Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Use Naval Service

In efforts by the HSE which is continuing to expand on its Covid-19 testing capabilities, tens of thousands of people calling to seek a test for the virus.

At a HSE briefing (yesterday, 17 March), officials urged people not to call the emergency line 112/999, warning that over the weekend people were “clogging up” the service.

“This is a real concern for us,” HSE CEO Paul Reid said.

For much more the Journal.ie reports that also referred in its story that officials pointed out that members of the Irish Navy have “considerable experience” with this kind of work in the Mediterranean and would be well equipped to handle it.

Afloat adds the Naval Service LÉ William Butler Yeats (as above) last night arrived at the Port of Galway where it docked as part of Óglaighnahéireann’s efforts to generate more capacity for the HSE.

The deployment follows that of sister of the OPV90/P60 class LÉ Samuel Beckett berthed in Dublin Port to also assist in fighting Covid-19. This is the second such ship (so far) that Afloat is aware involved in such critical operations.

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!