Displaying items by tag: Lough Owel

20th February 2019

Warning Over Low Water Levels For Navigation On Royal Canal

#RoyalCanal - Waterways Ireland is advising masters and users of the Royal Canal that due to unprecedented dry weather conditions and low rainfall levels and subsequent low levels in Lough Owel, navigation water levels cannot be guaranteed on certain sections of the canal, particularly the summit level and adjacent levels.

Masters should contact the local water patroller prior to any planned journey along this inland waterway.

Published in Inland Waterways

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Suspected Outbreak Of Crayfish Plague In Lough Owel

Dead crayfish in the River Suir last year

#Crayfish - The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is investigating the widespread deaths of white-clawed crayfish in Lough Owel that may be linked to an outbreak of crayfish plague.

As TheJournal.ie reports, the Co Westmeath inland waterway is home to a large population of the endangered marine species, which have never before tested positive for the plague.

Samples are being tested by the Marine Institute’s Fish Health Unit — which recently investigated an outbreak of carp edema virus in Cork — with the first results due in days.

The most recent outbreak of crayfish plague was last Autumn in the River Barrow, following incidents in North Tipperary. Ireland was considered free of the disease before 2015.

TheJournal.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in Marine Wildlife

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Mullingar Sailing Club Hosts Bumper GP14 Fleet for Leinster Championships

#gp14 – The GP14 Leinster's hosted by Mullingar SC on lovely Lough Owel in Co. Westmeath had a great entry of 36 boats from 15 clubs, from Moville in Donegal to Youghal in Cork writes Norman Lee. The tide was in so parking spots were at a premium on Saturday morning when we all rocked up but that meant deeper water for sailing thanks to the rain gods.

Saturday's 3 races in strong gusty winds had 3 different winners from different clubs. The first went to John/Donal Mc Guinness of Donegal the second to Shane Mc Carthy/Damian Bracken of Wicklow and the third to Niall Henry /Ossian Geraghty of Sligo. Large Olympic triangle courses mixed tough tacticle beats with fast planeing reaches and tactical runs and places changed regularly through the fleet with Bronze, Silver and Gold boats mixing it up.

Satisfied and tired after our exertions we all retired to the Park Hotel for a 5 star BBQ and to watch Leinster scrape by Ulster and witness the launch of a great new book on the history of MSC. There was a good band on too but it didn't get many takers from the tired legged sailors discussing the days fun.

Sunday dawned damp and dismal but it dried and the wind picked up as we all went afloat.

Three good light and tactical races were completed with interesting port biased starts and big shifts to catch out the unwary. 2 new winners popped up in search of the trophy, Paddy O Connor/ Colm O Flaherty of Sligo grabbed the first convincingly followed by Ger Owens/Melanie Morris of Dublin and Belfast taking the next 2 seeming to put them in contention but they and others got tripped by the black flag allowing the first race winners, the McGuinness brothers from Moville to be crowned Leinster Champions with their high 15.75 tally showing the competitive nature of the fleet.

GP14Leinstersoverall winners

Donal (left) and John McGuinness (centre) receive their Leinster prizes from the Mullingar Sailing Club Commodore

Tough competition in the Silver fleet say Rob Lee/ Troy Dmc NAmara of Greystones in 19 yr old 13403 triumph over Simon Cully / Libby Tierney of Blessingtonin 0 yr old 14138 - they finished a creditable 7th and 11th overall.

Local man returned fro Canada Andy Van beck won the tussle for Bronze from newbies Simon/ Rebecca Jefferys of East Down and Adrian Lee Arne Edward Coyne of Youghal.

This was a great warm up for tihe Irish fleet in preparation for the Worlds in Strangford Lough in August – roll on the Ulsters in June and the Nationals in July.

Additional reportage from GP14 class:

The Leinster Championships had an early start this year but this didn't put off enthusiasm with 36 boats showing up in Mullingar to contest in the breezy conditions. At the briefing we had a minutes silence to remember Graham Elmes,a life-long sailor and a good friend of many in the fleet who very sadly passed away earlier in the week.

Beautiful sunshine with a solid force 4 gusting 5 made for very exciting sailing and Shane Mac Carthy & Damian Bracken showed their class by taking the opener followed by Sutton pair Alan Blay & David Johnston in second and Niall Henry & Ossian Geraghty in their new boat in third.

The second race was won by Niall & Ossian with the McGuinness brothers in second and Shane & Damian in third. The McGuinnesses then won the third race after a tussle up the last leg to beat Shane & Damian with Niall & Ossian in third.

