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Displaying items by tag: Courtown

Some of Ireland's top anglers are currently toughing it out in Tuscany at the 2011 World Championship of Shore Angling.
Team member Joe Byrne, from Courtown in Co Wexford, told the Gorey Guardian that the Irish are "in with a serious chance".
"Ireland won the World Championships last year [in South Africa], so there's a little pressure there. We'll just have to catch a few fish!"
The contest will take place over two-and-a-half weeks on Italy's Mediterranean coastline.
Some of Ireland's top anglers are currently toughing it out in Tuscany at the 2011 World Championship of Shore Angling.

Team member Joe Byrne, from Courtown in Co Wexford, told the Gorey Guardian that the Irish are "in with a serious chance".

"Ireland won the World Championships last year [in South Africa], so there's a little pressure there. We'll just have to catch a few fish!"

The contest will take place over two-and-a-half weeks on Italy's Mediterranean coastline.
Published in Angling

Royal Cork Yacht Club sailors have lifted two national titles at the 2011 Mitsubishi National Youth Sailing Championships this afternoon in a series cut short today by gale force winds on Dublin Bay. SCROLL DOWN FOR THIS AFTERNOON'S PRIZEGIVING PHOTOS.

Local knowledge offered no advantage as Dun Laoghaire co-hosts the Royal St. George YC, the National Yacht Club and the Royal Irish YC won none of the five national titles inspite of strong turnouts fielded by each of the waterfront clubs.

With winds gusting up to 25-30 knots and easterly winds causing a big swell, sailing for the final day of the ISA Mitsubishi National Championships was cancelled leaving the 300 sailors ashore. However all classes had completed sufficient races to complete the series.

The event was an important test event for Dun Laoghaire organisers of the Youth Worlds which will be held in the same venue from 12 -21 July 2012.

In a show of strength from the regions the three other titles went to other east coast clubs at Howth, Ballyholme and Courtown.

Immediately after the prizegiving, (photos below) Olympic Team Manager James O'Callaghan named the Irish team for the 2011 ISAF Youth World Championships in Croatia in July based on the weekend results. Listen to the podcast with the team manager, talking about the stand out performances of the weekend,  the current strength of youth sailing in Ireland and the prospect of a top finish in Croatia.

Royal Cork YC achieved two national titles with Laser 4.7 event favourite Seafra Guilfoyle winning the title having previously dominated the Optimist fleet in previous years.

Brother and sister team Patrick & Chloe Crosbie also from Royal Cork won the 420 National title and Patrick was awarded the Training Grant for the most promising sailor at the event.

This event was the national trials for the Optimist class which was won by Tralee Bay sailor Sophie Browne who will travel to New Zealand in December to compete in the Optimist World Championships.

Irish optimist sailors are performing well internationally at the moment finishing fourth and fifth at the Braassemermeer Easter regatta. Other events during 2011 where there will be Irish representation include the European Championships in Portugal and the National Championships in Germany and the UK.

Top three results below. Click the links for full results class by class.

Laser Radial - full results here
National Champion: Philip Doran (Courtown Sailing Club)
2nd  Robbie Gilmore (Strangford Lough YC)
3rd Eoin Keller (Lough Derg YC)
1st Girl Sophie Murphy Quoile Yacht Club

Laser 4.7 - full results here
National Champion: Seafra Guilfoyle (Royal Cork YC)
2nd Darragh O'Sullivan (Kinsale YC)
3rd Finn Lynch (NYC/Blessington SC)
1st Girl: Sian Kneafsey (National YC)

420 - full results here
National Champions:  Patrick Crosbie & Chloe Crosbie (Royal Cork YC)
2nd Aodh Kennedy & Daniel Browne (Kinsale YC & Tralee Bay SC)
3rd Emma Geary & Niamh Connolly (Royal Cork YC & Baltimore SC)

Feva - full results here

National Champions: D Johnston & L Flynn Byrne (Howth YC)

2nd C Totterdell & S Craig (National YC/Royal St. George YC)

3rd  C Mollard & J Harris (Howth YC)

Topper - full results here
National Champion:  T Brow (Ballyholme YC)
2nd Laura Gilmore (Strangford Lough YC)
3rd  Andrew Penney (East Antrim BC)

Optimist (Championship fleet)
1st Ben Walsh (Skerries SC)
2nd Ross Quirke (National YC)
3rd Colin O'Sullivan (Malahide YC)

Optimist National Trials
Sophie Browne (Tralee Bay SC) won the trials and took the option of travelling to New Zealand in December 2011 to represent Ireland at the Optimist World Championships.

The following sailors were selected by the trial process to represent Ireland at the European Championship which will be held in Portugal in July 2011: Sean Donnelly, HYC, Peter McCann RCYC, Harry Whitaker RCYC, Eoin Lyden RCYC, Jil McGinley RCYC  Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain KYC and Megan Parker SSC

The team selected to travel to the German National Championships include Robert Dickson HYC , Daire Cournane KYC, Sean Waddilove Skerries SC,  Richard Hogan HYC, Adam Hyland RSGYC, Ronan Cournane KYC, Sean Gambier Ross KYC and Fergus Flood HYC, Aoife Hopkins and Alacoque Daly Tralee Bay SC.

In addition 10 sailors were chosen for the Irish under 12 squad who will compete in the Optimist UK National Championships.

All our youth sailing news aggregated here

Prizegiving photos by Gareth Craig below. For daily on the water action: Day one photos here. Day two photos here. Day three photos here.

