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Displaying items by tag: Wetsuits

CH Marine has the latest stylishly cool Typhoon wetsuits and shorties from the budget-friendly Swarm range, designed with the novice in mind.

Choosing Swarm is the way to go if you are new to the sport or just get on the water occasionally. And the new Swarm3 wetsuits are available in adult, child and infant sizes to kit out the whole family.

See the full range of Typhoon wetsuits available on CHMarine.ie

Published in CH Marine Chandlery
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Old wetsuits aren’t recyclable, with thousands dumped in Irish landfills each year — but as RTÉ News reports, one woman has found a way to ‘upcycle’ them into something new.

Lynn Haughton, a designer based in Co Wexford, has been repurposing the durable neoprene fabric wetsuits are made of into a variety of accessories such as bags and pencil cases.

And what’s more, a tenth of the profits from Haughton’s Neo Collection goes to the aid of local marine wildlife charity Seal Rescue Ireland.

For other recent efforts at upcycling marine-related materials, see the outstanding work of two Cork schoolgirls entering this year’s Junk Kouture contest.

Published in News Update
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#SillySeason - If you've been around either of Dublin's canals in the past couple of weeks, you may have seen some excited groups of young people gathered around the locks clad in wetsuits and launching themselves into the water.

The Irish Times has a video report on this latest trend that some city kids are making into a summertime sport - made possible thanks to the ready availability of inexpensive wetsuits from the likes of Aldi and Lidl.

As that paper's Ronan McGreevy writes: "They serve a dual purpose: keeping out the cold of the icy canals and helping to protect against the bugs that inevitably arise in an urban waterway."

Meanwhile, across the border some bathers have been taking things to the other extreme - as the Irish Mirror reports on two men arrested for skinny dipping in Belfast Lough.

The daring duo were reported by officers from Holywood PSNI for indecent exposure and, according to the Belfast Telegraph, they could even face inclusion on the sex offenders' register for their antics.

Published in News Update
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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