Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: adrift

#MarineScience - In Greenland, a huge iceberg has drifted close to a village on the western coast, prompting a partial evacuation in case it splits and the resulting wave swamps homes.

The iceberg reports BBB News is looming over houses on a promontory in the Innaarsuit village but is grounded and did not move overnight, local media say.

Local officials say they have never seen such a big iceberg before.

Last summer, four people died after waves swamped houses in northwestern Greenland after an earthquake.

Those of Inaarsuit's 169 residents living nearest the iceberg have been moved, Danish news agency Ritzau said.

"There are cracks and holes that make us fear it can calve anytime," village council member Susanne Eliassen told the local newspaper Sermitsiaq.

Click here for more on the story. 

Published in Marine Science

#Tanker - RTÉ News reports that a tanker carrying 15,000 tonnes of caustic soda is adrift west of Loop Head after suffering engine failure.

The ship, carrying 22 crew, is said to be stranded amid rough conditions with Force 8 winds and a six-metre swell but is in no immediate danger. The Irish Coast Guard is on standby to provide assistance.

Published in Ports & Shipping
Tagged under

#RNLI - While on exercise on Sunday morning (23 June 2013), Larne RNLI’s inshore lifeboat was requested to divert and investigate reports that a boat was drifting out to sea in Larne Lough.

The 11m wooden boat had nobody onboard and represented a hazard in the area.



As the volunteer lifeboat crew neared the vessel they noticed a man in a punt approaching them. The man was from a nearby boat and having become concerned at the drifting vessel, had decided to investigate and see if he could assist.

However it was discovered that his nine 9m yacht, which had another crew member onboard, had also got into difficulty and was starting to drag its mooring.  



Wind conditions were force four to five with a north gusting wind and lumpy seas. 

The inshore lifeboat assisted the man back onboard his vessel and a lifeboat crew member joined him. The dragging mooring was fixed and they were able to continue under their own power.



The original drifting boat was aground, and having made sure the other vessel and its two crew were safe, the lifeboat returned to assist. Establishing a tow, Larne RNLI inshore crew were able to gently pull the boat off the rocks. 

They were then met by the all-weather lifeboat and the tow was passed on to them before it was safely secured on a mooring in Larne Lough and both lifeboats returned to station.



Commenting on the call-outs, Larne RNLI lifeboat operations manager Alan Dorman said: “What started as a normal Sunday morning exercise turned into a double call-out for both lifeboats. 

"It shows how quickly things can change out at sea and the lifeboat is always available to assist and reassure. Thankfully on this occasion help was close at hand and no injury or damage was done.”

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

#Surfing - A South African surfer has survived a terrifying ordeal after being stranded alone in shark-infested waters in the Indian Ocean.

As Channel 4 News reports, 50-year-old Brett Archibald had been with friends on an overnight boat crossing from mainland Indonesia to the surfing grounds of the Mentawai Islands when he blacked out from seasickness and fell overboard in rough weather.

Unfortunately for Archibald, his friends were either asleep or suffering from seasickness themselves below deck, and several hours passed before he was noticed missing.

In the meantime, he was stranded alone in the water, surrounded by sharks and jellyfish and attacked by seagulls.

Archibald described his 28 hours adrift at sea as "insane" and said he nearly drowned eight times, but he continued to swim and tread water while, unbeknownst to him, rescue services were being mobilised for a large-scale search operation.

Channel 4 News has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Surfing
An Australian crewmember on the stricken Rambler 100, which capsized in high winds during yesterday's Rolex Fastnet Race, has told reported that he feels "lucky to be alive".
Mike Motti was one of five crew who were separated from the yacht when it overturned near Fastnet Rock off the Cork coast.
He and his fellow crewmembers spent two hours adrift on a liferaft before they were rescued in foggy conditions which made the search all the more difficult.
“I’m feeling lucky to be alive, happy to be here and it’s great to see the local people here to greet us,” Motti told The Irish Times.
Fellow crewman Michael van Beuren said the yacht capsized within 30 seconds when its keel fin snapped in heavy seas.
All 21 crew were rescued from the yacht last night in an operation led by the Baltimore RNLI lifeboat and the Irish Coast Guard.

An Australian crewmember on the stricken Rambler 100, which capsized in high winds during yesterday's Rolex Fastnet Race, has told reported that he feels "lucky to be alive".

Mike Motti was one of five crew who were separated from the yacht when it overturned near Fastnet Rock off the Cork coast. 

He and his fellow crewmembers spent two hours adrift on a liferaft before they were rescued in foggy conditions which made the search all the more difficult.

“I’m feeling lucky to be alive, happy to be here and it’s great to see the local people here to greet us,” Motti told The Irish Times.

Fellow crewman Michael van Beuren said the yacht capsized within 30 seconds when its keel fin snapped in heavy seas.

All 21 crew were rescued from the yacht last night in an operation led by the Baltimore RNLI lifeboat and the Irish Coast Guard.

Published in Fastnet

The Half Ton Class was created by the Offshore Racing Council for boats within the racing band not exceeding 22'-0". The ORC decided that the rule should "....permit the development of seaworthy offshore racing yachts...The Council will endeavour to protect the majority of the existing IOR fleet from rapid obsolescence caused by ....developments which produce increased performance without corresponding changes in ratings..."

When first introduced the IOR rule was perfectly adequate for rating boats in existence at that time. However yacht designers naturally examined the rule to seize upon any advantage they could find, the most noticeable of which has been a reduction in displacement and a return to fractional rigs.

After 1993, when the IOR Mk.III rule reached it termination due to lack of people building new boats, the rule was replaced by the CHS (Channel) Handicap system which in turn developed into the IRC system now used.

The IRC handicap system operates by a secret formula which tries to develop boats which are 'Cruising type' of relatively heavy boats with good internal accommodation. It tends to penalise boats with excessive stability or excessive sail area.

Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium. 

At A Glance – Half Ton Classics Cup Winners

  • 2017 – Kinsale – Swuzzlebubble – Phil Plumtree – Farr 1977
  • 2016 – Falmouth – Swuzzlebubble – Greg Peck – Farr 1977
  • 2015 – Nieuwport – Checkmate XV – David Cullen – Humphreys 1985
  • 2014 – St Quay Portrieux – Swuzzlebubble – Peter Morton – Farr 1977
  • 2013 – Boulogne – Checkmate XV – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1985
  • 2011 – Cowes – Chimp – Michael Kershaw – Berret 1978
  • 2009 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978
  • 2007 – Dun Laoghaire – Henri-Lloyd Harmony – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1980~
  • 2005 – Dinard – Gingko – Patrick Lobrichon – Mauric 1968
  • 2003 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Please show your support for Afloat by donating