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Displaying items by tag: World Cup

#Rowing: Denise Walsh had to settle for third and a place in the repechage of the lightweight single sculls at the World Cup regatta in Poznan, Poland. In deteriorating conditions with a building wind and squalls, Aja Runge Holmegaard of the Netherlands won.  Walsh was in with a chance of taking the second qualifying place, but was pushed out of it in the third quarter by Amber Van Zomeren of the Nethlerlands.

World Cup Regatta, Poznan, Poland (Irish interest; selected results)

Men

Lightweight Double Sculls - Heats (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechages) - Heat One: 1 France 6:19.48; 3 Britain (W Fletcher, R Chambers) 6:25.13.

Heat Two: 1 Norway 6:18.90; 2 Ireland (G O'Donovan, P O'Donovan) 6:19.45, 3 Austria 6:34.23.  

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls - Heats (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechages) - Heat One: 1 Netherlands 7:04.01.

Heat Two: 1 Ireland (C Lambe, S Lynch) 7:05.36; 2 Poland 7:06.48, 3 Netherlands Two 7:09.28.

Lightweight Single Sculls - Heat Two (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Denmark (A Runge Holmegaard) 7:55.99, 2 Netherlands Three (A Van Zomeren) 7:56.83; 3 Ireland (D Walsh) 8:11.09.  

Published in Rowing

# Rowing: On a day which started with a storm, Ireland's Sinead Lynch and Claire Lambe booked themselves a place in the A Final with a calm finish in the World Cup Regatta in Poznan this morning. New Zealand led at half way, but Sophie McKenzie caught a crab and the boat stopped. Ireland, Poland and the Netherlands Two fought it out to take the one A Final place, with Lambe and Lynch holding off  a push by the Poles coming up to the line.   

World Cup Regatta, Poznan, Poland (Irish interest; selected results)

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls - Heats (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechages) - Heat One: 1 Netherlands 7:04.01.

Heat Two: 1 Ireland (C Lambe, S Lynch) 7:05.36; 2 Poland 7:06.48, 3 Netherlands Two 7:09.28.

Published in Rowing
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#Rowing: Storms with thunder, lightning and torrential rain forced the suspension of racing at the final World Cup in Poznan, Poland this morning. The organisers are set to announce a new porgramme with racing starting again before midday and the 3pm and 5pm sessions pushed forward two hours.

 Ireland have four crews competing - the lightweight men's and women's doubles, the lightweight men's pair and lightweight single sculler Denise Walsh. Sanita Puspure, who had a head cold, did not travel.

Published in Rowing
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#Canoeing: Jenny Egan won a gold medal at the canoe sprint World Cup in Montemor-o-Velho in Portugal today. In a sprint to the line in strong winds Egan had .99 of a second to spare over Margaret Hogan of the United States. Melanie Gebhardt of Germany took the bronze. Egan also reached the A Final of the K1 500 metres.

  The Salmon Leap paddler took silver in the last World Cup in Racice in the Czech Republic.

Published in Canoeing

#Rowers of the Month: Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan have had a remarkable few weeks, and are the Afloat Rowers of the Month for May. The brothers from Cork came into the month having taken silver at the first World Cup in Italy and they won gold in the lightweight double sculls at the European Championships in Brandenburg in Germany - the first Ireland rowing crew to become European Champions.

They faced a tough test to reach the final of the second World Cup in Lucerne, but got there through a semi-final won by Britain’s Will Fletcher and Richard Chambers, the world silver medallists from 2015. In the final, the Ireland crew finished fourth. They put Britain behind them and finished just behind the three world champions from the last three years: France (2015 champions), Norway (2013) and South Africa (2014).  

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times, and David O'Brien, editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie and the overall national award will be presented to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2016. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2016 champions list grow.

Published in Rower of Month

#Rowing: Ireland’s Paul and Gary O’Donovan finished fourth in the A Final of the lightweight double sculls at the World Cup in Lucerne this morning. France's new crew of Pierre Houin and Jeremie Azou were impressive winners, with Norway holding off charges by South Africa and Ireland in the final 250 metres to take silver. The young Ireland crew pushed hard but South Africa took the bronze by just over a second. Britain’s Will Fletcher and Richard Chambers were a length behind Ireland in fifth.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, Switzerland (Irish interest; selected results)

Men

Lightweight Pair – A Final: 1 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:31.03.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 1 France (P Houin, J Azou) 6:19.26, 2 Norway 6:21.81, 3 South Africa 6:22.42; 4 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:23.46, 5 Britain (W Fletcher, R Chambers) 6:25.72, 6 United States 6:28.08.

