In this week's podcast, you could win one of two spaces on one of the Clipper Yachts for the sail from Kinsale to Cork this Wednesday. Plus we talk to the young guns from Schull Community College and the Pride of Wicklow about their victories in recent days.
Fancy a free McWilliams bag? Easy! All you have to do is head to Afloat's Facebook page, hit the 'Like' button, and post the answer to the following question on our wall: Who was the overall winner of the 2010 Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race, run by Wicklow Sailing Club?
Winners picked Midday Wednesday, and more competitions to come on both Facebook (facebook.com/Afloatmagazine) and Twitter (twitter.com/AfloatMagazine) - stay tuned!
There was no deluge of overnight finishers, no sing of meteorological miracles or surging mass of racers passing Howth and heading on to Wicklow as the final stages of the Round Ireland slowed to a crawl in the short hours of darkness. The tracker shows plenty of boats stopping, spinning, and presumably anchoring off the coast of Northern Ireland as the wind dropped to a zephyr and the tide pulled at the fleet like toy boats in a draining bath.
But, firstly, Afloat.ie offers official congratulations to Tonnerre de Breskens 3, now sitting pretty in Wicklow with the major challenges to their title punctured below the waterline. Their race was near impeccable, and they add the Round Ireland win to their recent string of RORC offshore victories. To them, the glory, and it is all well deserved. Your correspondent pegged them as favourited, despite the Water Rat's predictions that Inis Mor had more in store.
Inis Mor, as it happens, slipped quietly into harbour yesterday evening at 7.38pm to take second overall. Then an overnight lull in finishers was broken by Fujitsu coming home at ten minutes to five, followed by the impressive young crew of Pride of Wicklow at ten to six, who drew a roar of appreciation from those waiting on the quays. Visit Malta Puma were next in at 6.35, and now the long wait for the next finishers, a trio of Aquelina, Bejaysus and Daft.com.
Cavatina's hoped-for intervention failed to materialise, and they have yet to cross the mouth of Belfast Lough, having spent the night close inshore where they could anchor against the tide.
Indeed there's a long way to go for those still out on the racecourse. A string of ten boats are crossing Dundrum Bay off Newcastle, with the rest in a cluster near Cushendall. For some of these competitors, depending on the weather, the race could last close to a full week, if they persist.
A word of congratulations to Wicklow town for making a proper festival of the race this year and showing its potential for growth. Official figures suggested 10,000 people hit Wicklow last weekend, but those involved were ebulliantly talking it up to 15,000 or more, which is no small achievement. It goes to show that despite its status as a sport that's not built for spectators, everyone loves to party with sailors.
Questions have been raised about the future of the race, however, in today's Irish Times. Article HERE.
Have your say on the racing in our forum thread HERE.
The race tracker is HERE, and the official site is HERE.
More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:
Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review
Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture
A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race
Markham Nolan spoke with South African Matt Trautman, boat captain of clubhouse leader Tonnerre de Breskens 3. Matt tells Afloat.ie about the crucial factors in Tonnerre's total domination of the Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race, which they led from start to finish.
Club house leader: Tonnerre at the start of the Race last Sunday. Photos: Bob Bateman
More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:
Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review
Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture
A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race
Reports from Wicklow suggest that the crew of Tonnerre de Breskens 3, the line honours winner, have decamped to their hotel for some well-deserved rest. The ease with which they sleep will be telling.
Only two boats in the Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race have finished, and tradition dictates that it's a race rarely decided by first-past-the-post. With 34 of the 36 boats still on the race course, a handicap finisher can always put a fly in the ointment. One boat with potential to do that is Cavatina.
Her handicap means that she has until 10.27 on Friday morning, which gives Tonnerre enough time to have a lie-in and and Irish breakfast before watching the clock count down to an assured victory.
Inis Mor's target time has come and gone so they are no longer an issue for Tonnerre, and it will take a boat with a big handicap to cause them a sleepless night.
It will also take a lot of wind, something that's in short supply. Back-of-the-napkin calculations suggest Cavatina need to be moving at an average of 8.7 knots for the remainder of their race to win. Cavatina is currently located at Rathlin Island, says the tracker, doing exactly zero knots, with not much more than eight knots of wind forecast over the next 18 hours. Even sailing downstream in spring tides all the way, Cavatina would still need a divine intervention.