Things were fairly tight after the breezy first day with the 3 boats very tight on points but Shane & Damian had a small advantage, thanks in no small part to 24 months of year round training and dieting. Keith Louden & Alan Thompson were also rumoured to be considering giving up the drink in preparation for the Worlds after watching their performance. Niall & Ossian will also have been happy to put gear failure in Swords behind them and show a real turn of pace in their new boat. As always in Mullingar there was a great social aspect with everyone back to the town and a great bar-b-que with very solid portions appreciated by all.

The following day we all awoke to rain and light winds, a complete contrast to the day before.

This was the day for Ger & Melanie to shine and we all knew it and they didn't disappoint. They had been carrying 2 fourths and a DNF from the windy day and had a lot of ground to make up. The first race had a general recall and subsequent black flag which made the start tense. Paddy O'Connor under instruction from crew Colm O'Flaherty got the favoured pin and then got a shift on the left to get away and won the race from Ger & Melanie and Keith Lauden & Alan Thompson (light wind specialists). The next race was won very easily by Ger & Melanie with Alan & David in second and Colman Grimes & David Lappin in third. Ger & Melanie cruised home in the last also with blistering speed followed again by Alan & David and with the McGuinness brothers in third and Rob Lee & Troy McNamara from the silver fleet in fourth

As we went ashore it was generally considered that Ger &Melanie had done enough as all 3 first day leaders had tripped up at various stages in the light conditions but there was a surprise in store. When the results were posted it showed a black flag DSQ for them and with the first day retiral to count, this took them out of the reckoning.

In the end the trophy went back to the sailors from Donegal in their new boat with Shane & Damian in second and Paddy & Colm in third

Rob Lee & Troy McNamara took the silver fleet with Simon Cully & Libby Tierney in second (despite very thin jib sheets) and Grahame & Rebecca Farrington in third. Andy Vanbeck honoured us with his presence from Canada and won the bronze fleet with rock star crew Nigel Sloan. Simon & Rebecca Jeffery finished second in the bronze fleet and Adrian Lee & Edward Coyne in third.

Overall Results:

Gold Fleet:

1. John & Donal McGuinness
2. Shane MacCarthy & Damian Bracken
3. Paddy O'Connor & Colm O'Flaherty

Silver Fleet:

1. Rob Lee & Troy McNamara
2. Simon Cully & Libby Tierney
3. Grahame & Rebecca Farrington

Bronze Fleet:

1. Andy VanBeck & Nigel Sloan
2. Simon & Rebecca Jeffery
3. Adrian Lee & Edward Coyne

Published in GP14

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About The Middle Sea Race

The Rolex Middle Sea Race is a highly rated offshore classic, often mentioned in the same breath as the Rolex Fastnet, The Rolex Sydney–Hobart and Newport-Bermuda as a 'must do' race. The Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club co-founded the race in 1968 and 2007 was the 28th Edition. Save for a break between 1984 and 1995 the event has been run annually attracting 25–30 yachts. In recent years, the number of entries has rissen sharply to 68 boats thanks to a new Organising Committee who managed to bring Rolex on board as title sponsor for the Middle Sea Race.

The race is a true challenge to skippers and crews who have to be at their very best to cope with the often changeable and demanding conditions. Equally, the race is blessed with unsurpassed scenery with its course, taking competitors close to a number of islands, which form marks of the course. Ted Turner described the MSR as "the most beautiful race course in the world".

Apart from Turner, famous competitors have included Eric Tabarly, Cino Ricci, Herbert von Karajan, Jim Dolan, Sir Chay Blyth and Sir Francis Chichester (fresh from his round the world adventure). High profile boats from the world's top designers take part, most in pursuit of line honours and the record – competing yachts include the extreme Open 60s, Riviera di Rimini and Shining; the maxis, Mistress Quickly, Zephyrus IV and Sagamore; and the pocket rockets such as the 41-foot J-125 Strait Dealer and the DK46, Fidessa Fastwave.

In 2006, Mike Sanderson and Seb Josse on board ABN Amro, winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, the super Maxis; Alfa Romeo and Maximus and the 2006 Rolex Middle Sea Race overall winner, Hasso Platner on board his MaxZ86, Morning Glory.

George David on board Rambler (ex-Alfa Romeo) managed a new course record in 2007 and in 2008, Thierry Bouchard on Spirit of Ad Hoc won the Rolex Middle Sea Race on board a Beneteau 40.7

The largest number of entries was 78 established in 2008.

