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#INLAND WATERWAYS - RTÉ News reports that An Bord Pleanála and NI Environment Minister Alex Attwood have granted planning permission for a new cross-border bridge spanning the River Newry near Carlingford Lough.

The single carriageway cable bridge will be 660 metres in length, with most of the funds required being sought from the EU`s €30 million fund for development in border regions. It is hoped to be completed and open to traffic by 2015.

The bridge will cross the river at Narrow Water, an area once notorious for an IRA ambush in 1979 that saw 18 British soldiers killed in a series of explosions.

It will also be able to open to allow tall ships and other vessels to access Victoria Lock and Albert Basin in nearby Newry.

Quoted in the Irish Independent is Pamela Arthurs, who helped lead the project on behalf of both Louth and Down county councils, who said the bridge was first mooted as far back as 1976.

"This has been a major project but it is not just about the fact that we will have a bridge, it is what it symbolises in how far we have come as a country," she said.

Minister Attwood also hailed the project as improving accessibility in a region of substantial natural beauty.

"It will be a great economic boost for the area, creating construction jobs in the short term, enhance tourism and promote greater community interaction across the border," he added.

The Irish Independent has more on the story HERE.

Published in Inland Waterways

#OYSTER FESTIVAL – The narrow medieval streets of Carlingford, Co. Louth will again be host to the annual Carlingford Oyster Festival, where an action packed festival runs for four days between 9-12th August.

The festival includes the oyster pearl hunt, a sailing regatta, the world crab fishing contest, street entertainment, an oyster tent, food stalls and artisan craft markets and the famous Carlingford seafood chowder.

Also the opportunity to go back in time on a guided Medieval Tour of Carlingford, where children can enjoy a treasure hunt on the shore of the scenic lough and exploring the shorelife and hidden treasures. The festival also has a magic show, face-painting, teddy bear's picnic, crab fishing, kayaking and cookery demonstrations will also keep them occupied.

Last but not least is the Morgan's Ocean Fresh Carlingford Oyster Pearl Competition held for ladies for more information visit www.carlingford.ie and also by clicking HERE.

Published in Maritime Festivals
#WEATHER - Met Éireann has issued a weather warning for the Irish Sea for the next 24 hours due to expected gale force westery winds.
A small craft warning has also been issued, with west to southwest winds continuing to reach force 6 tonight on the Irish coast from Carlingford Lough to Roches Point to Slyne Head.
The high winds marks the first wave of real winter weather after a milder-than-average November, the Evening Herald reports.
A forecaster told the paper that strong winds have "reached storm force on the Irish coasts from Belfast Lough to Wicklow Head to Mizen Head and on the Irish Sea.
"We expect that by tonight they will slightly drop but may still reach a strong gale force."

#WEATHER - Met Éireann has issued a weather warning for the Irish Sea for the next 24 hours due to expected gale force westery winds.

A small craft warning has also been issued, with west to southwest winds continuing to reach force 6 tonight on the Irish coast from Carlingford Lough to Roches Point to Slyne Head.

The high winds marks the first wave of real winter weather after a milder-than-average November, the Evening Herald reports.

A forecaster told the paper that strong winds have "reached storm force on the Irish coasts from Belfast Lough to Wicklow Head to Mizen Head and on the Irish Sea.

"We expect that by tonight they will slightly drop but may still reach a strong gale force."

Published in Weather
Police in Northern Ireland are investigating whether a body washed up on a Co Down beach is that of a kayaker who went missing on Carlingford Lough more than two weeks ago.
As previously reportd on Afloat.ie, area man Mark McGowan, 37, was last seen kayaking in the lough at 7.30pm on Monday 10 October.
His blue kayak was spotted by the Irish Coast Guard on 11 October at Killowen Point, on the north side of the lough.
A cross-border search and rescue operation was immediately launched but progress was hampered due to bad weather.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that a body was discovered on Cranfield Beach near Newry by a member of the public yesterday morning. Formal identification of the body has not yet taken place.
At the time of his disappearance, McGowan was described as 5'7" tall, medium build, with a clean shaven, tanned complexion and short bleached blonde hair. He was last seen wearing a red jacket, blue jeans and white trainers.
Police in Northern Ireland are investigating whether a body washed up on a Co Down beach is that of a kayaker who went missing on Carlingford Lough more than two weeks ago.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, area man Mark McGowan, 37, was last seen kayaking in the lough at 7.30pm on Monday 10 October.

