Displaying items by tag: Tall Ships Ireland

23rd April 2014

Tall Ship Astrid is Boxed As Trainees Return to the Ocean Wave on an Irish Vessel

#tallships – Last July, eight youngsters from Ireland that were taking part in a voyage on the Tall Ship "Astrid" got more than they bargained for when the ship got into difficulty near Kinsale during an Irish Sailing Association 'Gathering Cruise' and foundered on rocks. Nine months later, the 100–year–old Dutch ship's journey finally came to an end in a skip when it was cut up for scrap. Here Michael Byrne of Sail Training Ireland relates the outcomes of the ordeal for the 24 trainees from five countries and how the Irish trainees are now back at sea this week on an Irish Vessel, the 'Spirit of Oysterhaven', a vessel that was involved in Astrid's crew rescue.

There were two striking outcomes after the ordeal.

1. How closely the trainees had bonded during their previous ten days at sea, evident in how they cared for each other and how difficult they found it to disband the group when the time came.

2. How anxious they AND THEIR PARENTS were to get them back to sea.

This week that dream came through for some of the Irish Trainees who are taking part in a 5 day voyage on the Cork Coast, largely coordinated by themselves, on Irish Sail Training Vessel "Spirit of Oysterhaven" a 70' Schooner based in Cork. The voyage is part of a "Youth Initiative" project, funded by the EU Commissions "Youth in Action" programme, and overseen by Sail Training Ireland which includes a total of 8 trainees.

The educational programme of activities and workshops is based on environmental awareness and the "Leave no Trace" policy. The trainees are examining the level of rubbish at sea and will be making a public demonstration by building a sculpture out of rubbish they collect.

Sail Training focuses on the valuable life skills that are developed in the participants through the experience of life at sea on a sailing vessel such as; self-confidence, resilience, responsibility and a willingness to rely on each other. Trainees become part of a working crew of the Tall Ship or Sailing Vessel and must work together to operate the ship day and night. Such voyage are excellent opportunities to develop important skills and characteristics and also to develop educational concepts such as environmental awareness, cultural awareness, citizenship and leadership.

Sail Training Ireland, and its members, continue to work to develop more of these programme so that the young people of Ireland have the opportunity to experience life at sea, explore our maritime heritage as a seafaring nation and benefit from the adventure of a lifetime.

There are many more voyages taking place in 2014 both on Spirit of Oysterhaven and on various other Tall Ships that have been arranged to visit our ports.

7 Tall Ships will sail from Belfast to Dublin at the end of May with over 100 young people aged 16-27 years funded to sail on board.

Published in Tall Ships

Tagged under

Offshore wind

ESB know the importance of offshore wind in tackling climate change and delivering net zero. Ireland has a unique capability given its prime location to take advantage of the potential of offshore wind. ESB are working hard to develop offshore wind projects for the benefit of everyone across society in Ireland and the UK. This includes ongoing engagement with marine users and local communities so ESB can deliver these significant projects.

Offshore wind will play a major role globally in our fight against climate change. It will help to replace energy generated by burning fossil fuels with that from a clean, safe and secure renewable energy source. Ireland’s geographic location on the exposed edge of the Atlantic presents us with a significant opportunity to generate electricity from wind – both offshore and onshore.

Power from onshore wind farms currently provide over one-third of Ireland’s electricity needs. But, whilst its marine area is many times the size of its landmass, Ireland’s offshore wind potential is only starting to be realised. ESB have a coastline stretching over 3,000km but only one operational offshore wind farm – Arklow Bank, with a capacity of 25 MW. In contrast, Belgium’s coastline is only 63km long, but it has already developed more than 2,000 MW of offshore wind. In Great Britain, with a coastline four times the length of ours, offshore wind generation now equates to over 440 Arklow Banks, with an installed capacity of 11,0000 MW as of late 2021.

The Irish Government's target to install 5,000 MW of offshore wind capacity in our maritime area by 2030 is set out in the Climate Action Plan 2021. It also has the objective to source 80% of Ireland’s electricity needs from renewables by the same year. In line with this, ESB is applying its professional and proven engineering expertise to the challenges set within the Climate Action Plan.

ESB are committed to playing a strong role in developing Ireland’s offshore wind potential for the benefit of the people of Ireland. This will be done in consultation with marine users and local communities, and with due care for the marine environment.