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Displaying items by tag: Alex Barry

Royal Cork's Alex Barry is going quick in his new 505 campaign towards the World Championships in Cork Harbour next year.

The Irish dinghy ace is teamed up with Harry Briddon of the UK for a title at the 2022 title and is putting in some time this year training at Hayling Island, where last weekend's 505 Euro Cup competition included 49er Gold Medalist from Tokyo, Stuart Bithell. 

After five races sailed in the 15-boat fleet, Barry ended up fourth overall, just two points behind Ian Pinnell and Tom Pickles of the host club in third position. Results are below.

The early boat speed looks promising for the Irish-English duo. Barry told Afloat he was 'flying' upwind, but he and Briddon still have some work on downwind technique.

The class looks forward to holding its 2022 World Championships in Cork from August 3 – 13th, 2022, where Barry is also an event organiser.

One hundred twenty crews from over 15 nations are expected for the 2022 championships. Eight or ten Irish boats will be among this number.

As Afloat previously reported, this will be the fourth time RCYC will have hosted the 505 World Championships, having welcomed visiting crews in 1959, 1964 and 1982. 

Published in Royal Cork YC

#RS400 - Alex Barry and Richard Leonard finished third in the RS400 Europeans at Weymouth this week.

The Cork Harbour duo completed an international podium, with Stewart and Sarah Robertson of Scotland taking the win and Francisco and Teresa Lobato of Portugal in second.

Sailing was very tight throughout the five days of racing for the 71-boat fleet, with Barry reporting that any one of five boats was capable of taking the event in the last race.

Notable entries included double Olympic silver medalist and Volvo Ocean Race winner Ian Walker, who was ninth overall.

Robbie O’Sullivan and Phil McGlade were the other Irish boat traveling, with a 33rd place finish in the Gold fleet. Full results are here.

The event was part of the wider RS anniversary games, which will see 2,000 sailors take to the water at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy by the end of this month.

Published in RS Sailing

#RS400 - A solid fifth in the final race of the RS400 UK Nationals yesterday (Thursday 24 August) capped off a week that saw Alex Barry and Richard Leonard finish fourth overall.

The ultimate result was even more satisfying for the Royal Cork/Monkstown Bay pair as they were among the few boats to get ahead of potentially race-stopping sea breeze, one that opened a sizeable hole in the course on Mount’s Bay and left most of the fleet in confusion, as Yachts and Yachting reports.

It was also much consolation after a disappointing first race on the day — Barry and Leonard’s worst placing of the week at 29th but one that discards ensured wouldn’t blemish their final tally.

As predicted, John Gorringe and Oli Wells of Parkstone Yacht Club took the championship with a bullet in the very last race of the five-day event, though it wasn’t a sure thing after a seventh in Thursday’s first race took a chunk out of their lead and added to the pressure.

Meanwhile, three other Irish boats in the fleet showed strong performances in Cornwall this week.

Monkstown Bay’s John Downey and Sandy Rimmington were the highest placed Bronze fleet pairing at 11th overall, while Sean Cleary and Annalise Nixon of Oxford Sailing Club placed 24th and Robbie O’Sullivan and Phil McGlade, also of Monkstown Bay, finished 38th.

Yachts and Yachting has more on the final action at Mount’s Bay, including the overall results for all 75 boats.

Published in RS Sailing

#RS400 - It’s fifth place for Alex Barry and Richard Leonard after three days and six races at the RS400 UK Nationals in Cornwall.

The recent Southern Championship defending pair from the RCYC and Monkstown Bay on Cork Harbour scored a fourth and an 11th in racing on Mount’s Bay today (Wednesday 23 August), making their lighter set-up work despite the breeze.

Though the results saw them drop down a couple of places on the overall table, Barry and Leonard remain within touching distance of the championship currently within the grasp of John Gorringe and Oli Wells of Parkstone Yacht Club in Poole, who scored a pair of bullets to extend their lead.

Yachts and Yachting has more on the day’s action HERE.