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 Ireland (C Lambe, S Lynch) 7:01.36, 2 Poland 7:03.01, 3 Britain 7:04.88.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s lightweight women’s double won the B Final emphatically at the World Cup Regatta in Lucerne this morning, placing seventh at this prestigious regatta. The crew of Sinéad Lynch (née Jennings) and Claire Lambe had come very close to taking an A Final place. They dominated this B Final. The race was quite close early on, but Ireland took control before half way and carved out a clear water lead. Poland were second and Britain third.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, Switzerland (Irish interest; selected results)

Men

Lightweight Pair – A Final: 1 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:31.03.

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 Ireland (C Lambe, S Lynch) 7:01.36, 2 Poland 7:03.01, 3 Britain 7:04.88.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Paul and Gary O’Donovan took third place in their semi-final of the lightweight double sculls and secured a spot in the A Final at the World Cup Regattta in Lucerne. Britain’s Will Fletcher and Richard Chambers (a Coleraine man) had a disappointing heat but made up for it here: they started well and led until headed by Norway. Behind both, Ireland held off Poland to take the last qualification place. France were the fastest crew of the day in winning the first semi-final, with South Africa and the United States also going through.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, Switzerland (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Lightweight Double Sculls – Semi-Finals (Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi-Final One: 1 France (P Houin, J Azou) 6:19.16, 2 South Africa 6:21.91, 3 United States 6:22.15.

Semi-Final Two: 1 Norway (K Brun, A Strandli) 6:19.63, 2 Britain (W Fletcher, R Chambers) 6:21.37, 3 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:23.30; 4 Poland 6:24.08, 5 Switzerland 6:33.62, 6 Chile 6:40.20.

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls – Semi-Finals (Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi-Final One: 1 New Zealand 7:01.10, 2 South Africa 7:01.16, China One 7:03.37.

Semi-Final Two: 1 Canada (L Jennerich, P Obee) 6:58.88, 2 Denmark 7:00.91, 3 2 China Two 7:01.80; 4 Ireland (C Lambe, S Lynch) 7:02.23.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Sinead Lynch and Claire Lambe just missed out on an A Final place at the World Cup Regatta in Lucerne today. The lightweight double semi-final was a good race – only Canada looked certain of a top three spot going into the final sprint and they won. Denmark finished well and took second, with China Two just taking the crucial third spot ahead of Ireland. The margin was just .43 of a second.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, Switzerland (Irish interest, selected results)

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls – Semi-Finals (Three to A Final; rest to B Final) – Semi-Final One: 1 New Zealand 7:01.10, 2 South Africa 7:01.16, China One 7:03.37.

Semi-Final Two: 1 Canada (L Jennerich, P Obee) 6:58.88, 2 Denmark 7:00.91, 3 2 China Two 7:01.80; 4 Ireland (C Lambe, S Lynch) 7:02.23.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland qualified directly for their second semi-final of the morning at the World Cup in Lucerne as Paul and Gary O’Donovan took second in their heat of the lightweight double sculls. South Africa, the crew with the world’s best time, led all the way and won. Ireland took over in second by half way and finished under a second behind the South Africans. They held off a push by Switzerland in the final quarter. The Swiss also qualified.  

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, Switzerland (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heats (Three to A/B Semi-finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat One: 1 South Africa 6:21.98, 2 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:22.89, 3 Switzerland One 6:31.36; 4 Japan One 6:38.28, 5 Angola 6:55.06. Heat Two: 1 France One 6:20.94, 2 Poland One 6:25.55, 3 Brazil 6:35.48. Heat Three: 1 Norway 6:21.26, 2 United States 6:23.33, 3 Britain 6:37.22.  

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heats (Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat One: 1 South Africa 6:57.90, 2 China Two 7:01.11. Heat Two: 1 Canada 6:56.56, 2 China One 6:57.98.

