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Displaying items by tag: Shannon Dolphin Project

#MarineWildlife - The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) is marking 20 years of researching the dolphins of the Shannon Estuary.

As the IWDG's Dr Simon Berrow relates, it was not an auspicious start on 2 May 1993 when the first research trip on the estuary returned after five hours without having seen a single cetacean.

But the following day brought a bounty, with 16 dolphins across three different groups located by the IWDG - the beginning of two decades of sightings and recordings for the Shannon Dolphin Project, which has identified around 230 individual dolphins to date.

Thanks to that project, we know today that at least six of those dolphins first seen in 1993 are still in the estuary as of last year.

The Shannon Dolphin Project now has a website explaining its achievements and the work of the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation (SDWF) over the years.

Meanwhile, Afloat reader Karl Grabe has also produced a spectrogram and edit of hydrophone recordings captured by Dr Berrow of Shannon dolphins just a few weeks ago.

Grabe previously uploaded a wonderful snippet of dolphins vocalising in the estuary late last year.

Published in Marine Wildlife

About Kinsale Yacht Club's Inishtearaght Offshore Yacht Race

To meet growing demand for offshore racing, Kinsale Yacht Club Commodore Matthias Hellstern along with Dave Cullinane (SCORA Vice-Commodore) launched the inaugural Inishtearaght Race in Kinsale on Wednesday, December 23rd in 2021.

The race is a new south coast offshore race to be held biennially commencing in 2022.

 

The course will be approximately 240nm long and will run along the spectacular coast of West Cork and Kerry, round Inistearaght island and back to Kinsale. The first race start is scheduled for Friday, 20th May 2022 with a fleet of seven entries for the first race.

 

The Thuillier family have kindly allowed the oldest trophy in Kinsale YC to be presented as the line honours trophy for the race. The Thuillier Cup is 150 years old, having been originally presented by the Royal Enniskillen Fusiliers in 1871 and won by Michael Thuillier. The cup was presented to Kinsale YC by the Thuillier family to acknowledge the long tradition of yacht racing in Kinsale.