Published in RS Sailing

#RS200 - Friendship is key to keeping Ireland’s youth dinghy sailing classes alive, according to this year’s All Ireland Champion sailor Alex Barry.

Speaking to Afloat.ie ahead of January’s RS200 open days at the Royal Cork Yacht Club, Barry laments that the numbers participating are “certainly not enough”.

While clubs and associations around Ireland are doing “a really good job” with junior classes since the ISA’s shake-up, and the high performance team has celebrated Olympic success, there remains “a void” for over-16s “who just want to have a bit of fun, go to a few events camping, and be with their friends.”

Barry points to the traditional route into sailing — and in particular the transition to bigger boats and team racing at university age, after starting in Optimists and skilling up in Lasers or Toppers — as the point where many young sailors drop out, prohibited by the significant investment, among other factors.

“My goal is to get the parents to reinvest that €4,000-€5,000 from [the sale of a Laser or Topper] into a 200, which can keep people sailing through that financially tough period,” says the Royal Cork member and RS400 champion.

“If they make it through that with a boat and maintaining the friendships, I believe the chances of them staying sailing are much greater, thus driving dinghy sailing forward.”

The first RS200 open days of the new year take place next weekend Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 January, with another weekend of open days to follow on 21-22 January. More details are available to download below.

Published in RS Sailing

The 2016 ISA All-Ireland Championship in the first weekend of October was one of the closest-fought ever seen, with at least four helms in with a chance in the final stages on the second day, as a good sailing breeze settled in to banish memories of the morning’s frustrating calm.

The historic Crosshaven venue at the Royal Cork YC was appropriate to the concluding drama of the event, and the sense of something very special being under way was heightened by the boats of the day being the Ultra, the new Phil Morrison designed take on the classic National 18 design.

This is a class development in which the Royal Cork Yacht Club has played a generous supporting role, and while the boats were raced without use of spinnakers, nevertheless it provided a useful opportunity to showcase one of the most exciting recent developments in Irish dinghy racing.

As for the outcome, it was if anything too exciting, with all sorts of permutation in countback being required to declare who really was the overall winner after an entire raft of races for a fascinating selection of superstar sailors from a wide variety of boat backgrounds. But finally the nod was given to RS 400 champion Alex Barry, whom the Royal Cork can claim as one of their own, but he is also a leading member of Monkstown Bay SC further up the harbour.

Alex Barry is the Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month (Inshore)” for October. And a year hence, he will be defending champion in the 70th Anniversary ISA All-Ireland Helmsman’s Championship, which already promises to be something truly historic.

Published in Sailor of the Month

#rssailing – Monkstown Bay Sailing Club's Alex Barry and Richard Leonard got the jump they needed when they won the final race of the RS400 Euro–cup in Carnac, France yesterday.

Two races were scheduled for the final day of the Cup. With First gun at 10:30 and no warning signal allowed passed 13:00, it was a tight window.

One race was eventually sailed in 5 – 8 knots from the North and glorious sunshine.

The Cork harbour pair lead the race from start to finish and with their closest competitors having a poor race it meant they moved up to third overall and a prized podium finish.

The race for the overall title was extremely tight with Jim Downer and Jono Price from Cowes winning on count back.

Results downloadable below.

Additional report from David Rose below:

Excellent race management, in mixed conditions over four days, made for a brilliant RS Eurocup in Carnac at the weekend for the large RS fleets competing. The RS400 had the largest, and one of the most competitive fleets with 31 entries.

Emmet Ryan, who had travelled to a well-attended Garda event last season, and was coming off the back of a 3rd place at a very competitive Irish Eastern Champs with brother James, commented that the standard at this year's European adventure was every bit as high as the top class racing he had experienced in the Italian mountains twelve months earlier. Like at that event, Emmet started really strongly, and was best of the Irish with two 8th place finishes on day one. The Ryan's were to remain consistent for the rest of the regatta, never really hitting the dizzy heights they are capable of, apart from one 5th place. They were extremely consistent with only one race outside the top 10, and will no doubt be competing for honours in Ireland all season.

