Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Irish Sailing

The winter evenings are dark, Christmas is coming and the long hot summer of 2018 has passed. While personally, I am already looking forward to the 2019 season, there are many sailors still enjoying racing in various winter leagues around the country. Fun sailing at this time of year is proving very popular time for our sport.

Taking up where my last blog left off: In August we hosted the second Watersports Inclusion Games in Galway and I’m delighted that the Games won “Project of the Year” at the Cara National Inclusion Awards.

Our Performance Teams had a successful summer, bringing home three world medals. Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove won gold at the U23 49er World Championships in Marseilles in September. Liam Glynn took bronze at the U21 Laser World Championships in Gdynia, Poland; and Tom Higgins won silver at the U17 Radial Youth World Championships in Kiel. Both Finn Lynch and Aoife Hopkins made Gold Fleet at the World Championships. Our next chance to qualify for the Olympics is July 2019. Good luck to all involved!

The Performance HQ units, (funded by the Irish Sailing Foundation) arrived at the end of October at their Irish Lights site in Dun Laoghaire and will be fully operational for the Senior and Development teams in the New Year.

The Irish Sailing All Ireland Senior Championship took place in October at Lough Ree Yacht Club. Close racing over two days resulted in the Helmsman’s Silver Salver being won by SB20 nominee and former Olympian Peter Kennedy (Strangford Lough YC). The Junior All Irelands were held a week earlier at the Royal St George YC, and won by Atlee Kohl (RCYC). Watch the videos here on the Irish Sailing YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/2Dxb8jb

Other highlights this summer included the SB20 European Championships held in August in Dun Laoghaire where Michael O’Connor (RStGYC) finished third. The Laser Master World Championships in September saw 301 boats from 25 countries take over Dun Laoghaire for a week. Mark Lyttle finished first in the Grand Master Class. Also competing was Shirley Gilmore, Ireland’s only female competitor. One of our regular “Sailing Hero” articles was dedicated to Shirley here: http://bit.ly/2A89WiY

Some of the projects and programmes will impact sailors. Twenty-three Clubs are actively engaged in our Club Coaching Programme. The response has been very positive and reaffirms our belief that there is a strong cohort of coaches in the country who want to formalise their training and receive the recognition they deserve in the form of official qualification.

We are still pursuing a number of regulatory issues including ICCs, Green Diesel, Small Craft Register, Passenger Boat licencing, and VHF licencing and are we actively engaged on the advisory committee of the Government’s Marine Spatial Planning group.

The Club Symposium in early 2018 hosted by Irish Sailing saw 30 clubs from around the country represented. Discussions centred on social media, communications, marketing, and learnings from individual clubs on their successes and challenges. These discussions resulted in an action plan for Irish Sailing, and we’ve spent time this year implementing changes triggered by this.

The Race Officials Policy Group alongside an active volunteer base ran several courses in all key disciplines of race official management during the year with over 100 attendees. Having qualified specialists in all areas raises the standard of event delivery, which ensures top-class racing for sailors.

Dates for your diary

The Volvo Irish Sailing Awards: 

February 8th, RDS, Dublin.

2019 Irish Sailing AGM: 

March 30th. Venue tbc. 

Published in ISA
Tagged under

Colm Barrington has formally stepped down as chair of Irish Sailing’s Olympic Steering Group, as The Irish Times reports.

Greencore chief executive Patrick Coveney will succeed in the role that Barrington announced he would leave after the Rio 2016 games, at which Annalise Murphy won silver for Ireland in the Laser Radial.

Barrington — who says he considers Annalise’s medal win the high point of his 12-year tenure — was elected as first vice president of the Olympic Council of Ireland in February last year.

His successor, brother of Tánaiste Simon Coveney, is no stranger to the water as a member of the Royal Cork Yacht Club. The family previously owned a round-the-word One Tonner, Golden Apple. Coveney was a keen Enterprise dinghy helmsman sailing from Crosshaven in the 1980s.

Barrington told the newspaper that while there is a good system to bring young sailors through to international competition there is "a long way to go".

Not least are the current funding issues facing the new Chairman that led to the recent shut down of the 420 Academy, Optimist squad and Topper squads.

The senior team has also been refocussing with just under 600 days to Tokyo 2020 where Irish boats have yet to qualify.

Published in ISA

The second annual Watersports Inclusion Games, organised by Irish Sailing, won Project of the Year at the National Inclusion Awards last night hosted by CARA and Sport Ireland.

The National Inclusion Awards highlight the excellent work of people and organisations who enhance participation opportunities for people with disabilities in Sport and Physical Activity.

A delighted Johanne Murphy, Irish Sailing Watersports Inclusion Games Officer commented: “this is a tremendous achievement and is down to the amazing committee and awesome volunteer team that we had at the event, and of course our wonderful participants”. 

Three watersports national governing bodies (Canoeing Ireland, Rowing Ireland and Irish Sailing) and partner organisations came together to put on the Games, which are now an annual event attracting people from all abilities on the physical, sensory, intellectual and learning difficulty spectrums. The two-day event aims to show both participants and their families, as well as people who organise watersport events, that everyone can get out onto the water. 

Next year’s Watersports Inclusion Games will be held in Cork, so watch out for more details on the Irish Sailing website. Watch the Watersports Inclusion Games on the Irish Sailing YouTube channel here

Irish Sailing was also awarded the Irish Water Safety Award for Community and Social Responsibility yesterday in recognition of the support given to Irish Water Safety Community Work.

