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Displaying items by tag: Mentawai Islands

#Surfing - A South African surfer has survived a terrifying ordeal after being stranded alone in shark-infested waters in the Indian Ocean.

As Channel 4 News reports, 50-year-old Brett Archibald had been with friends on an overnight boat crossing from mainland Indonesia to the surfing grounds of the Mentawai Islands when he blacked out from seasickness and fell overboard in rough weather.

Unfortunately for Archibald, his friends were either asleep or suffering from seasickness themselves below deck, and several hours passed before he was noticed missing.

In the meantime, he was stranded alone in the water, surrounded by sharks and jellyfish and attacked by seagulls.

Archibald described his 28 hours adrift at sea as "insane" and said he nearly drowned eight times, but he continued to swim and tread water while, unbeknownst to him, rescue services were being mobilised for a large-scale search operation.

Channel 4 News has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Surfing

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Irish Sailing & Boating

Since restrictions began in March 2020, the Government is preparing for a 'controlled and gradual return to sport' and the 2020 sailing fixtures are being tentatively redrafted by yacht clubs, rowing clubs angling and diving clubs across Ireland as the country enters a new phase in dealing with the Coronavirus. The hope is that a COVID-19 restrictions might be eased by May 5th as Sport Ireland has asked national governing bodies for information on the challenges they face. 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called coronavirus.

To help stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) everyone has been asked to stay at home. But some people may need to do more than this.

You may need to either:

You do these things to stop other people from getting coronavirus.

Read advice for people in at-risk groups

Read advice about cocooning.

Restricted movements

Everybody in Ireland has been asked to stay at home. You should only go out for a few reasons, such as shopping for food.

But you need to restrict your movements further if you: 

  • live with someone who has symptoms of coronavirus, but you feel well
  • are a close contact of a confirmed case of coronavirus
  • have returned to Ireland from another country

You need to restrict your movements for at least 14 days.

But if the person you live with has had a test and it is negative, you don't need to wait 14 days. You should still follow the advice for everyone - stay at home as much as possible.

Close contact

This is only a guide but close contact can mean:

  • spending more than 15 minutes of face-to-face contact within 2 metres of an infected person
  • living in the same house or shared accommodation as an infected person

How to restrict your movements 

Follow the advice for everybody - stay at home.