02/12/12 - Power Boating - Rosmoney

2nd December 2012
Today we had South Easterly force 2-5 winds increasing 5.
Changing in the evening to West North Westerly winds force 5-7.
It was raining all day. - I guess we were just spoilt yesterday!

• Today I plan to get my National Power Boating Cert.
• I need to show Noelle that I know how to do everything she showed us yesterday and that I can do them to a high enough level to pass.

We arrived at half past 9 and the boat was already on the water because Noelle stayed on the island where we went to do our knots yesterday.

We climbed on board and Noelle told us that the trip was still on for Westport, despite the weather today. She checked that we all had plenty of layers on and warned us that it would be very cold on the boat during the day.

We then talked about the weather forecast and signs on the water, once we all understood everything that Noelle was telling us, we left Rosmoney for Westport.

The GPS was down today so it wasn't telling us where we were, I thought this was good because it meant that we had to use and understand the charts. Jarlath was on the helm first and I was navigating, we were going through all the port and starboard buoys on the way out. I had navigate for Jarlath until we were coming in the channel to Westport. Then we swapped, I was on helm and Louise was navigating the chart for me.

It was so cold in the wind that it felt like the rain drops were hailstones hitting your face. I was glad I had decided to wear my walking boots instead of my wellies today because the sole is much thicker and my feet were much warmer.

While I was on helm Noelle came and sat on the tubes next to me because the tide was nearly at low tide and I had to bring the boat down the channel where there was sometimes only .4/.5m of water under the RIB.
I found it a bit nerve racking on the way in because I was afraid of the depth being so shallow under the boat, so I just reduced the speed and came in nice and slow. When we were coming right in to the quay, Noelle took over because the depth had gone to .3 and she said it wouldn't be fair on me if something happened to the boat.

When we were coming along side a fishing boat to tie on Noelle jumped out to tie on and as she jumped back in to the RIB, she slipped and landed on her back on the seat in front of the console. She didn't move and was in a lot of pain for a while. Then she slowly got up and we all climbed up the ladder onto the quay. She was in a lot of pain and went down to see her coast guard friends.
Jarlath, Louise and I went for lunch in the helm and dried all our wet gear in front of the fire. Noelle then came in for lunch too but she sat with her friends.

After lunch Noelle brought the RIB out of the quay, the depth was even lower now and as we were coming out the GPS showed that it was 0.0m beneath us! Scary!

We then did some man over board drills and headed back to Rosmoney pier.
We recovered the boat and then Noelle said to get changed and meet her by her van in 10mins.
We all passed our National Power Boat Certificate!

I really enjoyed today and am so proud of myself for passing and getting my cert. I worked hard to remember everything we were taught and I can't wait to get more practice helming RIBs. I really would like to start working towards getting enough experience to go for my Safety boat certificate.

Environmental interest of the day...

Today we saw so many Cormorants. They were sitting on top of all the buoys in the channels. Some were afraid of the RIB as it passed by them and other just sat and watched us go by.
They are very similar to and can sometimes be confused with Shags, but the big difference that is easy to spot is that Shag's have their hair sort of 'gelled' up on top of their heads, where as a Cormorant doesn't and has a smooth head.

01/12/12 - Power Boating - Rosmoney

1st December 2012

Power Boating with Noelle Doran - At Rosmoney
There was no wind today, the water was practically flat calm and it was beautiful clear blue skies for the whole day.
A real winters day. :)

• Today my aim was to grasp the basics of power boating.
• Be able to perform the tasks that Noelle asked me to do.

Today when we arrived at Rosmoney pier, Noelle showed us how to launch the RIB. 
First she reversed the trailer on the back of the van down the pier until the trailers wheels were half covered by the water. She then came down and showed us how to get the RIB off the trailor. You have to release the strap on the front and slowly push it off. This trailer made life much easier because it was a roller trailer, this means that the boat can just roll off at ease.

