Displaying items by tag: Wicklow
#RNLI - Dun Laoghaire RNLI was involved in the recovery yesterday afternoon of a sinking boat following the rescue of three people after the vessel began to sink off the Wicklow coast.
Three people were pulled from the water when their small boat got into difficulty off Bray on Sunday 12 May.
A local boat responded to the Mayday alert and brought the casualties to safety.
The RNLI lifeboat from Dun Laoghaire and the Greystones Coast Guard boat took the boat that was almost fully submersed under tow to shore.
Winds gusted to storm force towards the end of the operation but conditions were otherwise fresh, with only choppy waves off the coast.
The incident occurred shortly after midday when the 15ft speedboat was almost one mile from Bray Harbour.
First Boats Welcomed into Greystones Harbour Marina
#greystonesharbourmarina – Greystones in County Wicklow welcomed the first boats into the harbour's new marina this week after the 100-berth facility opened on time in spite of a prolonged period of easterly gales making the month of March the coldest since records began.
It was chilly work but in spite of the gales the marina opened on time and it was rewarded with plenty of seagoing interest from visiting sailing and motor cruiser craft, travelling down from nearby Dublin Bay to check out the new facility and to be welcomed by newly appointed operators BJ Marinas Ltd.
Less than a week since opening nine boats are safely berthed in the new marina.
Since arriving on site in December operators BJ Marinas Ltd have been working around the clock to ensure they met their target of being open for the start of the boating season on 1st April.
Managing Director Bernard Gallagher said "We're delighted to open on time! It's a unique and stunning site and we're looking forward to our first season!
BJ started taking bookings in late January and have had a steady stream of commitment from berth holders since then.
There will be 100 berths initially ranging from six metres to 30 metres. Once completed there will be 230 berths.
Some of the first boats arriving into Greystones Harbour Marina on Monday, April 1
The BJ team at Greystones Harbour marina (from left) James Kirwan, Marie Parkes, Bernard Gallagher and Ross Hall
Greystones Harbour Marina Opens on Easter Monday
#greystonesharbourmarina – The Irish Sea's newest marina opens in Wicklow on Easter Monday. Greystones Harbour Marina will open on 1st April 2013 with 100 berths available initially.
Since arriving on site in December operators BJ Marinas Ltd have been working around the clock to ensure they met their target of being open for the start of the boating season on 1st April.
Managing Director Bernard Gallagher said "We're delighted to be appointed as harbour and marina operators. It's a unique and stunning site and we're looking forward to opening this new marina on Monday'
BJ started taking bookings in late January and have had a steady stream of commitment from berth holders since then.
There will be 100 berths initially ranging from six metres to 30 metres. Once completed there will be 230 berths.
French Trawler Rescued By RNLI Lifeboat off Wicklow Head
#rnli – Wicklow RNLI has rescued four fishermen from a 26m French fishing trawler which got into difficulty in the early hours of this morning (Friday 22 March).
The volunteer lifeboat crew responded rapidly and in severe weather conditions when requested to launch by the Irish Coast Guard at 3.15am.
The Mayday call was to go to the aid of a 120 tonne French fishing trawler, the Bara An Aod, which had suffered engine failure two and a half miles east off Wicklow Head.
The four crew members aboard the French boat had been on a delivery passage from France to Ireland when the vessel got into trouble.
Weather conditions at the time were blowing a strong south easterly force nine gale with torrential rain and a three to four metre breaking swell.
Arriving on scene at 3.55am on what was its first call out of the year, the all-weather lifeboat the Annie Blaker, and her crew under Coxswain Nick Keogh, located the trawler and proceeded to establish a towline.
The stricken vessel was subsequently towed safely back to Wicklow Harbour by the lifeboat where it arrived at 5am.
Speaking after the call out, Tommy Dover, Wicklow RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer commended the efforts of an experienced lifeboat crew who he said was met with challenging weather conditions in the dark hours of the morning: 'The crew responded very quickly to the Mayday call and had the lifeboat launched within 10 minutes of being alerted. It was such a bad night but the experienced crew confident in the lifeboat's ability to meet the conditions, skilfully responded and were thankful and delighted to be able to assist the four crew members and their vessel safely to shore this morning.'
The lifeboat crew on this call out included Coxswain Nick Keogh, mechanic Brendan Copeland, Ciaran Doyle, Tom McAuley, John Vize, Connie O'Gara and Graham Fitzgerald.
Greystones Harbour Marina Rates & Application Form Here!
#greystonesmarina – Greystones Harbour and Marina in County Wicklow announced its berthing rates today two months ahead of its scheduled opening for the 2013 boating season. An application form has alos been published. You can download the rates and application form below as pdf documents below.
