The Irish Times – Saturday, April 23, 2011
CARL O’BRIEN

YOUGHAL HAS moved a step closer to obtaining a long-awaited marina following Cork County Council’s decision to invite tenders to develop a hotel and berthing area for boats in the town.

The local authority is investigating the possibility of either selling or leasing publicly owned land a short distance from the town centre to facilitate a new development.

A marina has long been regarded as a key development in breathing new life into the town and helping to fulfil its tourism potential. However, there has been little progress on the issue over the past two decades or more.

Informed sources say that at least two developers have already expressed interest in developing a hotel and conference centre, along with a marina, at the site.

The town’s development plan aims for a 150- to 200-bed hotel in the area, along with a conference centre and leisure resort. The development should also include a marina in the area west of the sea wall known as the “slob bank”.

The council says tenders to develop the site should comply with this development plan and contain details of developers’ financial status and ability to deliver the proposed project.

Local Fine Gael councillor Barbara Murray yesterday said the move was a very positive development for the town.

Info: Carl O’Brien/The Irish Times – Saturday, April 23, 2011

 

Maps Info: http://www.plm.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=40:plm-projects&id=78:youghal-marina&Itemid=85

Cork East Fine Gael TD, David Stanton has contacted Iarnrod Eireann asking them to enter into discussions with local people in Youghal regarding future use of Youghal Railway station.

 

“The old railway station in Youghal has been lying idle for many decades now. The station is very well situated close to the beach area and is a great location for development of a tourist amenity. If it were developed for this purpose it would surely prove an added attraction for visitors to the Youghal area.

“I have written to Iarnrod Eireann to gauge their interest in developing the old station. I think the feasibility of developing the station as a tourist amenity such as an aquarium,a museum or a similar facility. I believe that this deserves serious consideration.

Deputy Stanton concluded by stressing the need to develop the full tourism potential of Youghal and that he believes every possible avenue to attract tourist to the area should be explored.

 

 

Click on image to enlarge

Over the winter Aquatrek delivered a series of Navigation and Safety nightclasses to seafarers – both professional and leisure boaters. Tonight their hard work has paid off as the students received their certificates qualifying them as Dayskipper and Yachtmaster Offshore navigators.

These courses (2 of each) run Monday – Thursday evenings, 7.30 – 10pm, from October to March, with a break in December – which was extended this year by the snow and ice. Some candidates are local but many travelled to town each week from Dungarvan, Waterford, Wexford, West Cork and 2 Dayskipper candidates even travelled from Carlow each Tuesday night. We have experienced pleasure boaters, new boaters, some who work on the water as fishermen and conservationists, we have RNLI Lifeboat crews from Dunmore East, Helvick and Youghal and this year we even had one of the crew from the Waterford-based Coastguard Helicopter (Rescue 117) on our Yachtmaster course.

Dayskipper courses introduce the students to the basics of Weather Forecasting, Seamanship, Rules and Regulations afloat and give them a solid footing in traditional and electronic navigation techniques and equipment. The Yachtmaster Offshore course develops the existing skills of qualified Dayskippers and improves their knowledge of meteorology with emphasis on causes of and effects of local winds and the behaviour of weather systems at sea. Navigation at this level is to the highest standards and equips the navigator to safely operate a vessel up to 150 miles from a safe haven, by day or night.

 

One of the highlights of both courses is the safety night when the students get first hand training in lifejackets, PPE, radio equipment, flares and learn about rescue by lifeboat and helicopter. The courses we deliver are RYA certified and come with 2 Admiralty Training Charts, a book of exercises, a professional course-notes handbook and uniquely – a CD ROM, fully operational Chart Plotter system for their computer, which runs the training charts and a vector chart which is used throughout the course in parallel with the paper charts to deliver a thorough understanding of the pros and cons of electronic navigation.

With their new RYA certificates these students can go anywhere in the world to charter a boat for holiday purposes or seek work as professional mariners – these qualifications are now transferrable to commercial Merchant Shipping qualifications such as Master and Mate. We wish them a safe future at sea – May they have as many safe berthings as unberthings.

In Ireland there is no compulsion to get training if you want to get afloat – you can simply buy a boat and off you go. The statistics are there to prove that the foolhardy seafarer is more often than not, the source of much of the work of our excellent Search and Rescue organisations such as the Coastguard or RNLI. A small amount of training is a huge step towards preventing accidents at sea and much of this training is applicable in everyday life as well.

Traditionally – our awards night includes a meal and some light entertainment which we’re having this year in The Quays Bar so we’d like to thank Seamus and Richenda and their staff for looking after us this evening but that’s not all… We also charged each guest a few euros over the cost of the evening in order to make a donation to charity. Previously the RNLI and the Youghal Bay Boat Club benefitted from the exercise but as today is Daffodil Day it was felt appropriate that we donate the raised funds to the Irish Cancer Society.

If you have an interest in the sea then why not follow our website at www.aquatrek.ie for news of activities and training opportunities, follow us on Facebook or call 024 90542 for more. Finally – Well Done once again to all our candidates in 2011 – we wish them safe passage and look forward to taking some of them with us to Croatia and Turkey later in the year where they’ll get the chance to put their new skills to the best of uses! FUN in the SUN!

Click on image to see the awards ceremony

Well Cheltenham may have come and gone, and depending on the information you had, to hand, perhaps you made a few Euro, or maybe not. But next Friday Night at Rosie’s Bar, you have your chance, all over again, to get involved with the excitement of Horses, Trainers and Jockeys, a Tote and all that, all in a good cause.

As a major fundraising exercise, the Lower Aghada Pier Development Group are holding a Race Night, at Rosie’s Bar, Friday Night, March 25th. at 20.30hrs. All are welcome, with lots of excitement, and all the thrill of being a Horse Owner, or possibly a Trainer, or perhaps take on the mantle of being a Jockey for the night, and see if you can steer your Horse, around the course and win one of the 10 major Races on the night. There will be lots of prizes, and a great night’s enjoyment is guaranteed.

The Pier Development Group are involved, at the moment, in negotiations with the Port of Cork and the Cork County Council, and are assisting in the drawing up of a scope of works, to have the necessary repairs to the Pier, carried out, and the Car Park area tidied up and enhanced.

The Pier is a focal point, in this area of East Cork, and while the origin of the Pier itself, goes back to the Famine Times and the Royal Visit to Cork in 1850, there are also the connections with the American Seaplane Base, at what is now the East Cork Boatyard / Lower Aghada Tennis Club. There is also some evidence to suggest that this area was also a base for a Sailing Group / Club, with their centre of operations located further over to the East, at Rostellan, and it has been suggested that Sailing was very much in evidence here, even before the establishment of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, in Cobh, prior to it’s being moved to Crosshaven, its present location.

Whether or which, the Pier is now in need of repairs, and the County Engineer together with the Port of Cork, have given their assurance that these repairs will be carried out. It has been requested by the County Engineer that a local financial contribution will be required, and the Pier Development Group, are fundraising, so as to have these funds ready to hand, for when they are required.

So make it a date, Friday Night, Rosie’s Bar, 20.30 hrs., for all the thrills and spills of Horse Racing at its very best, see you there.