Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Science@Sea

#MarineScience - The Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training (SMART) has opened the call for applications for Science@Sea research vessel-based training courses.

Courses are aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students of marine-related science, technology and engineering, as well as researchers and professionals working in the marine sector.

The two-day training courses will be held between 4-9 April 2014 in waters off Cork and will offer students the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience onboard the national research vessel RV Celtic Voyager.

Science@Sea introduces participants to the concept of a multidisciplinary research approach through immersion in key disciplines. Training addresses the practical, cross-disciplinary skills necessary for marine sampling, data collection and processing.

Participants gain hands-on experience in deployment of a wide range of instrumentation and deck equipment as well as other areas essential to working at sea, including survey design and planning, safety at sea and post-survey analysis and assessment.

“Science@Sea is unique in that it provides participants with the relevant technical knowledge and skills required to work and carry out research at sea. This not only increases national capacity in the marine sector but provides participants with the vital knowledge and skills required for future research and employment," said Dr Pauhla McGrane, national co-ordinator of SMART.

“The hands-on experience that students gain through training provided by the SMART programme is invaluable preparation for the reality of working in a sometimes harsh sea environment across a broad range of marine research,” added Dr Peter Heffernan, CEO of the Marine Institute.

“We’re delighted to support Science@Sea as it gives participants significant practical experience beneficial to their career path, and the SMART programme can contribute towards continuous professional development for professionals with accreditation by IMarEST.”

Applications and further information are available online HERE and queries can be addressed to [email protected].

Completed applications should be received no later than Tuesday 11 March 2014. Please note a course fee of €300 applies for applicants in full-time employment and €50 for full-time students and unwaged graduates with a marine science and technology background.

SMART is a marine science partnership programme that provides quality offshore training for students of marine science, technology and engineering. SMART operates from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. Partner institutes include Athlone Institute of Technology, the National University of Ireland, Galway, the Marine Institute, University College Cork and the University of Ulster with supporting funding from the Higher Education Authority. Science@Sea courses are recognised by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) as contributing towards professional development.

Science@Sea is carried out under the Sea Change strategy with the support of the Marine Institute and the Marine Research Sub-programme of the National Development Plan 2007–2013.

Published in Marine Science

#MARINE SCIENCE - The Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training (SMART) has opened the call for applications for Science@Sea research vessel-based training courses aimed at students of marine-related sciences

Science@Sea courses have been running since 2008 and are recognised by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) as a means of contributing towards a student’s professional development and career.    

The two-day training courses will be held between 7 and 12 November 2012 in waters off Cork and will offer students the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience onboard the national research vessel RV Celtic Voyager.

"Science@Sea is unique in that it gives students of marine related sciences a complete guide to working at sea," said SMART national co-ordinator Dr Paulha McGrane. "This not only increases national capacity in carrying out research survey operations but provides graduates with a competitive edge on the national and international jobs market.”

Dr McGrane explained that Science@Sea focuses on practical, cross-disciplinary skills such as sample collection and processing, operation of equipment and instrumentation, and data acquisition and processing.

"Other areas we look at, which are essential to working at sea, include survey design and planning, safety at sea, and post-survey analysis and assessment. To date, students who have participated in Science@Sea have found the course of enormous benefit in securing employment."

Course dates are as follows:

  • Postgraduates: 7-8 November 2012
  • Undergraduates 1: 9-10 November 2012
  • Undergraduates 2: 11-12 November 2012

Applications for Science@Sea and posters advertising the course are available online HERE. Completed applications should be received no later than Friday 5 October 2012.

Please note an administration fee of €50 applies and participants are liable for their own transportation and accommodation costs in Cork. For queries relating to any aspect of the course, contact [email protected]

Science@Sea is provided by SMART, a marine science partnership programme that provides quality offshore training for students of marine science, technology and engineering. The programme is carried out under the Sea Change strategy with the support of the Marine Institute and the Marine Research Sub-programme of the National Development Plan 2007–2013. Core partners include the National University of Ireland, Galway; University College Cork; Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology; Cork Institute of Technology; the National Maritime College; and the Marine Institute; with additional funding by the Higher Education Authority.

