#sailraid – Not since the Vikings has a group of boats set off sailing southwards with such a challenge!

Over 20 sail boats with crews from Japan, France, Sweden England and Ireland will participate in the Lakelands & Inland Waterways International Sail Raid 2012 taking place from 14th to 21st September 2012 from Lough Erne to Killaloe Co. Clare. The crews will sail their boats the distance in 7 days in a series of race stages. An immense challenge but a fun and exciting initiative, this is the first time it has been undertaken in Ireland or Northern Ireland.

A fun, competitive sailing event for teams of 2-3 people, using Shannon One Designs, Waterwags, and an Open Class of boats including Drabscombes, the international teams will be welcomed at Lough Erne Yacht Club for the opening night and briefing before the journey begins. Domestic sailors are also welcome to participate.

Organised by Albacore/Dacmar events "Lakelands & Inland Waterways International Sail Raid 2012" will be run in close cooperation with the Lough Erne, Lough Ree and Lough Derg Yacht Clubs and with the assistance of the Dublin National Yacht Club.

Raid General Manager Jymmy Viant stated "the Lakelands & Inland Waterways International Sailing Raid 2012 is a long distance race with one or two legs every day and a different stopover every night. The "Lakelands & Inland Waterways International Sail Raid" will, to our knowledge, be the first raid run with traditional Irish Sailing Boats, among the oldest classes in the world. We expect international teams to relish this amazing opportunity to explore Ireland's inland waterways in such unique boats".

Eanna Rowe Waterways Ireland, Head of Marketing & Communications and Co-Chair of Lakelands & Inland Waterways stated "The Lakelands & Inland Waterways International Sail Raid is a superb opportunity to bring the awareness of an international audience to Ireland's inland waterways. There is a real opportunity for regular raid enthusiasts from all over the world and for sailors from all over Ireland to join in this unique experience."

Lakelands & Inland Waterways is a tourism product development & marketing initiative of Waterways Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Shannon Development, Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism and Tourism Ireland.

#TALL SHIPS - Waterways Ireland has announced a series of events around Grand Canal Dock in support of the Tall Ships Races Festival.

The events will be centred around the Waterways Ireland Visitor Centre on Grand Canal Quay, with a full programme of children’s art and craft workshops and two exhibitions running throughout the festival. The programme includes:

'A Very Grand Canal' Art Exhibition

A Very Grand Canal is a collection of artistic responses to the Grand Canal commissioned by Offaly County Council through the Per Cent for Art scheme. Three projects were chosen, some with multiple outcomes, all illuminating the Grand Canal in ways not seen, heard or read before. The artists include, Geraldine O’Reilly (printmaker), La Cosa Preziosa (sound artist), Martina McGlynn and Garret Daly (Filmmakers), Eugene O’Brien (writer) Veronica Nicholson (photographer) and Wayne Brennan (musician). The exhibition runs throughout the Tall Ships festival from 10am to 6pm daily.

Small Ships at the Tall Ships

Small Ships at the Tall Ships is an exhibition of work by the Irish Model Boat Club, featuring small tall ships, RNLI lifeboats and a 16ft model of the Titanic. There will also be a demonstration of radio controlled model boats, and a model boat building workshop for children 7 and up (call 01 677 7510 to book; places are limited). The exhibition is open daily throughout the festival.

Waterways Ireland Community Choir  

The Waterways Ireland Community Choir’s members are local people from the Docklands and along the canals coming together to sing songs of the rivers, canals and docks. Their performance on the jetty of the Waterways Ireland Visitor Centre at 4pm on Saturday 25 August will feature a wide repertoire of songs including Simon & Garfunkel’s 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and the more light-hearted traditional song 'Drunken Sailor'.

'Decorate Your Duck' Workshop  

Who will have the best looking duck in the Duck Race? The Decorate Your Duck workshop runs in the Waterways Ireland Visitor Centre on Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 3pm. There will be glitter and glue, paint and polish, so come on down and give your duck some character! The Duck Race is run in aid of St Andrews Resource Centre, Pearse Street.

