outcome.

As the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) reports, the group of friends videoed the scene as the 4-5m young minke whale attempted to free itself from the shingle at the edge of the shore.

The IWDG commented: "Sometimes it is hard to avoid the temptation to jump in and get involved in coaxing the cetacean back into deeper water.

"But hats off to Conor and friends, who quite rightly gave the whale as much time as it needed to correct the situation."

According to the IWDG, such stranding often end in tragedy "as the animal becomes disorientated and stressed, so this record is particularly unusual."

The group also noted "with interest" that the event occurred just before the biggest earthquake ever recorded in the North West region.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the epicentre of the magnitude 4 quake was close to the Corrib Gas Field off Co Mayo.

The IWDG said it will be closely watching the region "to see if there is any spike in unusual stranding events that may be linked to this seismic activity".

Published in Marine Wildlife

#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - The incredible finish of the latest leg of the Volvo Ocean Race wasn't the only drama on the high seas for one competing team.

Just days before CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand had the misfortune of stalling metres from the line in Lisbon on Friday night, they were involved in a near-miss with a whale in the North Atlantic, as the UK's Mirror reports.

The video above captures the team working quickly to alter their course to avoid the marine giant on their port side at a speed in excess of 20 knots.

It's that kind of quick thinking that separates the good from the great who take part on this round-the-world odyssey across the planet's toughest seas.

The CAMPER team currently lies fourth in the overall standings, 21 points behind new leaders Groupama.

Published in Ocean Race

#SURFING - Credit goes to WorldIrish for a great find in this video featuring Canadian surfing pros Noah Cohen and Nico Manos on a recent trip to Ireland to sample our world-class waves.

The duo captured footage of their wave-riding escapades in the top surfing destination of Bundoran in Co Donegal, which hosted last year's Eurosurf championships.

Published in Surfing
Tagged under

#WEATHER - The Irish Times reports on video of what appears to be an over-water tornado or 'seaspout' off the coast of Sligo last week.

The video above was captured at Rosses Point on the afternoon of Monday 7 May by Graeme Salter.

“I’ve been going to Rosses Point since I was a child and have seen some mad weather, but never anything like this,” he said.

Seaspouts or waterspouts are most often associated with dark, flat-bottomed cumulus cloud formations. They are not true tornados in the strictest sense, as they are not formed by the rotating updraft of a supercell thunderstorm.

The footage is the second occurrence of a waterspout in Ireland in recent weeks, following the mini-twister filmed at Bray Head last month as a massive thunder, lighting and hail storm hit the capital, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Published in Weather

#SURFING - Ireland's surfing scene is on the crest of a big wave, according to BBC News in its profile of Mullaghmore Head rider Ollie O'Flaherty ahead of the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Lahinch native O'Flaherty and Devon surfer Andrew Cotton are both nominated for the $50,000 biggest wave prize, to be announced in Anaheim, California on 20 May.

Both surfers raised the bar with their tow-in efforts among the giant swells off Mullaghmore in Co Sligo, defying the dangers involved.

Even so, O'Flaherty is lucky not to be nominated for the less auspicious 'wipeout of the year'.

"I've definitely had one or two pretty big scares," he said. "Last October I got wiped out and was stuck at the bottom of one wave and I got picked up, hit and dragged over the reef three times."

But the Clare wave rider insists: "The thrill outweighs the consequence for me."

BBC News has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Surfing
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Royal Irish Yacht Club - Frequently Asked Questions

The Royal Irish Yacht Club is situated in a central location in Dun Laoghaire Harbour with excellent access and visiting sailors can be sure of a special welcome. The clubhouse is located in the prime middle ground of the harbour in front of the town marina and it is Dun Laoghaire's oldest yacht club. 

What's a brief history of the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

The yacht club was founded in 1831, with the Marquess of Anglesey, who commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo being its first Commodore. 

John Skipton Mulvany designed the clubhouse, which still retains a number of original architectural features since being opened in 1851.

It was granted an ensign by the Admiralty of a white ensign with the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Ireland beneath the Union Jack in canton.

Many prominent names feature among the past members of the Club. The first Duke of Wellington was elected in 1833, followed by other illustrious men including the eccentric Admiral Sir Charles Napier, Sir Dominic Corrigan the distinguished physician, Sir Thomas Lipton, novelist, George A. Birmingham, yachtsman and author, Conor O'Brien, and famous naval historian and author, Patrick O Brian. 

In the club's constitution, it was unique among yacht clubs in that it required yacht owners to provide the club's commodore with information about the coast and any deep-sea fisheries they encountered on all of their voyages.