Once the boat was launched, we went down the steps and got on board. Noelle went through everything that you have to check before you can turn on the engine. We then had to go through all of the checks, individually so that she knew we understood. I managed to leave out the small issue of lowering the engine down into the water! It was only because I was nervous in front of Jarlath and Louise though!
We then headed out, we had to first drive the boat forward, neutral and then reverse to show we knew how to get the boat in gear. Then we had to do 'U' turns at speed, (25knots) followed by figures of 8 also at speed.
I found it hard to remember to keep one hand on the throttle and one hand on the wheel at all times because when you are driving a car you have to do the opposite. The difference with a RIB is that you have the control of the speed in the throttle in your right hand, not on a pedal on the floor. This is why you shouldn't lose contact with either the steering wheel or the throttle at any stage while helming.
After this Noelle could hear a problem in the engine. There was a clicking noise every time we tried to change gear. So she drove it slowly in to one of the pier and called a man that she knew to come and look at it. But as soon as she started to explain it to him on the phone, it stopped making the noise. Typical! I was really glad it was ok again because Noelle said if it was broken, she would have to do the course a different weekend, which would have been annoying.

Once the RIB had decided to work again, we went and learnt how to come along side back at Rosmoney pier. We came along side 3 times each at the pier. I found it much easier than I thought I would, it just takes patience and you have to take it really slow, coming into neutral when you need to slow down and let the tide carry you.
We then came along side a smaller boat with a tiller motor on it. We had to show Noelle that we could use a small tiller motor just so she could tick us off for that.
We had to do a figure of 8 around the buoys forwards and then do the same thing only backwards. Then we had to come along side at the pier and that was all we had to do in the tiller boat then.

We then got back in the power boat and Jarlath helmed the boat over to another island where we moored up next to a fishing boat.
Aparently there are only 3 people living on the island! Noelle introduced us to 2 lovely old ladies who invited us into their house for tea. They had a roaring fire inside and told us all to sit up infront of it and get warm. They then made us tea while Noelle went through some knots with us. It was so nice and warm in the house and we really appreciated it because our feet were freezing from standing on the plastic of the boat all morning.

After lunch, we went back out on the RIB and Noelle did some control in confined spaces skills with us. To do this she chose 4 buoys that we had to stay in the middle of. We had to go into reverse and then forward turning the wheel to port & then starboard, over and over again, just making sure we stayed in the box.

We then went back to Rosmoney pier for lunch. After an hour we went back out and did a bit of work on picking up a mooring and a bit more work on coming along side another boat. This is different to coming along side the pier because a boat can move in the swell and the wind, whereas a pier stays still.

We finished up as it was getting dark.
Noelle said to bring a lunch in a dry bag for tomorrow because we would be going on a trip to Westport.

I feel I did well today, there was a lot of information to take in, but I think I'll remember most of it. I'll definitely remember to put the engine down if anything anyway! How embarrassing! I really enjoyed helming the RIB and feel I did well on the controls.
I need to work at keeping one hand on the throttle and one hand on the wheel at all times, especially at high speeds. I really hope I remember enough and do well at everything I have learnt today tomorrow because I really want to pass my 'national power boat certificate'.


Environmental interest of the day...

Today when we were out on the power boat, there was an otter in the water near us. He kept popping up in different places. They are meticulously clean, after eating they wash themselves in the ocean, cleaning their fur with their teeth and paws. It is good that they mind their coats because it keeps them warm and insulated in the cold water.

20/11/12 - Sailing - Petersburg OEC

20th November 2012

Sailing - Petersburg OEC - Brian

Today we had a force 5 gusting 6 and it was raining...crazy!

• Today looked a bit crazy so I decided to challenge myself to sailing in the windiest conditions I have ever sailed in!

Today we rigged the boats in force 4 winds. By the time we got on the lake it had moved to a force 5. I was in a Vibe with Martin and he was on helm. We worked well as a team, trying our best to get around the 2 buoy course that Brian had set for us. 

