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Displaying items by tag: decompression sickness

This afternoon the Irish Coast Guard were alerted to concerns for a diver who was at the slip at Howth Harbour, Co Dublin.

The local Coast Guard unit in Howth were tasked and were quickly on scene.

On arrival the team were met with a male diver in his 40s who had experienced a rapid ascent while returning to the surface from 15 meters depth. With the possibility of decompression sickness the Coast Guard team provided medical assistance until the arrival of an ambulance.

The casualty was taken to Beaumont Hospital where his condition is stable.

Published in Coastguard

#DIVING - BBC News reports that a man suspected to be suffering from 'the bends' after a dive in Galway was treated in Northern Ireland at the weekend.

The diver was airlifted to the decompression chamber in Craigavon by Irish Coast Guard helicopter as there was no medical team available at the closest facility in Galway.

Decompression sickness - commonly known as 'the bends' - was suspected after the man's rapid ascent from a 22-metres dive in Killary Harbour on Sunday.

Published in Diving
Four divers were airlifted to hospital yesterday after getting into difficulty while exploring a flooded quarry in Portroe, Co Tipperary.
RTÉ News reports that one of the divers, a man in his 20s, was airlifted by the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter to Navy headquarters at Haulbowline in Cork, where he was treated in a decompression chamber.
His three companions were taken to Cork University Hospital as a precaution against decompression sickness.
A hospital spokesperson told the Irish Examiner that none of the group is in a serious condition, though all four are being kept under observation.

Four divers were airlifted to hospital yesterday after getting into difficulty while exploring a flooded quarry in Portroe, Co Tipperary.

RTÉ News reports that one of the divers, a man in his 20s, was airlifted by the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter to Navy headquarters at Haulbowline in Cork, where he was treated in a decompression chamber.

His three companions were taken to Cork University Hospital as a precaution against decompression sickness.

A hospital spokesperson told the Irish Examiner that none of the group is in a serious condition, though all four are being kept under observation.

Published in Diving

About Quarter Tonners

The Quarter Ton Class is a sailing class of the International Offshore Rule racing the Quarter Ton Cup between 1967 and 1996 and from 2005 until today.

The class is sailed by smaller keelboats of similar size and is likely the world's most-produced keelboat class.

The Ton, Half, Quarter, etc. 'classes' were each given a 'length' and yacht designers had almost free rein to work the hull shapes and measurements to achieve the best speed for that nominal length.

The Ton Rules produced cranky and tender boats without actual downwind speed. Measurement points created weird, almost square hull shapes with longish overhangs.

They were challenging to sail optimally and lost value very quickly as any new wrinkle (e.g. 'bustles') to take advantage of the rule made older boats very quickly uncompetitive.

Although its heyday was 30 years ago, the boat class continues to make its presence felt by holding its own in terms of popularity against some fern race fleets.