His blue kayak was spotted by the Irish Coast Guard on 11 October at Killowen Point, on the north side of the lough.

A cross-border search and rescue operation was immediately launched but progress was hampered due to bad weather.

The Belfast Telegraph reports that a body was discovered on Cranfield Beach near Newry by a member of the public yesterday morning. Formal identification of the body has not yet taken place.

At the time of his disappearance, McGowan was described as 5'7" tall, medium build, with a clean shaven, tanned complexion and short bleached blonde hair. He was last seen wearing a red jacket, blue jeans and white trainers.
Published in News Update
A major search for a man thought to have gone missing while kayaking on Carlingford Lough has ended for the night, UTV News reports.
Emergency services will decide this morning whether to resume the search for a kayaker who went missing on Carlingford Lough earlier this week.
Area man Mark McGowan, 37, was last seen kayaking in the lough at 7.30pm on Monday evening.
His blue kayak was spotted by the Irish Coast Guard on Tuesday at Killowen Point, on the north side of the lough.
Dundalk Gardaí are co-ordinating the cross-border search operation, which was interrupted by bad weather early yesterday.
Also assisting are the Irish rescue helicopter, Greenore coastguard, Kilkeel's RNLI lifeboat, the south Down coastguard team and the Community Rescue Service.
Meanwhile the PSNI has appealed for anyone who might have information on McGowan's disappearance to get in touch.
McGowan is described as 5'7" tall, medium build, with a clean shaven, tanned complexion and short bleached blonde hair. He was last seen wearing a red jacket, blue jeans and white trainers.

Emergency services were set to decide this morning whether to resume the search for a kayaker who went missing on Carlingford Lough earlier this week, UTV News reports.

Area man Mark McGowan, 37, was last seen kayaking in the lough at 7.30pm on Monday evening.

His blue kayak was spotted by the Irish Coast Guard on Tuesday at Killowen Point, on the north side of the lough.

Dundalk Gardaí are co-ordinating the cross-border search operation, which was interrupted by bad weather early yesterday.


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Also assisting are the Irish rescue helicopter, Greenore coastguard, Kilkeel's RNLI lifeboat, the south Down coastguard team and the Community Rescue Service.

Meanwhile, the PSNI has appealed for anyone who might have information on McGowan's disappearance to get in touch.

McGowan is described as 5'7" tall, medium build, with a clean shaven, tanned complexion and short bleached blonde hair. He was last seen wearing a red jacket, blue jeans and white trainers.

Published in News Update
Within hours of each other two ultra-luxurious vessels departed Dublin Port this morning, firstly the five star-rated cruiseship Hebridean Princess, and then followed the Bikini registered Cary Ali, a private charter mini-motoryacht, writes Jehan Ashmore.
Hebridean Princess, a former 600-passenger car-ferry, converted to carry only 50 guests, reached Carlingford around noon, where she is at anchor off the Co. Louth listed medieval heritage town. On the far side of Ulster, the cross-border waterway on Lough Foyle received two of three scheduled cruise-calls, but bad weather prevented Prisendem from anchoring off Greencastle in July.

As for Cary Ali, she is a 87ft long was built in 2007 by Nordhavn to a design of Jeff Leishman. From her stern flew the flag of the Marshal Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Inside the four-decked vessel there is the main salon, a dining room, galley and three guest staterooms, and a master cabin (click HERE). In total eight people can be accommodated. In addition she has a jacuzzi, fly-bridge and is equipped with a tender and has crew of four.

She has a speed of 24-knots and is equipped with 50hp bow and stern thrusters. To read more about the luxurious motoryacht including facts and figures click HERE.