Day two involved a good deal more hiking, with plaining conditions and 3 longer than usual races. When the sweat settled, Alex Barry and Richard Leonard had put in a great shift and brought themselves back in touch with the top end of the fleet after an average first day, with a 6, 3, 1. This form was to continue for another two days, with two races sailed on day 3 and one on day 4. In the final race Alex / Richard were to lead at every mark and record a second bullet in the event. This mercurial team from MBSC/RCYC, who have become accustomed to the winning circle at the Irish events just kept reeling in and passing competitors on the score board, akin to Rory Mac on birdie charge. They were to run out of races in 3rd position, a brilliant result for them, their clubs MBSC and RCYC and for Ireland.

Paul Mc Laughlin and his crew and only lady to travel Michael Mc Minkey performed admirably and finished up in 14th place, followed by Robert O' Sullivan and David Whitaker who faired particularly well on day one, and were to finish 19th. 'Uncle' Liam Donnelly and his crew Richard Mc Caid came in a respectable 22nd overall.

The Irish RS400 fleets was well represented by the following teams in order of their finishing places:

3rd - Alex Barry & Richard Leonard MBSC / RCYC
11th – Emmet Ryan & James Ryan RSTGYC
14th – Paul Mc Laughlin & Michael Mc Minkey
19th – Robert O' Sullivan & David Whitaker MBSC / RCYC
22nd – Liam Donnelly and Richard Mc Caid RNIYC

#RS400 – After seven races sailed at the RS400 Cup in Carnac, France, Cork Harbour pair Alex Barry and Richard from Leonard from Monkstown Bay Sailing Club stay fourth after counting a three and a six in yesterday's two 15-knot races.

Two more races to complete the series are scheduled for this morning but with a first gun at 10:30 and the breeze typically not arriving in the Bay of Quiberon before 1300 all week there is a question mark over whether a full programme being can be sailed. No race can start after 13:00 today but if racing takes place a second discard applies.

Tagged under

#rssailing – There was a buzz in the Monkstown Bay SC dinghy park last Saturday morning writes David Rose. There was a real feeling of a fresh start for dinghy sailing in this part of the world, with 20 boats hitting the start line and many new teams competing for the first or second time in the Feva, RS200 and RS400 classes alongside seasoned campaigners. Overall results are available to download below.

There were some nerves and a lot of smiling faces as the teams got through the formalities of rigging and entering, which included a barbecue later that day to replenish the energy spent on the water.

It was clear from the forecast and the talk in the dinghy park that it was going to be a day full of exertion, with an 8 race program to be run over one day. This format is designed to be just as competitive as regional events, but with an emphasis on getting as much sailing in as possible allowing crews to improve their performance. General recalls and protests don't come into it, it's all about the sailing, which makes for a very enjoyable and productive outing for all.

Monkstown was out in strength with a small army of volunteers ensuring that everything was running smoothly and it was.

Racing got underway in glorious conditions, with gusts coming down a sunny racecourse packed with boats. The spectacle was fantastic, and a local sailor viewing from a spectator boat commented to me afterwards that we could have charged for tickets, the racing was so good to watch, with boats flying into the leeward gate from every angle at high speeds.

The race team provided rapid fire 3,2,1 go races with minimal delays, and 8 races were sailed over a long but exhilarating day. Many teams were feeling exhausted when they hit the dock, with some people asking their fellow competitors for help pulling their boats out of the water after giving their all to the racing.

The energy and enthusiasm for the sport was palpable ashore, with crews beaming from ear to ear and telling each other just how wrecked they felt. There was a superb atmosphere in the bar afterwards and it seemed fitting that Alex Barry who had organised the event took the honours in the RS400 class with Paul O'Sullivan crewing, followed by another impressive local performance from John Downey and Sandy Rimmington.

The 200's were won by Trevor Fisher and Heather King who showed great support for the class by making the trip to Cork so soon after a sprint in NI.

