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Displaying items by tag: The Gobbins

Co Antrim’s famous coastal path at The Gobbins is set to reopen next week on Tuesday 1 September. months after it was closed in the initial wave of coronavirus restrictions in Northern Ireland.

As RTÉ News reports, the cliff path — which was restored in 2015 after being closed for decades — has had a number of safety upgrades to allow for social distancing and hygiene standards to fight the spread of coronavirus.

Prebooking is also essential to allow for proper management of the popular Islandmagee attraction, renowned for its white-knuckle series of rugged steps, tunnels, caves and bridges.

Published in Coastal Notes

#Coastguard - Northern Ireland coastguard teams have taken part in a major rescue exercise The Gobbins in Co Antrim ahead of the cliff path's reopening this May Day weekend, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.

As many as 50 volunteers from Kilkeel, Newcastle, Ballycastle, Coleraine and Portmuck carried out various cliff rescue exercises, including a mock evacuation of multiple casualties.

The path has undergone a number repairs after significant storm damage forced its closure in December, just months after the 'white-knuckle' attraction welcomed its first visitors since the 1950s.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastguard

#Rescue - A woman is in stable condition in hospital after she was rescued from a sea cliff in Islandmagee on Tuesday (27 October) an operation that "wasn’t straightforward", as the News Letter reports.

It's believed the woman had been walking along the top coastal path when she got into difficulty late on Tuesday evening.

She was airlifted from the site by helicopter tasked from Scotland after being stabilised by paramedics.

The incident comes just weeks after emergency services rushed to the aid of an elderly man who fainted on the newly reopened Gobbins cliff walk in the same area.

The new cliff path has been hailed by the Guardian as "a reboot of a magnificent feat of engineering that originally opened in 1902", with local musical hero Michael Bradley of the Undertones writing about its heart-stopping mix of beauty and danger.

Published in Rescue

#CoastalNotes - Emergency services rushed to the aid of an elderly man who fainted on the new cliff walk at The Gobbins in Co Antrim on Thursday (3 September).

As BelfastLive reports, the 79-year-old collapsed half-way along the "white-knuckle" coastal path that recently welcomed its 1,000th visitor since reopening last month for the first time since the 1950s.

The path was closed during the incident as the man recovered enough to walk away with the aid of council staff and local fire fighters. He was subsequently pronounced fit and healthy by paramedics at a waiting ambulance.

Mid and East Antrim Council has warned that the dizzying Gobbins path requires a reasonable level of fitness to traverse its series of rugged steps, tunnels, caves and tubular bridges that are not for the faint-hearted.

Published in Coastal Notes

West Coast of Ireland Offshore Racing Association (WIORA)

The West Coast of Ireland Offshore Racing Association (WIORA) objective is to promote an annual programme of yacht racing for the West Coast of Ireland.

WIORA aims to encourage and promote participation in and knowledge of racing and seamanship. It does this by developing yacht racing between yacht clubs on the west coast and hosting an annual regatta known as the West Coast Championships. The championships are rotated between west coast clubs. 

WIORA was formed in 1976. WIORA is affiliated with the Irish Cruiser Racing Association.

The association burgee is a pennant with a background of St. Patrick's Blue and overlaid with an emblem of St. Brendan's Cross, which is of saffron colour. 

WIORA is open to members of yachts clubs located on the west coast of Ireland, from Mizen Head to Malin Head and the waters of Lough Derg and Lough Ree, and sailors outside thee areas who may wish to participate at the WIORA annual regatta.

The membership association has a Commodore and committee.

Annual membership is €10.

WIORA Championships

WIORA 2024 will be held at Foynes Yacht Club on the Shannon Estuary from June 12th-15th 2024

WIORA Championships

WIORA 2022 will run over three days, from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th June at the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland on the Shannon Estuary

WIORA 2023 will be held at Kilronan on the Aran Islands

WIORA 2024 will be held at Foynes Yacht Club on the Shannon Estuary

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