If you think that life is tough under the current pandemic, then the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association has just the thing to put current national and personal problems into perspective, with a comprehensively illustrated Zoom talk by noted maritime historian Cormac Lowth on the tragic Palme Shipwreck and the Dublin Bay Lifeboat Disaster of Christmas 1895.

On Christmas Eve 1895, the sailing ship 'Palme' was wrecked in Dublin Bay. A lifeboat from the Dun Laoghaire Harbour station set to try to rescue the crew of the wrecked ship.

The lifeboat overturned and all fifteen of the crew were lost, with Christmas Eve 2020 being the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the tragedy. It is essential that we remember the sacrifice of these heroic men in their attempt to save the lives of their fellow seamen, and to appreciate the efforts of lifeboat-men everywhere, who go out - whenever the call arises - to help those who are in peril on the sea.

Cormac F. Lowth with be giving a profusely illustrated and detailed account of the shipwreck and the tragic events that followed on Thursday, January 14th 2021 at 8.0pm – please check-in at 7.30 pm, clicking on this link to join the meeting.

Lifeboat donations can also be made here

Two of 2021's early-season cruiser-racer sailing fixtures on Dublin Bay are up in the air due to January's lockdown restrictions. 

A new ISORA 'Early Season Series' originally planned for this month was to continue the offshore's body's successful 2020 coastal racing out of Dun Laoghaire Harbour. However, the current lockdown has put paid to those plans, leaving ISORA boss Peter Ryan to reschedule.

"We had planned for January but that's not going to happen. So, rather than cancel, we will reschedule those races into a potentially tighter programme as soon as possible", Ryan told Afloat.

The 2020 ISORA Coastal Series attracted a dozen or more entries and typically involved a race using virtual marks along the County Dublin and Wicklow coasts.

Ryan's offshore enterprise won him an end of the year gong. The NYC sailor took an Afloat Sailor of the Month Award in December for his success in staging an ISORA series in lockdown in 2020.

DBSC Spring Chicken

Meanwhile, following the total abandonment of its popular Turkey Shoot pre-Christmas event, the hope is that Dublin Bay Sailing Club will be in a position to run its Spring Chicken Series that starts traditionally in the first week of February. 

The series of six races are held on Sunday mornings and organised by DBSC attracting as many as 40 boats.

However, as COVID lockdown restrictions are set to continue nationally until January 30th, fears are that there is now every chance that restrictions could also impact DBSC's spring fixture too.

The popular Spring Chicken format features short, sharp races typically of around one hour in duration.

In a new year announcement, DBSC was named as 2021 Sailing Club of the Year for its achievements in keeping sailing going on Dublin Bay during the lockdown in 2020.

Boaters in the capital's waters celebrated a bright but cold New Year's Day with several sailing cruisers taking a tack on Dublin Bay yesterday, empty except for three or four Dublin Port bound cargo ships moored in the southern bay anchorages.

There was some small dinghy activity too in and around Dun Laoghaire Harbour with a number of single-handed Laser sailors enjoying the chilly but good sailing breeze of ten to fifteen knots. 

Motorboats, including several RIBs and smaller sized runabouts, also took advantage of the winter sunshine and headed south from Dun Laoghaire Marina to nearby Dalkey Island for a quick spin, passing a steady stream of sea swimmers at the Forty-foot bathing place.

Boating Lockdown 

New Level 5 COVID-19 lockdown measures mean all organised sailing activity nationwide has been stopped.

In Dun Laoghaire, this led to the cancellation of DMYC's Christmas Cracker event and even January's RS Aero training at the National Yacht Club has been scrubbed in line with  Government guidelines.

Elite sport, however, is permitted and in sailing's case this is based at the Irish Sailing's High-Performance HQ but it is unclear how much training there will be at Dun Laoghaire with some of the squad scheduled for a critical winter camp in Portugal.

Live Dublin Bay webcam here

A “giant-size” towel collage has been spread out at Blackrock’s Seapoint shoreline in Dublin Bay on Saturday to highlight the need for action over Dublin Bay water quality.

Open water swimmers suspended hostilities over whether dry robes or towels were more socially acceptable to participate in the peaceful initiative - at a social distance.

SOS Dublin Bay, which organised the gesture, is calling for increased testing of bathing water quality.

