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Displaying items by tag: National Marine Manufacturers' Association of America

One of the great enjoyments is sailing along on a pleasant, sunny day, with nice music adding to the occasion but what is the best music aboard a boat? There have been strong disagreements about my choices as Skipper, so I am intrigued by the first published list of top "boating" music. It has been compiled by the National Marine Manufacturers' Association of America, which has nearly 1,500 member companies which produce nearly every conceivable boating product.

It runs a "Discover Boating" national awareness project creating interest amongst the public in going afloat. "We identified the most popular nautical-themed songs from a variety of artists and genres, all of which illustrate why boating and music go hand-in-hand," said Carl Blackwell, the Association's Vice-President running the project. "They illustrate why boating and music go hand-in-hand, the wind in your hair, sun on your face, friends and family aboard. Music and boating provide an escape from the pressures of life."

Kenny Chesney's song 'Boats' has been voted the top boating son in the USA

These are the Top Ten Boating Songs:

BOATS – sung by KENNY CHESNEY;
BRANDY YOU'RE A FINE GIRL BY LOOKING GLASS;
COME SAIL AWAY BY STYX;
IF I HAD A BOAT BY LYLE LOVETT;
INTO THE MYSTIC BY VAN MORRISON;
PROUD MARY BY CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL;
REDNECK YACHT CLUB BY CRAIG MORGAN;
SITTIN' ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY BY OTIS REDDING;
SON OF A SON OF A SAILOR BY JIMMY BUFFETT;
SOUTHERN CROSS BY CROSBY, STILLS & NASH.

These are chosen from an American viewpoint, I wonder what an Irish list would include? Let me know in the comment box below.

WIND PLAN WILL CHANGE THE HARBOUR

Wind turbines have become an established feature on the coastline and around many parts of the country. Controversy has often surrounded their construction as an alternative energy supply. Wind turbines nearly four hundred feet high which would change the appearance of Cork Harbour are being proposed by four pharmaceutical companies in Ringaskiddy. They want cheaper energy and have formed the Lower Harbour Energy Group. GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Centocor and DePuy plan to construct a total of turbines between their sites. Public response to the proposals will be interesting. Indications are that the body of the turbines would be 78 metres, the blades a further 40 metres high, making a total of around 118 metres.

GU1C2098v2

A cargo ship navigates Cork Harbour. Photo: Bob Bateman

There are serious concerns about 336 offshore turbines around the UK coastline, because their foundations are suffering from subsidence, sinking into the sea. Checks are being made on a wind farm off Essex
another in Liverpool Bay, of turbines at Blyth, Northumberland and Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth. If repairs have to be made to all of them, the total bill could be £50m. stg.

The Scottish Government is attempting to encourage Norwegian Statoil to locate the world's first floating windfarm either off the Isle of Lewis or the Aberdeenshire coastline. Statoil is also considering sites in Norway and the USA for the development, intended to have a capacity of up to 100 megawatts.

• This article is reprinted by permission of the CORK EVENING ECHO in which Tom MacSweeney writes maritime columns twice weekly. Evening Echo website: www.eecho.ie

Published in Island Nation

Marine Institute Research Vessel Tom Crean

Ireland’s new marine research vessel will be named the RV Tom Crean after the renowned County Kerry seaman and explorer who undertook three major groundbreaking expeditions to the Antarctic in the early years of the 20th Century which sought to increase scientific knowledge and to explore unreached areas of the world, at that time.

Ireland's new multi-purpose marine research vessel RV Tom Crean, was delivered in July 2022 and will be used by the Marine Institute and other State agencies and universities to undertake fisheries research, oceanographic and environmental research, seabed mapping surveys; as well as maintaining and deploying weather buoys, observational infrastructure and Remotely Operated Vehicles.

The RV Tom Crean will also enable the Marine Institute to continue to lead and support high-quality scientific surveys that contribute to Ireland's position as a leader in marine science. The research vessel is a modern, multipurpose, silent vessel (designed to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research), capable of operating in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Tom Crean is able to go to sea for at least 21 days at a time and is designed to operate in harsh sea conditions.

RV Tom Crean Specification Overview

  • Length Overall: 52.8 m
  • Beam 14m
  • Draft 5.2M 

Power

  • Main Propulsion Motor 2000 kw
  • Bow Thruster 780 kw
  • Tunnel thruster 400 kw

Other

  • Endurance  21 Days
  • Range of 8,000 nautical miles
  • DP1 Dynamic Positioning
  • Capacity for 3 x 20ft Containers

Irish Marine Research activities

The new state-of-the-art multi-purpose marine research vessel will carry out a wide range of marine research activities, including vital fisheries, climate change-related research, seabed mapping and oceanography.

The new 52.8-metre modern research vessel, which will replace the 31-metre RV Celtic Voyager, has been commissioned with funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine approved by the Government of Ireland.

According to Aodhán FitzGerald, Research Vessel Manager of the MI, the RV Tom Crean will feature an articulated boom crane aft (6t@ 10m, 3T@ 15m), located on the aft-gantry. This will be largely used for loading science equipment and net and equipment handling offshore.

Mounted at the stern is a 10T A-frame aft which can articulate through 170 degrees which are for deploying and recovering large science equipment such as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV’s), towed sleds and for fishing operations.

In addition the fitting of an 8 Ton starboard side T Frame for deploying grabs and corers to 4000m which is the same depth applicable to when the vessel is heaving but is compensated by a CTD system consisting of a winch and frame during such operations.

The vessel will have the regulation MOB boat on a dedicated davit and the facility to carry a 6.5m Rigid Inflatable tender on the port side.

Also at the aft deck is where the 'Holland 1' Work class ROV and the University of Limericks 'Etain' sub-Atlantic ROV will be positioned. In addition up to 3 x 20’ (TEU) containers can be carried.

The newbuild has been engineered to endure increasing harsher conditions and the punishing weather systems encountered in the North-East Atlantic where deployments of RV Tom Crean on surveys spent up to 21 days duration.

In addition, RV Tom Crean will be able to operate in an ultra silent-mode, which is crucial to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research purposes.

The classification of the newbuild as been appointed to Lloyds and below is a list of the main capabilities and duties to be tasked by RV Tom Crean:

  • Oceanographic surveys, incl. CTD water sampling
  • Fishery research operations
  • Acoustic research operations
  • Environmental research and sampling operation incl. coring
  • ROV and AUV/ASV Surveys
  • Buoy/Mooring operations