The wind was just so strong and seemed to be coming in many directions that it was hard to stay on course and not to capsize. Martin and I capsized 3 or 4 times, it was crazy! We had to wait for the strongest gusts to pass sometimes before we could get the boat back over. Even then, once the boat was back over, it was hard to point the boat head to wind so that Martin could get in because the wind was just hitting the water in all directions, it was almost impossible to face head to wind.

Stacy & Liz's boat capsized...Stacy on the dagger board...

At one point, I was trying to point head to wind, Martin was holding on to the back of the dinghy and he could have gone bare foot skiing off the back of the boat we were going so fast!
In the end Brian came and collected us all from all over the lake and towed us in to shore. 

Everybody waiting on shore for each boat to be rescued...

Once he had collected everybody together, he put some of us in the RIB and only Fionan and Cian (who were very experienced sailors) went sailing while we watched.

I was very wary of my sciatic nerve in the power boat because I was afraid of getting a big jolt and setting myself back, but I was fine.

In the afternoon we went driving around the lake looking at the way the wind was affecting the lake at different sections. We then came back and made boats out of things they found around Petersburg. It was a good way of learning how to balance the boat and really think about where things are positioned on a boat.

Fionan...proud of his college work...

The highlight of today for me was actually capsizing because I hadn’t capsized yet at sailing. I actually enjoyed it and I enjoyed sailing with Martin, which I hadn’t done yet either. We made a good team and we had a lot of fun sailing at crazy speeds and capsizing.

I feel that today went well, I lost interest a bit in the afternoon when we had to make little boats to sail in the bath tub... it just felt like a bit of a time filler (which is probably because that’s exactly what it was). But I can also see how it helped us to see how a boat’s weight is distributed and how it is proportioned.
I am glad we got to capsize, next time I will have to be quicker/better at finding head to wind after a capsize.

Environmental interest of the day...

There were trees on the bank where we pulled up that had no leaves but they had the reddest berries I have ever seen. There were bunches of them at the ends of the twigs. Nobody could work out what they were, so I am going to ask Orla if she knows.

23/10/12 - Sailing - Petersburg OEC

23rd October 2012

Sailing - Petersburg OEC - Brian

We had force 2-3 winds and it was dry & overcast.

• Today I wanted to show Brian what we learnt with Simon last week.
• I wanted to show him everything that I have learnt so far at Petersburg and prove to him that I am at the standard to receive my Level 2 Sailing skills certificate. 

Brian told us at the beginning of the session who was on his list that he was hoping to give level 2 certs to by the end of the day. I was pleased that I was on his list and was looking forward to showing him the skills.
We had to show that we have a basic knowledge of sailing, we are safety conscious and that we are capable of sailing without an instructor in light winds.

Brian took us out and the first thing we did was show him that we could come along side his RIB, this was made easier by the steady force 2 we had. This slowed down the whole process meaning you had time to think before carrying out the manoeuvre.
We then showed him that we could do man over board drills, this was again made easier by the wind conditions.
After lunch I was in a dinghy with Emmet and we did a bit of rudderless sailing with Brian. You do this by shifting your weight to the opposite side of the boat to which you want to turn and then back again. I found this difficult and I think it could have been due to my weight not being enough with Emmet as my crew at the front of the boat.


Unfortunately, towards the end of the afternoon session, I got a shooting pain going from my lower back down to my knee. I jumped up and had to stand while Emmet sailed the dinghy on his own back over to the rescue boat so I could get out. 

I was in so much pain and didn’t know what to do to ease it. I couldn’t move in any direction, I couldn’t even sit.

Brian had a talk to me about the pain and told me that he thought it might be my sciatic nerve. He jumped in the boat with Emmet so that he could show him something and he left me in the power boat. 

When he came back again I think he could see the pain in my face because he wrapped up the session and we all headed in. 

I couldn’t help pack away the boats or anything, I even needed help to get out of my wetsuit. I don’t know how it happened but I am going to a physiotherapist to get sorted out hopefully before next week.