In 1846, the club was granted permission to use the Royal prefix by Queen Victoria. The club built a new clubhouse in 1851. Despite the Republic of Ireland breaking away from the United Kingdom, the Royal Irish Yacht Club elected to retain its Royal title.

In 1848, a yachting trophy called "Her Majesty's Plate" was established by Queen Victoria to be contested at Kingstown where the Royal Irish Yacht Club is based. The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland at the time, George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon suggested it should be contested by the Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Royal St. George Yacht Club in an annual regatta, a suggestion that was approved by both clubs with the Royal St. George hosting the first competitive regatta.

The RIYC celebrated its 185th Anniversary in 2016 with the staging of several special events in addition to being well represented afloat, both nationally and internationally. It was the year the club was also awarded Irish Yacht Club of the Year as Afloat's W M Nixon details here.

The building is now a listed structure and retains to this day all its original architectural features combined with state of the art facilities for sailors both ashore and afloat.

What is the Royal Irish Yacht Club's emblem?

The Club's emblem shows a harp with the figure of Nice, the Greek winged goddess of victory, surmounted by a crown. This emblem has remained unchanged since the foundation of the Club; a symbol of continuity and respect for the history and tradition of the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

What is the Royal Irish Yacht Club's ensign?

The RIYC's original white ensign was granted by Royal Warrant in 1831. Though the Royal Irish Yacht Club later changed the ensign to remove the St George's Cross and replace the Union Jack with the tricolour of the Republic of Ireland, the original ensign may still be used by British members of the Royal Irish Yacht Club

Who is the Commodore of the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

The current Commodore is Jerry Dowling, and the Vice-Commodore is Tim Carpenter.

The RIYC Flag Officers are: 

What reciprocal club arrangements does the Royal Irish Yacht Club have?  

As one of Ireland's leading club's, the Royal Irish Yacht Club has significant reciprocal arrangements with yacht clubs across Ireland and the UK, Europe, USA and Canada and the rest of the World. If you are visiting from another Club, please have with a letter of introduction from your Club or introduce yourself to the Club Secretary or to a member of management staff, who will show you the Club's facilities.

What car parking does the Royal Irish Yacht Club have at its Dun Laoghaire clubhouse?

The RIYC has car parking outside of its clubhouse for the use of its members. Paid public car parking is available next door to the club at the marina car park. There is also paid parking on offer within the harbour area at the Coatl Harbour (a 5-minute walk) and at an underground car park adjacent to the Royal St. George Yacht Club (a 3-minute walk). Look for parking signs. Clamping is in operation in the harbour area.

What facilities does the Royal Irish Yacht Clubhouse offer? 

The Royal Irish Yacht Club offers a relaxed, warm and welcoming atmosphere in one of the best situated and appointed clubhouses in these islands. Its prestige in yachting circles is high and its annual regatta remains one of the most attractive events in the sailing calendar. It offers both casual and formal dining with an extensive wine list and full bar facilities. The Club caters for parties, informal events, educational seminars, themed dinners and all occasions. The RIYC has a number of venues within the Club each of which provides a different ambience to match particular needs.

What are the Royal Irish Yacht Club's Boathouse facilities?

The RIYC boathouse team run the launch service to the club's swinging moorings, provide lifting for dry-sailed boats, lift and scrub boats, as well as maintaining the fabric of the deck, pontoon infrastructure, and swinging moorings. They also maintain the club crane, the only such mobile crane of the Dun Laoghaire Yacht Clubs.

What facilities are offered for junior sailing at the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

One of the missions of the Royal Irish Yacht Club is to promote sailing as a passion for life by encouraging children and young adults to learn how to sail through its summer courses and class-specific training throughout the year. 

RIYC has an active junior section. Its summer sailing courses are very popular and the club regularly has over 50 children attending courses in any week. The aim is for those children to develop lifelong friendships through sailing with other children in the club, and across the other clubs in the bay.
 
Many RIYC children go on to compete for the club at regional and national championships and some have gone on to represent Ireland at international competitions and the Olympic Regatta itself.
 
In supporting its young sailors and the wider sailing community, the RIYC regularly hosts junior sailing events including national and regional championships in classes such as the Optmist, Feva and 29er.
 
Competition is not everything though and as the club website states:  "Many of our junior sailors have gone on the become sailing instructors and enjoy teaching both in Ireland and abroad.  Ultimately, we take most pleasure from the number of junior sailors who become adult sailors and enjoy a lifetime of sailing with the club".