One big remaining question is whether or not Psipsina can retain her double-handed title. She's currently caught in the narrows off Strangford making just two knots while Daft.com heads into the Irish Sea at more than 7 knots. Psipsina has held the lead for the majority of the race, and the good money would back her to retain it at this stage.
Still a lot to play for, however, and tomorrow morning should see the rankings finalised in most classes.
For tracker-addicts and those with friends and relations battling in the pack, it's another evening of F5 refreshes and twitching fingers.
Tonnerre de Bresken took line honours in the Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race early this morning, tying up in Wicklow harbour just after 4am. The Dutch entry held off the Open 60 Spirit of Rosslare Europort in a light airs beat down the Irish Sea, but all eyes will now scan the horizon for the main challenger for the overall title, Inis Mor. Bernard Guoy's Clifden-registered Ker 39 has until 14.13 to finish if they want to claim overall honours. This is a tall order, with the Frenchman just south of the mouth of Strangord Lough, making seven knots on a fetch to Wicklow.
Light airs and strong tides either side of midnight meant that the anchors came out for some boats off Rathlin Island.
Gloom continues to be the prevailing mood on the beleagured double-hander Daft.com, operating with no electronics or autohelm. Their latest online missive read: "Rage! Wind has disappeared and we are anchored just after Rathlin Island. Very keen for the finish now. Bruised, blistered, cut, tired, sore and ready to get moving into the finish line."
Conditions are getting to Hanna White aboard Dinah, also, who tweeted: "No sleep, rubbish food, peeing in a bucket, remind me again why I do this sport?"
Two packs of three are duelling down the Northern Irish coast behind Inis Mor. Visit Malta Puma, Pride of Wicklow and Fujitsu are all within 2.5 miles of each other, and then twelve miles back, Daft.com, Aquelina and Bejaysus are battling it out.
The fleet are stretched like a swimming cap over the head of the country in a line from Strangford Lough to Bloody Foreland.
Have your say on the racing in our forum thread HERE.
The race tracker is HERE, and the official site is HERE.
Celtic Spirit has become the first retiral in the Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race, with a broken pole meaning they have no effective means for sailing downwind. A report on the official race site says: "Owner Michael Holland tells us crew member, Joe, had a very lucky escape as the broken pole flew across deck and knocked him down - fortunately it was just a glancing blow and the only damage was a torn jacket. All is not lost - they are closeby Inishboffin and know a nice deep hole to anchor in to enable them drown their sorrows."
Meanwhile the hobbled Daft.com has lost ground to the chasing pack with a cracked spreader, and are being caught gradually by Pride of Wicklow, Fujistu and Visit Malta Puma as they round Malin Head. A broken alternator has resulted in no electrics aboard the double-hander, which has meant that Mick Liddy on Daft.com has had to helm non-stop. His blind co-skipper, Mark Pollock, was reliant on technology to allow him steer, and the two are suffering from sleep deprivation (see video below).
From Pride of Wicklow's shore crew via their Twitter feed: "Edging their way ahead in a game of wits...ETA 2-4 pm Thursday... but they are working hard to improve that.come on Powwwwwww"
Inis Mor still holds the lead overall and third on the water, and the tide should turn soon to suck her around into the Irish Sea. Tonnerre de Breskens continues to hold off the Open 60 at the front, with Alan McGettigan's crew having to make some slow angles in light beating conditions.
Have your say on the racing in our forum thread HERE.
The latest results in the Conway Media Round Ireland show that Inis Mor had managed to sneak back in front as the fleet began to round the north coast. A 6am report from the race office puts Tonnerre in second, with Inis Mor leading the standings and Class Zero.
More as we have it.
FROM THE RACE OFFICE;
Race Office Update 23/06/2010 @ 06.30 hours
Provisional results for leaders of each class Wednesday 23rd at 06.00 hours.
Overall
1st Inis Mor
2nd Tonnerre de Breskens3
3rd Visit Malta Puma
IRC 0 Inis Mor
IRC 1 Visit Malta Puma
IRC 2 Psipsina
IRC 3 Alchimiste
Class 4 Cruisers Cavatina
Class 5 Classics Cavatina
Class 6 Sigma 38 Persistance
Class 7 Two Handed Psipsina
“Pride of Wicklow “ currently lying 6th in overall fleet and 3rd in Class 0.
The lead boat “Tonnerre de Breskens3” is approx 150 miles from the finish.