Despite my crippling back pain, I passed my level 2 sailing skills assessment! This was a huge highlight and I am really looking forward to learning my level 3 skills.

I need to get my back sorted so that it doesn’t give me trouble in the future. Brian said that if you don’t deal with back pain at the beginning it just ends up getting worse and worse. (Apparently he speaks from experience). So he gave me the number of a lady in Westport to go to.

Environmental interest of the day...

Today I saw a swan on the lake, Brian said it was strange to see one on this side of the lake because they usually stay on the opposite side.

16/10/12 - Sailing Petersburg OEC

16th October 2012

Sailing - Petersburg OEC - Simon

We had force 3 winds in morning and then no wind in afternoon. It was dry all day.

• Today I want to learn how to pick up a mooring.
• How to do a man over board drill.
• I want to perfect coming along side too.

Today Simon took us out to do some man over board drills. We checked the forecast and he said that we needed to get out on the water as soon as possible because the wind was meant to die down in the afternoon.

So we went out straight away and Simon got us to first pick up a mooring because he said if we can do this then we will find our man over board drills much easier as they are practically the same method.

This was good to learn and was very similar to coming along side in the way that you need to turn head to wind in order to stop to pick up the mooring.

We were then each given a buoy to throw over board and then go and save. We took it in turns doing each of these tasks. We had to do it over and over again until we got it perfect and we were not allowed to swap helm & crew positions until Simon had seen what we had done and said it was ok to swap.

In the afternoon, Simon played a really fun game with us. He had a heap of tennis balls and sponges in the RIB and he threw them all out randomly. It was then a race, myself and Liz against Stacy and Kevin to get as many objects as we could using all the skills we had learnt during the day.

The wind was really dying down at this stage and Liz and I didn’t have the ability that Kevin & Stacy had, so they won hands down. But it was really good fun and is definitely something I would use myself if I ever get the chance to take a group out sailing as their instructor in the future.

Playing the game with Simon was really good fun. We hadn’t played any games with Brian, so it was cool to have a different instructor for a while to show us a different instructing technique. I would definitely prefer it if there was more fun put into our sessions with Brian.

A highlight of the day was definitely the homemade Birthday scones that Liz made for Matin's Birthday today! They were amazing and we had a great lunch with a nice cup of tea!

Enjoying nom nom Birthday scones!

I really enjoyed today’s sailing, there wasn’t exactly a lot of wind but Simon managed to keep us all interested. I don’t know if I was kept interested because I have improved my sailing skills and was better at sailing with less wind or if Simon just made the session interesting and fun.
I managed to pick up a mooring quickly and was pretty good at collecting a man over board by the end of the day. However, these are things that can never be practiced too much so I am looking forward to going over it again next week with Brian.

Environmental interest of the day...

Today I saw fish jumping on the lake, this could mean he was being prayed on, or he needed more oxygen. It was in quite a weedy part of the lake so maybe there oxygen levels were low there due to eutrophication.

10/10/12 - Snorkelling - Keem

10th October 2012

Snorkelling - Keem - Mark O’Connor

We had clear skies a sea temperature of 13*C and a fantastic 4m visibility!

• Today I wanted to go over basic snorkel skills.
• In particular my surface dives, because the visibility was so clear.
• I wanted to be able to dive down further and explore the sea life.

We went through possible water hazards at the beginning and they pointed out the rip on the left hand side of the bay and told us to only snorkel on the right hand side.

We were put into pairs (buddy’s) for the session, this meant that we had to stay with our buddy for the whole session, never let them go out of your sight and always check that they are ok.

While we swam out, Weeman asked us to do different skills so he could see how we were doing and give us any advice we might need. We had to do surface dives one by one. We had to swim down 4m, touch the bottom, do a forward roll and come back up, making sure we remember to equalise on the way.

Unfortunately I had trouble equalising, I reached the bottom but then I was in excruciating pain and had to kick as fast as I could to get back to the surface. This is a learning point for me because I learnt to put me before the task. I was concentrating so hard on doing my roll at the bottom, that I didn’t concentrate enough on equalising, which resulted in pain.

