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Displaying items by tag: Lough Ramor

#IrishMarinas - The official opening of the new Ramor Watersports Club Marina will take place this Saturday 30 November.

Cavan county manager Jack Keys will handle the official duties from 2pm at the new marina facility on the shores of Lough Ramor, in front of the Lakeside Manor Hotel in Virginia.

The €300,000 marina development was completed late last month, according to the Anglo-Celt, and features 30 secure berths - eight of which are open to visiting tourists.

In addition the marina will house two 16ft Wayfarer salmon boats that will be used by club members, and for sail training classes on the lough next summer.

And it's expected that the new marina will provide a gateway to the lough for a broad range of watersports activity beyond boating from kitesurfing to diving to angling.

Made possible through leader funding of €200,000 and sponsorship, the marina's costs are not yet fully covered and the Ramor Watersports Club (RWC) still needs to meet the difference of some €60,000 over the next five years.

To this end it plans a series of fundraising events that will be advertised via the club's Facebook page and local media.

"We really look forward to exciting times ahead, when the current Virginia Town Harbour Project is restored, to encourage boat traffic all around the lake," said RWC chair John Wilson.

Published in Irish Marinas
Tagged under

#Angling - A new record has been set by the Dublin Angling Initiative with 16-year-old Eric Cahill catching a fish of a lifetime - a 12lb ferox trout from Lough Ramor in Virginia, Co Cavan.

This is the biggest fish ever caught by a youngster out angling with the Dublin Angling Initiative (DAI).

The fishing trip for a group of 10 young anglers was organised for Mulhuddart Foróige Fishing to Lough Ramor by Des Chew of the DAI in March.

Following an introduction by Des on the setting up of rods, rigs and bait presentation, the youngsters were soon fishing for roach, hybrids and perch with others choosing to fish for pike.

Great fun was being had by the group who were catching and releasing lots of coarse fish.


Meanwhile, Eric patiently waited for a pike to take his smelt deadbait. He signalled for assistance when his rod tip nodded indicating a take. Under the guidance of Des Chew and Chris McGregor, he was instructed to knock his bale arm over so this cagey fish would feel no resistance.

Suddenly there was a short run and Eric struck. It was obvious he had a big fish on. When the fish drew close, the golden-spotted body revealed that Eric was now playing a fish of a lifetime and maybe the first specimen caught by a DAI angler.

The fish was landed amid great excitement by the kids, youth workers and a crowd of local anglers alike.

Before release it was weighed on certified scales, and laid out and measured on an Inland Fisheries Ireland measuring mat. It reached a length of over 80cm and weighed in at over 12 lbs.

There was jubilation among Eric and his peers as Des announced that he had just caught the first specimen from over 10,000 teenagers who have participated in DAI courses over the last 15 years.

If this fish is ratified by the Irish Specimen Fish Committee it will also be the first specimen recorded from Lough Ramor.

Eric Cahill has been a member of Mulhuddart Foróige Fishing in west Dublin since he has been 10 years of age. During that time the DAI says he has always shown unique ability to listen and learn angling skills from his tutors.

He has attended numerous fishing courses in game, coarse and sea fishing run by the DAI with his Foróige youth officers, Bernie Moloney and Siobhan Hennessy.

According to Inland Fisheries Ireland, this was truly a very proud moment for Eric and the Dublin Angling Initiative, whose members now have a new record to beat!

Published in Angling
A lifejacket was key to saving a youg boy's life when he was thrown from his boat in Lough Ramor on Sunday afternoon.
The 14-year-old was the sole occupant of a RIB on the Co Cavan lough, and had failed to secure the emergency engine stop cord to his body before he went overboard. But his lifejacket kept him afloat while a passer-by raised the alarm.
SAR Ireland reports that Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 was dispatched from Dublin in response, but was stood down when the boat owner, who has been contacted by gardaí, was able to rescue the youngster.

A lifejacket was key to saving a youg boy's life when he was thrown from his boat in Lough Ramor on Sunday afternoon.

The 14-year-old was the sole occupant of a RIB on the Co Cavan lough, and had failed to secure the emergency engine stop cord to his body before he went overboard.

But his lifejacket kept him afloat while a passer-by raised the alarm.

SAR Ireland reports that Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 was dispatched from Dublin in response, but was stood down when the boat owner, who has been contacted by gardaí, was able to rescue the youngster.

Published in Rescue

About the Golden Globe Race

The Golden Globe Race is the original round the world yacht race. In 1968, while man was preparing to take his first steps on the moon, a mild mannered and modest young man was setting out on his own record breaking voyage of discovery. Off shore yacht racing changed forever with adventurers and sailors, inspired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, following in his pioneering wake. Nine men started the first solo non-stop sailing race around the World. Only one finished. History was made. Navigating with a sextant, paper charts and an accurate and reliable time piece, Sir Robin navigated around the world. In 2018, to celebrate 50 years since that first record breaking achievement, the Golden Globe Race was resurrected. It instantly caught the attention of the worlds media as well as adventures, captivated by the spirit and opportunity. The original race is back.

The Golden Globe Race: Stepping back to the golden age of solo sailing

Like the original Sunday Times event back in 1968/9, the 2018 Golden Globe Race was very simple. Depart Les Sables d'Olonne, France on July 1st 2018 and sail solo, non-stop around the world, via the five Great Capes and return to Les Sables d'Olonne. Entrants are limited to use the same type of yachts and equipment that were available to Robin Knox-Johnston in that first race. That means sailing without modern technology or benefit of satellite-based navigation aids.

Competitors must sail in production boats between 32ft and 36ft overall (9.75 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 and having a full-length keel with rudder attached to their trailing edge. These yachts will be heavily built, strong and steady, similar in concept to Robin's 32ft vessel Suhaili.

In contrast to the current professional world of elite ocean racing, this edition travels back to a time known as the 'Golden Age' of solo sailing. Suhaili was a slow and steady 32ft double-ended ketch based on a William Atkins ERIC design. She is heavily built of teak and carried no computers, GPS, satellite phone nor water-maker, and Robin completed the challenge without the aid of modern-day shore-based weather routing advice. He had only a wind-up chronometer and a barograph to face the world alone, and caught rainwater to survive, but was at one with the ocean, able to contemplate and absorb all that this epic voyage had to offer.

This anniversary edition of the Golden Globe Race is a celebration of the original event, the winner, his boat and that significant world-first achievement. Competitors in this race will be sailing simple boats using basic equipment to guarantee a satisfying and personal experience. The challenge is pure and very raw, placing the adventure ahead of winning at all costs. It is for 'those who dare', just as it was for Knox-Johnston.

They will be navigating with sextant on paper charts, without electronic instruments or autopilots. They will hand-write their logs and determine the weather for themselves.

Only occasionally will they talk to loved ones and the outside world when long-range high frequency and ham radios allow.

It is now possible to race a monohull solo around the world in under 80 days, but sailors entered in this race will spend around 300 days at sea, challenging themselves and each other. The 2018 Golden Globe Race was a fitting tribute to the first edition and it's winner, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

Background on Don McIntyre (61) Race Founder

Don is an inveterate sailor and recognised as one of Australia s greatest explorers. Passionate about all forms of adventure and inspiring others, his desire is to recreate the Golden Age of solo sailing. Don finished 2nd in class in the 1990-91 BOC Challenge solo around the world yacht race. In 2010, he led the 4-man Talisker Bounty Boat challenge to re-enact the Mutiny on the Bounty voyage from Tonga to West Timor, in a simil