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Dublin Bay Boating News and Information

Displaying items by tag: Sportswoman of the Month

#CANOEING - The Evening Herald reports that top Irish canoeist Jenny Egan is headed to Florida for a few months of training towards a spot at the 2012 Olympics.

A sprint and marathon racer, Egan was named as The Irish Times/Irish Sport Council's Sportswoman of the Month for May 2010 in recognition of some very impressive performances.

Indeed, the Kildare native enjoyed much success in 2012, with second place in the 5000m at the World Sprint Cup in the Czech Republic and a new Irish record in the 500m at the Canoe Slalom Worlds in Hungary among her achievements.

Heading into 2012, the Salmon Leap club member will surely be shrugging off setbacks like her crash in the heat and humidity of Singapore at the Canoe Marathon Worlds last October.

The new year brings a new focus, as Egan will concentrate on the 500m and 200m K1 sprint distances for the London games, with the final qualifiers - for just 15 spots - taking place in Poland in April.

The Evening Herald has more on the story HERE.

Published in Canoeing
Leading Irish canoeist and Kildare native, Jenny Egan has become the first canoeist to be awarded The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council 'Sportswoman of the Month' award for May, following her impressive performance in taking a silver medal in the 5,000m sprint canoe K1 at the World Cup event in the Czech Republic last month.

A member of the renowned Salmon Leap club in Leixlip, Jenny's path to success was evident at an early stage with her performances at junior level placing 15th and 5th in successive years, and then claiming a silver medal at the 2005 World Junior Marathon Championships in Perth, Australia. Since entering the senior ranks in 2006, Jenny has made steady and encouraging progress, gaining her first medal with a bronze at the British Senior National Marathon Championship and achieving a ranking of 15th in Europe in the Under-23 category in her first year.

Her big breakthrough came last year at the Senior Sprint Canoe World Cup in Szeged, Hungary where she took silver in the 5,000m becoming the first Irish female sprint canoeist to win a medal of any colour, and only missed out on gold by just six seconds to winner, Renata Csay of Hungary.

Jenny's strong performances so far this year, saw her take a silver medal at the World Cup 2 race in the Czech Rep. The 5000m event is one of the most popular of all in championships. This was no exception; quickly a group of 5 girls broke from the field headed by Lani Belcher, Great Britain, Jenny Egan, Anna Adamova, Czech Republic and Kristina Zur of the USA. The Austrian, Anna Lehaci, could not keep up with the pace. So it was a four person fight for the medals. However, due to a miscalculation the bell for the final lap was sounded early confusing the athletes leading the race. Eventually all the athletes completed the full distance with Lani Belcher (GBR) sprinting to the Gold medal. Due to the confusion two silver medals were given to Adamova and Egan with Bronze going to Zur.

With Jenny's medal tally on the international canoeing circuit beginning to rack up, it is only a matter of time before she makes the biggest leap on the podium to gold medal position with the support of her family, especially her brother and former canoeing international Peter. The DCU sports science graduate joins, jockey Nina Carberry, Irish Irish female rugby captain Fiona Coghlan, golfing twins Lisa and Leona Maguire and cross country runner Fionnuala Britton in the race for the overall accolade of The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswoman of the Year 2011.

Established in 2004, the aim of the Sports Woman of the Year awards is to recognise the abilities and achievements of women in Irish sports. The awards run over a twelve month period, with the judges selecting a winner each month for her ability to excel at sport. From the twelve monthly winners, the overall Sportswoman of the Year is selected and announced.

Published in Canoeing

Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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