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A Sigma 33 One Design keelboat racing on Dublin Bay Photo: AfloatA Sigma 33 One Design keelboat racing on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

Displaying items by tag: Blue Bioeconomy

The panel of blue bioeconomy experts has been announced for the Marine Ireland Industry Network’s ‘MIIN in Kerry’ event next week.

Taking place during Bioeconomy Ireland Week on Friday 20 October at the Rose Hotel in Tralee, Co Kerry, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, the event will welcome blue bioeconomy experts as well as national and regional stakeholders a host of marine industry companies to discuss some of the key topics driving sustainability, growth and development of the sector.

The blue bioeconomy panel will be moderated by Máire Éinniu of Údarás na Gaeltachta and includes Catriona Power of Circular Bioeconomy Cluster, John Browne of De Brun Iasc Teo, Tim Yeomans of Shannon ABC and Deirdre Wall of Brandon Bioscience.

Registration for this event is free but limited, so MIIN recommends registering early to avoid disappointment. Those interested can register online and find more information on the MIIN website.

The blue bioeconomy panelists are as follows:

  • Máire Éinniu, Údarás na Gaeltachta (moderator): Máire supports high potential start-ups and assisting SMEs with their growth plans, and leading the strategic projects of Páirc na Mara development and Ros a Mhil. Meanwhile, Údarás na Gaeltachta (UnaG) is a regional state agency which is responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of Gaeltacht regions of Ireland.
  • Catriona Power, Circular Bioeconomy Cluster (panellist): Catriona is the project lead and contact point for the Circular Bioeconomy Cluster based at Munster Technological University, working at the intersection of innovation, sustainable technology and business for organisations in Canada, UK and Europe. Meanwhile, the Circular Bioeconomy Cluster South-west is the first-of-a-kind regional bioeconomy cluster in Ireland with a focus on marine, agriculture and waste-to-value thematic areas, our goal is to develop and promote the circular bioeconomy in the South-West region.
  • John Browne, De Brun Iasc Teo (panellist): De Brun Iasc Teoranta processes seafood in Ireland, and is based in Ballinaboula just outside of Dingle in Co Kerry. Set up in 1984, this second-generation business also supplies many restaurants and cruise ships with crab, prawns and salmon.
  • Tim Yeomans, Shannon ABC (panellist): Tim Yeomans works to devise and deliver projects to benefit the company’s bottom line, responsible for business development activities, scientific and strategic development of Shannon ABC, and financial reporting. Shannon ABC was established in 2008 as a collaboration between Limerick IT and IT Tralee, working with companies in the biotech, food, and life science sectors.
  • Deirdre Wall, Brandon Bioscience (panellist): Brandon Bioscience is a community of scientists, farmers, and innovators who share the goal of creating a more sustainable future for agriculture. Their mission is to provide targeted performance biostimulants that increase the quality and yield of food crops while delivering excellence in innovation, manufacturing and customer satisfaction. Founded in 1998 in County Kerry, Ireland, they have grown to export precision biostimulants to over 44 countries worldwide.

Supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Marine Institute, MIIN provides a key collaboration resource for Irish companies in the marine sector, facilitating not just inter-company engagement but also providing a one-stop shop for external buyers to get a view of Irish marine industry capability.

Published in News Update

The Marine Ireland Industry Network (MIIN) has announced its upcoming ‘MIIN in Kerry’ event on Friday 20 October at the Rose Hotel in Tralee, Co Kerry.

Taking place during this year’s Bioeconomy Ireland Week, the event will host blue bioeconomy experts as well as national and regional stakeholders such as Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Circular Bioeconomy Cluster South West and a host of marine industry companies with expertise in the blue bioeconomy.

MIIN says it is looking forward to discussing some of the key topics driving sustainability, growth and development of the sector.

This year’s Bioeconomy Ireland Week theme is All Voices Together, where stakeholders across Ireland’s bioeconomy will demonstrate and share how the natural environment can be utilised in a sustainable and circular way to help achieve a fair and prosperous economy on the Irish shores.

MIIN aims to showcase a host of local and regional MIIN member companies at #MIINinKerry who boast plenty of experience and expertise working in the blue bioeconomy.

Registration for this event is free but limited, so MIIN recommends registering early to avoid disappointment. Get in touch with [email protected] for more information and follow updates on the MIIN website and social media channels.

Supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Marine Institute, MIIN provides a key collaboration resource for Irish companies in the marine sector, facilitating not just inter-company engagement but also providing a one-stop shop for external buyers to get a view of Irish marine industry capability.

Published in News Update

What is the ‘blue bioeconomy’? Who are the people working on it in Ireland and where do they get support?

Marine scientist and influencer Finn van der Aar will host the first in a series of online events later this month for those who want to learn more about this developing sector and the innovative researchers and businesses operating within it.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will also showcase the relevant supports available and an overview of projects already operating within the blue bioeconomy.

“Bioeconomy-The Blue Perspective” takes place next Friday morning 22 October from 10am to 11.30am. For the agenda and details of how to register, see the event’s Eventbrite page.

This event is organised by the Páirc na Mara Marine Innovation Development Centre, Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Marine Institute as part of Bioeconomy Ireland Week.

Published in Marine Science

How to sail, sailing clubs and sailing boats plus news on the wide range of sailing events on Irish waters forms the backbone of Afloat's sailing coverage.