The Cary Ali had berthed at the 100-berth marina of the Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club which caters lesiure craft up to 20 metres and is centrally located on the south side of Dublin Port. The facility has accommodated larger motoryachts over the years. Though even larger motoryachts such as Battered Bull, a Feadship 52m has berthed further upriver at Dublin City Moorings.

Published in Cruise Liners

Carlingford Lough Yacht Club in Northern Ireland has been presented with the prestigious Volvo RYA Champion Club award.  Carlingford Lough has been recognised for its very active racing programme focusing on the Laser 4.7, Radial and Topper classes. The club encourages and supports talented young sailors to develop and progress throughout the RYA Youth and Olympic programmes.

The presentation was held at the Yacht club's annual dinner dance and presentation at local Whistledown Hotel, Warrenpoint. Commodore, Michael McCann understands the importance of developing the club's youth sailors "We are all very delighted and proud to have been awarded the coveted Volvo Champion Club status. This achievement is a reflection of the great work, dedication and energy which has been put into youth and junior sailing in recent years.

While a number of senior club members have been involved along the way I must single out our past sailing secretary Dr Henry McLaughlin who worked to fulfil the arduous requirements necessary to gain this recognition. The Club would also like to thank Volvo and the RYANI for this award and we will continue to work with them to promote Championship level sailing in the region."

The club's junior training programme is run by 8 regular volunteers who are committed and dedicated to helping with the racing, training and the club's busy social programme. For the past three years the club has had five juniors in the RYA Volvo national squad and at the 2010 RYA Volvo Zone Home County Championships in Northern Ireland two of the members excelled both finishing in second place.

Carlingford Lough Yacht club is one of only 12 clubs in Northern Ireland and 171 nationwide to be awarded the esteemed Volvo RYA Champion Club status. Richard Honeyford, RYA High Performance Manager for Northern Ireland presented the club with the award "I am delighted to be presenting this award in recognition of the great work that Carlingford Lough Yacht Club has done to help young sailors to develop their racing skills.  Following the success of British sailors at the Beijing Olympics, and with the 2012 Olympics fast approaching, we may well be training future Olympians here in Carlingford Lough"

The Volvo RYA Champion Club Programme aims to encourage young sailors and windsurfers at grassroots level to stay in the sport and learn to compete, while encouraging clubs to introduce youngsters to the sport and help develop their skills. The key challenge for the programme is to encourage more young people to start participating in sailing and then progress with their racing careers.

Now Carlingford Lough Yacht club has been awarded the Volvo RYA Champion Club status, the sailors will see increased levels of development advice and professional coaching including support from the RYA. Carlingford Lough will also have access to the recent commitment from Sport England of £1.1m to the RYA's flagship youth sailing initiatives, to further enhance club coach and volunteer development across England over the next three years.

Published in Youth Sailing

Strangford Lough sailors maintained their grip at the top of the Irish Flying Fifteen fleet in the last event of the season. National champions Darren Martin and Simon Murray were the winners of the five race light air series on Carlingford Lough at the weekend. Second overall in the 34-boat fleet was Gerry Reilly and P. Quail and third Roger Chamberian and J. Scammell. Full results attached for download.

Published in Flying Fifteen
Police in Northern Ireland have launched an investigation after a six-year-old boy was critically injured when he was struck by a speedboat near Carlingford Lough in Co Down. Stuart Wilson was on a wake-board being towed by another boat when the accident happened at Cranfield Bay near Kilkeel on Monday.

It is understood another speedboat  hit the youngster, leaving him with serious head injuries.

In a statement released on behalf of the Wilson family, Reverend David Somerville said:

"The family of Stuart Wilson, aged six years old, say that he remains critically ill. They would like to thank people for their support and prayers but appeal for privacy at this difficult time. They ask everyone to continue to pray for Stuart."

Stuart was given first aid on Cranfield Beach by a doctor and an off-duty nurse before being rushed to Daisy Hill hospital in Newry by ambulance. 

Published in News Update
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Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020