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Displaying items by tag: Co Antrim

The Irish surfing calendar begins on 19 February with the 2011 Irish Surf Intervarsities at East Strand in Portrush, Co Antrim.
The weekend will feature contests in men's and women's surfing, bodyboarding and longboarding, as well as a novice surfing category open to students who have been surfing for less than a year.
The competition will be hosted by the Irish Surfing Association, the Causeway Coast Surf Club and Coleraine University Surf Club.
Registration is open from 5pm-9pm on Friday 18 February for any students hoping to take part.
The Irish Surfing Association website has more information HERE.

The Irish surfing calendar begins on 19 February with the 2011 Irish Surf Intervarsities at East Strand in Portrush, Co Antrim.

The weekend will feature contests in men's and women's surfing, bodyboarding and longboarding, as well as a novice surfing category open to students who have been surfing for less than a year.

The competition will be hosted by the Irish Surfing Association, the Causeway Coast Surf Club and Coleraine University Surf Club.

Registration is open from 5pm-9pm on Friday 18 February for any students hoping to take part. The Irish Surfing Association website has more information HERE.

Published in Surfing
The surfing website MagicSeaweed has posted a beathtaking pictorial of boarders Al Mennie and Andrew Cotton taking on the incredible Finn MacCools wave at the Giant's Causeway.
"The funny thing is this wave has been breaking right under our noses for years at Northern Ireland's premier tourist spot!" said Mennie. "It's one of those mythical places people often mention, wondering if there are waves out here."
'Al' and 'Cotty' were among the surfers who discovered the now-famous Prowlers wave off the west coast of Ireland last year - the exact location of which is still a closely-guarded secret. SEE VIDEO BELOW

The surfing website MagicSeaweed has posted a breathtaking pictorial of boarders Al Mennie and Andrew Cotton taking on the incredible Finn MacCools wave at the Giant's Causeway.

"The funny thing is this wave has been breaking right under our noses for years at Northern Ireland's premier tourist spot!" said Mennie. "It's one of those mythical places people often mention, wondering if there are waves out here."

'Al' and 'Cotty' were among the surfers who discovered the now-famous Prowlers wave off the west coast of Ireland last year - the exact location of which is still a closely-guarded secret. SEE VIDEO BELOW

More photos and vide on this story HERE

Published in Surfing
Work has begun on a new visitor services building at Ballycastle harbour as part of a £7.4 million (€8.6 million) marine tourism project for the nothern part of Ireland and western Scotland.
Moyle District Council is one of 20 partners involved in the Sail West Initiative to develop boating, angling and marine tourism related infrastructure along the Northern Ireland coast north of Belfast Lough, Counties Sligo and Donegal, and a large part of Scotland's west coast.
The plan will see the demolition of the existing bungalow at the harbour, to be replaced with a new state-of-the-art marina building and harbourmaster's office with shower, kitchen and laundry facilities.
The council will also take part in an extensive marketing campaign along with the other Sail West partners to promote the region as an important sailing destination for sea-faring tourists.
The Ballymoney Times has more on the story HERE.

Work has begun on a new visitor services building at Ballycastle harbour as part of a £7.4 million (€8.6 million) marine tourism project for the nothern part of Ireland and western Scotland.

Moyle District Council is one of 20 partners involved in the Sail West Initiative to develop boating, angling and marine tourism related infrastructure along the Northern Ireland coast north of Belfast Lough, Counties Sligo and Donegal, and a large part of Scotland's west coast.

The plan will see the demolition of the existing bungalow at the harbour, to be replaced with a new state-of-the-art marina building and harbourmaster's office with shower, kitchen and laundry facilities.

The council will also take part in an extensive marketing campaign along with the other Sail West partners to promote the region as an important sailing destination for sea-faring tourists.

The Ballymoney Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Aquatic Tourism
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Marine Wildlife Around Ireland 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. 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 the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!