Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

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: Lee

#Rowing: UCD won only their second senior men's eights Championship of Ireland since 1973 at the National Rowing Centre today. They last won in 2011. They had a clearwater lead by half way and never let it go.

The senior women's eight saw NUIG/Castleconnell also win well. The stern pair of Sadhbh O'Connor and Fiona Murtagh were taking their fourth titles of the weekend.

The final session of the Irish Championships started with a UCD win in the men's novice eight and continued with Ruth Morris of Commercial moving well clear to win the women's intermediate sngle sculls.

Colaiste Iognaid won a battle with Commercial in the men's junior pair, while Lee's junior women matched their junior men by winning the quadruple.

The final race of the whole event, the men's intermediate double, was won by Skibbereen.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Cork clubs had a set of good results in the first session of Sunday finals at the Irish Rowing Championships at the National Rowing Centre.

Cork Boat Club's junior women's pair started the ball rolling, while Skibbereen then took their second title of Championships as Aodhan Burns proved a strong winner of the lightweight single sculls.

Margaret Cremen of UCC had a huge win in the lightweight single sculls, and Lee added the junior men's double to the junior quadruple title they had won on Saturday.

The tighest finish came in the men's club coxed four. NUIG made a tremendous effort to catch St Michael's of Limerick but they fell short by just .329 of a second.

Commercial of Dublin and Fermanagh's Enniskillen Royal Boat Club are having a good reatta. Enniskillen won the men's intermediate pair, while Commercial won the womens intermediate coxed four.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Seven different clubs won in the second session of finals on the second day of the Irish Championships. The races were run in hot sunshine.

Two women's finals senior finals were won in emphatic fashion. Georgia O'Brien of Kenmare won in the women's senior single sculls to give the club its second Championship. NUIG were also well in control in their victory in the women's senior pair.

Sadhbh Scully of Carlow, who is a junior, followed the trend in her big win in the women's club single sculls.

The women's junior 18 eights was a tighter affair, though Bann, once in the lead, held on strongly to rebuff Enniskillen.  

The men's junior quadruple was a big event, with Lee taking the title ahead of Three Castles and Neptune.

Cork clubs are having a good Championships, and UCC took the women's club eights.

Skibbereen figured strongly in some finals, but had their first Championship win when Kealan Mannix won the intermediate single sculls from Shane Haugh of Castleconnell.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Jack Dorney of Shandon and Margaret Cremen of Lee were the overall winners of the Cork Sculling Ladder. The presentations will take place this Thursday (January 31st) at Cork Boat Club. The Ladder is sponsored by Argos Fire.

Cork Sculling Ladder - Overall Winner :  (1) Jack Dorney  -  Shandon Boat Club.

 Women’s Overall Winner: (13) Margaret Cremen  -  Lee Rowing Club  (retained)

Section Winners

 

Men

 

Jack Dorney  -  Shandon Boat Club, Open, Intermediate, Club 1, Club 2, Junior 18 and Junior 16 

Jack Kiely  -  Lee Rowing Club, Novice

Peter Leonard  -  Cork Boat Club, Junior 15 and Junior 14

David Ross – Chu  -  Shandon Boat Club, Junior 13

Cian Dunlop  -  Lee Rowing Club, Junior 12

Donal Smith  -  Shandon Boat Club, Masters A & B

Henrik Merz  -  Shandon Boat Club, Masters C

John O’Neill  -  Shandon Boat Club, Masters D

Tony Corcoran  -  Lee Valley Rowing Club, Masters E, F, G & H

 

Women

 

Margaret Cremen  -  Lee Rowing Club, Open, Intermediate and Junior 18

Aoife Lynch  -  Lee Rowing Club, Club 1, Junior 16 and Junior 15

Claragh O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club, Club 2

Maeve Coakley  -  Lee Rowing Club, Novice

Jennifer Forde  -  Shandon Boat Club, Junior 14

Isobel McElwain  -  Lee Rowing Club, Junior 13

Emer Hannon  -  Lee Rowing Club, Junior 12

Jessica Legresly  -  Shandon Boat Club, Masters A & B

Vivian Kelleher  -  Lee Rowing Club, Masters C

Liz Buckley  -  Lee Rowing Club, Masters D

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: UCC brought their title tally to three as they added the club coxed four to their club eights and intermediate single sculls pots at the Irish Rowing Championships today. The four was tested by four other crews coming to the line but broke free and won. The morning session on the Sunday was held in intermittent light rain.

Margaret Cremen won the women’s lightweight single sculls. The Lee woman looked dominant through much of the race, but as she approached the line she was hunted down by Orla Hayes of Skibbereen, who closed to just a few seconds on the line. Hayes’s clubmate, Aodhan Burns, left no doubts as to his intentions in the men’s lightweight single. He left the rest behind and won well.