We aim to encompass the widest range of activities undertaken on Irish lakes, rivers and coastal waters. This page describes those sailing activites in more detail and provides links and breakdowns of what you can expect from our sailing pages. We aim to bring jargon free reports separated in to popular categories to promote the sport of sailing in Ireland.

The packed 2013 sailing season sees the usual regular summer leagues and there are regular weekly race reports from Dublin Bay Sailing Club, Howth and Cork Harbour on Afloat.ie. This season and last also featured an array of top class events coming to these shores. Each year there is ICRA's Cruiser Nationals starts and every other year the Round Ireland Yacht Race starts and ends in Wicklow and all this action before July. Crosshaven's Cork Week kicks off on in early July every other year. in 2012 Ireland hosted some big international events too,  the ISAF Youth Worlds in Dun Laoghaire and in August the Tall Ships Race sailed into Dublin on its final leg. In that year the Dragon Gold Cup set sail in Kinsale in too.

2013 is also packed with Kinsale hosting the IFDS diabled world sailing championships in Kinsale and the same port is also hosting the Sovereign's Cup. The action moves to the east coast in July with the staging of the country's biggest regatta, the Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta from July 11.

Our coverage though is not restricted to the Republic of Ireland but encompasses Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Irish Sea area too. In this section you'll find information on the Irish Sailing Association and Irish sailors. There's sailing reports on regattas, racing, training, cruising, dinghies and keelboat classes, windsurfers, disabled sailing, sailing cruisers, Olympic sailing and Tall Ships sections plus youth sailing, match racing and team racing coverage too.

Sailing Club News

There is a network of over 70 sailing clubs in Ireland and we invite all clubs to submit details of their activities for inclusion in our daily website updates. There are dedicated sections given over to the big Irish clubs such as  the waterfront clubs in Dun Laoghaire; Dublin Bay Sailing Club, the Royal Saint George Yacht Club,  the Royal Irish Yacht Club and the National Yacht Club. In Munster we regularly feature the work of Kinsale Yacht Club and Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven.  Abroad Irish sailors compete in Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) racing in the UK and this club is covered too. Click here for Afloat's full list of sailing club information. We are keen to increase our coverage on the network of clubs from around the coast so if you would like to send us news and views of a local interest please let us have it by sending an email to [email protected]

Sailing Boats and Classes

Over 20 active dinghy and one design classes race in Irish waters and fleet sizes range from just a dozen or so right up to over 100 boats in the case of some of the biggest classes such as the Laser or Optimist dinghies for national and regional championships. Afloat has dedicated pages for each class: Dragons, Etchells, Fireball, Flying Fifteen, GP14, J24's, J80's, Laser, Sigma 33, RS Sailing, Star, Squibs, TopperMirror, Mermaids, National 18, Optimist, Puppeteers, SB3's, and Wayfarers. For more resources on Irish classes go to our dedicated sailing classes page.

The big boat scene represents up to 60% of the sail boat racing in these waters and Afloat carries updates from the Irish Cruiser Racer Association (ICRA), the body responsible for administering cruiser racing in Ireland and the popular annual ICRA National Championships. In 2010 an Irish team won the RORC Commodore's Cup putting Irish cruiser racing at an all time high. Popular cruiser fleets in Ireland are raced right around the coast but naturally the biggest fleets are in the biggest sailing centres in Cork Harbour and Dublin Bay. Cruisers race from a modest 20 feet or so right up to 50'. Racing is typically divided in to Cruisers Zero, Cruisers One, Cruisers Two, Cruisers Three and Cruisers Four. A current trend over the past few seasons has been the introduction of a White Sail division that is attracting big fleets.

Traditionally sailing in northern Europe and Ireland used to occur only in some months but now thanks to the advent of a network of marinas around the coast (and some would say milder winters) there are a number of popular winter leagues running right over the Christmas and winter periods.

Sailing Events

Punching well above its weight Irish sailing has staged some of the world's top events including the Volvo Ocean Race Galway Stopover, Tall Ships visits as well as dozens of class world and European Championships including the Laser Worlds, the Fireball Worlds in both Dun Laoghaire and Sligo.

Some of these events are no longer pure sailing regattas and have become major public maritime festivals some are the biggest of all public staged events. In the past few seasons Ireland has hosted events such as La Solitaire du Figaro and the ISAF Dublin Bay 2012 Youth Worlds.

There is a lively domestic racing scene for both inshore and offshore sailing. A national sailing calendar of summer fixtures is published annually and it includes old favorites such as Sovereign's Cup, Calves Week, Dun Laoghaire to Dingle, All Ireland Sailing Championships as well as new events with international appeal such as the Round Britain and Ireland Race and the Clipper Round the World Race, both of which have visited Ireland.

The bulk of the work on running events though is carried out by the network of sailing clubs around the coast and this is mostly a voluntary effort by people committed to the sport of sailing. For example Wicklow Sailing Club's Round Ireland yacht race run in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club has been operating for over 30 years. Similarly the international Cork Week regatta has attracted over 500 boats in past editions and has also been running for over 30 years.  In recent years Dublin Bay has revived its own regatta called Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta and can claim to be the country's biggest event with over 550 boats entered in 2009.

On the international stage Afloat carries news of Irish and UK interest on Olympics 2012, Sydney to Hobart, Volvo Ocean Race, Cowes Week and the Fastnet Race.

We're always aiming to build on our sailing content. We're keen to build on areas such as online guides on learning to sail in Irish sailing schools, navigation and sailing holidays. If you have ideas for our pages we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected]