#corkharbour – This year Cork Harbour Open Day will take place on Saturday 20th September 2014.The annual event promises once again to be an excellent weekend of fun for all the family around Cork Harbour, with many events free to the public.

The open day is a great opportunity for everyone to enjoy all that Cork Harbour has to offer, and this year will be no exception with the second largest natural harbour in the world playing host to many different activities.

While the programme of events is still coming together, organisers confirmed there will be a Coastguard Air Sea Rescue Demonstration; family fun on Spike Island, an Irish Naval vessel will be open to the public, free trips on the Port of Cork's pilot boat, plus many more activities such as a raft race organised by Scouting Ireland.

Cork Harbour Open Day emerged from discussions between various stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of the Integrated Strategy for the Harbour in 2007. This has been taken forward by the Harbour Management Focus Group (HMFG) which meets quarterly to exchange information on Harbour issues. A HMFG working group comprising representatives from UCC, City and County Councils and the Port of Cork set about working together to engage users of the Harbour and to organise the Open Day.

If anyone is interested in getting involved with Cork Harbour Open Day or would like to organise an event, please contact [email protected] to request an event application form.

#rtir – An early start for Jason and Dominic Losty's Quarter Tonner Illes Pituses in this year's Round the Island race saw them heading for the boat at 06:30 to enjoy the fantastic sight of 1,600 boats heading from Cowes in the early morning of clear skies and light winds.

A good start followed by a long beat towards the Needles in light fluctuating breeze which saw huge gains and losses across the fleet. Illes Pituses kept pace with the front of the fleet and had caught a number of larger boats that had started ahead including many 40 ft boats, despite a sea sick skipper feeding the ducks for half the leg.

At the Needles a very close (probably too close) rounding had the boat in good position overall with mainly 40 foot boats and a few other quarter tons .

The long fetch to St Catherines point saw the boat climb through more big boats to be in a good position at St Catherines point. However the breeze shut down completely and after six hours racing it was still all to play for and Illes Pituses were in a very good position surrounded by much bigger boats.

However it was at this point that a few of the boats managed to get some breeze despite being less than 100m away and managed to slip away from Illes Petuses. The breeze filled in from the land and the fleet had a lovely fast run along the back of the Island to Bambridge. Illes Pituses continued to make good progress to the Gybe mark off Bambridge in what were now fantastic sailing conditions of 10 knots and glorious sunshine.

A fetch along the Ryde banks and a nice beat to finish followed with Illes Pituses finishing in just over 11 hours and surrounded by a number of J109s, X332s and similar boats. The overall result has the boat in 16th overall in IRC which pleased the crew but gave a feeling of what might have been had the boat been 100m further to sea at St Catherines point and managed to keep in the breeze.

The Cove Sailing Club entry was one of a number of Irish boats in this year's massive race. Dublin quarter–tonner Cri Cri  (Paul Colton) was also competing in the race for the third time, losing out to the Cove yacht by 25 seconds on handicap after 11 hours plus racing. 

Jason and Domnic Losty's boat is still in Cowes preparing for the Coutts Quarter Ton cup which will start on Wednesday this week and promises to be a great event with almost 40 boats expected with a fleet full of top pros and Olympians. Also racing are Dublin boats Cri Cri and Cartoon (K. Lawless)

In other Round the Island race news, Irish Commodore's Cupper Quokka was third in IRC Zero.

 

#corkharbour – The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD today welcomed the notification from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of their proposed decision to grant a waste licence for the remediation of East Tip site at Haulbowline Island in Cork Harbour, in accordance with section 42(2) of the Waste Management Act 1996, (as amended) and subject to the detailed conditions attached and provisions for objections as specified.

Commenting at the proposed decision, the Minister said "I welcome the notification by the EPA of their proposal to grant this licence (subject to the twelve specific conditions attached and the provisions for objections outlined). We look forward to the EPAs final approved decision being issued in due course, while respecting the provisions for objections provided for, which should pave the way for Cork County Council to commence the detailed design and execution phase of the core remediation work at Haulbowline Island in the near future. I have been determined that this project will proceed with minimal delays and the hard work which has gone on behind the scenes by both Cork County Council and my own Department has enabled substantial progress to be made this year. The whole of Island approach adopted is now bringing rapid results. In the past few months alone, we have already seen An Bord Pleanála give its approval for the remediation project and the commencement of crucial work to repair the Haulbowline Island access Bridges. The significant construction activity on the island will bring substantial benefits to the local economy transforming the Island into a genuine national infrastructural asset and an integral part of the Government's plans for the Cork Harbour region within a relatively short time span".

The Government conveyed approval to the Minister for Agriculture. Food and the Marine for the clean-up of the former ISPAT site on Haulbowline Island in 2011. Cork County Council is acting as agent of the Minister in the remediation of the site. Key elements of the remediation plans were the planning application for works on the East Tip, lodged with An Bord Pleanála in October 2013 and the waste licence application, submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency in November 2013. The approval of both planning and waste licence applications (the latter currently a proposed decision to be issued by EPA subject to provision for objections being received) has involved complex and detailed preparatory work by Cork County Council and the Department and will (when finalised) clear the way for the completion of the project over the next two to three years. Haulbowline Island is located within Cork Harbour, between Cobh to the north and Ringaskiddy to the south. The site (known as the East Tip) contains approximately 650,000m3 of steelworks waste that was deposited on sand spit over a 40 year period. Access to the Island by road is from Ringaskiddy via bridges which transverse Rocky Island.

#thisislandnation – Enjoying the current good spell of weather in the South of the country I have been reflecting on how marvellous Nature and marine wildlife is and how fortunate it is to have ownership of a boat which allows one to enjoy the sea.

Nature is marvellous and the sea a magnificent provider. Out comes the sun and where do people head for – the beaches and the sea. Provided by the physical location of this island nation where no place is more than 70 miles from the sea measured in those grand old Irish miles before a subservient political establishment re-named them kilometres to conform to European-ism. Perhaps ready access to the beaches might convey to people the value of living in an island nation, but many of those who headed for the beaches did not show much respect for the physical nature of those beaches, leaving mounds of rubbish behind.

Another aspect of Nature was in a picture which impressed me this week - that of 24-year-old David Kenefick rounding the Fastnet Rock off the West Cork coast in the single-handed French Figaro Race. Taken by photographer Bob Bateman as David sailed through waters with which he has been familiar since a young lad, he was watched by his family who had gone out by boat to cheer him on as he set course towards the French coastline. A young man determined to succeed in the tough world of professional sailing, using the power of Nature, the wind, the tides. He follows on a good friend of mine, Damian Foxall from Kerry, whose path to professional success was via the Figaro Race.

B31 ICEBERG, ANTARCTICA

Scientists are continuing to monitor an iceberg roughly six times the size of Manhattan, New York, which broke off from an Antarctic glacier. NASA glaciologist Kelly Brunt said the iceberg covers about 255 square miles (660 square km) and is up to a third of a mile (500 meters) thick. Known as B31, it separated from Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier last November. U.S. government organisations, including the National Ice Center and NASA are monitoring it. Scientists are particularly interested in this iceberg not only because of its size but because it originated in an unexpected location. "It's like a large sheet cake floating through the Southern Ocean," according to NASA

DISTURBING SLAUGHTER

What disturbed me most this week was the intention of the Faroe Islanders to continue their annual slaughtering of pilot whales. This is carried out by luring the cetaceans using sounds such as hitting wood against boats, into bayed areas where they are then killed in what appears to be a vicious blood-letting. The conservation group, Sea Shepherd, which has been controversial in some of its actions, is mobilising supporters to go to the Faroes which is Danish territory, to oppose the slaughter, called locally 'the grind.' The Sea Shepard campaign, referred to as 'Operation GrindStop 2014,' has no authority, but says its volunteers will disrupt the 'grind' and are prepared to go to jail to protect these marine animals. Sea Shepherd was formed in 1977 by an expelled Greenpeace board member and activist Paul Watson. Since Sea Shepherd's formation, the organisation has been involved in direct action and has been accused of being an "eco-terrorist" organisation which description it has rejected. It describes itself as "Neptune's Navy" which "Never Compromises."

Whale slaughter on the Faeroe Islands. Photo courtesy: Sea Shepherd

The Danish Government allows the killings. At one time whalemeat was a staple diet of Faeroe Islanders but in recent years medical advice has told the islanders not to eat so much of it. More than 265,000 small cetaceans in total have been reportedly killed in the Faroe Islands over the years, mainly between the months of June and October, according to Sea Shepherd - some 1,500 since July 2013.

What happens in the Faeroes is so much of a contrast to how whales and dolphins are valued in Irish waters, which are a protected area and where the sight of whales and dolphins is a treasured experience.

Another example of the differences in how Nature is perceived in different parts of the world is the deceitfulness of the Japanese where the killing of whales is concerned. Japan has caught and killed 30 minke whales in its first hunt since and despite the International Court Justice ruling earlier this year that specifically banned such practices. The Japanese Government claims that these killings were for scientific research, a statement that is not fooling anyone.