The men’s intermediate pair gave Shandon a chance to demonstrate the depth of their talent pool. Stephen O’Sullivan and Colm Hennessy teamed up to win. The Castleconnell junior double of James Desmond and Rory O’Neill came under pressure from Lee in their win.

One of the closest races in the Championships so far came in the women’s intermediate four. Leaders Trinity were pipped on the line by Cork, whose winning margin was under a third of a second (.312).

Killorglin’s Anna Tyther and Rhiannon O’Donoghue gave Fermoy a test in the women’s junior pair. Gill McGirr and Eliza O’Reilly are an excellent crew, however, and held off their Kerry rivals.

Irish Rowing Championships, Day Three (Selected Results)

Men

Four – Club, coxed: UCC A 6:38.03.

Pair – Inter: Shandon A 6:56.07.

Sculling, Double – Junior: Castleconnell (R O’Neill, J Desmond) 6:49.97.

Lightweight Single: Skibbereen (A Burns) 7:20.56.

Women

Four – Inter, coxed: Cork 7:22.36.

Pair – Junior: Fermoy (E O’Reilly, G McGirr) 7:48.69.

Sculling, Lightweight Single: 1 Lee (M Cremen) 8:06.97.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Two strong senior composite crews took home the Division One quadruple titles as the action concluded late into the evening on the first day of Cork Regatta at the National Rowing Centre. The women’s final saw Margaret Cremen join Skibbereen’s Lydia Heaphy, Denise Walsh and Aoife Casey to good effect, and the men’s winners were the prospective Ireland Under-23 lightweight quad. Workmen’s and Shandon junior 18 crews were good runners up in the women’s and men’s races.

Cork Boat Club won the Division One men’s coxed four title, while Trinity took the women’s.

Cork Regatta, National Rowing Centre (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Div Two: Neptune (club two) 6:22.95; 4 Trinity (nov) 6:34.32; 5 Col Iognaid (jun 16) 6:35.63; 6 Shandon (jun 18B) 6:43.79.

Four – Div One, coxed: Cork (inter) 6:34.299; 3 Enniskillen A (jun 18A) 6:39.299. C Final: 2 Neptune (club one) 6:48.37.

Pair – Div One: 1 UCD (S Mulvaney, D O’Malley; sen) 6:53.31, 2 Skibbereen (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll; sen) 6:59.98, 3 Enniskillen (jun 18A) 7:06.75; 6 Cork A (inter) 7:23.68. B Final: 6 Neptune A (club one) 7:24.50.

Sculling, Quadruple – Div One: 1 Tara, UCD, Commercial, UCC (sen) 6:00.93, 2 Shandon (jun 18) 6:10.96

Double – Div Two: CRCC (jun 18B) 7:06.99; 5 Cork A (jun 16) 7:15.37. B Final: Cappoquin (club two) 7:20.43

Single Sculls: 1 Skibbereen (P O’Donovan; sen) 6:59.73. B Final: UCC (H Sutton; lwt) 7:20.63. C Final: 1 Shandon (E Gaffney; jun 18A) 7:28.92; 2 Queen’s (N Hull; inter) 7:29.86

Women

Eight- Div Two: Trinity A (club two) 6:52.696; 6 Commercial (jun 16) 7:15.45. B Final: 1 Queen’s (nov) 7:19.09.

Four, coxed – Div One: 1 Trinity (inter) 7:25.63, 2 Commercial (sen) 7:30.06; 5 Shandon (club one) 7:46.78.

Pair – Div One: 1 Skibbereen (A McCarthy, N Casey; sen) 7:49.73; 4 Col Iognaid (Jun 18A) 8:07.86; Shandon (club one) 8:08.78. C Final: 4 Shandon (inter) 8:36.00.

Sculling, Quadruple – Div One: 1 Skibbereen/Lee 6:50.49; 2 Workmen’s (jun 18A) 7:05.596. Div Two: 1 Cork A (club two) 7:50.05; 3 Carlow (jun 16) 8:03.97. B Final: Carlow (jun 18B) 8:13.43; 4 Queen’s (nov) 8:25.47.

Double – Div Two: 1 Killorglin (jun 18B) 7:41.63, 2 New Ross (club two) 7:56.41, 3 Carlow (jun 16) 8:00.41

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Jack Dorney of Shandon Boat Club was the fastest at the Cork Sculling Ladder time trial at the Marina. More than 170 single scullers participated on Sunday in the 46th running of the event, which is sponsored by Argos Fire and Safety Ltd and BioAugmentation Systems Ltd. Dorney won in a time of seven minutes and 7.2 seconds. Three other Shandon scullers filled the next three spots: Alex Byrne, Stephen O’Sullivan and Eoin Gaffney.

 Margaret Cremen, who won last last year, was again the fastest woman – the Lee Rowing Club competitor finished 10th overall; Cork Boat Club’s Lisa Dilleen was the next fastest woman. Conditions on the river were calm.   

