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Displaying items by tag: marine warning

#Weather - RTÉ News says flood alerts have been issued for Galway and Cork as more stormy weather sweeps in from the Atlantic this evening (2 January).

Western and southern areas will be worst affected, with Met Éireann declaring Status Orange for Donegal, Clare, Connacht, Limerick, Kerry and Cork.

Wind speeds in these areas this evening and tonight may reach 90km/hr with gusts of up to 130km/hr along with heavy rain, high tides and high seas, which presents a flooding risk in coastal areas that may remain till this Sunday 5 January.

Cavan, Monaghan, Tipperary, Waterford and Leinster counties should expect winds of up to 80km/hr with 110km/hr gusts with similar coastal flooding risks.

Meanwhile, Met Éireann has declared a Status Orange marine warning for south to south-east gales expected to develop later today on all Irish coastal eaters and on the Irish Sea.

These winds will range from gale to storm force in all sea areas tonight, with "violent storm force" winds on the north-west coast.

Coastal and waterside areas throughout the UK are also on alert for this new wave of "exceptional weather", especially in Devon and Cornwall where waves were reaching nine metres in some spots this afternoon.

Published in Weather
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#MarineWarning - Practical Boat Owner gives plenty of prior warning on plans by the BBC to shut down its Droitwich transmitter for maintenance next year, which could affect the Shipping Forecast for the Irish Sea.

The 12:01 shipping forecast "will potentially be transmitted at a lower power or ma be in audible on LW" for the period from April to August 2014 as Droitwich undergoes essential maintenance.

PBO has more on the story HERE.

Published in Marine Warning

#Weather - Met Éireann has issued a weather warning for tonight (Saturday 22 December) with winds expected to reach up to 110km an hour.

Tonight and tomorrow morning, south-west to west winds are likely to increase in most parts of the country, with mean speeds and gusts that "have the potential to be damaging".

The Irish weather service also reports strong gales on all Irish coastal waters and on the Irish Sea, with winds expected to reach storm force later on coasts from Valentia to Erris Head to Fair Head.

Published in Weather

#MARINE NOTICE - The latest Marine Notice (No 61 of 2012) from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises that J Murphy & Sons, on behalf of Dublin City Council, will construct a 600mm emergency overflow pipe from Spencer Dock Pump Station through the Liffey quay wall at North Wall Quay/New Wapping Street Junction, Dublin 1.

The work will commence on or around 23 November 2012 and will last approximately two weeks, weather permitting. The location of the works relating to maritime positions is:

Latitude 53° 20’ 49.431 N / Longitude 006° 14’ 08.171 W

The works area will be marked by red buoys. These buoys will be an appropriate distance from the works area and will clearly identify the scaffold when submerged due to high tide. The cantilever beams will project 1.5 metres out from the quay wall.

The only vessel used during the works will be a rescue boat which will be moored at the works location for its duration.

Published in Marine Warning

#MARINE WARNING - The latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises mariners of cable laying operations in the Irish Sea from next week onwards.

The cable laying operations between Wales and Portmarnock Beach in north Co Dublin will commence on Thursday 25 October for approximately 14 days, subject to weather conditions. The works will be undertaken from the C/S Resolute (Call sign V7FF3) supported by the M/V Coastal Discovery (Call sign PBUZ).

Both vessels will display appropriate shapes and lights during the operations, and will keep a listening watch on VHF Channel 16 at all times.

Mariners are particularly advised to note that small craft will also be supporting the main operations vessels in the immediate area of Portmarnock Beach. These craft will have VHF communications, and their movements will be co-ordinated by the main vessels.

In addition, divers will be operating between Portmarnock Beach and the cable laying vessel within the approved corridor for these work and to a maximum distance of 6.5km from the shore.

All vessels, particularly those engaged in fishing, are requested to give all vessels involved in these operations a wide berth.

Full details of co-ordinates are included in Marine Notice No 59 of 2012, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Published in Marine Warning

#warning – The Department of Transport has issued a Marine Notice to highlight the dangers inherent in excessive alcohol consumption whilst on board or operating a vessel.

While operating a pleasure craft, it is against the law to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs or any combination of drugs or of drugs and alcohol to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the craft.

The full notice is available to download as a pdf document.

Published in Marine Warning
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#MARINE WARNING - The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) has been advised that subsea rock installation works will shortly commence along a pipeline route from the Corrib Gas Field in Broad Haven Bay off Co Mayo.

