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A Harbour Seal photographed at Dun Laoghaire Marina on Dublin Bay, Ireland. Also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinnipeds, they are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Baltic and North seas. Photo: AfloatA photograph of a Harbour Seal taken at Dun Laoghaire Marina on Dublin Bay, Ireland. Also known as the common seal, this species can be found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They are the most widely distributed species of pinnipeds and can be found in the coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as the Baltic and North Seas. Photo: Afloat

Displaying items by tag: Eimear Lambe

#Rowing: Ireland's ambitions of booking a slot for a fifth boat at Tokyo 2020 came up short. The Ireland four of Tara Hanlon, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty had the difficult task of taking a top-two place in their B Final. They found their pace coming up to the line, but Britain, in lane five, and Canada in lane six took the crucial spots, with Ireland finishing fourth behind third-placed China.

The crosswind was a problem during the race and immediately afterwards the authorities redrew the lanes to acknowledge that lanes five and six were favoured.

World Rowing Championshiops, Linz-Ottensheim, Day Seven (Irish interest)

Women

Four - B Final (First Two book Olympic places for boat): 1 Britain 6:55.08, 2 Canada 6:56.99; 3 China 7:02.28, 4 Ireland Ireland (T Hanlon, E Lambe, A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:02.71.

Pair - B Final (First Five book Olympic places for boat): 1 Romania 7:18.88, 2 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:20.68.

Lightweight Double Sculls - C Final (Places 13 to 18) 1 China 7:00.82; 5 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:10.52.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland women’s four gave a good account of themselves on their first competitive outing together, just missing out on direct qualification from their heat of the World Rowing Championships in Linz, Austria.

 Tara Hanlon, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty came up against Australia, who were dominant, and the United States, who overcame a poor start to take the second available semi-final spot. The Ireland crew pushed them right to line, with just 1.89 seconds between them at the finish.  

World Rowing Championships, Linz, Austria, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Heat One (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage): 6 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:50.51.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Three (First Three to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (F McCarthy, P O’Donovan) 6:28.02

Women

Four – Heat One (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 3 Ireland (T Hanlon, E Lambe, A Keogh, E Hegarty) 6:44.72.

Pair – Heat Four (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage): 2 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:13.30

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Four (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage): 4 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:25.62.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland women’s four which took silver at the World Under-23 Championships in Florida are the Afloat Rowers of the Month for July.

 It was a month of outstanding achievements for Ireland rowers. The men’s double of Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne and the lightweight double of Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy both took silver medals at the World Cup regatta in Rotterdam – Paul O’Donovan fishing a stroke coach from the water and immediately getting back to racing. Gary O’Donovan took bronze in the lightweight single sculls.

 The Irish Championships was the biggest ever, featuring the emergence of new young crews such as junior single sculls champion Holly Davis, and capped off with wins in the women’s senior eight for NUIG/Castleconnell and the men’s senior eight for UCD. Davis (14) went on to win gold in the junior single sculls the Home International Regatta, and the men’s junior eight, pair and quadruple also won gold.

 Three Irish crews – UCD, Commercial and Skibbereen’s Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Dricoll – reached semi-finals at Henley Royal Regatta.  

 The World Under-23 Championships in Sarasota Bradenton saw the men’s coxed four take seventh, the lightweight women’s double fourth, and the lightweight men’s quadruple take a bronze medal.

 The achievement of the women’s under-23 four of Claire Feerick (Neptune), Eimear Lambe (UCD), Tara Hanlon (UCC) and Emily Hegarty (UCC) was historic. They became the first Ireland women’s crew in a sweep event to take a medal at a World Championships.  

  They are the Afloat Rowers of the Month.

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2019 champions list grow.

Published in Rower of Month

#Rowing: Ireland took a silver medal at the World Rowing Under-23 Championships today through the women’s four of Claire Feerick, Eimear Lambe, Tara Hanlon and Emily Hegarty, who swapped into the stroke seat for Lambe.

 Britain and Ireland swept into the lead early and were clear of the rest in the final quarter. Britain found just enough to beat Ireland by 1.46 seconds.

