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Displaying items by tag: jute

#ANGLING - The Irish Times' angling columnist Derek Evans revisits the Darndale fishing ponds in north Dublin which have been given a new lease of life thanks to a community-led project to rid the angling spot of an invasive weed.

As reported last November on Afloat.ie, the public fishing ponds were "crying out for help" after an infestation of the invasive curly weed (Lagarosiphon major) which spread throughout the entire expanse of water, making casting virtually impossible.

But thanks to €3,000 in funding from the Heritage Council, the weed was smothered and killed off by jute matting (sackcloth) laid across the two ponds at the facility, restarting them to their former glory.

A 15-strong group including locals, anglers and members of Dublin City Council and Inland Fisheries Ireland spent three days in foul weather pulling out the weed and laying the jute.

The ponds, constructed in 1999 under the Urban Regeneration Programme, are home to good numbers of carp and rude, several of which "splashed and rose to fly-life and appeared to be enjoying their new surroundings" during Evans' visit.

It's hoped that the project will prove to be a success and lead to further works at public angling amenities elsewhere in Dublin, such as Bushy Park.

Published in Angling
#ANGLING - The public fishing pond at Darndale is "crying out for help" after an infestation of curly weed, The Irish Times reports.
A public meeting to discuss the issue recently heard that the invasive plant has spread throughout the entire pond, making casting all but impossible.
“We have a catchment of some 3,000 youngsters and adults who are deprived of fishing in their locality," said Brian Conneely of Sphere 17 Youth Service. "It’s a sad state of affairs.”
The meeting also heard of a possible solution to the problem, with Dr Joe Caffrey of Inland Fisheries Ireland suggesting a covering of jute or sacking to kill off the weed and allow the growth of native plants - a plan that appears to be working in Lough Corrib.
Costing is the issue, however, with such a jute priced at around €5,000. Maryann Harris of Dublin City Council's parks division said she was exploring grants to fund the project.
The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#ANGLING - The public fishing pond at Darndale is "crying out for help" after an infestation of curly weed, The Irish Times reports.

A public meeting to discuss the issue recently heard that the invasive plant has spread throughout the entire pond, making casting all but impossible.

“We have a catchment of some 3,000 youngsters and adults who are deprived of fishing in their locality," said Brian Conneely of Sphere 17 Youth Service. "It’s a sad state of affairs.”

The meeting also heard of a possible solution to the problem, with Dr Joe Caffrey of Inland Fisheries Ireland suggesting a covering of jute or sacking to kill off the weed and allow the growth of native plants - a plan that appears to be working in Lough Corrib.

Costing is the issue, however, with such a jute priced at around €5,000. Maryann Harris of Dublin City Council's parks division said she was exploring grants to fund the project.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Angling

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Turkey Shoot Winter Series

Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Turkey Shoot Series reached its 20th year in 2020.

The popular yacht series racing provides winter-racing for all the sailing clubs on the southside of Dublin Bay in the run-up to Christmas.

It regularly attracts a fleet of up to 70 boats of different shapes and sizes from all four yachts clubs at Dun Laoghaire: The National Yacht Club, The Royal St. George Yacht Club, The Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as other clubs such as Sailing in Dublin. Typically the event is hosted by each club in rotation.

The series has a short, sharp format for racing that starts at approximately 10 am and concludes around noon. The event was the brainchild of former DBSC Commodore Fintan Cairns to give the club year-round racing on the Bay thanks to the arrival of the marina at Dun Laoghaire in 2001. Cairns, an IRC racer himself, continues to run the series each winter.

Typically, racing features separate starts for different cruiser-racers but in fact, any type of boat is allowed to participate, even those yachts that do not normally race are encouraged to do so.

Turkey Shoot results are calculated under a modified ECHO handicap system and there can be a fun aspect to some of the scoring in keeping with the Christmas spirit of the occasion.

As a result, the Turkey Shoot often receives entries from boats as large as Beneteau 50 footers and one designs as small as 20-foot flying Fifteens, all competing over the same course.

It also has legendary weekly prizegivings in the host waterfront yacht clubs immediately after racing. There are fun prizes and overall prizes based on series results.

Regular updates and DBSC Turkey Shoot Results are published on Afloat each week as the series progresses.

FAQs

Cruisers, cruising boats, one-designs and boats that do not normally race are very welcome. Boats range in size from ocean-going cruisers at 60 and 60 feet right down to small one-design keelboats such as 20-foot Flying Fifteens. A listing of boats for different starts is announced on Channel 74 before racing each week.

Each winter from the first Sunday in November until the last week before Christmas.

Usually no more than two hours. The racecourse time limit is 12.30 hours.

Between six and eight with one or two discards applied.

Racing is organised by Dublin Bay Sailing Club and the Series is rotated across different waterfront yacht clubs for the popular after race party and prizegiving. The waterfront clubs are National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC), Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC) and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC).

© Afloat 2020