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#MARINE SCIENCE - Galway will celebrate European Researchers’ Night on Friday 28 September together with 320 cities around Europe with its latest Sea2Sky event.

Sea2Sky, organised by NUI Galway in collaboration with the Marine Institute, Galway Atlantaquaria and its new partner CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork, will showcase science on the grandest of scales themed around marine science, atmospherics and astronomy.   

The main events will be held at the Galway Bay Hotel, Leisureland and Galway Atlantaquaria, with events also taking place in CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork.  

“Irish researchers are involved in some huge European research projects, and this is an opportunity to share some of the most exciting elements with the public," said event organiser and NUI Galway physics lecturer Dr Andy Shearer.

"At third level, we have seen a surge in applications for science related courses and this event will be a real draw for anyone tempted by a career in science and research.”

Last year some 10,000 people came to the event, and the plan is for an even bigger event this year, with highlights including the CERN exhibit, 3D tours of the universe and tours of the aquarium. This year visitors can participate in experiments, competitions and quizzes, watch demonstrations and simulations, exchange ideas and get to know the researchers on the free family day. 

Among the showcase exhibits at the Marine Institute will be the ROV Holland 1 and a weather buoy. Scientists and technicians will be on hand to explain the work of their equipment and recent expeditions.

Inside, Marine Institute scientists will exhibit work relating to the marine environment (such as algal blooms), weather monitoring and oceanography, advanced mapping techniqyes, research vessel operations conducted by the R/V Celtic Voyager and R/V Celtic Explorer, and the Explorers Education Programme, which highlights the seashore as a vital teaching resource.

There will also be screenings throughout the day of a short film showing the newly discovered and previously uncharted field of hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge captured by Holland 1 last year.

Footage of the cold water corals and life under the sea at depths of 3,000 metres taken during the Biodiscovery and Ecosystem Survey of the Whittard Canyons will also be shown.

This year, Sea2Sky is linking up with the Galway Science Forum’s exhibition about the work of CERN – Accelerating Science. This exhibition, sponsored by Boston Scientific in partnership with NUI Galway, will show how CERN’s Large Hadron Collider can help us understand fundamental questions about the origins of the universe.   

For further details of the event, visit www.sea2sky.ie.

Published in Marine Science
Hundreds of experts will be showcasing their work in marine science, weather and astronomy in Galway next Friday 23 September, the Galway Advertiser reports.
The special family-oriented Sea2Sky event - organised by NUI Galway in tandem with the Marine Institute and Galway Atlantaquaria - aims to educate the public about the wonders around us, from Ireland's marine wildlife and habitats to the stars and solar system.
The two main venues at Galway Atlantaquaria and Leisureland in Salthill will host various scientific demonstrations on the day, while the promenade between the two will be lined with amateur astronomers and their telescopes.
One of the highlights is sure to be the chance to see the remote submarine used by scientists to explore hydrothermal vents in the north Atlantic this summer.
The full programme of events is abailable at www.sea2sky.ie.

Hundreds of experts will be showcasing their work in marine science, weather and astronomy in Galway next Friday 23 September, the Galway Advertiser reports.

The special family-oriented Sea2Sky event - organised by NUI Galway in tandem with the Marine Institute and Galway Atlantaquaria - aims to educate the public about the wonders around us, from Ireland's marine wildlife and habitats to the stars and solar system.

The two main venues at Galway Atlantaquaria and Leisureland in Salthill will host various scientific demonstrations on the day, while the promenade between the two will be lined with amateur astronomers and their telescopes.

One of the highlights is sure to be the chance to see the remote submarine used by scientists to explore hydrothermal vents in the north Atlantic this summer.

The full programme of events is abailable at www.sea2sky.ie.

Published in Marine Science

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