World Rowing Under-23 Championships, Sarasota Bradenton, Florida (Irish interest)

Women

Four – A Final: 1 Britain 6:34.22, 2 Ireland (C Feerick, E Lambe, T Hanlon, E Hegarty) 6:35.68, 3 United States 6:39.89.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland took third place in a fast heat of the women’s four at the World Rowing Under-23 Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton in Florida.

 The winner alone went directly through to the A Final. The United States claimed this spot, with Britain and Ireland closing fast coming to the line. This was much the faster of the two heats.

 The Ireland crew of Claire Feerick, Emily Hegarty, Tara Hanlon and Eimear Lambe would hope to qualify through their repechage on Thursday.

 

World Rowing Under-23 Championships, Sarasota-Bradenton, United States (Irish interest)

Men

Four, coxed – Heat Two (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechages): 1 Australia 6:11.99; 4 Ireland (B O’Rourke, R Corrigan, D Lynch, J Quinlan; cox: E Finnegan) 6:18.79.

Women

Four – Heat One (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechages): 1 United States 6:32.15; 2 Britain 6:32.96, 3 Ireland (C Feerick, E Hegarty, T Hanlon, E Lambe) 6:33.10.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland women’s four took fifth place, 11th overall, in their B Final at the World Cup in Poznan this morning.

 Britain Two won an interesting race. Poland held the early lead, with Ireland, Germany and New Zealand not far behind. As Poland dropped back – and Croatia dropped out – the lead was taken over by New Zealand. However, Britain Two and Germany were the strongest crews in the second 1,000 metres, with Britain snatching the win from Germany by five hundredths of a second.

 New Zealand were third and Ireland were over a length behind fourth-placed Poland.

 Ireland finished sixth in the B Final of the women’s pair, 12th overall. In a close race, the United States Two won from Germany and Chile. Behind them, one second covered Italy Two, China Two and Ireland.  

World Cup Regatta, Poznan – Day Three (Irish interest)

Women

Four – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 Britain Two 7:10.74, 2 Germany 7:10.79, 3 New Zealand 7:11.06; 5 Ireland (T Hanlon, M Dukarska, A Crowley, E Hegarty) 7:19.68.

Pair – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 United States Two 7:48.08, 2 Germany 7:50.03, 3 Chile 7:50.50; 6 Ireland (C Feerick, E Lambe) 7:56.69.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Eimear Lambe and Claire Feerick took sixth place in their semi-final of the women’s pair at the World Cup in Poznan, Poland, this morning. They will take a place in the B Final.  

 New Zealand’s Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast, who hold the world’s best time, took control early on and won well. China One took second and Italy One beat the United States Two to the crucial third place, and qualification for the A Final.

World Cup Regatta, Poznan, Poland – Day Two (Irish interest)

Women

Pair – Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 New Zealand 7:32.18, 2 Italy One 7:35.99, 3 China One 7:36.43; 6 Ireland (C Feerick, E Lambe) 7:51.17.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s women’s pair of Claire Feerick and Eimear Lambe qualified for the semi-final at the World Cup Regatta in Poznan, Poland. The young crew took a clear second place behind Megan Kalmoe and Tracey Eisser of the United States in their repechage. The USA One crew were clear winners, while Feerick and Lambe did well to win a battle with Canada One to claim the second – and final – qualifying spot.

World Cup Regatta, Poznan, Poland, Day One (Irish interest)

Women

Four

Heat One (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Australia 6:32.50, 2 United States Two 6:33.57, 3 Britain 6:35.69; 4 Ireland (T Hanlon, M Dukarska, A Crowley, E Hegarty) 6:38.44.

Pair

Heat Two (Winner to A/B Semi-Final; rest to Repechages): 1 Italy Two 7:07.10; 2 China Two 7:09.55, 3 Ireland (E Lambe, C Feerick) 7:10.31. Repechage One (First Two to A/B Semi-Final; next two to C Final; rest to D Final): 1 United States One 7:15.35, 2 Ireland 7:19.33; 3 Canada One 7:26.52.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Claire Feerick and Eimear Lambe finished third in their heat of the women’s pair at the World Cup Regatta in Poznan in Poland this morning.