It is seeking real-time reporting of results “in recognition of all-year-round bathing which has become more common in Dublin”.

SOS Dublin Bay chairman Gerry Jones said record numbers of people were now swimming in the bay all year round.

He said that “local authorities need to recognise this reality by ensuring that bathing water quality readings are provided on an ongoing basis to the general public”.

He said there should be regular publication of all appropriate public health guidance particularly when the water is polluted.

“Thousands of people are now taking to the waters in Dublin Bay every day, yet we are simultaneously witnessing the appalling spectacle of raw sewage being dumped into the bay at Ringsend after heavy periods of rainfall,” he said.

A scene at the Forty Foot bathing place at the southern tip of Dublin Bay during Winter 2020

“We can’t put people’s health on hold while we wait for a promised upgrade of the Ringsend sewage treatment plant which won’t happen till at least 2025,” he said.

There are “ creative interim solutions” at to prevent Irish Water dumping sewage into the Liffey estuary and onward into the bay, he said, and SOS Dublin Bay aims to publish several proposals in the new year.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has acknowledged the risks to water quality after periods of heavy rainfall which result in overflow from storm drains and from the Ringsend sewage treatment plant, among other sources.

Rainwater run off at Sandycove Point on Dublin Bay from Afloat Magazine on Vimeo.

However, it says it is awaiting a review of the EU Bathing Water Quality directive before recommending any legislative changes to allow for greater frequency of , and more detailed scope of, testing here.

Under current regulations, local authorities are only required to test bathing water quality once a month between May and September. Some local authorities test more frequently, but results are slow.

The tests under the EU bathing water quality directive are limited to E.coli (EC) and Intestinal enterococci (IE), based on World Health Organisation research.

Dublin Bay swimmers call a truce in Dry Robe wars and lay out their towels in support of a cleaner Dublin Bay  - 18611 is the current number of signatures to the online petition for a cleaner bay Photo: One minute forty

University College Dublin (UCD) microbiologist Prof Wim Meijer explains that most E.coli are harmless.

However, VeroToxigenic E coli strains, contracted from ingesting water contaminated with animal faeces or from undercooked meat or contaminated salads, produce a powerful toxin which can cause “a range of symptoms, from bloody diarrhoea to kidney failure and may cause fatalities”

Prof Dearbháile Morris, director of NUI Galway (NUIG) Ryan Institute’s Centre for One Health, said current testing systems are outdated, as they only look for the total number of e-coli in a 100ml sample and not the detail.

A system for live bathing water monitoring named EU SWIM is at an advance stage, co-ordinated by UCD computer scientist Prof Gregory O’Hare and involving Prof Meijer.

The SOS petition is here

The Irish Defence Forces say they will be conducting a military exercise in the Poolbeg area of Dublin Docks tomorrow morning between 6 & 9.00 am 

The exercise aims to test junior leaders in a Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) environment & will involve low flying helicopters, boats & pyrotechnics.

The 'public notice' was posted via the Defence Forces Facebook page.

There was plenty of sailing at Dun Laoghaire Harbour today as Laser, RS Aeros, Toppers and Optimist dinghy fleets enjoyed some great breezes even if a sea-fog reduced visibility for a time even within the harbour confines. 

Up to 30 dinghies were afloat at the venue for the ideal 16-knot north-westerly training sessions that also saw the National Yacht Club's Elliot six-metre match racing keelboats on the water as well Flying Fifteens.

The much-anticipated DBSC Turkey Shoot training for cruiser-racers did not take place on the Bay due to COVID-19 restrictions.

A safety RIB on patrol in Dun Laoghaire Harbour as Optimist dinghies are shrouded in mist

The scene in nearby Scotsman's Bay with a view of Sandycove Harbour

Flying Fifteens sailing at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Chris Doorly

Laser and RS Aero dinghies in the winter sunshine and mist at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Janet Thompson

Last night Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI lifeboat station’s inshore lifeboat was requested to launch by the Irish Coast Guard to respond to reports of two missing divers near Bullock Harbour

The volunteer crew of three launched swiftly into the darkness at 11:06pm and made their way in the direction of Bullock Harbour arriving on scene at 11:15pm. The crew quickly assessed the situation and started to search the area around the outside of the harbour. The two casualties, who had been carrying out night diving training, were quickly located exhausted and trying to make their way back to shore having been caught by fast flowing currents.

