Displaying items by tag: training
Brady Feels At Home in the Water
Irish musician Paul Brady has confessed to a second love - scuba diving.
The 'Nobody Knows' hitmaker explained to The Irish Times how he had "always felt at home in the water" since a young age, and did his first diving course in 1988.
But frustrated by diving's weather dependancy here, he started going abroad - beginning in the Red Sea in the late 1980s before taking in the world's top diving spots, from Hawaii to the Cayman Islands and Australia.
Brady says he prefers to dive in private groups "off the beaten track" as commercial operators don't often visit the best sites - citing the Great Barrier Reef as an example.
As an experienced diver, he's has his fair share of bumpy moments down below, such as getting caught in a down draght in the Red Sea near Ras Mohammad - but says his training made all the difference.
As for why he loves diving? "It's a bit like floating in air," he says.
Read more of the Irish Times' interview with Paul Brady HERE.
Flood Evacuation Exercise in Fingal This Weekend
Members of the public are invited to attend a major flood evacuation training exercise this Saturday at Broadmeadow Esturary in Swords, Co Dublin.
Rescue and boat rescue crews from the Irish Coast Guard are sceduled to join teams from the Dublin Fire Brigade, the Civil Defence Fire Service and Gardaí in the exercise, which will simulate the rescue of a group of people stranded after a flash flood.
The crews will test water rescue and river search procedures, with an emphasis on general water safety and providing assistance to other search and rescue agencies.
The excercise will begin at 11am on Saturday 16 April and will last for one hour. Members of the public are welcome to observe must must obey any instructions and must not interefere with the exercise.
For more information contact Bill Powderly, assistant chief Civil Defence officer with responsibility for the Fingal Area, at [email protected] or 086 380 5197.
Asgard II's wheel and bell look like new again following their recovery from the sunken Irish sail training brigantine. Unlike 2005, Asgard won't be sailing in this year's Tall Ships race when it calls to Waterford but one suggestion doing the rounds is that the shiny bell should sound the start of the race from Waterford on July 3. It's a nice idea, certainly a lot nicer than rotting on the French seabed or sitting on a shelf in the Office of the Receiver of Wrecks. Let us know what you think in our poll on the left hand column.
Back from the deep: Asgard II's bell (above) and wheel look like new again. Should they have a place at the Tall Ships Waterford, vote in our reader poll!
Sail Training Ireland to be Launched Next Week
Since the Department of Defence declared they no longer had an interest in sponsoring the continuation of the Asgard Sail Training Programme, and the subsequent decision of the Board of Asgard to wind up the Company, a working group supported by the ISA has worked to establish a National Sail Training Association.
Sail Training Ireland for Youth Development Ltd. has been established as a limited company recognised by Sail Training International as the representative body for Sail Training activities in Ireland.
An objectives of the organisation is to promote the development and Education of young Men and Women on the Island of Ireland in and through the Sail Training Experience regardless of Nationality, Culture, Religion, Gender or Social Background.
West Cork School Offers Temporary Tall Ship Sloop Solution
"There was fantastic energy at the Tall Ships workshop and while it was agreed that Ireland would benefit tremendously from an iconic square rigger tall sihip, this will take some to bring to fruition.
In the meantime, we are can look to existing Tall Ships operating with Irish Flag to offer the great experience that Sail Training can offer. Rohan MacAllister, previously captain of Asgard II for 10 years attended the meeting with Gail & Niall MacAllister of West Cork Sailing Centre to present Cypraea as a marvelous tall ship sailing sloop that is equipped to provide sail training on our Irish waters this summer.
The attendees of the meeting congratulated the MacAllisters on their tenacity and determination in bringing their sail training vessel to our waters and making the "Sail Training Experience" accessable for teenagers and adults this summer by dedicating July to Teenage Sail Training 5 day adventure sails for 350 euro and August to Adults at 450 euro.
Cypraea is a 23.5m steel sloop with berths for 10 at present and plans to increase to 16. She has three sails and is an extremely hands on team work sailing experience.
West Cork Sailing have been providing ISA and RYA sailing for many years and are excited to be providing Sail Training and the amazing life changing opportunity that it can bring".
