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Displaying items by tag: Guinness World Record

#DIVING - A Guinness World Record holding SCUBA diver has been appointed as Ireland's first ever Professor of Midwifery, the Galway Advertiser reports.

Prof Declan Devine, who is a leading seararcher and scholar in the field, will take up the role at NUI Galway's School of Nursing and Midwifery.

His expertise in childcare goes in tandem with his efforts to raise funds for the care of children with serious illnesses. He serves as director of West of Ireland children's cancer charity Hand in Hand.

Prof Devine has also combined his charitable activities with his passion for SCUBA diving, raising more than €35,000 in 2009 when he set the Guinness World Record for the longest open saltwater SCUBA dive in cold water.

The Galway Advertiser has more on the story HERE.

Published in Diving

Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, has set the Guinness World Record for the 'Largest Parade of Boats' with the International Optimist Class Association.

The record took place on July 25, 2010 within the waters of Weymouth and Portland featuring over 300 young Optimist sailors. Requirements to set the new world record were extensive; requiring 300 plus people, all holding a full licence for their boat to sail a set course. The attempt was completed with a total of 318 Optimist sailors in a controlled area. The record attempt required a huge amount of skill from the young sailors, all aged between 7 and 15 years, who had to navigate the course at the helm of their own dinghy.

The Guinness World Records formed back in 1954 cover both human achievements and extremes of the natural world. It is the best selling copy-righted book series of all time and hugely popular internationally. This award is a global recognition of very significant profile within the record breaking field.

The record success can be attributed to the talent of the sailors who were welcomed from across Europe, Asia, United Arab Emirates and even Oceania. Many of them will have aspirations of Olympic sailing one day like their predecessors from the Optimist class.

John Tweed, Chief Executive at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, commented, 'we are extremely proud of what we accomplished back in July, now officially being a world record holder, I want to extend a big thanks to everyone that made it possible. All participants had a great time and we will be able to look back and remember the day we broke a Guinness World Record TM'.

guinness

The new Guinness World Record was Awarded to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy

Published in Optimist

Marine Leisure & Aquatic Tourism

Domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million.

Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips.

While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. 

According to the National University of Galway (NUIG) research the average expenditure per coastal day trip in 2018 was calculated at €95. The equivalent for coastal overnight trips was €310. The estimated water-based activity expenditure per person per trip across the sample was €56 rising to €73 for the subsample that actually undertake waterbased activities on their coastal visits. The results also indicate that domestic tourists undertake the majority of their marine activities on the West and South coasts of Ireland and that there are notable differences in participation rates across age groupings, social classes and by family makeup.

A domestic tourist is defined in this report as a person who spends at least one night away from home on their trip. Total expenditure by domestic tourists in coastal areas was estimated to be €698 million in 2018, which represents 35% of the total expenditure by domestic tourists (using the broader Fáilte Ireland measure for domestic tourists that includes business trips equating to 10.92 million in total trips and €2,006 million in total revenue).

The marine-related activity expenditure, or what might truly be referred to as domestic marine tourism, is estimated to generate revenue of €381 million with €172 million being spent on water-based activities. Marine tourism makes up an estimated 19% of total domestic tourism expenditure.

Marine Leisure Tourism - FAQ

Coastal tourism refers to land-based and water-based tourism activities taking place on the coast for which the proximity to the sea is a condition including also their respective services. Coastal and Marine Tourism & Leisure are seen as one of the Blue Economy (BE) sectors that can help unlock the potential of multi-use of space at sea by engaging with Blue Growth (BG) sectors such as Aquaculture and Marine Renewable Energy among others.

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

NUI Galway carried out a survey of domestic residents in Ireland in 2019 as part of a survey entitled "Valuing and understanding the dynamics of Ireland's Ocean Economy". The purpose of the household survey was to profile the domestic market for single-day trips (leisure) and overnight trips (tourism) for coastal and marine-related activities in Ireland. The results of the survey are also used to estimate what proportion of an Irish resident's total domestic tourism expenditure is in coastal areas (coastal tourism) and what proportion is spent on undertaking marine-related activities (marine tourism).

The NUI results highlight the important contribution that Ireland's marine and coastal resources make to the leisure experiences of the general population and the importance of the domestic tourism market to local coastal economies. The analysis indicates that domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million. Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips. While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. Satisfaction with the available marine-related leisure facilities was also found to be very high across all activities.

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