Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Co Fermanagh

#RESCUE - Four people were rescued on Lough Erne yesterday after their motor cruiser ran aground in the second such incident in a week, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

All on board were retrieved by RNLI lifeboat from the 29ft cruiser, which is believed to have stranded on rocks beyond the marked channel of the lough.

No injuries or damage to the vessel were reported, with a Northern Ireland Coastguard spokesperson describing it as "a routine rescue".

The coastguard blamed low water levels in the lough caused by lack of rainfall in Co Fermanagh.

Waterways Ireland has posted a marine notice warning boat users of the risks posed by "the extended period of unseasonal dry weather" for Ireland's inland waterways.

In a similar incident last Friday, three adults and two children were rescued from a cruiser that stranded in shallow water on the lough.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

Published in Rescue
Elaine 'Shooter' Alexander will be giving a public talk on her remarkable circumnavigation of Ireland by kayak in Co Fermanagh next month.
During the summer Afloat.ie tracked Shooter's progress as she battled against the elements to complete the round-Ireland route in 71 days - becoming the first woman to circumnavigate the island solo by kayak.
The Ulster woman had been training for over a year for the challenge, which was intended to raise funds for the Fermanagh-based SHARE, a charity that brings together disabled and non-disabled people in arts and outdoor-based activities.
On Saturday 22 October Shooter will be at the SHARE Centre in Lisnaskea to give a presentation and audio/visual show about her journey, followed by a question and answer session.
There will also be a meet-and-greet opportunity, as well as a chance to see the gear that she used on her epic voyage.
Tickets are priced at £7 for adults, £4 for children/OAPs/students/concessions, and £15 for a family ticket (2 adults/2 children). Special B&B rates of £15 for adults and £10 for children are also available for those who want to make a night of it.
For all booking enquiries please contact [email protected].

Elaine 'Shooter' Alexander will be giving a public talk on her remarkable circumnavigation of Ireland by kayak in Co Fermanagh next month.

During the summer Afloat.ie tracked Shooter's progress as she battled against the elements to complete the round-Ireland route in 71 days - becoming the first woman to circumnavigate the island solo by kayak.

The Ulster woman had been training for over a year for the challenge, which was intended to raise funds for the Fermanagh-based SHARE, a charity that brings together disabled and non-disabled people in arts and outdoor-based activities.

On Saturday 22 October Shooter will be at the SHARE Centre in Lisnaskea to give a presentation and audio/visual show about her journey, followed by a question and answer session. 

There will also be a meet-and-greet opportunity, as well as a chance to see the gear that she used on her epic voyage.
Tickets are priced at £7 for adults, £4 for children/OAPs/students/concessions, and £15 for a family ticket (2 adults/2 children).

Special B&B rates of £15 for adults and £10 for children are also available for those who want to make a night of it.

For all booking enquiries please contact [email protected].

Published in Kayaking
A new inter-agency response to the rising levels of invasive weed growth on Lough Erne has been launched.
The Lough Erne Invasive Species Group (LEISG) brings together Fermanagh District Council, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), Waterways Ireland, the UK's Departments of Culture, Arts and Leisure, and Agriculture and Rural Development, among others, to tackle the threat posed by the invasive Nuttall's Pondweed.
LEISG says the weed has survived the winter "in significant quantities", and the potential for its rapid spread poses a serious concern for tourism and leisure on Co Fermanagh.
The group has recommended harvesting and weed-cutting as the most effective method to control Nuttall's Pondweed where it may interfere with main channels and access to public amenities.
Management of water levels has also been identified as playing a role in future control of the weed.
Anyone wishing to assist in weed-cutting must contract the NIEA through www.nidirect.gov.uk for permission. More information on invasive species is available at www.invasivespeciesireland.com.

A new inland waterways inter-agency response to the rising levels of invasive weed growth on Lough Erne has been launched.

The Lough Erne Invasive Species Group (LEISG) brings together Fermanagh District Council, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), Waterways Ireland, the UK's Departments of Culture, Arts and Leisure, and Agriculture and Rural Development, among others, to tackle the threat posed by the invasive Nuttall's Pondweed.

LEISG says the weed has survived the winter "in significant quantities", and the potential for its rapid spread poses a serious concern for tourism and leisure on Co Fermanagh.

The group has recommended harvesting and weed-cutting as the most effective method to control Nuttall's Pondweed where it may interfere with main channels and access to public amenities.

Management of water levels has also been identified as playing a role in future control of the weed.

Anyone wishing to assist in weed-cutting must contract the NIEA through www.nidirect.gov.uk for permission. More information on invasive species is available at www.invasivespeciesireland.com.