The much anticipated rates are as follows: An annual berth licence is €375 per metre. A six month (April to September) berth licence is €275 per metre. A 'casual' one month licence is also on offer at €60 per metre.
Daily visitor rates are also published at €3.50 per metre
The terms say that a 20% deposit is required to secure berth with the balance due before April 1 2013
The 100-berth marina has confirmed it will be open from the 1st April, 2013.
Operators BJ Marinas Ltd say they have received over 100 berth enquiries to date and are looking forward to a busy first season.
East Coast Rowing Council Announces 2013 Regattas
#CoastalRowing - The East Coast Rowing Council has announced its list of coastal rowing regatta fixtures in Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford for the 2013 season.
Commencing with the Greystones Regatta on 26 May, the schedule also includes events in Arklow (2 June) and Dalkey (9 June), the Stella Maria Regatta in Ringsend on 16 June and the Bray Regatta on 30 June.
July will see two events, the St Patrick's Regatta in Dublin's Docklands on 14 July and St Michael's Regatta off Monkstown and Dun Laoghaire on 28 July, while the Wicklow Regatta will mark the end of 2013's summer events on 5 August.
Locations of the various regattas and suggested viewing points are available HERE.
Surfing is Ireland's 'Best Kept Secret' No More
#SURFING - Ireland can no longer claim to be the surfing world's best kept secret, as the Irish Examiner reports, as thousands of waveriders of all skill levels now flock annually to the west and northwest coasts to sample the swell.
Indeed, Ireland is arguably the hottest place to be for surfing right now, and RTÉ Travel rounds up the best spots to hit the water around the coast - including some that might surprise you.
Bundoran is this country's surfing mecca, and for good reason. Recently making National Geographic's list of the world's top 20 surfing towns, the Co Donegal surf capital has spots for everyone from experts to beginners, and boasts a choice of 10 surf schools affiliated with the Irish Surfing Association.
Further down the coast is Sligo, renowned among the surfing elite for the giant rollers off Mullaghmore Head but also a great place for learners, especially at Strandhill and Enniscrone - although "big waves, clean waters and great surfing" are to be found anywhere along the coastline.
Mayo continues the trend, with Bertra in Clew Bay and Keel Strand in Achill standing out, while Clare is home to the famed waves at Lahinch - home turf for big wave surfer Ollie O'Flaherty.
Further along, Kerry and West Cork can boast of a number of top-class surfing destinations, including some stretches just perfect for absolute beginners.
But it doesn't end there, as even the southeast and east coasts can hold their own - as Tramore in Co Waterford and Brittas Bay in Co Wicklow can attest.
Round Ireland (Thurs 3pm). Can Inis Mor do it?
#roundireland – While the official tracker has Inis Mor as the overall leader in the 2012 Round Ireland Race, it's going to be a nail biting few hours for the French boat.
As of 3pm, Inis Mor has 30.6 miles to go. To beat Tonnerre she needs to cover that distance in five hours and 34 minutes. Simple math says she needs to average 5.49 knots and as she is making 5.7 knots just south of Lambay Island, it should work for her.
But, the 5.7 knots is not quite in the right direction – because the wind has headed her, she can only make 221° instead of the 190° she needs to reach Wicklow on one tack. So while 5.7 knots looks good, her actual progress towards the finish or VMG, is currently 5.4 knots – just outside the 5.49 knots needed.
To make matters worse, she is entering an area of stronger tides that will be directly against her for the last few hours into Wicklow. She can mitigate some of this by hugging the coast, but at what cost windwise?
Fascinating stuff, www.afloat.ie's money's on Tonnerre, at least in this battle. Keep an eye on Cavatina though – she still has a day left to win!
Defending Champ Gets off to a Great Round Ireland Start
#RoundIreland– Sole Dutch entry Tonnerre de Breskens skippered by Piet Vroon looked every inch the defending champion when she won the reaching start of a crowded Round Ireland start line in Wicklow this afternoon. SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE PHOTOS BY BOB BATEMAN.
Vroon took six or seven gybes for more breeze before reaching Wicklow head just minutes after the start.
The Dutch yacht , a Ker 46, was followed closely by Laurent Gouy's Ker 39 Inismor and the J133 Spirit of Jacana from Carrickfergus. Also taking the route closest to the shore was Adrian Lee's canting keel Cookson 50 Lee Overlay.
Legendary Irish round the world yacht Green Dragon (the biggest in the fleet) took advantage of the light to medium north westerly winds to hoist a spinnaker and went immediately offshore to clearer air after a congested start of the 2012 Round Ireland Yacht Race start. There was at least one collision at the committee boat end of the line just moments before the gun.
The start of the 2012 Round Ireland. Photo: Bob Bateman
The international 38 boat Round Ireland fleet departed as per schedule at noon, ahead of them up to a week long 700-mile sailing odyssey all the way round the coast of Ireland.