Published in ISA
Tagged under

Earlier this summer Irish Sailing asked boat owners for their experiences of sailing their boats abroad, registering on the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport’s Part 1 Register, registering with other flag states and more.

Now the governing body for sailing in Ireland is requesting a meeting with the department and would like to ensure that its members’ collective voice is heard.

Irish Sailing says it has been representing the interests of its membership in representations to the department on a number of occasions in the past, campaigning for a statutory small craft register to be established for recreational craft travelling abroad.

“A registration system that is voluntary, appropriate, accessible, affordable and easy to obtain, as exists in many other European states” is what Irish Sailing is advocating for.

The department committed in the Maritime Safety Strategy 2015-2019 to start work on developing such a registration system in 2017 and encourage recreational craft under 24m to register in 2018. However, there is still no sign of it.

Irish Sailing says it has been told firmly that in the interim the current Part 1 register used for commercial shipping is available and fit for purpose for recreational craft, which is contrary to anecdotal feedback it has received to date from boat owners.

To be part of this representation, please share your experience directly by email to [email protected] before next Tuesday 20 November.

Published in ISA

There are three sailing finalists in the 2018 Cara National Inclusion Awards and confirms that sailing really is a “Sport for All”.

Irish Sailing’s incredibly successful Watersports Inclusion Games, hosted in Galway this year, is a finalist for the 2018 Project of the Year.

East coast club, Bray Sailing Club have been shortlisted for 2018 Best Inclusive Club of the Year and Sail Training Ireland for Youth Development in the Adventure category.

In 2015 Irish Sailing was awarded Best Inclusive National Governing Body and in 2017 Donal Hickey of Kinsale Yacht Club and Sailability won Volunteer of the year for his region.

Full 2018 nomination details are here.

Irish Sailing currently awaits formal approval for Watersports Inclusion Games for 2019. The Association plans to build on the success of the past events and their focus for 2019 is making sailing available for all and clubs including supporting volunteers to facilitate sharing the joys of sailing.

If you would like to find out more about inclusion in sailing then you can contact Irish Sailing National Inclusion Officer, Ciarán Murphy, on [email protected]

Published in ISA
Tagged under

#YouthSailing - The Royal Cork Yacht Club will host next year’s Irish Sailing Youth Pathway Championships, it has been announced.

The dates to save are 25-28 April 2019 when Ireland’s largest youth regatta comes to the world’s oldest yacht club.

It is also Irish Sailing’s primary talent-spotting event of the year — so is a must for budding high performance sailors looking to match the performance of Tralee Bay’s Justin Lucas at this year’s championships.

Published in Youth Sailing

Irish Sailing is seeking expression of interest from Irish sailing clubs to host the inaugural Women at the Helm Regatta next summer, as well as subsequent events in 2020 and 2021.

The debut regatta is set for two days in August for women with their own dinghies for PY sailing, as well as a keelboat competition.

More than 100 participants from age 14 up are expected to take part in the inaugural event.

“There has been tremendous interest in attending this event nationally and is set to be a fantastic celebration of women’s sailing and a great opportunity to encourage more women to take the helm,” Irish Sailing says.

Clubs with an interest in hosting the event are invited to contact Gail MacAllister at [email protected].

Published in ISA

Mark the first weekend in November on your calendar for Irish Sailing’s upcoming seminar for prospective race umpires.

The two-day course on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 November at the Royal St George in Dun Laoghaire provides the first step towards gaining an Irish Sailing race umpire qualification.

Guided by instructors Chris Lindsay and Cxema Pico, you will be introduced to the basics of team race umpiring, as well as how to make decisions in real time on the water, and will cover the relevant theory to apply.

Those who feel ready will also have an opportunity to sit the National Umpire exam — while all will be invited to the Irish Team Racing Nationals on 17-18 November to put what they’ve gleaned from the seminar into practice.

No previous experience as an umpire is required or this course, but a powerboat certificate (for piloting RIBs) and VHF licence are required, and experience or knowledge of team racing would be helpful.

More details are available from the Facebook event page HERE.

Published in How To Sail
Tagged under

Irish Sailing’s Cork-based course for senior instructors has been rescheduled for two weekends in Oysterhaven this November.

The course will now run on Friday 2 to Sunday 4 and Friday 9 to Sunday 11 November, with the Friday session each weekend running in the evenings from 5pm to 9pm.

Booking for the Cork senior instructor course is open till Friday 19 October and the fee is €330.

Full details on the course are available from the Irish Sailing website.

Published in How To Sail
Tagged under

#HowToSail - Looking to escape to the sea and learn the ropes of how to crew or be a day skipper offshore?

This October Bank Holiday weekend, the West Cork Sailing and Powerboating Centre will host five days of clinics from Saturday 27 to Wednesday 31 October, organised by Wild Atlantic Wildlife in tandem with Bantry Bay Sailing Club and sailed on the 37ft Jessy of Adrigole.

The competent crew introductory course is for those looking to experience being at the elm, helping with the sails, dealing with ropes, learning about being safe on the water and generally being a useful hand on deck.

For more advanced sailors with at least five days on a yacht (100 nautical miles and four-plus night hours), the Irish Sailing Day Skipper practical certification course will be more useful — designed to teach you to take charge safely and confidently.

Spaces are limited for these courses, priced at €500 saying or €800 solo in your own private cabin. The cost includes foul weather gear and lifejacket (you’ll have to bring our own footwear, sleeping bag and pillow), mooring and marina fees, fuel, breakfast and lunch, and one evening meal aboard.

For more details see the Wild Atlantic Wildlife website HERE.

Published in West Cork
Tagged under
Page 10 of 15

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