The Feva's were won by Cork sailors Harry Durcan and Peter Hyland of the RCYC.

Onwards and upwards for this group of classes. I feel we could get another few new joiners from the success of this non ranking sprint event alone. Many people waxed lyrical about how enjoyable and challenging these two handed boats are to sail.

The next outing is the Northerns, followed by the Westerns and then Riva Del Garda in Italy and a Nationals in Galway before returning to the South for a Kinsale southerns. This is an action packed circuit.

Thanks to OOD Ciarán McSweeney, sponsors the Bosun Bar & Guesthouse and Ramen - "Asian Street Food" and most importantly the army of volunteers from Monkstown Bay who put on an amazing event and fed all of the sailors with a BBQ after etc.

The Irish Coast Guard

The Irish Coast Guard is Ireland's fourth 'Blue Light' service (along with An Garda Síochána, the Ambulance Service and the Fire Service). It provides a nationwide maritime emergency organisation as well as a variety of services to shipping and other government agencies.

The purpose of the Irish Coast Guard is to promote safety and security standards, and by doing so, prevent as far as possible, the loss of life at sea, and on inland waters, mountains and caves, and to provide effective emergency response services and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.

The Irish Coast Guard has responsibility for Ireland's system of marine communications, surveillance and emergency management in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and certain inland waterways.

It is responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue and counter-pollution and ship casualty operations. It also has responsibility for vessel traffic monitoring.

Operations in respect of maritime security, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration and fisheries enforcement are co-ordinated by other bodies within the Irish Government.

On average, each year, the Irish Coast Guard is expected to:

  • handle 3,000 marine emergencies
  • assist 4,500 people and save about 200 lives
  • task Coast Guard helicopters on missions

The Coast Guard has been around in some form in Ireland since 1908.

Coast Guard helicopters

The Irish Coast Guard has contracted five medium-lift Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters deployed at bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo.

The helicopters are designated wheels up from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours and 45 minutes at night. One aircraft is fitted and its crew trained for under slung cargo operations up to 3000kgs and is available on short notice based at Waterford.

These aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains of Ireland (32 counties).

They can also be used for assistance in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and aerial surveillance during daylight hours, lifting and passenger operations and other operations as authorised by the Coast Guard within appropriate regulations.

Irish Coastguard FAQs

The Irish Coast Guard provides nationwide maritime emergency response, while also promoting safety and security standards. It aims to prevent the loss of life at sea, on inland waters, on mountains and in caves; and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.

The main role of the Irish Coast Guard is to rescue people from danger at sea or on land, to organise immediate medical transport and to assist boats and ships within the country's jurisdiction. It has three marine rescue centres in Dublin, Malin Head, Co Donegal, and Valentia Island, Co Kerry. The Dublin National Maritime Operations centre provides marine search and rescue responses and coordinates the response to marine casualty incidents with the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Yes, effectively, it is the fourth "blue light" service. The Marine Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) Valentia is the contact point for the coastal area between Ballycotton, Co Cork and Clifden, Co Galway. At the same time, the MRSC Malin Head covers the area between Clifden and Lough Foyle. Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) Dublin covers Carlingford Lough, Co Louth to Ballycotton, Co Cork. Each MRCC/MRSC also broadcasts maritime safety information on VHF and MF radio, including navigational and gale warnings, shipping forecasts, local inshore forecasts, strong wind warnings and small craft warnings.

The Irish Coast Guard handles about 3,000 marine emergencies annually, and assists 4,500 people - saving an estimated 200 lives, according to the Department of Transport. In 2016, Irish Coast Guard helicopters completed 1,000 missions in a single year for the first time.

Yes, Irish Coast Guard helicopters evacuate medical patients from offshore islands to hospital on average about 100 times a year. In September 2017, the Department of Health announced that search and rescue pilots who work 24-hour duties would not be expected to perform any inter-hospital patient transfers. The Air Corps flies the Emergency Aeromedical Service, established in 2012 and using an AW139 twin-engine helicopter. Known by its call sign "Air Corps 112", it airlifted its 3,000th patient in autumn 2020.

