Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: World Cup Regatta

#Rowing: Ireland's Aileen Crowley and Monika Dukarska took sixth in the A Final of the women's pairs at the World Cup Regatta in Rotterdam. Ireland featured well in the early stages, but Australia and New Zealand moved away. They would finish in that order after a good battle. Britain took the bronze. Ireland and Spain battled for fifth, with Spain taking it by 1.63 seconds.

 Lydia Heaphy and Denise Walsh finished sixth in their B Final of the lightweight double sculls, to take 12th overall.

World Cup Regatta, Rotterdam, Day Three (Irish interest)

Women

Pair - A Final: 1 Australia 7:26.15, 2 New Zealand 7:27.57, 3 Britain 7:40.51; Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:50.08.

Lightweight Double Sculls - B Final (places 7 to 12): 6 Ireland (L Heaphy, D Walsh) 7:45.98.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland took three A Final places from their first three races at the World Cup Regatta in Rotterdam this morning.

Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne, the Ireland men's double, won their race. They took the lead and held it right through. Germany were their closest challengers, while Australia One finished well to to take the third qualification place.

The Ireland women's pair of Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley and lightweight single sculler Gary O'Donovan also qualified for A Finals.

The pair took the race to the other crews and led at 1500 metres. Spain and Romania covered the final 500 metres with real pace, but while Romania passed Ireland to win, Dukarska and Crowley came home ahead of Spain, who took the third qualification spot.

Gary O'Donovan finished fast in the semi-final to take second. He had been third for much of the contest. However, Jake McCarthy fell just short, taking fourth. He is set for a B Final.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure won the B Final of the women’s single sculls at the World Cup Regatta in Poznan today. The focus may have been on the battle between Puspure and Monika Dukarska, but Puspure’s main challenger down the course was Megan O’Leary of the United States. She finished a close-up second, with Dukarska third, 3.55 seconds behind her Ireland team-mate.

In the B Final of the women’s pair, the new crew of Aifric Keogh and Aileen Crowley started well but had to give way to the more accomplished United States crew of Kathrin Roach and Sophia Vitas, who took eighth overall.

World Cup Regatta, Poznan, Poland, Day Three (Selected results; Irish interest)

Women

Pair – B Final: 1 United States 7:22.54, 2 Ireland (A Keogh, A Crowley) 7:30.09.

Single Sculls – B Final: 1 Ireland One (S Puspure) 7:28.79, 2 United States Two (M O’Leary) 7:29.35, 3 Ireland Two (M Dukarska) 7:32.34; 4 Germany Two 7:36.36, 5 United States One 7:37.43, 6 Austria Two 7:40.21.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland lightweight double scull of Paul and Gary O’Donovan won their semi-final at the World Cup Regatta in Belgrade today. In a race run in rainy conditions, the crews were closely-packed in the early part of the race, with Ireland taking a marginal lead by halfway. But then the O’Donovans moved and the race from there was about who would take second and third and join Ireland in the A Final. The Netherlands and Spain did the business to stay in the hunt for medals.

Britain’s Will Fletcher and Peter Chambers won the other semi-final in a fast time.

World Cup Regatta, Belgrade, Day Two (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Lightweight Pair, Exhibition Race (Contest for Lanes): 1 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:39.30, 2 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:41.61, 3 Russia 6:43.42, 4 Hungary 7:06.15.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Semi-Finals (Three to A Final; rest to B Final). Semi-Final One: 1 Britain (P Chambers, W Fletcher) 6:23.98, 2 Poland 6:25.85, 3 Czech Republic 6:26.34.

Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:30.70, 2 Netherlands 6:32.26, 3 Spain 6:33.89.

Women

Single Sculls – Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Britain (V Thornley) 7:39.32, 2 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:42.17; 3 Belarus Three 7:46.28, 4 Belarus Two 7:28.26, 5 Czech Republic 7:52.49.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure took second in the repechage and qualified for the A Final of the women’s single sculls at the World Cup Regatta in Belgrade today. The early leader was Victoria Thornley of Britain, and she did not relinquish the advantage. A battle developed behind her between Puspure and Tatsiana Kukhta of Belarus, which Puspure won. She moved in the third quarter and held a clear second place at the end.

World Cup Regatta, Belgrade, Day Two (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Lightweight Pair, Exhibition Race (Contest for Lanes): 1 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:39.30, 2 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:41.61, 3 Russia 6:43.42, 4 Hungary 7:06.15.

Women

Single Sculls – Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Britain (V Thornley) 7:39.32, 2 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:42.17; 3 Belarus Three 7:46.28, 4 Belarus Two 7:28.26, 5 Czech Republic 7:52.49.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul and Gary O’Donovan won their heat and qualified directly for the A/B Semi-Finals at the World Cup Regatta in Belgrade this morning. As they often do, the UCD/Skibbereen duo won it in a sprint finish, overtaking the Czech Republic coming up to the line to win by six hundredths of a second. The Czechs and the Netherlands One had disputed the lead through the race, but the O’Donovans tracked them and drew on their remarkable finishing speed to win in six minutes 29.03 seconds.

Peter Chambers and Will Fletcher of Britain won the second heat in a time of six minutes 35.22 seconds.

World Cup Regatta, Belgrade Serbia, Day One (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Heat Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Britain 6:42.81, Netherlands 6:46.34, 3 Spain 6:50.69; 4 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:53.50.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Three (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:29.03, 2 Czech Republic 6:29.09; 3 Netherlands One 6:38.69

Heat Two: 1 Britain (P Chambers, W Fletcher) 6:35.22.

Women

Single Sculls – Heat Two (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Austria (M Lobnig) 7:49.47; 2 Belarus (E Karsten) 7:51.74, 3 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:53.20.

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat Two (First Two to A Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (D Walsh) 8:07.51, 2 Poland (J Dorociak) 8:08.22; 3 Switzerland Two 8:11.65.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Lisa Dilleen and Leonora Kennedy qualified directly for the A/B semi-finals at the World Cup Rowing regatta in Aiguebelette in France this morning. The Ireland crew, which had finished fourth at the European Championships, knew a place in the top three of their heat would be enough to see them through without the need for a repechage. They were in the top three, with Canada and United States Two through the key parts of the race, but it was Canada which finished best to win narrowly from United States Two.  

World Cup Regatta, Aiguebelette, France, Day One (Selected Results, Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heats (Time Trials; First Two Directly Through to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage) – Heat One: 1 China (Tiexin Wang) 7:02.36, 2 France (D Piqueras) 7:07.64; 5 Ireland Two (M O’Donovan) 7:20.78

Heat Three: 1 Ireland One (P O’Donovan) 7:11.34, 2 Britain (Z Lee-Green) 7:15.60.

Women

Pair – Heat Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Canada (N Mastracci, S Grainger) 7:13.29, 2 United States Two (G Luczak, C Lind) 7:13.87, 3 Ireland (L Kennedy, L Dilleen) 7:18.15; 4 Germany Two 7:32.77, 5 China Two 7:37.06.

Pararowing – Arms and Shoulders Men’s Single Sculls – Heat Two (First to A Final; rest to Repechage): 5 Ireland (T Kelly)

Published in Rowing

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.