Looking for further reading on Tall Ships in Ireland? Click the links below:
Click this link to read all our Tall Ships Stories on one handy page
Previewing Ireland's Tall Ships 2011 Season
Can Ireland Get a New Tall Ship?
Dubin's Lord Mayor opened a Tall Ship and Youth Sail Training Workshop with an agenda to seek a solution to the current Irish Sail Training impasse caused by the loss of sailing's Asgard II and Lord Rank.
Over 70 delegtes including many of the 'top brass' of the Irish Tall Ship commuunity attended the meeting held at the offices of Dublin Port Company on Saturday (26th March). The meeting inlcuded members of Coiste an Asgard, port companies, education, tourism and other sailing interests.
The meeting was formally opened by Dublin Lord Mayor and Port Admiral, Gerry Breen who introduced the chairman Lord Glentoran and the Facilitator Michael Counahan.
From (Left to right) Seamus McLoughlin, Dublin Port Head of Operations, Enda Connellan, Chairman Tall Ships Dublin 2012, Des Whelan, Chair Tall Ships Waterford 2011, Lord Glentoran (Robin Dixon) Chair Tall Ships Belfast 1992, Dr. Gerard O'Hare, Chair Tall Ships Belfast 2009, Ted Crosbie, Tall Ships Cork and Enda O'Coineen, LetsdoitGlobal.
Des Whelan gave an excellent talk and presentation on Tall Ships Waterford which was followed by a discussion on the massive economic benefits of bringing Tall Ships Festivals To Dublin, Cork and Belfast. Chairman of Tall Ships Dublin 2012 Enda Connellan and Ted Crosbie of Tall Ships Cork and Dr. Gerard O' Hare of Tall Ships Belfast discussed the incredible success stories from their respective ports festivals.
Several presentations and discussions followed regarding the role of Tall Ships in Sail Training, the connection between a vessel for Ireland and running events here. The question of who are the stakeholders and how can benefits be quantified was also discussed.
The meeting was hosted by Dublin Port Company who provided a warm welcome, excellent facilities, refreshments and a wonderful lunch with senior management attending to everyone's needs.
After lunch there were further discussions on what is the most suitable vessel, who should run the organisation and what would work best for Ireland.
Jimmy Tyrrell gave a short, eloquent and emotional account of Asgard II and the realisation of his father's dream which was fulfilled beyond all expectation by that legendary vessel and those who were privileged to sail on her. He affirmed his own belief that the way forward was with an All-Ireland Tall Ship and even suggested that she be called Spirit of Ireland. There were other suggestions for a name inlcuding 'Ireland's Call'.
A view was also expressed that politics and religion have no place in Sail Trail Training and the future lay in an All-Ireland Commercial/Charitable Trust Venture.
The prohibitive nature of current legislation and the total lack of awareness of the maritime sector by the Government was mentioned several times.
Ocean Youth Club NI provided four young sail trainees to address the gathering on the benefits of Sail Training from their perspective and representatives from education, tourism Tall Ships International and "Association Of Tall Ships Organisations" also contributed.
The general consensus was the need to develop and promote, as a matter of urgency, a plan for a Tall Ship For Ireland linking Youth, Maritime Education, Business and Tourism.
Another workshop will be held in Belfast in April and the collective input of both meetings will be considered going forward.
A Tall Order for Ireland? HERE
Regular updates on Irish Tall Ship sailing news HERE
More on Asgard II HERE
Tall Ship Interests Plan Replacement for Asgard II
Ireland could yet have a Tall ship to replace the Asgard II and the Lord Rank, if a new sailing group formed to press for a replacement is successful. The news is in this morning's Irish Times newspaper. Groups representating different interests from maritime to tourism to economic are getting together for a special conference on March 26th in Dublin Port. The full Irish Times story is HERE. Next week in Afloat magazine's March/April issue an article called 'Tall Order for Ireland' gives all the details on the conference. It includes a 'call for contributions' from key stakeholders who would support a Tall Ship for Ireland. More details HERE. And in a separate article WM Nixon looks at the realities of national sail training in the 21st Century. This new move on a replacement seems to have entirely appropriate timing; Asgard II was commissioned in Arklow 30 years ago this week, on March 7, 1981.