The fleet were tightly packed at Wicklow head on a shy port reach with most setting spinnakers.
Old warhourse and double race winner Cavatina took up her position at the rear of the fleet, settling in for her first night at sea and the first tactical challenge presented at Tuskar rock.
Next Round Ireland fleet update tomorrow morning as the fleet move along the Cork Coast
Tips for Round Ireland Yacht Race Success by a Double Winner
Cork Harbour's Dave Hennessy is getting ready for his seventh Round Ireland race in two weeks time. The two times winner of the 704-mile offshore race in the vintage Granada 38 Cavatina gives some advice on what's involved in a successful circuit of Ireland.
Well we are off again on our seventh Round Ireland Yacht Race, this time with the very grateful sponsorship of CH Marine on board. We were asked for some ideas on tactics for the race, as we have been lucky enough to win it twice in the past.
Tactics
I think tactics play a small part in this race.The choice of boat would be the first consideration. It is a 704–mile offshore race around Ireland. The boat needs to be able to sail to her handicap over a wide range of conditions over a six day period by night and day. Cavatina is a 1979 design, weighs nine tons, has a long, sharp overhanging bow, a narrow enough stern, and like many heavy displacement boats, can keep moving in light conditions as well as coming into her own in heavy winds. In this year's fleet we seem very much the tortoise among the hares but we have been there before! The overall Fastnet winner in 2005 was a French" tortoise" beating us into second place overall by 22 minutes.
Seamanship
The next 'tactical' issue is crew. We are 12 years campaigning Cavatina offshore and have almost the same crew lining out every year. Our average age would be in late 50s but the group bring a range of skills to the boat – experience, stamina, good humour, sailing ability, mechanical, electrical skills.
The 'good humoured' crew of Cavatina go for their seventh Round Ireland race later this month. Photo: Bob Bateman
We managed to finish the '07 Fastnet where 240 of the 300 entrants were forced to retire.This is fair testimony to the crew's seamanship. I recall a bad night a few years ago approaching Inistrahull off the north coast under spinnaker with a rising gale forecast. We needed to drop the kite, gybe to avoid Scotland, but when we went to ease the halyard we found it had jumped the sheave and jammed solidly in the block at the masthead.
There was no way under the conditions to go up the mast. There was talk of shooting it with a flare even, but it was John Murphy who had the idea to ease the sheets as the boat slid down a wave, causing the kite to rise and the halyard to sit right on the sheave once again.The plan worked, kite came down for a few hours, went up again meaning we reached the fair tide at Rathlin and went on to win that race overall!
Sail Wardrobe
Another "tactical" issue to plan for is your sail wardrobe.You need to look at your boat's strengths and weaknesses in order to sail at your best in all conditions. Eric Lisson is shrewd in this regard and saw that the point of sailing from being close hauled to when you can carry a kite on a tight reach was critical for us. With Des McWilliam they came up with a Code Zero which we are only supposed to carry up to 15-knots apparent. This sail has won races for us. We also have a big overlapping furling Genoa.This means we can easily "change gear" when other crews are dragging headsails on deck or putting off marginal calls. Our main is quite small and is only reefed when it really blows.This again is a setup I feel lends itself well to offshore racing.
Cavatina passes along the Wicklow coast at the start of the 2010 Round Ireland. Photo: Bob Bateman
Victualling
Yet another issue to deal with at the planning stage is food.The crew need to be fed well to sail at their best over that time length. We pre-cook and freeze 6 main meals which are eaten in evening.We cook an FIB (full Irish breakfast) in the morning, usually served in sandwiches. Proper clothing is also essential. Thanks again CH Marine. We finished in Wicklow one year with two crew definitely hypothermic who would have been no good to us if there was another 50 miles in the race!
Lady Luck
Probably the most honest thing i can say re on the water tactics is that it is mostly luck.There are 4 tidal gates to negotiate. You sprint to Tuskar to find that gate open or closed. You slog to windward to Fastnet along the south coast, beating into the bays, risking being becalmed, or you take a chance on a long starboard tack to the south to avoid light winds.You push to reach the North Channel between Rathlin and Scotland with the gate open.This is the most critical piece of luck. We made it last year only to be completely becalmed towards Belfast Lough managing 6 miles in 10 hours! We didn't win that race! The final gate is approaching Wicklow itself. Many is the boat has come to a halt in view of the town lights, trying to sail against five knot tides in light night airs.
So if it is really down to luck why do so many do it? Yes it is a challenge heading off south past Wicklow Head into the "unknown" but for me it is the indescribable sense of achievement in "completing the circle". DO IT!
Good luck to crew of Eric Lisson, Ian Hickey, Lennie Donnery, Sean Hanley, Kelly and Dave Hennessy!