Published in Youth Sailing
The Irish Marine Federation (IMF) has thrown its weight behind MEP Nessa Childers' efforts to raise funds in Europe for a stalled marina in Courtown.

Wexford Councillors and County Council officials have come together to seek European assistance to help save the stalled Courtown marina, news of the move was published in the Gorey ECHO.

"This is precisely the kind of question our politicians we need to ask if we're ever to complete the necklace of marinas around our coastline, said the IMF's David O'Brien.

Plans for a 230-berth marina in Courtown were unveiled in November 2008 and included apartments and retail units. The plans also included the construction of a breakwater off the south pier in the village.

Childers visited the north Wexford seaside village to discuss the possibility of restarting the project which has been stalled since 2008 due to the economic recession.

Following her meeting with council officials and county councillors, Ms. Childers submitted a Parliamentary Question regarding the possibilities for getting financial assistance for marina facilities in Ireland.

In the question Childers says: "Is there funding opportunities or other supports available from the European Union in order to assist in providing finance for the development of marina facilities in Ireland to enhance our tourism product?"

Ireland, as an island nation, is working to develop its infrastructure as a destination for sailing holidays.

"The development of marinas in a sustainable fashion at key locations around the coast of Ireland to accommodate sailing and boating activities would benefit from investment from a tourism and economic development point of view." said Childers.

For every euro spent berthing in Courtown marina visiting sailors will spend 10 in the village, according to our research, says O'Brien. Huge Tourism benefits can literally come in on the tide, if only we had the infrastructure", he added.

The IMF is the national body that represents the marine leisure industry including the Irish Marina Operators Association (IMOA).

The County Council carried out a feasibility study which found that the marina had to be self-funding through sale of apartments and other units as there was no government funding for such developments.

Speaking this week, Director of Services with Wexford County Council, Niall McGuigan said: "It is currently not financially feasible but we hope for the best. We would be very eager for it to go ahead."

Mr. McGuigan said that the project was on hold until either funding became available, an investor was found or a combination of both.

Published in Coastal Notes
17th July 2009

Courtown Sailing Club

cul8r_rounding_mark_l.jpg Courtown Sailing Club is a family orientated and vibrant club where new members are always welcome.

Left: 'Cul8r' rounding mark at the Kilmichael Challenge 2009

 

Post: Courtown Sailing Club, c/o Aine Stafford, South Pier, Courtown Harbour, Co. Wexford. Tel: 086 80 66 594. Please only call at reasonable hours!

Junior Organiser: John Timmons
 

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 087 761 4955 between 19:00 and 21:00 weekday evenings and between 12:00 and 18:00 on weekends

(Above information and image courtesy of Courtown Sailing Club)

Courtown Sailing Club, Courtown Harbour, Gorey, Co. Wexford. Website here.

Have we got your club details? Click here to get involved

Published in Clubs
Page 4 of 4

Ferry & Car Ferry News The ferry industry on the Irish Sea, is just like any other sector of the shipping industry, in that it is made up of a myriad of ship operators, owners, managers, charterers all contributing to providing a network of routes carried out by a variety of ships designed for different albeit similar purposes.

All this ferry activity involves conventional ferry tonnage, 'ro-pax', where the vessel's primary design is to carry more freight capacity rather than passengers. This is in some cases though, is in complete variance to the fast ferry craft where they carry many more passengers and charging a premium.

In reporting the ferry scene, we examine the constantly changing trends of this sector, as rival ferry operators are competing in an intensive environment, battling out for market share following the fallout of the economic crisis. All this has consequences some immediately felt, while at times, the effects can be drawn out over time, leading to the expense of others, through reduced competition or takeover or even face complete removal from the marketplace, as witnessed in recent years.

Arising from these challenging times, there are of course winners and losers, as exemplified in the trend to run high-speed ferry craft only during the peak-season summer months and on shorter distance routes. In addition, where fastcraft had once dominated the ferry scene, during the heady days from the mid-90's onwards, they have been replaced by recent newcomers in the form of the 'fast ferry' and with increased levels of luxury, yet seeming to form as a cost-effective alternative.

Irish Sea Ferry Routes

Irrespective of the type of vessel deployed on Irish Sea routes (between 2-9 hours), it is the ferry companies that keep the wheels of industry moving as freight vehicles literally (roll-on and roll-off) ships coupled with motoring tourists and the humble 'foot' passenger transported 363 days a year.

As such the exclusive freight-only operators provide important trading routes between Ireland and the UK, where the freight haulage customer is 'king' to generating year-round revenue to the ferry operator. However, custom built tonnage entering service in recent years has exceeded the level of capacity of the Irish Sea in certain quarters of the freight market.

A prime example of the necessity for trade in which we consumers often expect daily, though arguably question how it reached our shores, is the delivery of just in time perishable products to fill our supermarket shelves.

A visual manifestation of this is the arrival every morning and evening into our main ports, where a combination of ferries, ro-pax vessels and fast-craft all descend at the same time. In essence this a marine version to our road-based rush hour traffic going in and out along the commuter belts.

Across the Celtic Sea, the ferry scene coverage is also about those overnight direct ferry routes from Ireland connecting the north-western French ports in Brittany and Normandy.

Due to the seasonality of these routes to Europe, the ferry scene may be in the majority running between February to November, however by no means does this lessen operator competition.

Noting there have been plans over the years to run a direct Irish –Iberian ferry service, which would open up existing and develop new freight markets. Should a direct service open, it would bring new opportunities also for holidaymakers, where Spain is the most visited country in the EU visited by Irish holidaymakers ... heading for the sun!