Published in Inland Waterways
1st December 2009

Lisnaskea Boat Club

Lisnaskea Boat Club

Lisnaskea Boat Clu, Derryad, Lisnaskea, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh BT92 0B, N. Ireland. Tel: 028 677 21895

Have we got your club details? Click here to get involved

Published in Clubs

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual offshore yacht racing event with an increasingly international exposure attracting super maxi yachts and entries from around tne world. It is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km).

The 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starts in Sydney Harbour at 1pm (AEDT) on Monday 26 December.

This is the 77th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart. The inaugural race was conducted in 1945 and has run every year since, apart from 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

88 boats started the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, with 50 finishing.

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - FAQs

The number of Sydney Hobart Yacht Races held by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia since 1945 is 75

6,257 completed the Sydney Hobart Yacht race, 1036 retired or were disqualified)

About 60,061 sailors have competed in the Sydney Hobart Race between 1945 and 2019

Largest fleets: 371 starters in the 50th race in 1994 (309 finished); 154 starters in 1987 (146 finished); 179 starters in 1985 (145 finished); 151 starters in 1984 (46 finished); 173 started in 1983 (128 finished); 159 started in 1981 (143 finished); 147 started in 1979 (142 finished); 157 started in 2019 (154 finished)

116 in 2004 (59 finished); 117 in 2014 (103 finished); 157 in 2019 (154 finished)

Nine starters in the inaugural Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1945

In 2015 and 2017 there were 27, including the 12 Clipper yachts (11 in 2017). In the record entry of 371 yachts in the 50th in 1994, there were 24 internationals

Rani, Captain John Illingworth RN (UK). Design: Barber 35’ cutter. Line and handicap winner

157 starters, 154 finishers (3 retirements)

IRC Overall: Ichi Ban, a TP52 owned by Matt Allen, NSW. Last year’s line honours winner: Comanche, Verdier Yacht Design and VPLP (FRA) owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, in 1 day 18 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds. Just 1hour 58min 32secs separated the five super maxis at the finish 

1 day 9 hours 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set in 2017 by LDV Comanche after Wild Oats XI was penalised one hour in port/starboard incident for a finish time of 1d 9h 48m 50s

The oldest ever sailor was Syd Fischer (88 years, 2015).

As a baby, Raud O'Brien did his first of some six Sydney Hobarts on his parent's Wraith of Odin (sic). As a veteran at three, Raud broke his arm when he fell off the companionway steps whilst feeding biscuits to the crew on watch Sophie Tasker sailed the 1978 race as a four-year-old on her father’s yacht Siska, which was not an official starter due to not meeting requirements of the CYCA. Sophie raced to Hobart in 1979, 1982 and 1983.

Quite a number of teenage boys and girls have sailed with their fathers and mothers, including Tasmanian Ken Gourlay’s 14-year-old son who sailed on Kismet in 1957. A 12-year-old boy, Travis Foley, sailed in the fatal 1998 race aboard Aspect Computing, which won PHS overall.

In 1978, the Brooker family sailed aboard their yacht Touchwood – parents Doug and Val and their children, Peter (13), Jacqueline (10), Kathryne (8) and Donald (6). Since 1999, the CYCA has set an age limit of 18 for competitors

Jane (‘Jenny’) Tate, from Hobart, sailed with her husband Horrie aboard Active in the 1946 Race, as did Dagmar O’Brien with her husband, Dr Brian (‘Mick’) O’Brien aboard Connella. Unfortunately, Connella was forced to retire in Bass Strait, but Active made it to the finish. The Jane Tate Memorial Trophy is presented each year to the first female skipper to finish the race

In 2019, Bill Barry-Cotter brought Katwinchar, built in 1904, back to the start line. She had competed with a previous owner in 1951. It is believed she is the oldest yacht to compete. According to CYCA life member and historian Alan Campbell, more than 31 yachts built before 1938 have competed in the race, including line honours winners Morna/Kurrewa IV (the same boat, renamed) and Astor, which were built in the 1920s.

Bruce Farr/Farr Yacht Design (NZL/USA) – can claim 20 overall wins from 1976 (with Piccolo) up to and including 2015 (with Balance)

Screw Loose (1979) – LOA 9.2m (30ft); Zeus II (1981) LOA 9.2m

TKlinger, NSW (1978) – LOA 8.23m (27ft)

Wild Oats XI (2012) – LOA 30.48m (100ft). Wild Oats XI had previously held the record in 2005 when she was 30m (98ft)

©Afloat 2020