Looking for further reading on Tall Ships in Ireland? Click the links below:
Click this link to read all our Tall Ships Stories on one handy page
Previewing Ireland's Tall Ships 2011 Season
Can Ireland Get a New Tall Ship?
City Powerboat School on the Market
Due to an opportunity for its owners overseas Dublin City's only powerboat training school, City Powerboat School is on the market. The Irish Sailing Association recognised training establishment is advertised in next week's edition of Afloat magazine. The school operates in the 'highly visible' River Liffey area. School principal Felix Finlay says 'the position of the school in Dublin City has attracted many enquiries, for not only powerboat training courses, but sail training, tourism activities, and educational opportunities'. More here.
Dramatic Photos of Clifden Lifeboat Battling Surf
John organised the training in response to the increased popularity of the area with surfers. RNLI Divisional Assessor Trainer Helena Duggan travelled to the lifeboat station to put 18 volunteer lifeboat crew through their paces and train them in handling the lifeboat in surf and responding to potential callouts from leisure marine enthusiasts.
Training is a core part of volunteering with the RNLI and each crewmember in Clifden trains once a fortnight on the stations two inshore lifeboats.
Commenting on the exercise John said, "I took my camera down to photograph the exercise and was really pleased with the results. It is great to be able to show the public what our lifeboat volunteers go through to ensure they are fit and trained to go to sea. We had a fantastic turnout on the day and the lifeboat crew learned about boat handling in surf conditions. We are delighted so many people are visiting the area for leisure marine activities."
Photos by John Brittain/Clifden RNLI show Clifden volunteer lifeboat crew with RNLI Training assessor Helena Duggan during surf training on Dunloughan beach, Ballyconeely
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Rescue News from RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland
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Water Safety News from Ireland
Marine Casualty Investigation Board News
Marine Warnings
World Leader in Offshore Simulation Partners with National Maritime College
SEFtec NMCI Offshore Ltd (SNO), a public / private joint venture between SEFtec Global Training Ltd and The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI), will be launched tomorrow at the National Maritime College, Co. Cork, by the Minister of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Batt O'Keeffe.
This venture is a shining example of how to bring together state of the art public infrastructure, in the form of one of the world's most advanced maritime colleges, with private enterprise's expertise in not only offshore training, but in the design, manufacture, installation, commissioning and service of training simulators for the global maritime industry.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O'Keeffe TD, who launched the public-private joint venture, said it would support jobs and the growth of the Irish offshore exploration and wind energy sectors. 'The future is bright for the partnership we are announcing here this afternoon. The maritime sector is a diverse and developing global industry that requires huge levels of skill and technical capability,' said Minister O'Keeffe.
Focused on supporting the successful and sustainable growth of the Irish offshore exploration sector, SNO has successfully secured the approval of the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization (OPITO) for its programme of courses. In a sector that is completely focused on safety,OPITO has become the global industries focal point for skills, training and workforce development.
"SNO is very proud to have achieved its OPITO approval this year, the approval came about in a phenomenal time frame and this wouldn't have been possible without the combined efforts of both public and private joint venture partners. This will mean that we can service not only the growing needs of Ireland's offshore sector, but train for the global industry as well" Conor Mowlds, Managing Director SNO Ltd.
SEFtec, an Irish SME with a global focus, commenced trading in 2004 and has quickly become one of the world's leaders in the provision of offshore simulation equipment. Based in a state-of-the-art facility in Cork it has diversified its activities from the design and fabrication of offshore training simulation equipment to training and already operates an OPITO centre in Kazakhstan.
The NMCI, a public private partnership between the Cork Institute of Technology, Vita Lend Lease and the Irish Naval Service was opened in 2004, represents a €60 million investment by the state in maritime training, and is one of the world's most advanced maritime colleges.
The future aim of SNO is to break into the offshore renewable energy sector, with the development of their Offshore Wind Energy Safety Training course (OWEST) ear marked for further development. The OWEST course currently involves Helicopter Winching Techniques, Life Saving Appliances and Vessel Abandonment which is key training for anyone working on or near Offshore Wind Energy Sites.
See below for photos taken this morning at the National Maritime College in Ringaskiddy of delegates on the OPITO approved BOSIET - Offshore Training Course, using the Helicopter Underwater Training Simulator