Most notable in the past week – the number of times in the national media that Ireland has been mentioned as “an island nation” during commentary/opinion on the Aer Lingus dispute. That should be appreciated more often by all concerned!
The July Podcast will be issued this Friday. Shipwrights and the shortage of them; Fishing Industry uniting against offshore wind energy developers and biodiversity campaigners who are “squeezing” it; sea shanties, are amongst the topics.
MARINE HIGHLIGHTS
+ The international Nautilus seafaring union reported in its magazine ‘Telegraph’ that the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority had found that the 47,842gt cruise ship Viking Sky, with 1,374 passenger and crew onboard came within “a ship’s length” of running aground in a storm off Norway during which 1,000 alarms went off in the ship overwhelming the vessel’s engineers.
+ The smallest municipality in the Azores is Corvo, population 384, which describes itself as “the most remote island in Europe.” It marked the arrival of Alice and Tony Kingston from Kinsale Yacht Club and their crew, Barry Crowley, who are bringing their yacht ‘Shindig’ home from voyaging to the Caribbean over the past year. Alice tells us that the Municipal Mayor arrived at their yacht and presented the crew “with a plaque and books to mark our visit.”
+ Three iconic Galway Hookers, accompanied by “an enthusiastic crew of 40,” according to the Galway Hooker Sailing Club, will show Irish traditional sailing to the prestigious Brest Maritime Festival in France from July 12 to 17.
+ Leitrim is not completely landlocked. It has 4kms. of coastline near the village of Tullaghan, to which there has been no public access. Now a €200,000 investment under the Government’s Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme developed by Leitrim County Council in partnership with the local community. has provided a roadway access, car park and public seating/viewing area. Surfers, kayakers and general visitors are expected to use the facility.
+ A quiet birthday last Thursday passed by without a lot of notice – the granite tower of Fastnet Lighthouse was 120 years old. Irish Lights will mark the anniversary this month with a commemorative event for “all the engineers, technicians and mariners who have ensured that Fastnet has operated reliably as an aid to navigation, using the most advanced technology available for each decade over the last 120 years.”
+ The French yacht, Eric de Turckheim’s NYMD 54 Teasing Machine, confirmed overall winner of the Round Ireland Race.
+ The U.S. Government is reported to be funding research into how to brighten clouds over marine areas as part of climate intervention.
+ A metal pocket watch which survived the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 was sold for €9,300. Watch hands stopped at 2.32 p.m., minutes after a German submarine hit the liner with a torpedo.
+ The ‘wake’ left behind by a duck moving through water is always 39 degrees, according to a new book ‘Life-Changing Magic of Trigonometry’.
Email comments and information to: tommacsweeneypodcast@gmail.com My Maritime Podcast is on all major Podcast platforms and on my website: https://tommacsweeneymaritimepodcast.ie
Fair sailing