BUILT-IN NAVIGATOR

Turning back to the positives of Nature, I was enjoying a leisurely lunch moored in Crosshaven when the gull photographed here arrived to seek food.

A good navigator

A few titbits were passed outwards and I admired his navigational expertise. From his low perspective on the water the slight swell would obscure the titbits as the floated outwards, but unerringly the bird could pick up any titbit, homing in on it, no matter what angle it approached from. It was intriguing to watch. Built-in navigation?

SUCKER GETS ANOTHER CHANCE

A Razorback suckerfsh

Nature can recover from setbacks, which has been shown this week in the Grand Canyon National Park in the US where the "extremely endangered species of fish" - Razorback Suckers - have been discovered spawning in the canyon after being absent for more than two decades. The photograph by Johnson Joames of the US Fish and Wildlife Service shows that the endangered fish has returned to the lower part of the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon National Park. Despite their name, razorbacks are harmless fish, characterised by the high sharp-edged hump behind their head.

CHANGING NATURE IN CORK HARBOUR

The use of Nature does bring changes, which are very apparent in Cork Harbour where I sail. Three massive wind turbines are now in place, quite dominant as they are almost 500 feet high. By contrast, Dublin's Spire in O'Connell Street which has been described as soaring to infinity is only 390 feet high. I am not advancing this as one up for Cork! Opinions about the turbines are mixed. They were built without any major public planning opposition to provide power for the pharmaceutical industry in Ringaskiddy. There is, however, opposition to the renewed plans for the building of a new container port at Ringaskiddy. Cork Port's plans for this are being objected to by harbour residents. Noise and other pollution aspects are the reason.

New look Cork Harbour

The Port company says the development is essential economically and because of the increasing size of ships. They maintain Ringaskiddy is the natural place for the development. Local opposition says the new port should not be built in the middle of a residential area and allege that it will affect leisure use of the harbour. Another issue about the Natural environment.

Finally, the beauty of Nature and what man creates, my photograph shows the sight of a beautiful wooden sailing vessel in Cork Harbour where traditional boats gathered at Crosshaven last week and whose next gathering will be in Cobh next weekend.

Respecting what Nature provides is a hallmark of quality in human beings.

Twitter: @afloatmagazine @TomMacSweeney

#rcyc – Cork sailing prowess was marked at the Irish Cruiser Racing (ICRA) National Championships hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin last weekend when Royal Cork yachts took both class zero and one to win ICRA's team prize writes Claire Bateman

Denise and Conor Phelan were victorious in Jump Juice Class Zero. Ian Nagle's Jelly Baby won Class One in a very competitive fleet that included J109s, A35's and others. George Kenefick in Nathan Kirwan Trust took second overall in Class Three while Paul Tingle also flew the flag with his Corby 25 Alpaca.

#cokrharbour – The National Maritime College of Ireland at Ringaskiddy, in Cork Harbour, the first higher education facility in the State to be built using the PPP process, marked its 10th year as it hosted the Cork Institute of Technology summer conferrings. Degrees awarded included BSc in Nautical Science, Bachelor of Engineering in Marine & Plant Engineering and Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Management & Naval Studies. For the first time PhD candidates are being presented at the CIT Summer conferrings.

Speaking at the conferrings, the President of CIT Dr Brendan Murphy, spoke of the achievements of all those being conferred, particularly the PhD candidates: "The individual research projects completed by today's conferees are the culmination of long years of endeavour with many a twist and turn between start and finish, that being the nature of research.

Doctoral programmes represent the pinnacle of academic achievement and are a growing aspect of CIT's overall strategic mission which we intend to see carried through to our designation as the Munster Technological University."

#rtir – A Cork based Quarter Tonner yacht will represent Irish hopes in Saturday's Round the Island Race. Jason Lostys Illes Pitiuses, a modified Farroux quarter ton, will compete in the Solent's  Round the Island Race. The boat will be crewed by Cove Sailing club members from Cork Harbour and will also be a warm up for the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup which starts next Wednesday.

#Diving - RTÉ News reports that a man has died while diving near Roches Point at Cork Harbour yesterday (14 June).

The 45-year-old from Limerick, believed to be a member of a volunteer dive search and rescue team in North Cork, was rushed to treatment after surfacing from a dive.

Crosshaven RNLI reports that its lifeboat met the dive craft off Fort Camden and transferred volunteer crew member Ian Venner on board to administer first aid to the casualty.

The lifeboat was met ashore by lifeboat medical advisor Dr John Murphy, and first Aid continued until the casualty was handed over to the ambulance service. The Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 from Waterford was also tasked.



