#Diving - The Irish Underwater Council (CFT) reports the "huge success" of the 22nd annual Dive Ireland expo in Athlone at the weekend.

The two-day event at the Hodson Bay Hotel welcomed "speakers from near and far as well as photography workshops and a fully loaded international trade fair" - not to mention the CFT National Dive Conference and AGM.

Ahead of the expo, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan commented on the role of SCUBA clubs and diving centres in Ireland's national tourism infrastructure in promoting this country's dive sites.

In the foreword to the recently published Warships, U-boats and Liners, he also wrote of the Government's commitment to developing its archive of wrecks in Irish waters.

“With the support of responsible dive centres and local dive clubs ... these wrecks can be explored now and into the distant future by visitors from home and abroad.”

According to the CFT, local authorities are also starting to recognise the importance of developing aquatic activities to encourage tourism.

One example is Mayo County Council's Blue Ways list of swimming and snorkelling sites along the county's coast, which complements its Green Ways walking trails.

The council also highlighted the importance of heritage among Ireland's diving community, and their role in discoveries such as the Viking-era swords retrieved from the River Shannon near Banagher last autumn, as the Offaly Independent reports.

#Lifeboats - RTÉ News has a video report on a memorial to lives lost on the Shannon recently installed at the location of Lough Ree's new lifeboat station.

Relatives of those lost to the waterway spoke of their appreciation for the setting up of the new search and rescue base for the mid-Shannon after a decade of campaigning.

As reported on Afloat.ie last July, the RNLI's 44th lifeboat station in Ireland - located at Coosan Point in Athlone - Co Westmeath, has been welcomed as a search and rescue asset on Lough Ree and the Shannon.

Some €150,000 has been invested in the temporary facilities, from which volunteers operate the B class Atlantic 75 lifeboat Dorothy Mary, on a year-long trial basis.

According to RNLI Lough Ree's Matt Harte, the new station was among the busiest in Ireland last year, with up to 20 call-outs in its six months of operation thus far.

#Diving - The Dive Ireland expo heads to Athlone in 2013 with a full weekend of speakers, exhibits and workshops for divers and snorkelers of all levels.

This year's hosts at the Athlone Sub Aqua Club have announced details of the 22nd-annual dive show from 2-3 March 2013 at the Hodson Bay Hotel, which also doubles as the AGM for the Irish Underwater Council (CFT).

Speakers lined up for this year include renowned wreck diver Barry McGill, cave divers Jim Warney and Jason Masterson, limit-pushing free diver Feargus Callaghy and snorkelling advocate Victor Kutischev, as well as representatives from marine wildlife conservation group Sea Shepherd.

Just like last year, Dive Ireland 2013 will also feature a wide array of exhibitors to cater for all types of diver interests - and entry for each day costs just €5.

The Athlone Sub Aqua Club has more details on the Dive Ireland 2013 programme HERE.

Powerboaters have been asked to heed their wash when passing vessels under sail. The request comes on the eve of the Shannon One Design (SOD) long distance race. SODs will race from Athlone lock to Banagher harbour on Sat the 25th and from Banagher to Portumna bridge on Sun 26th.

This year's Lough Ree International Pike Angling Festival will also play host to the Pike World Cup in Athlone, Co Westmeath, from 13-15 April.

The current festival format remains unchanged, but The Irish Times reports that the Pike World Cup will go to the boat with the longest total length of pike over three days of fishing, counting one fish each day.

The tournament - with total prize money of €28,000 up for grabs - is open to all anglers, though there is a maximum entry limit of 100 boats, or 200 anglers.

For more details visit pikefishinginireland.com or contact Dave Houghton at 071 964 2743.

Lakeside marina are getting on with improvements, recession or not. It's out with the old and in with the new in Athlone as Lakeside on the inland waterways extends and removes all older jetties and replaces them with state of the art jetties, electrics and lighting.
The Athlone and Lough Ree area has always been a preferred choice for moorings, even more so recently as its proximity to Dublin, connected by motorway is only an hour away.
When the project is finished in May 2011, Lakeside marina will have modern facilities for 150 boats, indoor winter facilities for 50 boats, lift-out for up to 50 tons, its own transport company, on-site chandlery, on-site Clubhouse and full mechanical and technical back-up.

People are being advised to mind their pets on South Lough Ree as a toxic algae is present in the water of this inland waterway. Westmeath Co Co is putting up warning signs in the area after a recent occurrence of a toxic algae bloom poisoned a dog.
Westmeath County Council is warning people about the dangers of the algae for animals which forms during spells of dry weather with little or no wind.
Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran told the Westmeath Independent that the dog's owner approached both himself and the council to alert them to the danger and said it was a tragic thing to happen any pet lover. The man had also been swimming, but was not affected by the algae.