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Displaying items by tag: disabilities

#Regatta - The recently established Foyle Sailability will host its first regatta for people with disabilities in Derry this Thursday and Friday 16-17 May, as the Derry Journal reports.

Volunteers from Lough Foyle Yacht Club, Lough Swilly Yacht Club and Moville Boat Club will be on hand, joined by volunteers from Belfast Lough Sailability for the two-day event which marks the first time that a fleet of accessible dinghies has cruised together on the River Foyle.

People with disabilities across the northwest are invited to try out sailing for themselves by contacting Foyle Sailability at 71 266 593 or [email protected].

The regatta will meet at the Foyle Pontoon at Riverfront Walkway off Baronet Street from 11am to 3pm each day of the event.

Published in Sailing Events

#INLAND WATERWAYS - Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) officially launched the Lough O’Flynn and Upper Suck Angling Guide at the Old Stonehouse Restaurant in Ballinlough recently.

The guide opens to Lough O'Flynn, a 300-acre limestone lake situated 2km from Ballinlough and one of IFI’s many managed lakes requiring a permit.

This lake holds a stock of wild brown trout and is also stocked with brown trout each year which provides an excellent opportunity for all kinds of anglers and those wishing to take up the sport to learn how to fish for trout.

Meanwhile, the centrefold of the guide showcases the Upper Suck catchment from Lough O’Flynn through Co Roscommon and Galway until the Shiven tributary joins, along which good quality coarse, pike and trout angling can be expected.

With breathtaking scenery, this is the perfect place for anglers who can fish almost undisturbed from dawn till dusk.

There are also a considerable number of sections dedicated to anglers with disabilities, such as the Donamon angling stretch which has 30 fishing stands available with individual car parking bays and toilet facilities. This section has proven extremely popular, and IFI says it is committed to ensuring that sections like Donamon continue to open fishing up for everyone.

Amanda Mooney, director at IFI, said: “The guide offers a great source of information on angling hotspots for various types of species, access points and facilities, legislation and safety.

"All in all everything you need for planning a fishing trip. The guide and angling promotion in general supports local businesses and communities in sustaining jobs.”

The Lough O’Flynn and Upper Suck Angling Guide is available from IFI outlets and local permit agents in Ballinlough, Co Roscommon.

Inland Fisheries Ireland also marked the retirement of John Ryan, assistant inspector for Lough O’Flynn and the Suck catchment, after 41 years of service.

Ryan was involved in many areas and aspects of fisheries throughout his career, and was particularly noted for his positive engagement with various groups from angling clubs and development associations to local authorities, businesses and communities.

Published in Angling

Galway Port & Harbour

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city and port is located on the northeast side of the bay. The bay is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and from 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to 30 kilometres (19 miles) in breadth.

The Aran Islands are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay.

Galway Port FAQs

Galway was founded in the 13th century by the de Burgo family, and became an important seaport with sailing ships bearing wine imports and exports of fish, hides and wool.

Not as old as previously thought. Galway bay was once a series of lagoons, known as Loch Lurgan, plied by people in log canoes. Ancient tree stumps exposed by storms in 2010 have been dated back about 7,500 years.

It is about 660,000 tonnes as it is a tidal port.

Capt Brian Sheridan, who succeeded his late father, Capt Frank Sheridan

The dock gates open approximately two hours before high water and close at high water subject to ship movements on each tide.

The typical ship sizes are in the region of 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes

Turbines for about 14 wind projects have been imported in recent years, but the tonnage of these cargoes is light. A European industry report calculates that each turbine generates €10 million in locally generated revenue during construction and logistics/transport.

Yes, Iceland has selected Galway as European landing location for international telecommunications cables. Farice, a company wholly owned by the Icelandic Government, currently owns and operates two submarine cables linking Iceland to Northern Europe.

It is "very much a live project", Harbourmaster Capt Sheridan says, and the Port of Galway board is "awaiting the outcome of a Bord Pleanála determination", he says.

90% of the scrap steel is exported to Spain with the balance being shipped to Portugal. Since the pandemic, scrap steel is shipped to the Liverpool where it is either transhipped to larger ships bound for China.

It might look like silage, but in fact, its bales domestic and municipal waste, exported to Denmark where the waste is incinerated, and the heat is used in district heating of homes and schools. It is called RDF or Refuse Derived Fuel and has been exported out of Galway since 2013.

The new ferry is arriving at Galway Bay onboard the cargo ship SVENJA. The vessel is currently on passage to Belem, Brazil before making her way across the Atlantic to Galway.

Two Volvo round world races have selected Galway for the prestigious yacht race route. Some 10,000 people welcomed the boats in during its first stopover in 2009, when a festival was marked by stunning weather. It was also selected for the race finish in 2012. The Volvo has changed its name and is now known as the "Ocean Race". Capt Sheridan says that once port expansion and the re-urbanisation of the docklands is complete, the port will welcome the "ocean race, Clipper race, Tall Ships race, Small Ships Regatta and maybe the America's Cup right into the city centre...".

The pandemic was the reason why Seafest did not go ahead in Cork in 2020. Galway will welcome Seafest back after it calls to Waterford and Limerick, thus having been to all the Port cities.

© Afloat 2020