The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is responsible for the Northern Irish coast.

The Irish Coast Guard is a State-funded service, with both paid management personnel and volunteers, and is under the auspices of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. It is allocated approximately 74 million euro annually in funding, some 85 per cent of which pays for a helicopter contract that costs 60 million euro annually. The overall funding figure is "variable", an Oireachtas committee was told in 2019. Other significant expenditure items include volunteer training exercises, equipment, maintenance, renewal, and information technology.

The Irish Coast Guard has four search and rescue helicopter bases at Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo, run on a contract worth 50 million euro annually with an additional 10 million euro in costs by CHC Ireland. It provides five medium-lift Sikorsky S-92 helicopters and trained crew. The 44 Irish Coast Guard coastal units with 1,000 volunteers are classed as onshore search units, with 23 of the 44 units having rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and 17 units having cliff rescue capability. The Irish Coast Guard has 60 buildings in total around the coast, and units have search vehicles fitted with blue lights, all-terrain vehicles or quads, first aid equipment, generators and area lighting, search equipment, marine radios, pyrotechnics and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Community Rescue Boats Ireland also provide lifeboats and crews to assist in search and rescue. The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the Garda Siochána, National Ambulance Service, Naval Service and Air Corps, Civil Defence, while fishing vessels, ships and other craft at sea offer assistance in search operations.

The helicopters are designated as airborne from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours, and 45 minutes at night. The aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, on inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains and cover the 32 counties. They can also assist in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and can transport offshore firefighters and ambulance teams. The Irish Coast Guard volunteers units are expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time of departing from the station house in ten minutes from notification during daylight and 20 minutes at night. They are also expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time to the scene of the incident in less than 60 minutes from notification by day and 75 minutes at night, subject to geographical limitations.

Units are managed by an officer-in-charge (three stripes on the uniform) and a deputy officer in charge (two stripes). Each team is trained in search skills, first aid, setting up helicopter landing sites and a range of maritime skills, while certain units are also trained in cliff rescue.

Volunteers receive an allowance for time spent on exercises and call-outs. What is the difference between the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI? The RNLI is a registered charity which has been saving lives at sea since 1824, and runs a 24/7 volunteer lifeboat service around the British and Irish coasts. It is a declared asset of the British Maritime and Coast Guard Agency and the Irish Coast Guard. Community Rescue Boats Ireland is a community rescue network of volunteers under the auspices of Water Safety Ireland.

No, it does not charge for rescue and nor do the RNLI or Community Rescue Boats Ireland.

The marine rescue centres maintain 19 VHF voice and DSC radio sites around the Irish coastline and a digital paging system. There are two VHF repeater test sites, four MF radio sites and two NAVTEX transmitter sites. Does Ireland have a national search and rescue plan? The first national search and rescue plan was published in July, 2019. It establishes the national framework for the overall development, deployment and improvement of search and rescue services within the Irish Search and Rescue Region and to meet domestic and international commitments. The purpose of the national search and rescue plan is to promote a planned and nationally coordinated search and rescue response to persons in distress at sea, in the air or on land.

Yes, the Irish Coast Guard is responsible for responding to spills of oil and other hazardous substances with the Irish pollution responsibility zone, along with providing an effective response to marine casualties and monitoring or intervening in marine salvage operations. It provides and maintains a 24-hour marine pollution notification at the three marine rescue centres. It coordinates exercises and tests of national and local pollution response plans.

The first Irish Coast Guard volunteer to die on duty was Caitriona Lucas, a highly trained member of the Doolin Coast Guard unit, while assisting in a search for a missing man by the Kilkee unit in September 2016. Six months later, four Irish Coast Guard helicopter crew – Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith -died when their Sikorsky S-92 struck Blackrock island off the Mayo coast on March 14, 2017. The Dublin-based Rescue 116 crew were providing "top cover" or communications for a medical emergency off the west coast and had been approaching Blacksod to refuel. Up until the five fatalities, the Irish Coast Guard recorded that more than a million "man hours" had been spent on more than 30,000 rescue missions since 1991.