'Watery Stories' with Púca Puppets  

Niamh from Púca Puppets invites the young (and young at heart) to meet 'canalmaid' Mary Mary, who will pull ashore at the Waterways Ireland Visitors Centre for the Dublin Tall Ships Festival and is looking for help in finding clues, creating and drawing stories to illustrate life on and in Ireland's canals and inland waterways. Suitable for 6-10 year olds and their families, Watery Stories takes place on Friday 24, Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 August at 11am and 2pm. Booking is advisable as places are limited - phone 01 677 7510.

#INLAND WATERWAYS - Waterways Ireland has applied for planning permission to build a new houseboat mooring facility on the Grand Canal at Sallins in Co Kildare.

The planned 210-metre fixed timer mooring is expected to cater for 12 boats with electric and water service supply bollards as well as a sewage pumpout.

There will also be 45 metres of short-term mooring space, a 12-space car park and disabled access to the facility.

Submissions on the planning application will be accepted by Kildare County Council till 11 September 2012. Details are available via the council's online planning system (application number 12645).

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Waterways Ireland launched a scheme earlier this year for renting houseboat berths at the western end of the Grand Canal at Shannon Harbour.

#INLAND WATERWAYS - Northern Ireland will welcome avid fans of watersports from across the UK and Ireland next month when the Waterways Ireland Riverfest returns for 2012.
 
Christie Park between the bridges in Coleraine will play host to the Riverfest for a sixth consecutive year on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 of August.
 
Over the years this family-orientated event has attracted tens of thousands of visitors to Ireland's inland waterways, and this year a full programme of water- and land-based activities is sure to entertain and engage, including waterskiing, jetskiing, wakeboarding and barefooting by a team of world-class athletes.
 
Following on from the success of previous years' events, Riverfest will highlight the cream of Irish talent with shows from the Xtreme Action Team headed by Ant Burgess, wowing the crowds with inverts of up to 20ft.

The Waterways Ireland Wakeboard Open Championship will bring together the 30 best wakeboarders from all over Ireland to compete in a two-round competition over the weekend. (Wakeboarders click HERE for details on how to take part.)

Also in the line up is Caite Skelly, a 14-year-old from Coleraine who will be barefoot waterskiing at over 40mph.
 
Event organiser Rob Skelly said: “The Waterways Ireland Riverfest has been a phenomenal success since we launched five years ago. For 2012, the line-up will be bigger and better cementing its reputation as one of the best water-sports events across the UK and Ireland."

#INLAND WATERWAYS - The Lakelands & Inland Waterways Ireland Sailing Raid is a unique event combining sailing, adventure, exploration and racing in the setting of some of the most stunning countryside in Western Europe.

On 14-21 September a fleet of about 40 'open' boats – including the 5.5-metre Shannon One Design, the 4.5-metre Water Wags and various traditional styles and new builds all under 7.5 metres long – will sail 190km from Lough Erne in Northern Ireland, through the River Shannon and across the great lakes of Lough Ree and Lough Derg to Killaloe.

Although it will be a competitive race, there will be some time left to enjoy the scenery and the Irish hospitality of the three participating yacht clubs along the way. Some will come for the racing, some for the scenery, some for the spirit of comraderie – but everyone is sure to enjoy the craic.

To maintain the maritime nature of the event, the Lakelands & Inland Waterways Ireland Sailing Raid will be based as much as possible on the water.

Accommodation will be provided in motor cruisers for those who want it, while some will be able to camp near the river bank and others will make their own arrangements. Each stopover will therefore bring together participants in a 'floating village', with several receptions and festivities in the evenings.

The event is being organised in close collaboration with Waterways Ireland, with logistical support will be provided by the three main yacht clubs on the route: Lough Erne Yacht Club, Lough Ree Yacht Club and Lough Derg Yacht Club.