Boats can now call in race reports from the water direct to our webmaster's voicemail for use as podcasts, just dial 08652570320 and leave your report after the beep, and we'll get it up online as soon as possible.
Have your say on the racing in our forum thread HERE.
As the leaders of the Conway Media Round Ireland Yacht Race enter the northern end of the Irish Sea, today will be all about current affairs, so be prepared to watch the teams' fates ebb and flow with the vagaries of Northern Irish tides. Tonnerre de Breskens and Spirit of Rosslare Europort are currently being hurried around the north-east corner by the end of a flood tide. However, Larne saw high water come and go at 08.11 this morning. That means that the leaders and those in their wake (Inis Mor and Daft.com) have maybe an hour of slack water before things turn against them and they end up jogging on a nautical treadmill. Adding to the impending misery, those east of Malin Head are in light airs, whereas those off the Donegal coast and even further back have stronger following winds whisking them up the rankings in handicap terms and helping them battle the tide. Tonnerre and Rosslare are past Rathlin, but not out of the woods yet.
Low Water at Larne is at 1418hrs, and how much the fleet will compress before then could well define how the results pan out when the finishers hit Wicklow.
One curiosity now will be who gets line honours.
Favourite before the race was the Open 60 Spirit of Rosslare Europort, the one boat in the fleet with the potential for greatest speed. However they've failed to make gains when the conditions were in their favour, and now face upwind conditions, or a fetch at best, down the Irish Sea. Open 60s are built for downwind sailing, and this will do them no favours.
They're duelling with the Dutchmen on Tonnerre de Breskens, who have sailed a near impeccable race so far, in line with their winning form on the RORC circuit, and led the IRC rankings at the last mark. From the Spirit of Rosslare Europort blog earlier this morning: "Passed Rathlin Island and chasing Tonnerre de Breskens 3 hard. We are set for a great duel down the Irish sea. We are sailing with 3.4knts of favourable tide but this is due to change at about 09.30 this morning as the tide turns foul.
"While we are on a IMOCA 60 - We have to take our hats off to the Guys on “Tonnerre de Breskens 3” - They are sailing that Ker 46 to her max."
Further back, Inis Mor is the main challenger for the overall title, with Visit Malta Puma pushing hard and the pair of them battling with the youngsters on Pride of Wicklow who have put in a valiant debut performance in a race that has thrown up ideal conditions for an opening foray into offshore sailing.
Psipsina continues to hold onto her double-handed lead, and could do some further damage to Daft.com's lead on the water around the top. Daft.com have been struggling with their on-board alternator, meaning that their on-board electronics have been used sparingly. This may have made things difficult for blind sailor Mark Pollock, reliant on a power-hungry audio nav system to help him steer the boat while Mick Liddy sleeps. (UPDATE: Mark Pollock just tweeted to say that their backup autohelm cut out during a gybe, and they report a suspected cracked spreader. Kite is down and they are assessing what to do)
Boats can now call in race reports from the water direct to our webmaster's voicemail for use as podcasts, just dial 08652570320 and leave your report after the beep, and we'll get it up online as soon as possible.
Have your say on the racing in our forum thread HERE.
The race tracker is HERE, and the official site is HERE.
More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:
Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review
Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture
A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht Race
Round Ireland 2010 is half over but only just begun. Winds–as usual–are forecast to be varied on the next leg down the East coast. Experienced Round Ireland pundits say it's too early for predictions. Read this morning's analysis here. Others though have stuck their necks out to give Dutch yacht Tonnerre de Bresekens the trophy already. Read our forum thread here. Water Rat still pins his hopes on a great French win, Inis Mor is the boat to beat! Read his thoughts here. Check our weather podcast here for today and tomorrow. Is 2010 really the predicted small boat race or will this instead be a France v Holland final? We'd like your views on our forum here.
More on the Round Ireland Yacht Race:
Round Ireland Yacht Race 2010 Review
Round Ireland Yacht Race, Ireland's top offshore fixture
A Round up of 80 stories on the 2010 Round Ireland Yacht RaceThe Irish Coast Guard is Ireland's fourth 'Blue Light' service (along with An Garda Síochána, the Ambulance Service and the Fire Service). It provides a nationwide maritime emergency organisation as well as a variety of services to shipping and other government agencies.
The purpose of the Irish Coast Guard is to promote safety and security standards, and by doing so, prevent as far as possible, the loss of life at sea, and on inland waters, mountains and caves, and to provide effective emergency response services and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.
