Displaying items by tag: University Royal Naval Units (URNU)

3rd April 2012

University Challenge Heads for Cork

#NAVAL VISITS – Two small University Royal Naval Units (URNU) patrol training boats of the Royal Navy are due to call to Cork city centre along South Customs House Quay this afternoon, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The pair are HMS Exploit (P167) and HMS Express (P163) and they belong to a 14-strong P2000 Archer Fast Inshore Patrol Class. They form the First Patrol Boat Squadron and their primary role is to support the URNU but they also contribute to a wide range of fleet tasking.

Each vessel displaces 54 tonnes and has a crew of five on a boat that is just over 20m and draws a draft nearing 2m. Top speed is 22 knots and they can cover a range of 550 nautical miles.

HMS Exploit is the Birmingham University Royal Navy Unit's Training Patrol vessel, although the unit covers a wide area, taking undergraduates from eight Universities in the region. She was built by Vosper Thornycroft and commissioned in 1988. The boat is berthed in Penarth Marina, near Cardiff.

Likewise HMS Express is based at Penarth, she too provides sea training and offers an insight into the modern Royal Navy for Wales URNU undergraduates drawn from Cardiff, Swansea and Glamorgan Universities and University of Wales Institute Cardiff. Last year she took part in the Three Peaks Challenge.

The patrol boats follow last month's call also to the city of the Marine Protection Vessel (MPV) Jura which at 84m long makes her the largest of the three-strong Marine Compliance Scotland fleet. On that occasion she docked opposite at the North Customs House Quay.

Published in Navy

Tagged under

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.