Hello and welcome aboard this week’s edition of your maritime programme Seascapes ...this week more on Cork Harbour Festival with Eimear Fitzgerald of Meitheal Mara ....... as boats are back in the water its time to get those Life Jacketss tested but more importantly if your near the water this weekend wear a lifejacket ..... we meet Liam Meagher and hear about The Rebel Plunge; reporter Joe MAG RAOILLAIGH on Bord Iascaigh Mhara’s – Fishing for Litter campaign on board ; British Ambassador to Ireland Dominick Chilcott on HMS Caroline and the Battle of Jutland as HMS Caroline opened this week to visitors in Belfast ............ author of The Lure of Far Away Places - Norman Freeman on “Tragedy off the coast of Brazil which features in his recent book ...music from Molgoggers fresh from their recent visit to the Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival and “Hard on the Beach Oar” .......first this week on Seascapes to a new initiative ....... Marine litter currently poses a dire, vast and growing threat to the marine and coastal environment.... that's according to the United Nations Environment Programme that advises the UN on environmental matters. Every year millions of tons of manmade litter ends up in the world oceans, much of it that lasts for years as we heard from students in Midleton some months ago ......... our waters are no exception and litter is now a constant presence.......... That's why Bord Iascaigh Mhara the seafood development agency is asking Irish fishing boats to start fishing for litter..... here's a report from RTE’s Joe MAG RAOILLAIGH aboard the Celtic Chieftain prawn trawler...........Scroll down the page to listen to the podcast
That was skipper of the Celtic Chieftain Patrick Smyth finishing that report for Seascapes from Joe Mag Raollaigh and further information about Bord Iascaigh Mhara’s Fishing for Litter programme is available from the agency......
Clare County Council is urging visitors to Clare’s main beaches this June Bank Holiday Weekend to take responsibility for their rubbish by bringing it home with them.
The Council has employed additional resources to deal with the increase in litter that has resulted from the rise in visitor numbers to beaches such as Kilkee, Lahinch and Spanish Point. The local authority says it is also installing additional refuse facilities at Clare’s Blue Flags in an effort to minimise littering while litter wardens have been deployed to monitor littering activity.
Next here on Seascapes to the Cork Harbour Festival which runs over the coming week ..Eimear Fitzgerald of Meitheal Mara who previewed Ocean to City – An Ras Mor last Friday has more this week ...
Eimear Fitzgerald of Meitheal Mara on The Cork Harbour Festival....
Across the harbour, East Cork communities can enjoy a bonanza of outdoor fun. Swell Surf School will offer special rates on surfing and coasteering lessons, Whitegate Rowing Club will host a coastal rowing regatta, and Aghada Eco Adventures will host an afternoon of free family fun with kayaking and water trampolining! For those with an archaeological interest, Neptune Kayak offer a unique tour to visit Ireland’s only inter-tidal megalithic tomb at Poulnalibe creek, Rostellan.
Crosshaven, Passage West and Cobh will all host events, with the Irish Navy offering a glimpse into life in the defence forces, with free naval vessel tours in Cobh. Cork Nature Network will lead a scenic harbour bird watching walk along Mahon Point, and Cork Singer’s Club will round off a busy day with a rousing evening of sea shanties and folksong at ‘Songs of the Sea’ in the Spailpín Fánach, Cork City. The full festival programme of over 50 events is available online at www.corkharbourfestival.com
You can visit the oldest yacht club in the world the Royal Cork and Try Sailing or hear about the history of the club from archivist Dermot Burns ....
Next here on Seascapes from the Cork Harbour Festival to South America and this tale from the writer and broadcaster Norman Freeman taken from his most recent collection of stories “ The Lure of Far Away Places “ ....this a “Tragedy off the Coast of Brazil “ .....
Tragedy Off the Coast of Brazil by Norman Feeman....this week saw the centenary of the Battle of Jutland and the opening in Belfast in The Titanic Quarter of the only surviving vessel whicxh has been restored the HMS Caroline which we hope to bring you more about in coming months ...however lets hear from the British Ambassador to Ireland HE Dominick Chilcott whom we spoke to some time ago about the vessel....
Seascapes and Sail Training Ireland are offering the opportunity to one lucky individual between the age of 18 to 30 to a complimentary bursary voyage on board one of Sail Training Ireland’s vessels this season .
What we want you to do is write to us and in no more than 400 words tell us about an individual that you would care to nominate for this bursary and why
...you can send your correspondence by letter to Sail Training Ireland Bursary, Seascapes , RTE Radio 1, Fr Mathew Street, Cork or by email to [email protected] .
The closing date for entries for this Seascapes / Sail Training Ireland Bursary is Friday 24th June and we’ll be announcing the winner on Seascapes on Friday 1st July . The judging panel will be drawn from the Seascapes team and the board of Sail Training Ireland ....so send those letters and emails now...we’ll have all the details on the Seascapes webpage.......www.rte.ie/radio1/seascapes you can also visit the Sail Training Ireland website which is www.sailtrainingireland.com
Finally this week to the Rebel Plunge – which takes place on the River Lee next week ...Liam Meagher has all the details
You can read more about Open Water Swimming on the Seascapes webpage .....Do take care on or near the water ......
Well that’s about it for this week , on the sound desk this week Niall O Sullivan , next week here on Seascapes we meet Submariner Captain Dan Conley , author of “Cold War Command” who was a recent visitor and guest of the World Ship Society , Cobh Branch when we met up at the Naval Base in Haulbowline.....we bring you the story of the Nelly Fleming which sailed out of Youghal and was the subject of a recent book by Mike Hackett, Ron Coveney tells us about his strong family ties to the Nelly Fleming and the bond that existed between himself and his grandfather who sailed aboard the vessel..... Pierce Purcell has news of activity on the Western seaboard ...... we’ll have the results of our James Caird competition and as concern mounts over the dumping of spoil in Dublin Bay at the Burford Bank we talk to diver and Marine biologist Tim Butter about the site which is in a Special Area of Conservation........All that and much more here on Seascapes , until next Friday night, tight lines and fair sailing .”
Marcus Connaughton