Published in Marine Science

Howth 17 information

The oldest one-design keelboat racing class in the world is still competing today to its original 1897 design exclusively at Howth Yacht club.

Howth 17 FAQs

The Howth 17 is a type of keelboat. It is a 3-man single-design keelboat designed to race in the waters off Howth and Dublin Bay.

The Howth Seventeen is just 22ft 6ins in hull length.

The Howth 17 class is raced and maintained by the Association members preserving the unique heritage of the boats. Association Members maintain the vibrancy of the Class by racing and cruising together as a class and also encourage new participants to the Class in order to maintain succession. This philosophy is taken account of and explained when the boats are sold.

The boat is the oldest one-design keelboat racing class in the world and it is still racing today to its original design exclusively at Howth Yacht club. It has important historical and heritage value keep alive by a vibrant class of members who race and cruise the boats.

Although 21 boats are in existence, a full fleet rarely sails buy turnouts for the annual championships are regularly in the high teens.

The plans of the Howth 17 were originally drawn by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 for Howth Sailing Club. The boat was launched in Ireland in 1898.

They were originally built by John Hilditch at Carrickfergus, County Down. Initially, five boats were constructed by him and sailed the 90-mile passage to Howth in the spring of 1898. The latest Number 21 was built in France in 2017.

The Howth 17s were designed to combat local conditions in Howth that many of the keel-less boats of that era such as the 'Half-Rater' would have found difficult.

The original fleet of five, Rita, Leila, Silver Moon, Aura and Hera, was increased in 1900 with the addition of Pauline, Zaida and Anita. By 1913 the class had increased to fourteen boats. The extra nine were commissioned by Dublin Bay Sailing Club for racing from Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) - Echo, Sylvia, Mimosa, Deilginis, Rosemary, Gladys, Bobolink, Eileen and Nautilus. Gradually the boats found their way to Howth from various places, including the Solent and by the latter part of the 20th century they were all based there. The class, however, was reduced to 15 due to mishaps and storm damage for a few short years but in May 1988 Isobel and Erica were launched at Howth Yacht Club, the boats having been built in a shed at Howth Castle - the first of the class actually built in Howth.

The basic wooden Howth 17 specification was for a stem and keel of oak and elm, deadwood and frames of oak, planking of yellow pine above the waterline and red pine below, a shelf of pitch pine and a topstrake of teak, larch deck-beams and yellow pine planking and Baltic spruce spars with a keel of lead. Other than the inclusion of teak, the boats were designed to be built of materials which at that time were readily available. However today yellow pine and pitch pine are scarce, their properties of endurance and longevity much appreciated and very much in evidence on the original five boats.

 

It is always a busy 60-race season of regular midweek evening and Saturday afternoon contests plus regattas and the Howth Autumn League.

In 2017, a new Howth 17 Orla, No 21, was built for Ian Malcolm. The construction of Orla began in September 2016 at Skol ar Mor, the boat-building school run by American Mike Newmeyer and his dedicated team of instructor-craftsmen at Mesquer in southern Brittany. In 2018, Storm Emma wrought extensive destruction through the seven Howth Seventeens stored in their much-damaged shed on Howth’s East Pier at the beginning of March 2018, it was feared that several of the boats – which since 1898 have been the very heart of Howth sailing – would be written off. But in the end only one – David O’Connell’s Anita built in 1900 by James Clancy of Dun Laoghaire – was assessed as needing a complete re-build. Anita was rebuilt by Paul Robert and his team at Les Ateliers de l’Enfer in Douarnenez in Brittany in 2019 and Brought home to Howth.

The Howth 17 has a gaff rig.

The total sail area is 305 sq ft (28.3 m2).

©Afloat 2020