Works will commence in the middle of this month (October 2012) and are expected to be completed in 6-10 days. The operation will be carried out by the vessel Tertnes (Call sign PGAN). All vessels in the vicinity are requested to keep clear of the works as these works progress along the pipeline route and to comply with requests from work vessel.

Furthermore, all vessels are requested to monitor and comply with the Radio Navigational Warnings that will be broadcast for the duration of the works. All vessels involved in the operations will be listening on VHF Channel 16 throughout the project. All vessels are required to comply fully with the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea and to manoeuvre their vessels accordingly.

The attention of all is also drawn to Marine Notice No 17 of 2007, which gives general advice in relation to the activities of vessels engaged in survey work for hydrographic, seismic, fishing research and underwater operations.

Full details of co-ordinates for the current works are included in Marine Notice No 57 of 2012, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Published in Marine Warning

#WEATHER - Met Éireann has issued a weather warning for much of the Irish coast today (Monday 24 September) as heavy rain and strong northwesterly winds sweep in across the country.

Winds are expected to reach gale force tonight on northwestern, northern and eastern coasts from Erris Head in Mayo to Malin in Donegal to Wicklow Head.

As The Irish Times reports, fishermen in small craft are advised to take caution as wind speeds are set to top force six or higher as the day progresses.

Persistent rainfall in most of Leinster and Ulster may also lead to flash flooding in some areas.

Published in Weather

#MARINE WARNING - Seafarers are advised to steer clear of upcoming surface-to-air firing exercises off north Co Dublin, as well as a survey equipment deployment operation in Galway Bay.

Marine Notice No 51 of 2012 outlines that the Defence Forces will be conducting live surface-to-air firing practices at Gormanston Air Defence Range in Co Meath this week on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 September from 11am to 3pm each day.

Similar to the exercises conducted this past July, an exclusion zone will be established comprising the land, air and sea areas contained within a radius of three nautical miles centred on Gormanston Aerodrome, with an additional segment centred on the aerodrime and bearing of 015 degree true through Mosney rail station and 106 degrees true through Gormanston rail station seawards for a distance of 10 nautical miles.

The exclusion zone D1 will be enforced by a Naval Service vessel. All mariners in the area are required to remain outside the exclusion zone while the range is active, and are recommended to carefully monitor the radio navigation warnings that will be broadcast throughout the firing period.

Meanwhile, in Galway Bay two Benthic Lander devices will be deployed between 24 and 26 September, to be recovered between 29 and 31 September.

The national research vessel R/V Celtic Voyager (call sign EIQN) - which will host the Science@Sea marine science training scheme this coming November - will carry out the deployment of the 2-3-metre high devices that will monitor sediment movement, current speed and direction, and wave motion at depth.

All vessels, particularly those engaged in fishing, are requested to give the vessel and wide berth of at least 500 metres and keep a sharp lookout.

Details of relevant co-ordinated are included in Marine Notice No 52 of 2012, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Published in Marine Warning

#MARINE WARNING - In its latest Marine Notice to mariners in the Irish Sea, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises of cable repairs being carried out east of Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford.

Operations commenced yesterday 6 September and will continue till approximately next Thursday 13 September, subject to the weather. The works will be undertaken by C/S Peter Faber (call sign FLEV).

During repairs the vessel will be links to the seabed by the cable and will have poor manoeuvrability. This will be signalled with shapes and/or lights as required. The vessel will also broadcast regular safety messages to give details of activity and position.

All vessens in the area, especially those engaged in fishing, are requested to give a wide berth, and not to pass between the repair vessel and the shore.

Full details, including co-ordinates, are included in Marine Notice No 48 of 2012, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Published in Marine Warning
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Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020

Irish Sailing Performance Head Quarters

Irish Sailing's base for the exclusive use of its own teams are located on the grounds of the Commissioners of Irish Lights in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The Irish Sailing Performance HQ houses the senior Irish sailing teams such as Olympic Silver Medalist Annalise Murphy

The HQ plans were announced in May 2018 and opened in March 2019.

The HQ comprises a number of three converted shipping containers and a floating slipway and pontoon

The HQ aim is to improve both training and educational opportunities for them, thereby creating systematic medal potential.

The Performance HQ is entirely mobile and has space for briefings and athlete education, a gym, gear storage and a boat maintenance area.

The athlete briefing room can then be shipped directly to international competitions such as the Olympics Regatta and provide a base for athletes overseas.