The Irish Coast Guard has responsibility for Ireland's system of marine communications, surveillance and emergency management in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and certain inland waterways.
It is responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue and counter-pollution and ship casualty operations. It also has responsibility for vessel traffic monitoring.
Operations in respect of maritime security, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration and fisheries enforcement are co-ordinated by other bodies within the Irish Government.
On average, each year, the Irish Coast Guard is expected to:
The Coast Guard has been around in some form in Ireland since 1908.
The Irish Coast Guard has contracted five medium-lift Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters deployed at bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo.
The helicopters are designated wheels up from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours and 45 minutes at night. One aircraft is fitted and its crew trained for under slung cargo operations up to 3000kgs and is available on short notice based at Waterford.
These aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains of Ireland (32 counties).
They can also be used for assistance in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and aerial surveillance during daylight hours, lifting and passenger operations and other operations as authorised by the Coast Guard within appropriate regulations.
The Irish Coast Guard provides nationwide maritime emergency response, while also promoting safety and security standards. It aims to prevent the loss of life at sea, on inland waters, on mountains and in caves; and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.
The main role of the Irish Coast Guard is to rescue people from danger at sea or on land, to organise immediate medical transport and to assist boats and ships within the country's jurisdiction. It has three marine rescue centres in Dublin, Malin Head, Co Donegal, and Valentia Island, Co Kerry. The Dublin National Maritime Operations centre provides marine search and rescue responses and coordinates the response to marine casualty incidents with the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Yes, effectively, it is the fourth "blue light" service. The Marine Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) Valentia is the contact point for the coastal area between Ballycotton, Co Cork and Clifden, Co Galway. At the same time, the MRSC Malin Head covers the area between Clifden and Lough Foyle. Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) Dublin covers Carlingford Lough, Co Louth to Ballycotton, Co Cork. Each MRCC/MRSC also broadcasts maritime safety information on VHF and MF radio, including navigational and gale warnings, shipping forecasts, local inshore forecasts, strong wind warnings and small craft warnings.
The Irish Coast Guard handles about 3,000 marine emergencies annually, and assists 4,500 people - saving an estimated 200 lives, according to the Department of Transport. In 2016, Irish Coast Guard helicopters completed 1,000 missions in a single year for the first time.
Yes, Irish Coast Guard helicopters evacuate medical patients from offshore islands to hospital on average about 100 times a year. In September 2017, the Department of Health announced that search and rescue pilots who work 24-hour duties would not be expected to perform any inter-hospital patient transfers. The Air Corps flies the Emergency Aeromedical Service, established in 2012 and using an AW139 twin-engine helicopter. Known by its call sign "Air Corps 112", it airlifted its 3,000th patient in autumn 2020.
The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is responsible for the Northern Irish coast.
The Irish Coast Guard is a State-funded service, with both paid management personnel and volunteers, and is under the auspices of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. It is allocated approximately 74 million euro annually in funding, some 85 per cent of which pays for a helicopter contract that costs 60 million euro annually. The overall funding figure is "variable", an Oireachtas committee was told in 2019. Other significant expenditure items include volunteer training exercises, equipment, maintenance, renewal, and information technology.
The Irish Coast Guard has four search and rescue helicopter bases at Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo, run on a contract worth 50 million euro annually with an additional 10 million euro in costs by CHC Ireland. It provides five medium-lift Sikorsky S-92 helicopters and trained crew. The 44 Irish Coast Guard coastal units with 1,000 volunteers are classed as onshore search units, with 23 of the 44 units having rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and 17 units having cliff rescue capability. The Irish Coast Guard has 60 buildings in total around the coast, and units have search vehicles fitted with blue lights, all-terrain vehicles or quads, first aid equipment, generators and area lighting, search equipment, marine radios, pyrotechnics and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Community Rescue Boats Ireland also provide lifeboats and crews to assist in search and rescue. The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the Garda Siochána, National Ambulance Service, Naval Service and Air Corps, Civil Defence, while fishing vessels, ships and other craft at sea offer assistance in search operations.
The helicopters are designated as airborne from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours, and 45 minutes at night. The aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, on inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains and cover the 32 counties. They can also assist in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and can transport offshore firefighters and ambulance teams. The Irish Coast Guard volunteers units are expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time of departing from the station house in ten minutes from notification during daylight and 20 minutes at night. They are also expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time to the scene of the incident in less than 60 minutes from notification by day and 75 minutes at night, subject to geographical limitations.