The diver later died at Cork University Hospital.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

#wmr – The Petit Final led off today and provided a brilliant introduction to the display of match racing that was enthralling for the spectators to watch today writes Claire Bateman. Caroline Sylvan (SWE) put up a tough fight against Stephanie Roble (USA), but the American crew proved to be strongest at the end. With two straight wins they secured the bronze in the 2014 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship, the first event out of five on the 2014 Women's International Match Racing Series.

Finally the climax of this outstanding match racing event arrived and all were waiting with bated breath expecting a tremendous fight that lived up to all expectations and provided a display unequalled on the Cork Harbour scene for a number of years. Following a short delay to allow for the swopping of Stephanie Roble's (USA) boat, who in fact had come third in the series thus taking the bronze spot, all was in readiness and the scene set for the epic battle of the week and this in fact was what it turned out to be. With SSW breeze of 15 to 25 knots, a flooding tide, sunshine and shifty winds Anna Kjellberg of Sweden, World No. 2 and Camilla Ulrikkeholm World No. 1 entered the ding dong competition.

Ulrikkeholm gained an early advantage by winning the first match of the final. The flukey winds together with the flooding tide and strong current, really put it up to the sailors who gave it their all with a masterful display which was to last through the races for the final.

In the second match it was Kjellberg got through to victory and thus leaving it all to play for in match 3. Both teams started aggressively in race 3 with both clearly stating their intention to do the business. The Dane appeared to be in control of the situation when the Swede had a poor bottom mark rounding and it looked to be all over for her. However, the wily Swede went up the right side the beat and it paid off handsomely for her, taking the lead from the Dane and then held on in very tight circumstances and took the win.

Race 4 started with the tide turned. The start was again very aggressive with the Swede appearing to have the better of it. The wind seemed at it's strongest for this race. Both boats drag raced up the beat heading left. The Dane appeared marginally faster in the stronger conditions and got through. The pattern continued until the bottom mark when the Swede, who clearly wanted the right side of the course, threw a couple of dummy tacks to break the Dane's tight cover. Five minutes of racing later and it was all over bar the shouting. The smooth water on the right and a lucky shift took the Swede past the Dane and once through she never looked like losing and so it proved to be with the Swede taking the right hand side of the course downwind and gybing in the strongest breeze to power through to the finish and taking the winner's title in the final of the 2014 ISAF Women's Matching World Championships.

The prize giving followed in a very excited atmosphere with all very glad to be finished after a grueling week and showering the winner with congratulations and good wishes. A very lovely little human touch was added and made a perfect ending to the ceremonies when by kind permission of ISAF, Anna Kjellberg's little five week old daughter, Vera, was brought out to join with her mother to receive her very own gold medal to mark the auspicious occasion.

A wonderful end to a wonderful week.

ISAF Press Release

Olympic sailor and World #2 Anna Kjellberg of the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club was crowned 2014 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Champion in Cork Harbour this afternoon. Together with her crew – Karin Almquist, Vanja Lundberg and Annika Carlunger – the Swede defeated Danish World #1 Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN) 3 – 1 in their Scandinavian battle off Crosshaven, the home of the world's oldest yacht club.

"This is absolutely incredible. We've never before sailed a regatta with such a great crew feeling," the Swedish skipper smiled. "The last few weeks of my life have been completely crazy, giving birth to my daughter just five weeks ago, and now this," she said, laughing and shaking her head.

With three victories needed to win the final of the 2014 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship, Ulrikkeholm gained an early advantage by winning the first match of the final. Strong but very shifting and puffy winds, together with a swift current, put the sailors to the test. The second meeting ended in a fierce fight around the course, but Kjellberg kept control and passed the finish line one boat length ahead of her opponent.

When the Swedes won the third match, they put Ulrikkeholm under great pressure to break back. In the fourth match the Danes got away ahead, but didn't cover the Swedes well enough on the second upwind. Kjellberg was allowed to tack away for clear air, found an advantageous wind shift and passed into a leading position which she was able to maintain to the finish.

"We've improved in every match during this regatta, and we know that in match racing it's never over until it's over. I think we had the right nerves today, with a rather calm feeling in the boat even when the competition was tough," Kjellberg analysed after her golden match.

On her loss Ulrikkeholm commented, "In these conditions it was hard also to be ahead. We made some mistakes not covering the Swedes enough, and then we didn't have as good boat handling as the other days of the regatta."

Kjellberg's bowman Annika Carlunger had no less than seven World Championship silver medals before this regatta, sailing with different helmsmen over the years. Now she got her eagerly awaited gold medal and shouted after having passed the finish line, "Finally, after all these years."

