#MaritimeFestival – The Docklands Summer Festival, which this year is sponsored by Waterways Ireland, is a celebration of the Grand Canal Dock next weekend (17-18 May) and where entertainment and competitions are held on the water and on dry land.

The festival continues to entertain, from open air DJ's, Come Try it Sessions, Wake Boarding demonstrations to international food markets, the festival organisers promise an entertaining and fun filled weekend for all.

On the water activities include a wakeboarding competition, charity rubber ducky race, water sports, 'Come and Try It' sessions in kayaking and a canal barge gathering.

Additionally, there is plenty of activity for families to enjoy such as open air DJ's, an outdoor market, corporate golf challenge, street performers, balloon artists, face painters, fun fair attractions, & children's arts centre and theatre performances in the Waterways Ireland Visitor Centre.

Come and see world-class wakeboarding demonstrations on Saturday or watch as world-class wakeboarders, from up to seven countries to take part in the first International Wakeboarding Championship at Grand Canal Dock.

The wakeboard extravaganza will be formed by members of the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF). Irish teams will give wakeboarding demonstrations in the Grand Canal Dock on Saturday.

On the following Sunday, International riders will compete with the world's best water skiing skills and tricks over ramps while being towed behind a high performance motorboat.

East Wall Water Sports Centre will be on hand during the festival each day from 11am until 5pm to take you on the water to try out kayaking! Festival rates of €10 per adult and €5 per child. For more details of festival programme visit this link.

#MarineNotice - The latest Marine Notice from Waterways Ireland advises masters and owners of vessels of the inherent dangers posed by the wash of larger vessels on craft such as rowing craft and small open boats.

The very low freeboard, particularly of rowing craft, makes them susceptible to being swamped and capsized by a large wash.

Masters should be on the look-out for such vessel when navigating and reduce their vessel's wash well in advance of passing these craft and be mindful of any requests from safety boats accompanying rowers.

#NaomhEanna - A vessel considered the 'last Irish heritage ship' is set to be cut up this week as a campaign mounts to save her from the scrapheap.

The Naomh Eanna was built in 1956 in Dublin's Docklands and previously served as a passenger ferry in Galway Bay between the mainland and the Aran Islands.

Said to be "one of the last riveted ships built in the world", she has spent the last 28 years in a state of neglect at Grand Canal Dock and is reported to be taking on water, though it's believed she retains many of her original fittings and machine parts.

Last week it emerged that ownership of the Naomh Eanna has transferred to Waterways Ireland, who intend to tow her into the Grand Canal graving dock this week to begin disposal.

But according to Sam Field Corbett of marine heritage restoration business Irish Ship & Barge Fabrication, "no consideration was given to salvage and restore her".

Corbett says he is confident that a business plan can be prepared to attract investment for the Naomh Eanna's restoration - but fears that the scrapping plans may proceed with haste before any alternative resolution is considered.

In order for campaigners to save her, some €100,000 costs to Waterways Ireland would need to be met, on top of insuring the vessel and getting permission from NAMA to hold her in dry dock until repairs could begin.

In its first marine notice of 2014 Waterways Ireland has moved to advise of the dangers posed at at harbours, jetties and moorings during thew current stormy weather. 

Masters and Owners of vessels berthed in public harbours, at jetties or moorings are advised against visiting any vessels or boats during periods of extreme weather such as storm force winds and heavy rainfall.

Strong winds are a hazard to personal safety if walking on or near navigation infrastructure and also because of blown debris from trees or buildings in the vicinity. There is also the hazard of the unpredictable nature of rising water levels and their effect on built infrastructure.

At present a number of mooring facilities and access ramps to same and the approach roads and paths to their associated car parks are underwater or are inaccessible across all navigations.

Fast flowing currents, eddies and turbulent water will be experienced in and around these structures for some time after the storms have passed.

Mooring lines and cleats on vessels at these facilities will be under strain as will the shore bollards that they are made fast to. Extreme care should be exercised when releasing lines in these circumstances to avoid them snapping back and causing injury. There is also the danger of deck cleats, which may have been weakened whilst under strain, pulling out and striking a person when engaged in this activity.

Waterways Ireland further advises that full personal protective equipment such as lifejacket and foul weather gear be worn if it is deemed necessary to visit a craft in a harbour that the visit is undertaken in company with a colleague and that someone has been advised of an expected return time. A fully charged mobile phone should be carried in the event of an emergency and the visit should be made during daylight hours.

