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Displaying items by tag: Schull Harbour Sailing Club

The final race of the Schull Harbour Sailing Club May Series was run on Sunday in West Cork following cancellation due to inclement weather on the previous day.

The fleet started in the harbour in a fresh 22 knots westerly gusting at times close to 30 knots and sailed a course inside the outer harbour and Island channels.

Fresh from her recent overhaul, Tony O Brien's J109 Tighey Boy led from the start to win IRC and was the only competitor to fly a kite, providing ample entertainment for those watching from the other boats.

The Windbourn trophy for Echo went to John McGowan's First 31.7, Mackey G, while the overall May League trophy in both IRC and Echo went to the Murphy family in the vintage Moody 30, Shelly D. They were presented with the Murray Bowl, which was also won by the same boat at its first presentation in 1979.

John McGowan's First 31.7, Mackey GJohn McGowan's First 31.7, Mackey G

Published in West Cork

The second race of the May league for the 'Genaveve Plate' was raced at Schull Harbour Sailing Club in West Cork on Saturday in near 'tropical' conditions, according to organisers.

The fleet started downwind from the harbour line in a light northerly breeze, rounding the Cush Buoy off Long Island and then heading for the Amelia Buoy.

On approaching the mark, the wind dropped to zero, which allowed the back markers to rejoin the fleet while they all drifted around for a period before restarting in a light northeasterly for a final leg into the harbour on a shortened course.

The Murphy family's  Shelly D, a Moody 30, took the win in the Schull Harbour Sailing Club for the 'Genaveve Plate' as part of the club's May LeagueThe Murphy family's  Shelly D, a Moody 30, took the win in the Schull Harbour Sailing Club for the 'Genaveve Plate' as part of the club's May League

Flor O Riordan's Three Cheers took line honours, however, victory in both IRC and Echo went to the Murphy family in Shelly D, with Peter Duggan's Manzanita and Schull Community College's Athena taking second and third in Echo, while Athena was second in IRC ahead of 3 Cheers in third.

Published in West Cork

Growler (G. Horgan) took home the trophy at the Schull Harbour Sailing Club's Summer cruiser league's Tadg Dwyer Trophy Race on Saturday.

Dave O’Brien’s Aphrodite came in second, while John McGowan’s Mackey G took third place.

This was the eighth race of the league, which has Barry Quinlan’s Capella in the overall lead with 20 points, followed by Tony O’Brien’s Tighey Boy with 30 points. Tadg Dwyer’s Brazen Huzie, with 33 points, comes in at third place.

The club is preparing for next week's CD Environmental-sponsored Calves Week Regatta, which should see 75 boats come to the line for West Cork's biggest sailing event.

Published in West Cork

Tom Newman’s Sitelle won the Ronan Long Island Trophy Race at Schull Harbour Sailing Club in West Cork.

Don McCarthy’s VSOP was second, and Brian Ronan’s Kopper Too was third.

Published in West Cork

The Mulloy Trophy Race on Saturday at Schull Harbour Sailing Club in West Cork was won by Tony O’Brien’s J109 Tighey Boy, with Tadgh Dwyer’s Brazen Huzie second and John McGowan’s Mackey G third.

SHSC is now in the final stage of preparations for its CD Environmental Calves Week Regatta from 8 - 11 August 2023.

Published in West Cork

Don McCarthy's Sovereign 'V.S.O.P.' won the Barnett Trophy at Schull Harbour Sailing Club in West Cork on July 1.

Fine sailing conditions off Schull saw McCarthy beat Barry Quinlan's Dehler 35 Capella in a strong breeze of over 20 knots. 

The one-hour, forty-minute Barnett Trophy fixture was race four in the  All-in-Club ECHO 2023 Summer League.

Dave O'Brien's First 32 Aphrodite was third.

Overall Quinlan leads the summer league by a margin of three points.

Published in West Cork

At Schull Harbour Sailing Club's All-In cruiser ECHO racing in West Cork, the Windbourne Trophy was won by Kevin Daly's Jamaro.

The Geneveve Trophy winner was Tony O'Brien's J109 Tighey Boy, and Alan Dwyer's Joxer won the Rosbrin Trophy.

The Barnett Trophy is scheduled for this Saturday.

Summer League leader is John McGowan's Mackey G, with Barry Quinlan's Capella second and Tadg Dwyer's Brazen Husie third.

Published in West Cork

After three races in Schull Harbour Sailing Club’s Autumn League, Don McCarthy’s Sovereign VSOP leads on 13 points, with Simon Nelson’s Witchcraft second on 14 and Alan Dwyer’s Sally in Stitiches third on 16.

Published in West Cork

Schull Harbour Sailing Club in West Cork has thirteen yachts racing its weekly Saturday league series. Flor O’Riordan’s Elan 31 ‘3 Cheers’ won the fifth race of the series under All-In Club Standard ECHO/IRC handicap, with Tony O’Brien’s J109 Tighey Roy second and Manzanita, John Molloy, third.