Several investigations were initiated into each incident. The Marine Casualty Investigation Board was critical of the Irish Coast Guard in its final report into the death of Caitriona Lucas, while a separate Health and Safety Authority investigation has been completed, but not published. The Air Accident Investigation Unit final report into the Rescue 116 helicopter crash has not yet been published.

The Irish Coast Guard in its present form dates back to 1991, when the Irish Marine Emergency Service was formed after a campaign initiated by Dr Joan McGinley to improve air/sea rescue services on the west Irish coast. Before Irish independence, the British Admiralty was responsible for a Coast Guard (formerly the Water Guard or Preventative Boat Service) dating back to 1809. The West Coast Search and Rescue Action Committee was initiated with a public meeting in Killybegs, Co Donegal, in 1988 and the group was so effective that a Government report was commissioned, which recommended setting up a new division of the Department of the Marine to run the Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC), then based at Shannon, along with the existing coast radio service, and coast and cliff rescue. A medium-range helicopter base was established at Shannon within two years. Initially, the base was served by the Air Corps.

The first director of what was then IMES was Capt Liam Kirwan, who had spent 20 years at sea and latterly worked with the Marine Survey Office. Capt Kirwan transformed a poorly funded voluntary coast and cliff rescue service into a trained network of cliff and sea rescue units – largely voluntary, but with paid management. The MRCC was relocated from Shannon to an IMES headquarters at the then Department of the Marine (now Department of Transport) in Leeson Lane, Dublin. The coast radio stations at Valentia, Co Kerry, and Malin Head, Co Donegal, became marine rescue-sub-centres.

The current director is Chris Reynolds, who has been in place since August 2007 and was formerly with the Naval Service. He has been seconded to the head of mission with the EUCAP Somalia - which has a mandate to enhance Somalia's maritime civilian law enforcement capacity – since January 2019.

  • Achill, Co. Mayo
  • Ardmore, Co. Waterford
  • Arklow, Co. Wicklow
  • Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
  • Ballycotton, Co. Cork
  • Ballyglass, Co. Mayo
  • Bonmahon, Co. Waterford
  • Bunbeg, Co. Donegal
  • Carnsore, Co. Wexford
  • Castlefreake, Co. Cork
  • Castletownbere, Co. Cork
  • Cleggan, Co. Galway
  • Clogherhead, Co. Louth
  • Costelloe Bay, Co. Galway
  • Courtown, Co. Wexford
  • Crosshaven, Co. Cork
  • Curracloe, Co. Wexford
  • Dingle, Co. Kerry
  • Doolin, Co. Clare
  • Drogheda, Co. Louth
  • Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
  • Dunmore East, Co. Waterford
  • Fethard, Co. Wexford
  • Glandore, Co. Cork
  • Glenderry, Co. Kerry
  • Goleen, Co. Cork
  • Greencastle, Co. Donegal
  • Greenore, Co. Louth
  • Greystones, Co. Wicklow
  • Guileen, Co. Cork
  • Howth, Co. Dublin
  • Kilkee, Co. Clare
  • Killala, Co. Mayo
  • Killybegs, Co. Donegal
  • Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford
  • Knightstown, Co. Kerry
  • Mulroy, Co. Donegal
  • North Aran, Co. Galway
  • Old Head Of Kinsale, Co. Cork
  • Oysterhaven, Co. Cork
  • Rosslare, Co. Wexford
  • Seven Heads, Co. Cork
  • Skerries, Co. Dublin Summercove, Co. Cork
  • Toe Head, Co. Cork
  • Tory Island, Co. Donegal
  • Tramore, Co. Waterford
  • Waterville, Co. Kerry
  • Westport, Co. Mayo
  • Wicklow
  • Youghal, Co. Cork

Sources: Department of Transport © Afloat 2020