C J Lawn
Lt Cdr (rtd)
Inspector of Navigation
3 Jan 2014.
Tel: 00 353 (0)90 6494232

#inlandwaters – The first official duty of the new Chief Executive of Waterways Ireland Dawn Livingstone, will be wishing bon voyage to a group of young people from Belfast and Clare who will travel south to Scariff in Co. Clare as part of a North/South Youth Exchange based on the inland waterways.

In a week-long journey along the course of the Shannon, 16 Belfast & Clare teenagers will travel from Enniskillen to the east Clare town with leaders Emma Sams from Clare Youth Service and Tony McGaharan from Peace Players International (NI) to coincide with the Waterways Ireland Scariff Harbour Festival 1-5st August.

Waterways Ireland Scariff Harbour Festival, in partnership with Clare Youth Service and Peace Players International (NI), proposed the exchange which is financially supported by Léargas, a National Agency for cooperation programmes, and the Reconciliation and Anti-Sectarian Funds Division of the Republic's Department of Foreign Affairs.

Waterways Ireland Chief Executive Dawn Livingstone in welcoming both groups to Enniskillen confirmed "Waterways Ireland's ongoing commitment to support the establishment and growth of recreation & tourism in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is exemplified by this type of project which in addition facilitates greater understanding among the communities along the waterways. We are delighted to have supported this aspect of the Scariff Harbour Festival since its inauguration"

Scariff Harbour Festival Committee shares in the excitement that this particular cross community event has engendered. From the very first festival in 2003, developing links with young people in Northern Ireland, the promotion of Lough Derg and the inland waterways have been the Festival focus. Each year since 2004, young anglers North & South compete on Lough Derg for the David Ervine Memorial Trophy.

Michael Rodgers, Chairman of the Festival Committee said that this kind of initiative dovetails perfectly with our aim of encouraging people to use the waterways. 'At the same time it affirms the core belief of all partners that involving young people with different views and experiences in shared activities is a most productive and valuable exercise,' he added.

On the 27th July the Clare teenagers and their leaders will travel to Carlingford where they will be met at the border by their counterparts from Peace Players International (NI). Following a guided tour of Belfast the joint group will travel to Enniskillen, the headquarters of Waterways Ireland from where they begin their journey south.

A combination of workshops on difference and identity, barbecues and cultural evenings, outdoor and sporting activities with stops offs at Lough Key and Holy Island on Lough Derg, the group will follow the route of the Shannon by boat and bus. They will be hosted by a local youth club in Carrick-on-Shannon and present a prepared workshop to them.

Patricia Dalton of Léargas who has supported this youth exchange project, sees this adventure as an important activity engaging young people to explore cross-border and cross-community relationships. 'It helps them to develop transferable skills for their future lives and we wish the young people every success in this exciting, educational and worthwhile experience,' she said.

Peace Players International Northern Ireland is a cross community peace building organisation established to unite and educate young people from Protestant & Catholic communities. They aim to find common ground and forge new friendships through a mix of sports actvities and workshops helping them to adjust to the complexities that can accompany growing up in a post conflict society.

James Hughes of PPI NI said "We are very excited for a select group of our young people to be taking part in this inspiring cross-border youth initiative. PeacePlayers International aims to unite children from divided communities through sport. Through this programme, we will be bringing together young people from across the city of Belfast and connecting with young men and women from County Clare. We have no doubt that this adventure will be a positive experience for the all those involved."

Scariff Harbour Festival runs from Thursday 1st to Sunday 4th August 2013 and includes singers Damien Dempsey, Frances Black and Ryan Sheridan, Druid Chef Rory Monahan, walks, talks, boat tours, family fun day, Queen of the Waterways, street arts and crafts and more.

#waterwaysireland – Dawn Livingstone has been appointed Chief Executive of Waterways Ireland and takes up post at the end of July 2013.
A committed outdoor recreationalist, Dawn joined Waterways Ireland in 2002 as the Head of Strategy & Policy. She established an Equality Scheme and led the integration of accessibility into project design and maintenance programmes. In 2008 Dawn moved to become Head of Property & Legal where she has modernised the organisations approach to both property management and legal matters.
Prior to working for Waterways Ireland, Dawn was Director of Share, a Charity promoting opportunities for integration between able bodied people and people with special needs of all age's, backgrounds and abilities. During her tenure Share grew to become a 220 bed residential activity centre on 60 acres, with a 300 seat multi-purpose theatre /arts/ bar complex, 50 berth marina, and indoor leisure suite. Dawn's entrepreneurial work in this role was recognised with the award of the Gallagher's Northern Ireland Business Women of the year winner in 1988
Dawn holds an MBA from the University of Ulster. Dawn is NI Trustee to the Family Fund, a member of the Consumer Council of NI and a Trustee of the Lloyds TSB NI Foundation. Originally from Co Down, and a keen sailor and gardener, Dawn is married with two daughters.