The win for ‘3 Cheers’ places it third in the series which is led overall by Martin Lane’s Oceanis 33, Chatterbox, on 8 points. Second overall is Tighey Boy on 8 points, with Flor O’Riordan on 10. Manzanita is in fourth place, one behind on 11.

Fifty for Calves Week 2022

Fifty yachts have entered for Calves Week at Schull, which will be raced from August 2 to 5, the top West Cork event of the Summer sailing season.

Racing will be under IRC and ECHO handicaps and there will be a White Sail class, also scored under ECHO and IRC.

Registration will be on Monday, August 1, at the Fastnet Outdoor Education Centre from 2 to 5 p.m., with a briefing for Skippers to follow at 6 p.m.

Published in West Cork

Martin Lane’s Chatterbox won the May Cruiser League at Schull Harbour Sailing Club (SHSC) in West Cork.

Michael Murphy’s Shelly D was second and Frank O’Hara’s Samphire third.

The Summer Series begins at SHSC on Saturday, June 11th.

Published in West Cork
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Sharks in Irish waters

Irish waters are home to 71 species of shark, skates and rays, 58 of which have been studied in detail and listed on the Ireland Red List of Cartilaginous fish. Irish sharks range from small Sleeper sharks, Dogfish and Catsharks, to larger species like Frilled, Mackerel and Cow sharks, all the way to the second largest shark in the world, the Basking shark. 

Irish waters provide a refuge for an array of shark species. Tralee Bay, Co. Kerry provides a habitat for several rare and endangered sharks and their relatives, including the migratory tope shark, angel shark and undulate ray. This area is also the last European refuge for the extremely rare white skate. Through a European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) project, Marine Institute scientists have been working with fishermen to assess the distribution, diversity, and monthly relative abundance of skates and rays in Tralee, Brandon and Dingle Bays.

“These areas off the southwest coast of Ireland are important internationally as they hold some of the last remaining refuges for angel shark and white skate,” said Dr Maurice Clarke of the Marine Institute. “This EMFF project has provided data confirming the critically endangered status of some species and provides up-to-date information for the development of fishery measures to eliminate by-catch.” 

Irish waters are also home to the Black Mouthed Catshark, Galeus melastomus, one of Ireland’s smallest shark species which can be found in the deep sea along the continental shelf. In 2018, Irish scientists discovered a very rare shark-nursery 200 nautical miles off the west coast by the Marine Institute’s ROV Holland 1 on a shelf sloping to 750 metres deep. 

There are two ways that sharks are born, either as live young or from egg casings. In the ‘case’ of Black Mouthed Catsharks, the nursery discovered in 2018, was notable by the abundance of egg casings or ‘mermaid’s purses’. Many sharks, rays and skate lay eggs, the cases of which often wash ashore. If you find an egg casing along the seashore, take a photo for Purse Search Ireland, a citizen science project focusing on monitoring the shark, ray and skate species around Ireland.

Another species also found by Irish scientists using the ROV Holland 1 in 2018 was a very rare type of dogfish, the Sail Fin Rough Shark, Oxynotus paradoxus. These sharks are named after their long fins which resemble the trailing sails of a boat, and live in the deep sea in waters up to 750m deep. Like all sharks, skates and rays, they have no bones. Their skeleton is composed of cartilage, much like what our noses and ears are made from! This material is much more flexible and lighter than bone which is perfect for these animals living without the weight of gravity.

Throughout history sharks have been portrayed as the monsters of the sea, a concept that science is continuously debunking. Basking sharks were named in 1765 as Cetorhinus maximus, roughly translated to the ‘big-nosed sea monster’. Basking sharks are filter feeders, often swimming with their mouths agape, they filter plankton from the water.

They are very slow moving and like to bask in the sun in shallow water and are often seen in Irish waters around Spring and early Summer. To help understand the migration of these animals to be better able to understand and conserve these species, the Irish Basking Shark Group have tagged and mapped their travels.

Remarkably, many sharks like the Angel Shark, Squatina squatina have the ability to sense electricity. They do this via small pores in their skin called the ‘Ampullae of Lorenzini’ which are able to detect the tiny electrical impulses of a fish breathing, moving or even its heartbeat from distances of over a kilometre! Angel sharks, often referred to as Monkfish have a distinctively angelic shape, with flattened, large fins appearing like the wings of an angel. They live on the seafloor in the coastal waters of Ireland and much like a cat are nocturnal, primarily active at night.

The intricate complexity of shark adaptations is particularly noticeable in the texture of their skin. Composed of miniscule, perfectly shaped overlapping scales, the skin of shark provides them with protection. Often shark scales have been compared to teeth due to their hard enamel structure. They are strong, but also due to their intricate shape, these scales reduce drag and allow water to glide past them so that the shark can swim more effortlessly and silently. This natural flawless design has been used as inspiration for new neoprene fabric designs to help swimmers glide through the water. Although all sharks have this feature, the Leafscale Gulper Shark, Centrophorus squamosus, found in Ireland are specifically named due to the ornate leaf-shape of their scales.