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The Irish Coast Guard has launched its new digital portal which will support contingency planning for oil spills and improve preparedness and response to pollution incidents.

In line with the Government’s Digital Agenda, the Oil/HNS Contingency Plan Approval Portal aims to streamline interaction between ports, local authorities and offshore operators with the coastguard and Department of Transport.

Irish Coast Guard director Eugene Clonan said the portal “will allow information to be readily available to stakeholders and enable further coordination between the Irish Coast Guard, Government and non-government entities”.

Capt Hugh Conlon, who tested the system ahead of its launch at Shannon Foynes Port, said it “ensures all plans submitted follow a pre-set layout for ease in timely approval. The completed plan will knit with and develop on the National Maritime Oil/HNS Contingency Plan and ensure local response is compatible.

“The portal will also ensure that local plans are easily available to the Irish Coast Guard to monitor actions during an incident,” he added.

Published in Coastguard

#MarineNotice - The latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) declares that the latest suite of Admiralty Digital Publications from the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office satisfies the carriage requirements for nautical publications on Irish ships that go to sea.

Guidance on the approved digital format nautical publications, such as navigation charts, is included in Marine Notice No 26 of 2014, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Published in Marine Warning
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Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U