#Shannon - Passages on the River Shannon in 2013 so far have fallen more than 50% compared to numbers for the same period a decade ago, according to the Irish Waterways History blog written by Afloat's inland correspondent, Brian Goggin.

Using statistics supplied by Waterways Ireland, the site plotted a graph that shows an overall decline in lock and bridge passages on the Shannon in the months from January to May each year since 2003, with a slight spike in 2007 the only buck in the downward trend.

Though the figures do not record all uses of the waterway (such as sailing, angling and other watersports) and do not account for variables such as the weather, they are indicative - the site claims - of "the Shannon's most significant tourism activity, the cruiser hire business".

Indeed, the figures apparently show that boat hire passage numbers have fallen from 11,440 in January-May 2003 to just 4,781 in the same months this year.

Even private boat passages have been falling from a peak in 2009 to just below their 2003 numbers, if the site's interpretation of the stats is anything to go by.

However, a source close to Afloat.ie says that the falling numbers may be skewed by a growing emphasis on larger-capacity vessels on Ireland's inland waterways, with eight- and 12-berth boats supplanting older four-berth vessels, and families and groups consolidating their recreational boating.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the year turns out, and whether the overall numbers from January to December will tell a different story of the state of the Shannon and other waterways.

#InlandWaterways - Waterways Ireland advises masters and owners that a green starboardhand navigation mark is reported missing just south of Athlone Lock on the eastern side of the Shannon Navigation opposite the old Athlone Canal entrance.

Masters should proceed with caution when navigating this section of the river.

Elsewhere on the Shannon, a triathlon swimming training course is now set out in Lough Key between Castle Island and the mainland to the west, in an area off the navigable channel.

This will be in place until the end of September and is marked by four yellow buoys. When swimmers are on the course they will be accompanied by a safety boat and will be wearing high visibility swim hats.

Training will take place Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7am till 8am and Tuesday and Thursday from 6pm till 8pm. Masters are requested to navigate at slow speed and with a low wash when passing the area.

Further information may be had from Donal Kennedy of Lough Key Triathlon Club at 086 109 2626 or [email protected].

Meanwhile, a swimming event will take place on Sunday 9 June from Shannon Harbour to Banagher Harbour.

Masters are requested to navigate at slow speed and with a low wash when passing the area during the event, which will take place between 1pm and 3.30pm.

For more details contact Jerry O’Meara of Shannonside Sub Aqua Club at 087 776 4252 or [email protected].

#InlandWaterways - Waterways Ireland has advised all masters and users of the Erne system that the channel east of Castle Island near Enniskillen will be closed till Tuesday 11 June to facilitate a number of events on the water.

Mariners are directed to follow the marked navigation channel and signs to the west of Castle Island and proceed at a slow speed and with minimum wash. They should note any advise or instructions given by event organisers when in this section of the navigation.

Public jetties in the vicinity will remain accessible throughout, though some minor restrictions may be in place as and when required. Further information is available from the Lough Erne warden at 028 6632 3004.

Elsewhere, there will also be restricted mooring for masters and owners on the River Shannon at Carrick-on-Shannon to facilitate spectator viewing of the Carrick 400 event.

On Sunday 2 June the quay wall from the downstream face of the town bridge to the floating moorings will be out of bounds for mooring from 7pm till midnight.

In other waterways news, recent water quality testing has shown the harbour at Kilcock on the Royal Canal to now be within normal bathing water standards.

#GrandCanal - Waterways Ireland advises masters and owners of vessels that navigation on the Grand Canal from the mouth of the Tullamore branch line to Kilbeggan Bridge will be restricted from this Tuesday to Thursday 21-23 May.

This is to facilitate ongoing works on the Tullamore boardwalk and bridges.

Vessels that wish to transit through this section of the canal may experience some short delays during this time.