 To qualify directly for the semi-finals, the Ireland crew would have had to win this heat and Feerick and Lambe were at or near the head of the field throughout the race. They were marginal leaders through the 1,000 metres and the 1500 metres, after which China Two took over. Italy Two passed them coming up to the line to take top spot.

 Feerick and Lambe will compete in a repechage with the aim of taking this route to the A/B semi-finals.  

World Cup Regatta, Poznan, Poland, Day One (Irish interest)

Women

Pair

Heat Two (Winner to A/B Semi-Final; rest to Repechages): 1 Italy Two 7:07.10; 2 China Two 7:09.55, 3 Ireland (E Lambe, C Feerick) 7:10.31.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Eimear Lambe and Jasmine English qualified directly for the semi-finals of the women’s double sculls at the European Junior Rowing Championships in Hazewinkel in Belgium today. The Ireland crew finished second to Romania and will compete next tomorrow morning.

Ireland’s three other crews must compete in repechages. The men’s double of Conor Carmody and David O’Malley finished fourth in their heat; while the junior men’s pair of David and Brian Keohane fifth and single sculler Erin Barry both finished fifth.

European Junior Rowing Championships, Hazewinkel, Belgium (Irish interest):

Men

Pair – Heat Two (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals: 5 Ireland (D Keohane, B Keohane) 7:30.39.

Double Sculls – Heat Three (First directly to A/B semi-finals): 4 Ireland (C Carmody, D O’Malley) 6:56.91.

Women

Double Sculls – Heat One (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals): 2 Ireland (J English, E Lambe) 7:54.10.

Single Sculls – Heat Three (First Two directly to A/B Semi-finals): 5 Ireland (E Barry) 8:38.33.

Published in Rowing

For all you need on the Marine Environment - covering the latest news and updates on marine science and wildlife, weather and climate, power from the sea and Ireland's coastal regions and communities - the place to be is Afloat.ie.

Coastal Notes

The Coastal Notes category covers a broad range of stories, events and developments that have an impact on Ireland's coastal regions and communities, whose lives and livelihoods are directly linked with the sea and Ireland's coastal waters.

Topics covered in Coastal Notes can be as varied as the rare finding of sea-life creatures, an historic shipwreck with secrets to tell, or even a trawler's net caught hauling much more than just fish.

Other angles focusing the attention of Coastal Notes are Ireland's maritime museums, which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of our nautical heritage, and those who harvest the sea using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety pose an issue, plying their trade along the rugged wild western seaboard.

Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied as the environment they come from, and which shape people's interaction with the natural world and our relationship with the sea.

Marine Wildlife

One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with Marine Wildlife. It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. And as boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify, even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat. Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse, it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to our location in the North Atlantic, there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe. From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals, the Marine Wildlife category documents the most interesting accounts around our shores. And we're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and video clips, too!

Also valuable is the unique perspective of all those who go afloat, from coastal sailing to sea angling to inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing, as what they encounter can be of great importance to organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG). Thanks to their work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. But as impressive as the list is, the experts believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves, keep a sharp look out!

Weather

As an island in the North Atlantic, Ireland's fate is decided by Weather more so than many other European countries. When storm-force winds race across the Irish Sea, ferry and shipping services are cut off, disrupting our economy. When swollen waves crash on our shores, communities are flooded and fishermen brace for impact - both to their vessels and to their livelihoods.

Keeping abreast of the weather, therefore, is as important to leisure cruisers and fishing crews alike - for whom a small craft warning can mean the difference between life and death - as it is to the communities lining the coast, where timely weather alerts can help protect homes and lives.

Weather affects us all, and Afloat.ie will keep you informed on the hows and the whys.

Marine Science

Perhaps it's the work of the Irish research vessels RV Celtic Explorer and RV Celtic Voyager out in the Atlantic Ocean that best highlights the essential nature of Marine Science for the future growth of Ireland's emerging 'blue economy'.

From marine research to development and sustainable management, Ireland is developing a strong and well-deserved reputation as an emerging centre of excellence. Whether it's Wavebob ocean energy technology to aquaculture to weather buoys and oil exploration, the Marine Science category documents the work of Irish marine scientists and researchers and how they have secured prominent roles in many European and international marine science bodies.

