Displaying items by tag: Italian Olympic Week

21st September 2020

Annalise Murphy Takes Laser Radial Title At Italian Olympic Week

‘Breeze queen’ Annalise Murphy takes off in day one’s racing last Friday

The National Yacht Club’s Annalise Murphy held her lead over the 41-boat fleet to claim the Laser Radial open class title in the final racing of Italian Olympic Week at Follonica.

Murphy’s third place finish yesterday (Sunday 20 September) was enough to maintain the points gap over Italy’s Silvia Zennaro, with Norway’s Line-Flem Höst third in the provisional overall table.

The result will be a significant boost Murphy’s delayed Laser Radial campaign, although many of her key rivals for Tokyo 2020 gold next year did not contest the Italian championships. Next up are the European Championships in Gdansk two weeks from tomorrow.

Meanwhile, despite their early exit to get home to Ireland before new ‘green list’ restrictions came unto force, Ewan McMahon and Finn Lynch both finished in the top 10 in the Laser standard class, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Published in Annalise Murphy

Tagged under

Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.