Members of the local clubs are being invited to take part at a preferential rate, while raid competitors from all over Europe will provide an international element to the event. 

For more information and application details, visit the Sailing Raid website at www.sailing-raids.com.

#inland – Boat owners need to be careful about not overstaying at any one mooring after Waterways Ireland successfully undertook the prosecution of two boats owners on Lough Erne for breaching the 48 hour mooring Bye-law. The defendants received a caution and undertook to comply with the Bye-laws in the future.

Waterways Ireland communicates regularly with boat owners about the Bye-laws and has produced a publication "Good Boating Guide" advising boat owners of the Bye-laws on Lough Erne.

Having recorded breaches of the 48 hour mooring Bye-laws, Waterways Ireland wrote to the boat owners advising of the breach and after subsequent breaches were noted, Waterways Ireland reluctantly brought the prosecutions under the Bye-laws.

The Magistrate, Mr. Kennedy, commented that "the Prosecutions were properly brought and it is important that people comply with the Bye-laws. "

Brian D'Arcy, Waterways Ireland's Director of Operations stated "Waterways Ireland had no option but to prosecute following the increasing numbers of local boat owners abusing moorings provided for visiting tourist boats. Waterways Ireland provides moorings free of charge to enable tourists and touring boat owners to access attractions, services, towns and villages. Particularly in Enniskillen, the moorings facilitate the tourism economy as boaters spend in shops and restaurants; reduced access means less income for the town. Waterways Ireland would like to ensure all boat owners are made aware of their responsibilities when using public moorings and do not leave their boats moored in one location on a public mooring for more than 48 hours."

For more information boaters can download a copy of the Good Boaters Guide from the Waterways Ireland website or order a copy free from the Webshop www.waterwaysireland.org.

#RESCUE - Four people were rescued on Lough Erne yesterday after their motor cruiser ran aground in the second such incident in a week, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

All on board were retrieved by RNLI lifeboat from the 29ft cruiser, which is believed to have stranded on rocks beyond the marked channel of the lough.

No injuries or damage to the vessel were reported, with a Northern Ireland Coastguard spokesperson describing it as "a routine rescue".

The coastguard blamed low water levels in the lough caused by lack of rainfall in Co Fermanagh.

Waterways Ireland has posted a marine notice warning boat users of the risks posed by "the extended period of unseasonal dry weather" for Ireland's inland waterways.

In a similar incident last Friday, three adults and two children were rescued from a cruiser that stranded in shallow water on the lough.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

#INLAND WATERWAYS - A new study on the River Barrow and its environs recommends the development of "activity hubs, tourist trails and new angling and boat facilities", The Irish Times reports.

Waterways Ireland and Fáilte Ireland commissioned the Barrow Corridor Recreational, Tourism and Commercial Identification Survey to find ways to exploit the area's "undeveloped potential" for tourism.

The survey covered the river itself as well as its estuary and the Barrow branch of the Grand Canal. Its findings pointed to a number of areas where development is already being actioned, such as in boating and cruising, nature and wildlife, and angling.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan, who launched the study in Carlow yesterday, hailed the co-operation of the agencies and county councils involved.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#SHANNON NAVIGATION – Carrick-on-Shannon Rowing Club "Head of River" race will take place on Sat 18th Feb 2012 from 09.00 hrs until 17.00hrs. Waterways Ireland has advised Masters of vessels to proceed at slow speed and with minimum wash when passing this stretch of the navigation and to heed any advice or instructions issued by the regatta officials.

#INLAND WATERWAYS - Waterways Ireland is currently undertaking two new public consultations on improving safety standards for children, the elderly and people with disabilities on our inland waterways.

Details for the consultation exercise on Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Policy & Procedures and the Draft Disability Action Plan 2011-2013 are available from the Waterways Ireland website.

Comments may be submitted via e-mail to [email protected] or by post to Waterways Ireland, Strategy & Policy Section, 2 Sligo Road, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh BT74 7JY.

The closing date for comments is Tuesday 21 February 2012.