Displaying items by tag: Kongsberg

9th April 2014

Celtic Voyager Gets New Multibeam Sonar System Fitted at Killybegs Shipyard

#multibeam – A new multibeam sonar system fitted to the Marine Institute's Research Vessel Celtic Voyager will allow a new level of detail of seabed features to be captured during important mapping surveys around our coast.

It will greatly increase the capability of the vessel to acquire seabed bathymetry data as part of the INFOMAR seabed mapping program and other projects.

See how the new sonar operates in the promo vid below.

The new EM2040 system will be the primary mapping tool during upcoming INFOMAR survey operations offshore County Galway, Clare, and West Cork, extending the Irish seabed coverage around our coast.

This seabed mapping activity will support ocean energy development and fisheries management, and provide improved navigation for safe shipping and transport.

It was successfully installed onboard the RV Celtic Voyager during a recent dry docking in Killybegs, Co. Donegal.

The EM2040 system which was purchased from Kongsberg Maritime was installed on the vessel at the Department of Marine shipyard in Killybegs by P&O Maritime with the assistance of Mooney Boats of Killybegs.

This system replaces an older system which has been in use since 2000.

Published in Marine Science

Tagged under

The Kingstown to Queenstown Yacht Race or 'K2Q', previously the Fastnet 450

The Organising Authority ("OA") are ISORA & SCORA in association with The National Yacht Club & The Royal Cork Yacht Club.

The Kingstown to Queenstown Race (K2Q Race) is a 260-mile offshore race that will start in Dun Laoghaire (formerly Kingstown), around the famous Fastnet Rock and finish in Cork Harbour at Cobh (formerly Queenstown).

The K2Q race follows from the successful inaugural 'Fastnet 450 Race' that ran in 2020 when Ireland was in the middle of the COVID Pandemic. It was run by the National Yacht Club, and the Royal cork Yacht Club were both celebrating significant anniversaries. The clubs combined forces to mark the 150th anniversary of the National Yacht Club and the 300th (Tricentenary) of the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Of course, this race has some deeper roots. In 1860 the first-ever ocean yacht race on Irish Waters was held from Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) to Queenstown (now Cobh).

It is reported that the winner of the race was paid a prize of £15 at the time, and all competing boats got a bursary of 10/6 each. The first race winner was a Schooner Kingfisher owned by Cooper Penrose Esq. The race was held on July 14th 1860, and had sixteen boats racing.

In 2022, the winning boat will be awarded the first prize of a cheque for €15 mounted and framed and a Trophy provided by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club in the world.

The 2022 race will differ from the original course because it will be via the Fastnet Rock, so it is a c. 260m race, a race distance approved by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club as an AZAB qualifier.

A link to an Afloat article written by WM Nixon for some history on this original race is here.

The aim is to develop the race similarly to the Dun Laoghaire–Dingle Race that runs in alternate years.

Fastnet 450 in 2020

The South Coast of Ireland Racing Association, in association with the National Yacht Club on Dublin Bay and the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork, staged the first edition of this race from Dun Laoghaire to Cork Harbour via the Fastnet Rock on August 22nd 2020.

The IRC race started in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday, August 22nd 2020. It passed the Muglin, Tuscar, Conningbeg and Fastnet Lighthouses to Starboard before returning to Cork Harbour and passing the Cork Buoy to Port, finishing when Roches's Point bears due East. The course was specifically designed to be of sufficient length to qualify skippers and crew for the RORC Fastnet Race 2021.