In the Petit Final Caroline Sylvan (SWE) put up a tough fight against Stephanie Roble (USA), but the American crew proved to be strongest at the end. With two straight wins they secured the bronze in the 2014 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship, the first event out of five on the 2014 Women's International Match Racing Series.

"We never felt comfortably in control, but my team did an awesome job all the way around the course," said Roble who praised her crew.

"We've done some fantastic races, and we're proud to be the second Swedish crew in the top four of this Championship," Sylvan smiled, not too disappointed.

Results in the 2014 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship, the first event out of five on the 2014 Women's International Match Racing Series:

Final:
Anna Kjellberg, SWE, defeated Camilla Ulrikkeholm, DEN, 3 – 1

Petit final:
Stephanie Roble, USA, defeated Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 2 – 0

Total results (skipper name, country, prize money, WIM Series points):
1. Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 3 000 €, 25
2. Camilla Ulrikkeholm, DEN, 2 000 €, 22
3. Stephanie Roble, USA, 1 500 €, 20
4. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 1 250 €, 16
5. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA, 1 000 €, 15
6. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 750 €, 14
7. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, DEN, 500 €, 13
8. Claudia Pierce, NZL, – ,12
9. Annabel Vose, GBR, – , 10
10. Mary O'Loughlin, IRL, – , 8
11. Laura Dillon, IRL, – , 6
12. Lucie Scheiwiller, FRA, – , 4
13. Anne-Christianne Kentgens, NED, – , –

#wmr – World #1 Camilla Ulrikkeholm of Denmark defeat Sweden's Caroline Sylvan 3 – 0 in their semi-final of the 2014 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship in front of large spectator crowds in Cork harbour this afternoon.

In the other semi-final of the first event on the 2014 Women's International Match Racing Series, the Swedish crew helmed by world #2 Anna Kjellberg went through to the final after beating Stephanie Roble of the USA. It took some thrilling matches until the matter was solved with the Swede winning 3-2: "We managed to keep our good flow from the quarter finals, and I think we sailed five really good races against Roble," analysed Kjellberg.

Kjellberg won the first match and Roble the next two. The exciting fourth match showed the crowds at the Camden Fort Meagher grandstand a whole bunch of the tricks that skilled match racing sailors at this top level keep up their sleeves. Finally it was the Swedish crew who best handled the shifty winds, complex tide and choppy waves, controlling their boat and the American opponent all the way through to the finish.

When entering from port for the fifth match, Kjellberg lost focus for a few seconds and did not keep clear of Roble, who approached on starboard tack, and was immediately penalised by the umpires. "It's so obvious that on this level you can't afford the slightest mistake. I shouted to my girl's that we'd have to do the match of our lives," Kjellberg explained.

The Swedes managed to get over the starting line even with Roble and a frenetic tacking duel up the first beat began. After rounding the top mark the Americans didn't fill their kite fast enough, allowing Kjellberg to stretch away by few boat lengths. On the second upwind the Swedes had extended their lead enough to quite comfortably take their penalty turn, and when Roble repeated her spinnaker problems on the last downwind, the Swedish victory was sealed.

"I saw Stephanie coming with great pressure from behind, but I never thought she was threatening us," Kjellberg said.

Roble commented, "It was close racing and I'm proud of the way we sailed today. It's a team effort around the course and we all worked very hard. Anna made less mistakes and that paid off, so I'm wishing her the best for tomorrow."

With two Swedish teams in opposite semi-finals, the odds for seeing them in the final of the 2014 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship were quite good. But as the other semi-final was sailed between Ulrikkeholm and Sylvan, the Dane showed that it's no coincidence she's on top of the ISAF Women's Match Race Rankings as she defeated her Swedish opponent in three straight matches.

"We got a penalty in the second prestart, after a stupid mistake from the skipper, but still managed to get ahead and win that one. And the other two matches I think we controlled very well, staying in the right position," Ulrikkeholm said.

On the defeat Sylvan said, "They covered us completely and didn't allow us any game room at all. We raced the best we could and learned a few new tricks, but they were obviously the best today."

The final is scheduled for 11.30am tomorrow (08 June).

All results provisional

Results in the semi-finals of the 2014 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship, the first event on the 2014 Women's International Match Racing Series. The winning skippers advance to the final:

Camilla Ulrikkeholm, DEN, defeated Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 3 – 0

Anna Kjellberg, SWE, defeated Stephanie Roble, USA, 3 – 2

The results in the sail-offs for place 5 – 8:
5. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA
6. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED
7. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, DEN
8. Claudia Pierce, NZL