Units are managed by an officer-in-charge (three stripes on the uniform) and a deputy officer in charge (two stripes). Each team is trained in search skills, first aid, setting up helicopter landing sites and a range of maritime skills, while certain units are also trained in cliff rescue.
Volunteers receive an allowance for time spent on exercises and call-outs. What is the difference between the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI? The RNLI is a registered charity which has been saving lives at sea since 1824, and runs a 24/7 volunteer lifeboat service around the British and Irish coasts. It is a declared asset of the British Maritime and Coast Guard Agency and the Irish Coast Guard. Community Rescue Boats Ireland is a community rescue network of volunteers under the auspices of Water Safety Ireland.
No, it does not charge for rescue and nor do the RNLI or Community Rescue Boats Ireland.
The marine rescue centres maintain 19 VHF voice and DSC radio sites around the Irish coastline and a digital paging system. There are two VHF repeater test sites, four MF radio sites and two NAVTEX transmitter sites. Does Ireland have a national search and rescue plan? The first national search and rescue plan was published in July, 2019. It establishes the national framework for the overall development, deployment and improvement of search and rescue services within the Irish Search and Rescue Region and to meet domestic and international commitments. The purpose of the national search and rescue plan is to promote a planned and nationally coordinated search and rescue response to persons in distress at sea, in the air or on land.
Yes, the Irish Coast Guard is responsible for responding to spills of oil and other hazardous substances with the Irish pollution responsibility zone, along with providing an effective response to marine casualties and monitoring or intervening in marine salvage operations. It provides and maintains a 24-hour marine pollution notification at the three marine rescue centres. It coordinates exercises and tests of national and local pollution response plans.
The first Irish Coast Guard volunteer to die on duty was Caitriona Lucas, a highly trained member of the Doolin Coast Guard unit, while assisting in a search for a missing man by the Kilkee unit in September 2016. Six months later, four Irish Coast Guard helicopter crew – Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith -died when their Sikorsky S-92 struck Blackrock island off the Mayo coast on March 14, 2017. The Dublin-based Rescue 116 crew were providing "top cover" or communications for a medical emergency off the west coast and had been approaching Blacksod to refuel. Up until the five fatalities, the Irish Coast Guard recorded that more than a million "man hours" had been spent on more than 30,000 rescue missions since 1991.
Several investigations were initiated into each incident. The Marine Casualty Investigation Board was critical of the Irish Coast Guard in its final report into the death of Caitriona Lucas, while a separate Health and Safety Authority investigation has been completed, but not published. The Air Accident Investigation Unit final report into the Rescue 116 helicopter crash has not yet been published.
The Irish Coast Guard in its present form dates back to 1991, when the Irish Marine Emergency Service was formed after a campaign initiated by Dr Joan McGinley to improve air/sea rescue services on the west Irish coast. Before Irish independence, the British Admiralty was responsible for a Coast Guard (formerly the Water Guard or Preventative Boat Service) dating back to 1809. The West Coast Search and Rescue Action Committee was initiated with a public meeting in Killybegs, Co Donegal, in 1988 and the group was so effective that a Government report was commissioned, which recommended setting up a new division of the Department of the Marine to run the Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC), then based at Shannon, along with the existing coast radio service, and coast and cliff rescue. A medium-range helicopter base was established at Shannon within two years. Initially, the base was served by the Air Corps.
The first director of what was then IMES was Capt Liam Kirwan, who had spent 20 years at sea and latterly worked with the Marine Survey Office. Capt Kirwan transformed a poorly funded voluntary coast and cliff rescue service into a trained network of cliff and sea rescue units – largely voluntary, but with paid management. The MRCC was relocated from Shannon to an IMES headquarters at the then Department of the Marine (now Department of Transport) in Leeson Lane, Dublin. The coast radio stations at Valentia, Co Kerry, and Malin Head, Co Donegal, became marine rescue-sub-centres.
The current director is Chris Reynolds, who has been in place since August 2007 and was formerly with the Naval Service. He has been seconded to the head of mission with the EUCAP Somalia - which has a mandate to enhance Somalia's maritime civilian law enforcement capacity – since January 2019.
Sources: Department of Transport © Afloat 2020
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