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Displaying items by tag: Pinto

A Canadian national who died on a diving expedition off Donegal in 2017 was one of two separate diving tragedies in the region within weeks of each other, as RTÉ News reports.

As reported at the time on Afloat.ie, the body of a man in his 60s was recovered on 14 August 2017, two days after he went missing while on a dive to the wreck of the Pinto north of Fanad.

An inquest into the death of Randy McNalley (63) took place yesterday (Wednesday 13 February) at the Coroner’s Court in Letterkenny, which heard that the experienced diver and triathlete died of lack of oxygen — but this was likely the result of a health condition rather than a failure of his equipment.

A separate inquest on the same day dealt with the circumstances surrounding the death of British diver John Allwright (57), who was sucked into a side cave during a ‘swim-through’ of a cavern at Sheephaven Bay on 28 July 2017.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

Published in Diving
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#Diving - The body of a diver missing off the Donegal coast since Saturday was recovered yesterday (Monday 14 August), according to Canada’s Globe and Mail.

The deceased, a Canadian citizen believed to be in his 60s and who has not yet been named, was found near the wreck of the Pinto, a convoy rescue ship sunk by a German U-boat on 8 September 1944.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the man had been diving with a group north of Fanad when he disappeared on Saturday afternoon (12 August).

Ireland is a popular destination for wreck divers, with a number of shipwrecks of historical significance dotted around the coast.

Published in Diving
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Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U