Power From The Sea

The message from the experts is clear: offshore wind and wave energy is the future. And as Ireland looks towards the potential of the renewable energy sector, generating Power From The Sea will become a greater priority in the State's 'blue growth' strategy.

Developments and activities in existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector, and those of the energy exploration industry, point to the future of energy requirements for the whole world, not just in Ireland. And that's not to mention the supplementary industries that sea power projects can support in coastal communities.

Irish ports are already in a good position to capitalise on investments in offshore renewable energy services. And Power From The Sea can even be good for marine wildlife if done properly.

Aside from the green sector, our coastal waters also hold a wealth of oil and gas resources that numerous prospectors are hoping to exploit, even if people in coastal and island areas are as yet unsure of the potential benefits or pitfalls for their communities.

Changing Ocean Climate

Our ocean and climate are inextricably linked - the ocean plays a crucial role in the global climate system in a number of ways. These include absorbing excess heat from the atmosphere and absorbing 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere by human activity. But our marine ecosystems are coming under increasing pressure due to climate change.

The Marine Institute, with its national and international partners, works to observe and understand how our ocean is changing and analyses, models and projects the impacts of our changing oceans. Advice and forecasting projections of our changing oceans and climate are essential to create effective policies and management decisions to safeguard our ocean.

Dr Paul Connolly, CEO of the Marine Institute, said, “Our ocean is fundamental to life on earth and affects so many facets of our everyday activities. One of the greatest challenges we face as a society is that of our changing climate. The strong international collaborations that the Marine Institute has built up over decades facilitates a shared focusing on our changing ocean climate and developing new and enhanced ways of monitoring it and tracking changes over time.

“Our knowledge and services help us to observe these patterns of change and identify the steps to safeguard our marine ecosystems for future generations.”

The Marine Institute’s annual ocean climate research survey, which has been running since 2004, facilitates long term monitoring of the deep water environment to the west of Ireland. This repeat survey, which takes place on board RV Celtic Explorer, enables scientists to establish baseline oceanic conditions in Irish waters that can be used as a benchmark for future changes.

Scientists collect data on temperature, salinity, water currents, oxygen and carbon dioxide in the Atlantic Ocean. This high quality oceanographic data contributes to the Atlantic Ocean Observing System. Physical oceanographic data from the survey is submitted to the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and, in addition, the survey contributes to national research such as the VOCAB ocean acidification and biogeochemistry project, the ‘Clean Atlantic’ project on marine litter and the A4 marine climate change project.

Dr Caroline Cusack, who co-ordinates scientific activities on board the RV Celtic Explorer for the annual survey, said, “The generation of long-term series to monitor ocean climate is vital to allow us understand the likely impact of future changes in ocean climate on ecosystems and other marine resources.”

Other activities during the survey in 2019 included the deployment of oceanographic gliders, two Argo floats (Ireland’s contribution to EuroArgo) and four surface drifters (Interreg Atlantic Area Clean Atlantic project). The new Argo floats have the capacity to measure dissolved ocean and biogeochemical parameters from the ocean surface down to a depth of 2,000 metres continuously for up to four years, providing important information as to the health of our oceans.

During the 2019 survey, the RV Celtic Explorer retrieved a string of oceanographic sensors from the deep ocean at an adjacent subsurface moored station and deployed a replacement M6 weather buoy, as part of the Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network (IMDBON).

Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the IMDBON is managed by the Marine Institute in collaboration with Met Éireann and is designed to improve weather forecasts and safety at sea around Ireland. The data buoys have instruments which collect weather and ocean data including wind speed and direction, pressure, air and sea surface temperature and wave statistics. This data provides vital information for weather forecasts, shipping bulletins, gale and swell warnings as well as data for general public information and research.

“It is only in the last 20 years, meteorologists and climatologists have really began to understood the pivotal role the ocean plays in determining our climate and weather,” said Evelyn Cusack, Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann. “The real-time information provided by the Irish data buoy network is particularly important for our mariners and rescue services. The M6 data buoy in the Atlantic provides vital information on swell waves generated by Atlantic storms. Even though the weather and winds may be calm around our shores, there could be some very high swells coming in from Atlantic storms.”