Tom MacSweeney
Tom MacSweeney writes a column for Afloat.ie. He is former RTE Marine Correspondent/Presenter of Seascapes and now has a monthly Podcast on the Community Radio Network and Podcast services
MCIB Annual Report Highlights Concern About Watersports and the Fishing Industry
25th August 2023 MCIB
There are two very specific points in the annual report of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board for last year (2022), which, in pursuance of maritime safety, should be heeded by the sectors involved – watersports and the fishing industry. The…
The Rankin Class “big event of the season” is scheduled to be raced this Saturday at Cove Sailing Club – the Rankin Brothers Regatta Cup. First Gun will be at 2.30 pm. The revival of the traditional, historic Rankin Class…
SCORA, the South Coast Offshore Racing Association, has cancelled Saturday's Kinsale to Baltimore race, a 'feeder' to West Cork prior to Calves Week, due to expected weather conditions. SCORA Commodore Daragh Connolly announced this afternoon that the race will be…
In its 224th year this August weekend, Kinsale Regatta is claimed to be “the oldest regatta in Ireland.” The varied regatta programme includes sailing for both Cruisers and Dinghies. There will be racing for Cruiser Classes 1,2, and 3 and…
The Minister for the Environment has urged local communities and various groups involved in existing maritime activities, including fishing and seafood production, throughout the South Coast to engage in public participation, which his Department has announced about the 8,600 square…
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) say that "the humpback whales so long a feature of summer in Cork and Kerry didn’t come this year; instead, they are far to the north, off Mayo, Sligo and Donegal, and reduced…
Due to the poor weather on the South Coast at present, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has cancelled this evening’s (Thursday 6 July) opening race in the Thursday night July League for cruisers.
The intergovernmental marine science organisation which advises the European Commission on fisheries regulations has been told by the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation that it has got its data wrong in recommending major fishing closures. The Killybegs Organisation has challenged the International…
The Howth 17s are sailing amongst Carbery’s Hundred Isles. The oldest classic sailing boats in the world are in West Cork waters to mark their 125th year and intend to sail around the iconic Fastnet Rock. The photo above is…
Jakub Ziemkiewicz is Building His Own Racing Yacht in Cork Harbour to Race the Mini Globe
22nd June 2023 Tom MacSweeney
Jakub Ziemkiewicz tells me he was “born to sail but forced to work.” He is working as I talk to him - on the yacht he is building in a shed at Aghada in the northeast corner of Cork Harbour…
Mini Boats Are Different But Convey a Message to the Next Marine Generation
15th June 2023 Tom MacSweeney
Captain Jacek Berenek of the container ship, ‘Independent Horizon,’ on its regular monthly call to the Port of Cork’s Deepwater Berth at Ringaskiddy, explained to the pupils of Barryroe National School from West Cork where he would launch their mini-boat…
The Government’s promise of consultation and involvement of the fishing industry in the development of offshore wind farms is not being delivered on according to South East Coast fishermen, who claim that consultation and discussion, which was promised, has turned…
World Ocean Conference in Cork Hears of Massive Public Support for Marine Wildlife
8th June 2023 Marine Wildlife
The inaugural World Ocean Conference has been told that three-quarters of the Irish public believe that marine ecosystems and the protection and restoration of marine species should be Government policy. This claim was made by the conference organisers, the Fair…
The Royal Cork Yacht Club cancelled its regular Thursday night league racing this week and called members to a meeting instead to discuss an incident between some boats in the racing fleet on the previous week’s Thursday and a tanker…
“A great Rankin day,” said Tommy Dwyer describing the annual Ballinacurra Race from Cove Sailing Club to the former port in East Cork. “It is the first time the Rankins have done so well in the race. We ghosted along…
Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival Says Conor O'Brien Could Be the Focus for Developing Maritime Education
24th May 2023 Tom MacSweeney
Wooden boats will dominate Baltimore Harbour this weekend when the West Cork village welcomes back the annual gathering of traditional vessels. Like many other events the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival, which had been held annually for seventeen years from 2002,…
The De Wadden, the historic schooner which sailed out of Arklow, the County Wicklow town once described by maritime historian Dr John deCourcy Ireland as the “most maritime town in Ireland”, is to be demolished at the Merseyside Maritime Museum…
The current Commanding Officer of the Naval Service ship, L.E. James Joyce, Paul Hegarty, has been appointed the new Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour. He has extensive experience in the Naval…
Irish Mainport Holdings, Cork marine services company, has appointed the former Head of the Defences Forces, retired Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett, as its Strategic Director. "With over 40 years working in the Maritime Sector, Mark will bring new knowledge and fresh…
The ‘spatial squeeze’ is an issue that has been coming increasingly to the fore in recent months as more concern is expressed about the pressure being exerted by offshore wind farm developers for planning approval of their proposals. There are…