 The 2017-2018 Cork Sculling Ladder continues until April 1st.  

Cork Sculling Ladder, Time Trial, October 8th. Selected Results:

  1. Jack Dorney, Shandon Boat Club. 7 min 07.2 sec
  2. Alex Byrne, Shandon Boat Club. 7:15.8
  3. Stephen O’Sullivan, Shandon Boat Club. 7:17.7
  4.  Eoin Gaffney, Shandon Boat Club. 7:18.5
  5. Cian O’Sullivan, Cork Boat Club. 7:25.1

10. Margaret Cremen, Lee Rowing Club. 7:37.9

23. Lisa Dilleen, Cork Boat Club. 8:06.3 (8:07.6)

31. Aoife Lynch, Lee Rowing Club. 8:19.6

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland have qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s double sculls at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Trakai, Lithuania. Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen finished third in their quarter-final. Canada, who led from the early stages, won well. Ireland had tracked them, holding second from before halfway until the final stages when the Netherlands got ahead of them.  

World Rowing Junior Championships, Trakai, Lithuania, Day Three (Irish interest)

Women

Double Sculls – Quarter-Final Three (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Canada 7:23.78, 2 Netherlands 7:29.52, 3 Ireland (A Casey, M Cremen) 7:30.27; 4 Austria 7:33.56, 5 New Zealand 7:36.51, 6 Estonia 7:52.65.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Skibbereen added four titles to their already weighty tally on the first day of the Irish Rowing Championships at the National Rowing Centre today. Paul O’Donovan won the senior single sculls and teamed up with Mark O’Donovan, Shane O’Driscoll and his brother Gary in the senior four – both were done in new record times for the course. Paul and Gary also won the senior doubles. The Skibbereen women’s four also won well, in a new best time for the course.

NUIG also took four titles: the men’s intermediate coxed four and club eight and the women’s club coxed four and novice coxed quadruple.

Cork Boat Club proved best in the women’s intermediate eight and also won perhaps the best race of the day: Barry O’Flynn was severely tested by Jack Dorney in the junior single sculls but fought back after being passed and won by a length.

The Old Collegians victory in the women’s senior double was straightforward: Sanita Puspure and Claire Lambe were by far the best crew.

This was the last final of the day, while UCC had won the first, taking the men’s novice coxed quadruple.

Neptune and St Joseph’s tried to rein them in, but the men’s junior eights final was a surprsingly straightforward affair for winners Enniskillen, who also won the women’s junior four. Lee’s Margaret Cremen and Aoife Lynch were also in control in the women’s junior double, as were Hannah Scott and Katie Shirlow in the intermediate pair.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Day One (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Club: NUIG 5:53.60. Junior: Enniskillen 5:47.96.

Four – Senior: Skibbereen 5:55.33. Inter, coxed: NUIG 6:13.38.

Sculling, Quadruple – Novice, coxed: UCC 6:39.37.

Double – Senior: Skibbereen 7:06.89.

Single – Senior: Skibbereen (P O’Donovan) 6:48.19. Junior: Cork (B O’Flynn) 7:04.06.

Women

Eight – Intermediate: Cork 6:22.06.

Four – Senior: Skibbereen 6:40.58. Club, coxed: NUIG 7:10.92. Junior: Enniskillen 6:57.94.

Pair – Inter: Bann 7:19.32.

Sculling, Quadruple – Novice, coxed: NUIG 7:36.02. Double – Senior: Old Collegians 6:59.997. Junior: Lee 7:09.86.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Barry O’Flynn of Cork Boat Club came from behind to win the junior single sculls title at the Irish Rowing Championships in Cork today. Jack Dorney of Shandon tested the favourite in an exciting race – and went ahead. O’Flynn came back and won by a length.

Two of the top junior women were involved in impressive wins. Hannah Scott teamed up with Katie Shirlow to win the intermediate pairs for Bann, while Margaret Cremen and Aoife Lynch won the junior doubles.

NUIG won two sucessive finals, the women’s club coxed four and the men’s intermediate coxed four, while UCC had started the first session of finals at the Championships with a win in the novice coxed quadruple.

Skibbereen called on the class of their international brigade to also win twice: Paul and Gary O’Donovan were untested in their senior doubles win, while Denise Walsh stroked the women’s senior four to a fine win over UCD.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Day One (Selected Results)

Men

Four – Inter, coxed: NUIG 6:13.38.

Sculling, Quadruple – Novice, coxed: UCC 6:39.37.

Double – Senior: Skibbereen 7:06.89.

Single – Junior: Cork (B O’Flynn) 7:04.06.

Women

Four – Senior: Skibbereen 6:40.58. Club, coxed: NUIG 7:10.92.

Pair – Inter: Bann 7:19.32.

Sculling, Double – Junior: Lee 7:09.86.

Published in Rowing
Page 1 of 2

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.”