Heat Three: 1 New Zealand 7:00.16, 2 Ireland (C Lambe, S Jennings) 7:01.90; 3 Germany One 7:05.79, 4 Russia One 7:06.01, 5 Chile One.

 

Published in Rowing
Page 9 of 16

Sharks in Irish waters

Irish waters are home to 71 species of shark, skates and rays, 58 of which have been studied in detail and listed on the Ireland Red List of Cartilaginous fish. Irish sharks range from small Sleeper sharks, Dogfish and Catsharks, to larger species like Frilled, Mackerel and Cow sharks, all the way to the second largest shark in the world, the Basking shark. 

Irish waters provide a refuge for an array of shark species. Tralee Bay, Co. Kerry provides a habitat for several rare and endangered sharks and their relatives, including the migratory tope shark, angel shark and undulate ray. This area is also the last European refuge for the extremely rare white skate. Through a European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) project, Marine Institute scientists have been working with fishermen to assess the distribution, diversity, and monthly relative abundance of skates and rays in Tralee, Brandon and Dingle Bays.

“These areas off the southwest coast of Ireland are important internationally as they hold some of the last remaining refuges for angel shark and white skate,” said Dr Maurice Clarke of the Marine Institute. “This EMFF project has provided data confirming the critically endangered status of some species and provides up-to-date information for the development of fishery measures to eliminate by-catch.” 

Irish waters are also home to the Black Mouthed Catshark, Galeus melastomus, one of Ireland’s smallest shark species which can be found in the deep sea along the continental shelf. In 2018, Irish scientists discovered a very rare shark-nursery 200 nautical miles off the west coast by the Marine Institute’s ROV Holland 1 on a shelf sloping to 750 metres deep. 

There are two ways that sharks are born, either as live young or from egg casings. In the ‘case’ of Black Mouthed Catsharks, the nursery discovered in 2018, was notable by the abundance of egg casings or ‘mermaid’s purses’. Many sharks, rays and skate lay eggs, the cases of which often wash ashore. If you find an egg casing along the seashore, take a photo for Purse Search Ireland, a citizen science project focusing on monitoring the shark, ray and skate species around Ireland.

Another species also found by Irish scientists using the ROV Holland 1 in 2018 was a very rare type of dogfish, the Sail Fin Rough Shark, Oxynotus paradoxus. These sharks are named after their long fins which resemble the trailing sails of a boat, and live in the deep sea in waters up to 750m deep. Like all sharks, skates and rays, they have no bones. Their skeleton is composed of cartilage, much like what our noses and ears are made from! This material is much more flexible and lighter than bone which is perfect for these animals living without the weight of gravity.

Throughout history sharks have been portrayed as the monsters of the sea, a concept that science is continuously debunking. Basking sharks were named in 1765 as Cetorhinus maximus, roughly translated to the ‘big-nosed sea monster’. Basking sharks are filter feeders, often swimming with their mouths agape, they filter plankton from the water.

They are very slow moving and like to bask in the sun in shallow water and are often seen in Irish waters around Spring and early Summer. To help understand the migration of these animals to be better able to understand and conserve these species, the Irish Basking Shark Group have tagged and mapped their travels.

Remarkably, many sharks like the Angel Shark, Squatina squatina have the ability to sense electricity. They do this via small pores in their skin called the ‘Ampullae of Lorenzini’ which are able to detect the tiny electrical impulses of a fish breathing, moving or even its heartbeat from distances of over a kilometre! Angel sharks, often referred to as Monkfish have a distinctively angelic shape, with flattened, large fins appearing like the wings of an angel. They live on the seafloor in the coastal waters of Ireland and much like a cat are nocturnal, primarily active at night.

The intricate complexity of shark adaptations is particularly noticeable in the texture of their skin. Composed of miniscule, perfectly shaped overlapping scales, the skin of shark provides them with protection. Often shark scales have been compared to teeth due to their hard enamel structure. They are strong, but also due to their intricate shape, these scales reduce drag and allow water to glide past them so that the shark can swim more effortlessly and silently. This natural flawless design has been used as inspiration for new neoprene fabric designs to help swimmers glide through the water. Although all sharks have this feature, the Leafscale Gulper Shark, Centrophorus squamosus, found in Ireland are specifically named due to the ornate leaf-shape of their scales.