Displaying items by tag: Toy ship

21st April 2018

Offshore Boats Ahoy! Toy Ship In Caribbean Waters Needs A Recharge

Ollie and Harry Ferguson, with the help of their father, adapted a Playmobil pirate ship much like this one to sail the open seas for real

#Offshore - Offshore vessels around the Caribbean are being asked to watch out for a toy ship on the waves that’s in need of a recharge.

As BBC News reports, the appeal comes from a family in Scotland that launched the specially adapted Playmobil pirate ship, dubbed Adventure, from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire last summer.

Since then, the little plastic boat has travelled with the currents to Scandinavia in the northeast, and then thousands of miles southwest to Guyana in South America.

MacNeill Ferguson and his sons Ollie and Harry have been following Adventure’s progress via a battery-powered tracker they embedded in the ship as it was prepped to better handle ocean-going conditions.

But with the battery now drained by three-quarters, the Fergusons are urging any vessels in the area where the tracker shows its heading — and a popular spot for many Irish offshore yachts — to fish it out for a much-needed recharge.

BBC News has more on the story HERE.

Published in Offshore

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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.