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Displaying items by tag: John Lowry

British Coastguard Chief Executive Sir Alan Massey congratulated Coastguard Volunteer of the year John Lowry from the South Down Coastguard Rescue Team in Northern Ireland for the following reasons.

In an incident on 1st June 2010 involving the South Down Coastguard Rescue Team, John, the Station Officer, went 'above and beyond' expectations to save an angler's life.

He was first on scene to a report of an angler who had fallen in the water in Newcastle, County Down. When John and another team member arrived on scene with the first person who'd raised the alarm they could see that the man, who had been holding on to the rocks for some time, was no longer responding to calls and appeared to be losing consciousness.

Because the lifeboat was still some way away John felt he had no option but to enter the water and support the casualty. Wearing the new water rescue jacket and attached to the floating line he had to jump off the rocks and swim to the man.

The rocky shoreline and swell made it impossible for the angler to be brought ashore so John supported the casualty in the water and waited for the Lifeboat to get on scene. After a very tricky operation by the lifeboat, both John and the casualty were rescued from the water and received medical attention. John's selfless actions, saved this person's life.

It is this kind of commitment and dedication to the preservation and saving of life ensures that the Coastguard Rescue Service is rightly held in such high esteem.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S EXTRA MILE AWARD 2010 to Cindy Rodaway from Portland Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre for her work as Diving Liaison Officer in the Portland District.

Cindy has really gone the extra mile by being particularly pro-active in establishing and developing working relationships as well as educating all sectors affected by diving, both internal and external.

Cindy has developed improved lines of communication with the Health & Safety Executive; presented training to Dorset Police Marine Section and interviewed and debriefed divers involved in incidents.  Her work with casualties, dive marshals and Charter Boat Skippers has meant that local skippers are now using crew members rather than operating single handed, along with making reports back to the MRCC of actual or potential dive incidents - both of which are significantly mitigating the consequences of diving incidents

CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S INDIVIDUAL AWARD 2010 to Lois Iddon for her dedication and professionalism.

Lois started her career as an Auxiliary Coastguard, then serving as a Coastguard Watch Assistant for five years.  In the early 2000s she helped shape the merging of the Marine Office and Coastguard administrative functions into one office - demonstrating just how it was possible to knit together two organisations into a coherent new one.  Lois is renowned for her pro-activity, dedication and professionalism in her role of Office Manager at Brixham and Falmouth Marine Offices and MRCCs

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The 2024 Vendée Globe Race

A record-sized fleet of 44 skippers are aiming for the tenth edition of the Vendée Globe: the 24,296 nautical miles solo non-stop round-the-world race from Les Sables d’Olonne in France, on Sunday, November 10 2024 and will be expected back in mid-January 2025.

Vendée Globe Race FAQs

Six women (Alexia Barrier, Clarisse Cremer, Isabelle Joschke, Sam Davies, Miranda Merron, Pip Hare).

Nine nations (France, Germany, Japan, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and Great Britain)

After much speculation following Galway man Enda O’Coineen’s 2016 race debut for Ireland, there were as many as four campaigns proposed at one point, but unfortunately, none have reached the start line.

The Vendée Globe is a sailing race round the world, solo, non-stop and without assistance. It takes place every four years and it is regarded as the Everest of sailing. The event followed in the wake of the Golden Globe which had initiated the first circumnavigation of this type via the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn) in 1968.

The record to beat is Armel Le Cléac’h 74 days 3h 35 minutes 46s set in 2017. Some pundits are saying the boats could beat a sub-60 day time.

The number of theoretical miles to cover is 24,296 miles (45,000 km).

The IMOCA 60 ("Open 60"), is a development class monohull sailing yacht run by the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle events are single or two-person ocean races, such as the Route du Rhum and the Vendée Globe.

Zero past winners are competing but two podiums 2017: Alex Thomson second, Jérémie Beyou third. It is also the fifth participation for Jean Le Cam and Alex Thomson, fourth for Arnaud Boissières and Jérémie Beyou.

The youngest on this ninth edition of the race is Alan Roura, 27 years old.

The oldest on this ninth edition is Jean Le Cam, 61 years old.

Over half the fleet are debutantes, totalling 18 first-timers.

The start procedure begins 8 minutes before the gun fires with the warning signal. At 4 minutes before, for the preparatory signal, the skipper must be alone on board, follow the countdown and take the line at the start signal at 13:02hrs local time. If an IMOCA crosses the line too early, it incurs a penalty of 5 hours which they will have to complete on the course before the latitude 38 ° 40 N (just north of Lisbon latitude). For safety reasons, there is no opportunity to turn back and recross the line. A competitor who has not crossed the starting line 60 minutes after the signal will be considered as not starting. They will have to wait until a time indicated by the race committee to start again. No departure will be given after November 18, 2020, at 1:02 p.m when the line closes.

The first boat could be home in sixty days. Expect the leaders from January 7th 2021 but to beat the 2017 race record they need to finish by January 19 2021.

Today, building a brand new IMOCA generally costs between 4.2 and €4.7million, without the sails but second-hand boats that are in short supply can be got for around €1m.

©Afloat 2020

Vendee Globe 2024 Key Figures

  • 10th edition
  • Six women (vs six in 2020)
  • 16 international skippers (vs 12 in 2020)
  • 11 nationalities represented: France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Japan, China, USA, New Zealand (vs 9 in 2020)
  • 18 rookies (vs 20 in 2020)
  • 30 causes supported
  • 14 new IMOCAs (vs 9 in 2020)
  • Two 'handisport' skippers

At A Glance - Vendee Globe 2024

The 10th edition will leave from Les Sables d’Olonne on November 10, 2024

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