Middle Sea Race History

IN THE BEGINNING

The Middle Sea Race was conceived as the result of sporting rivalry between great friends, Paul and John Ripard and an Englishman residing in Malta called Jimmy White, all members of the Royal Malta Yacht Club. In the early fifties, it was mainly British servicemen stationed in Malta who competitively raced. Even the boats had a military connection, since they were old German training boats captured by the British during the war. At the time, the RMYC only had a few Maltese members, amongst who were Paul and John Ripard.

So it was in the early sixties that Paul and Jimmy, together with a mutual friend, Alan Green (later to become the Race Director of the Royal Ocean Racing Club), set out to map a course designed to offer an exciting race in different conditions to those prevailing in Maltese coastal waters. They also decided the course would be slightly longer than the RORC's longest race, the Fastnet. The resulting course is the same as used today.

Ted Turner, CEO of Turner Communications (CNN) has written that the Middle Sea Race "must be the most beautiful race course in the world. What other event has an active volcano as a mark of the course?"

In all of its editions since it was first run in 1968 – won by Paul Ripard's brother John, the Rolex Middle Sea Race has attracted many prestigious names in yachting. Some of these have gone on to greater things in life and have actually left their imprint on the world at large. Amongst these one finds the late Raul Gardini who won line honours in 1979 on Rumegal, and who spearheaded the 1992 Italian Challenge for the America's Cup with Moro di Venezia.

Another former line honours winner (1971) who has passed away since was Frenchman Eric Tabarly winner of round the world and transatlantic races on Penduik. Before his death, he was in Malta again for the novel Around Europe Open UAP Race involving monohulls, catamarans and trimarans. The guest list for the Middle Sea Race has included VIP's of the likes of Sir Francis Chichester, who in 1966 was the first man to sail around the world single-handedly, making only one stop.

The list of top yachting names includes many Italians. It is, after all a premier race around their largest island. These include Navy Admiral Tino Straulino, Olympic gold medallist in the star class and Cino Ricci, well known yachting TV commentator. And it is also an Italian who in 1999 finally beat the course record set by Mistress Quickly in 1978. Top racing skipper Andrea Scarabelli beat it so resoundingly, he knocked off over six hours from the time that had stood unbeaten for 20 years.

World famous round the world race winners with a Middle Sea Race connection include yachting journalist Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Les Williams, both from the UK.

The Maxi Class has long had a long and loving relationship with the Middle Sea Race. Right from the early days personalities such as Germany's Herbert Von Karajan, famous orchestra conductor and artistic director of the Berliner Philarmoniker, competing with his maxi Helisara IV. Later came Marvin Greene Jr, CEO of Reeves Communications Corporation and owner of the well known Nirvana (line honours in 1982) and Jim Dolan, CEO of Cablevision, whose Sagamore was back in 1999 to try and emulate the line honours she won in 1997.

THE COURSE RECORD

The course record was held by the San Francisco based, Robert McNeil on board his Maxi Turbo Sled Zephyrus IV when in 2000, he smashed the Course record which now stands at 64 hrs 49 mins 57 secs. Zephyrus IV is a Rechiel-Pugh design. In recent years, various maxis such as Alfa Romeo, Nokia, Maximus and Morning Glory have all tried to break this course record, but the wind Gods have never played along. Even the VOR winner, ABN AMro tried, but all failed in 2006.

However, George David came along on board Rambler in 2007 and demolished the course record established by Zephyrus IV in 2000. This now stands at 1 day, 23 hours, 55 minutes and 3 seconds.

At A Glance - Middle Sea Race 2024

First held: 1968

Organising Authority: Royal Malta Yacht Club

Start

The 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race will start on Saturday, 19 October 2024.

Grand Harbour, Valletta: seven separate starts, at 10-minute intervals, from 11:00 CEST Saturday, 21 October 2024

Start Line: between the Saluting Battery, Upper Barrakka Gardens (Valletta) and Fort St Angelo (Birgu)

Various vantage points all around the Grand Harbour, high up on the bastions or at water level. Harbour access for spectator boats is restricted during the period of the start.

Course

Set in the heart of the Mediterranean and is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. It starts and finishes in Malta, passes two active volcanoes and takes in the deep azure waters surrounding Sicily, and the Aeolian and Egadi Islands, as well as lonelier outposts of Pantelleria and Lampedusa, both closer to the African continent than Europe.

Length: 606 nautical miles (1,122km)

Outright Race Record: 33h 29m 28s, Argo, United States, Jason Carroll

Monohull Race Record: 40h 17m 50s, Comanche, Cayman Is, Mitch Booth