Luckily we were coming towards the end of the session and Oisin Foden brought me back in to shore. I had to get out and get warm, my ears were very sore, but it gradually got better, I think a visit to the doctor will be needed to check everything is ok.

The highlight of this afternoon for me was finding the starfish eating a limpet! It was so interesting and some people in the group didn’t know that starfish eat limpets so that was really interesting. Another highlight was to be able to see so far under the water! It was absolutely amazing and I find sea life the most interesting in the world. Even the sea weed and the way it flows in the tide, I think, is absolutely beautiful.

I did well today but I need to concentrate on me, more than the task I have been asked to do...if I’m not comfortable, or my ears are sore, or I can’t equalise, then I should come back up. I spent too long down there trying to equalise because I wanted to be able to complete the task, but it was dangerous.

Environmental interest of the day...

We saw a starfish eating a limpet today.
I surface dived down to just below the surface and picked up the starfish from the rock. When I turned him over on his back we could see him eating a limpet. (I like the way I have just decided that it was a ‘he’ starfish here!)
We then put the starfish back on the rock where I saw him so that we didn’t disturb him too much.

09/10/12 - Sailing - Peterburg OEC

9th October 2012

Sailing - Petersburg OEC - Brian
There was no wind and it was dry.

• Today I was looking forward to trying to make the most of the serious lack of wind.
• I wanted to practice coming along side and do some spinnaker work too.
• I want to get better at tidying up sheets on board & I want to learn some useful knots too.

Brian went over what we learnt the week before and drew more diagrams to describe what he was trying to explain. e.g wind direction & sail position.
We then rigged the boats & Brian showed me how to tidy up the sheets, it is just a round turn and two half hitches most of the time. Brian showed us how to attach the spinnaker too, this is a sail in front of the jib and main sail that is stored in the boat & can be pulled out when needed by clicking out the sheet.

We took out the 3 Vibes and went in groups of 2.

It was really frustrating trying to sail with such a lack of wind but Brian said that this meant he could tell who knew how to sail well and who didn’t. It meant we had to be really tuned in to the breeze to try & work out which way we needed to sail to catch as much of the breeze as possible. However, I just found it very frustrating and got bored quickly.

I was in a Vibe with Liz and the dinghy’s were hardly moving, we could lie down & have a chat for a while & when we looked around, we hadn’t moved anywhere!!

We did some knots at lunch time, Brian showed us the reef knot, round turn & two half hitches and a bow line. We practiced them while we were eating our lunch.

There was a small increase in wind in the afternoon and Emmet & I were in a dinghy together and we got a chance to use the Spinnaker. I pulled the sheet and the spinnaker came out, it was a bit hard to get used to because you have to face the boat slightly down wind to prevent the boat whipping around in the wind when you hoist it up. Unfortunately our spinny got caught on the roller on the way out & got a bit torn, but it still worked fine-ish. When we caught the wind with the spinny up, we went a good bit faster, however, it was still painfully slow and after a few manoeuvres in slow motion, Brian brought us all in. 

Today was a slow, long day, but I actually learnt a lot, I didn’t realise at the time that I was learning, but I learnt how to sail in slack winds and how to be tuned in to the breeze on the water.

A highlight for me today was when we got the spinnaker up and actually managed to get somewhere with the very little wind we had in the afternoon.

I think I could have tried harder to not get frustrated by the lack of wind while trying to sail! If I had persevered I might have learnt more about sailing without wind. However I did still learn how to use a Spinnaker and it was good conditions to learn that in because it wasn’t too windy and the wind came in gusts, which gave us time to understand what was going on.

Environmental interest of the day...
Today when we moored up on red island, there was an unusual looking moss washed up all along the shore line. It was soft, yellowy white colour and it moved when you walked near it. I asked Brian if he knew what it was and he said that he wasn’t sure. So I plan to find out more information about this, maybe by taking a picture next week and asking Orla about it.