Ireland’s weather fascinates everyone. But for boat enthusiasts, an informed insight into the workings of maritime meteorology anywhere in the world has many practical and often vital applications writes W M Nixon. With this in mind, Darryl Hughes (best known as owner-skipper of the superbly-restored classic Tyrrell of Arklow-built ketch Maybird) had donned his other hat as co-ordinator of the Royal Institute of Navigation’s Small Craft Group, and together with the Irish Meteorological Society with sponsorship by Dublin Port Company, he is organising a day-long Weather & Sailing Conference at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire on Friday November 23rd 2018 from 9.00am until 5.30pm.
The line-up of speakers draws on highly-qualified experts from both sides of the Irish Sea, and though much of the emphasis will be on weather conditions in Ireland, the conference is notably broad in its scope and variety of topics. Thus while we’ll have Evelyn Cusack of Met Eireann and current Sailor of the Year Conor Fogerty to provide two complementary views of marine meteorology, we’ll also have specialists such as Jessica Sweeney who is lead met adviser to the Ineos Americas Cup Challenge, and Dag Pike who has been navigator to several successful major transoceanic record challenges.
WEATHER & SAILING CONFERENCE (IMS & RIN) Royal Irish YC Dun Laoghaire, Friday 23rd November 2018
SPEAKERS & TOPICS
EVELYN CUSACK (Met Eireann) “Exactly How Do We Forecast The Weather”
CONOR FOGERTY (Sailor) “Weather & The Single-Hander : The 2017 OSTAR”
RICHARD FALK (RYA) “A Glimpse Into Weather and Navigational Challenges of the Sydney-Hobart Race”
CHRISTIAN DUMARD (Professional Sailor) “Squib Software and Weather Routing for the Volvo Fleet”
CAPT. ROBERT McCABE (Irish Lights) “The Met Ocean Data Buoys Project”
CAPT. COLM NEWPORT (Dublin Port) “Weather and the Dublin Port Pilot”
JESSICA SWEENEY (Team Ineos UK) “Weather and the America’s Cup”
DAG PIKE (Tactician & Maritime Journalist) “Weather Forecasting for Breaking Records”
LIBBY GREENHALGH (Professional Sailor) “Weather and the 2017/2018 Volvo Race”
Booking for the Conference is open to all on a first come, first served basis, and the fee of €30 includes lunch in the RIYC. Details for registering here