The two divers were transferred on board and casualty care assessed by the volunteer crew. They confirmed that they were both very cold but in good health, they were taken ashore in Bullock Harbour aided by Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit and then taken into the care of the National Ambulance Service.

Weather conditions at the time were described as calm with good search visibility.

Speaking following the call out, Nathan Burke Dun Laoghaire RNLI Helm said: ‘It has been Dun Laoghaire lifeboat stations busiest year to date, having been launched over 90 times with a dedicated crew turning up in numbers to every request. Tonight, was no different and our crew’s speedy response was a major factor in ensuring the outcome of this situation was a positive.’

‘The two divers and the other members of the group who were on shore did the right thing tonight by quickly contacting the Coast Guard when the two divers did not return to shore. The group also had the correct equipment for their training. Fortunately, both casualties are in good health. Our crew are very pleased with the outcome and happy to have safely returned them to shore’.

Richard Brydges-Beechey was one of those multi-talented people that the 19th Century produced in droves. Maybe they’d the time to be multi-talented because they didn’t have to spend time watching TV or using mobile phones or commuting or whatever, but the Monkstown, Co Dublin resident was such a good sailor and marine surveyor that he rose to the rank of Admiral in the Royal Navy, and he was such a dab hand with the artist’s paintbrush that he was elected to the Royal Hibernian Academy.

Noted Dublin maritime lore specialist Cormac Lowth is a Beechey fan, and he hopes to convey his enthusiasm in a zoom talk with the Howth Peninsula Heritage Society tomorrow (Tuesday) evening, but you’ve to be signed up by this evening – it's time to get the skates on.

The alarm was raised shortly after 8 am this morning at Sandycove on Dublin Bay when a male was found unresponsive in the water at the Forty Foot Bathing Place.

Coast Guard, Ambulance Service & Gardaí are at the scene and the Garda has a cordon in place at the popular sea swim spot.

A Garda spokesman told Afloat 'No further details are currently available'.

Preparations for Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2021 next July on Dublin Bay are off to a flying start with nine of the expected 22 racing classes already declaring regional or national championships to be held as part of the biennial sailing festival.

It has been confirmed that Dragons will race for national honours and so will Beneteau 211s, Beneteau 31.7s and Shipmans.

As regular Afloat readers will know, in order to facilitate social distancing and be Covid-19 compliant, a new regatta format will comprise a One Design Championship (2nd – 4th July 2021) specifically tailored for sailors in the one-design keelboat and dinghy classes. This is to be followed by an Open Cruiser Championship (8th – 11th July 2021) catering for the full range of Cruiser Handicap classes. 

The Dublin Bay-based Shipman keelboat class will sail for national championship honours as part of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2021 Photo: Afloat

The special changes, announced in September, have been met with a strong seal of approval from competitors with the following early adopters: 

• Beneteau 211 National Championships
• Beneteau 31.7 – National Championships
• Shipman – National Championships
• GP14 – Leinster Championships
• Fireball Leinster Championships
• Dragon – Irish National Championship
• SB20 Western Championships
• RS200 Leinster Championships
• RS400 Leinster Championship

The Beneteau 211s will also race for National Championship honours Photo: Afloat

Royal Dee ISORA Championships

In addition, in the cruiser classes,  the Royal Dee Irish Sea Offshore Championship will be held as part of VDLR 2021. These offshore races will be held together with the Lyver Trophy Race from Liverpool to Dun Laoghaire on Friday 1st July 2021, to make it a highlight of next year's Irish Sea Offshore (ISORA) season. 

ISORA racing will be incorporated into Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2021

It's a satisfying early result for the VDLR Committee under Chairman Don O'Dowd who meets again with his committee tonight to finalise the Notice of Race document due for release shortly. 

Meeting the COVID-19 challenges in 2021

Dun Laoghaire is unique in being able operate in this pandemic because of the extensive area within the harbour site and facilities provided by the waterfront clubs and organisations. The Regatta will utilise the full infrastructure of Dun Laoghaire Harbour venue to the best advantage and bring certainty to a calendar that has been hugely dictated by Covid-19 and the constraints imposed due to social distancing.