This Special Edition of the IWDG E-Zine Is Dedicated to One of Our Newest Members, Celtic Mist

This special edition of the IWDG e-zine is dedicated to one of our newest members, Celtic Mist. Below is a brief biography charting her voyage from birth to date as documented though the eyes of fellow IWDG members. CELTIC MIST OFFERED TO IWDG March 2011 In March 2011, the family of the late Charles J. Haughey made a very generous offer to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, in the form of a steel hulled 56ft yacht with six berths in four Cabins called Celtic Mist. This gift was in recognition of Mr. Haughey’s lifelong love for the sea and respect for the work of the IWDG. On the 7 th June 1991 Charles J. Haughey officially declared Irish Waters a Whale and Dolphin Sanctuary. After much consideration and a range of commissioned surveys, IWDG Director Fiacc O ‘Brolchain and a team of volunteers thoroughly inspected the yacht which was lying in the Isle of Wight in England and recommended that the IWDG accept the offer. Skipper Fiacc O ‘Brolchain travelled over to the Isle of Wight with his crew and sailed Celtic Mist back to Ireland. On arrival in Waterford, the vessel joined the Tall Ships Race 2011 from Waterford to Greenock. Celtic Mist is a fantastic resource for all IWDG members. IWDG intend to use Celtic Mist to train and teach IWDG members how to survey and record whales and dolphins, including using acoustic survey techniques. It will also be used for dedicated research projects and professional training and development. TALL SHIPS RACE July 2011 After a weekend of celebrations and festivities in Waterford at the Festival, Celtic Mist had been thoroughly cleaned, refueled and provisioned for its voyage to Scotland as the only Irish entry for 2011. Skipper Fiacc O’Brolchain and first mate Garry Davis were onboard the vessel with their crew of Siobhan Ardener, Conor Ryan, Keith Cleere and Eithne Griffin. The Tall Ships Parade left Waterford Harbour at Sunrise on the morning of Sunday 3 rd July and made their way down the Waterford estuary before raising the Sails past Hook lighthouse in County Wexford. Light winds created a serene scene as all the Tall Ships stood tall on the horizon at sunset. IWDG Members report their experience onboard Racing in the Tall Ships 2011 by Siobhan Ardener Having received an email from the IWDG offering members the opportunity to join a team on-board RV Celtic Mist for the hugely amended Tall Ships Race, I wasted no time in prepping myself with basic sailor terms and techniques. Not having previous experience in sailing or information on the practices, it was a challenge which I was both excited about and determined to take on. Celtic Mist arrived from the UK to Dunmore East Harbour a few days prior to the teams arrival. Waterford city, at the time was thriving on the theme of the moment, with live music, shopping stalls, theme parks and scenic tours all attracting thousands of eager minded people, there to enjoy the spectacle that was the Tall Ships. Arriving to the boat on Thursday, I was introduced to the crew and we spent the weekend prepping for Sunday, when the Race began. All relevant supplies were gathered and collected as well as final adjustments and preparations made to the Ship itself. When all the team had arrived, a number of safety guidelines and general information about sailing was given by first mate Garry Davis, who was hugely valuable to have onboard. Along with preparing the ship, numbers of families were given the opportunity to board the Ship and take a look around the boat itself. On Sunday morning, the morning of departure, the scene was eerie cool with a dense covering of fog waiting to be burned off by the Sun. Slowly moving down river out towards the coast salutations were given by the many thousands of people standing in huge groups at varying points along the coastline.. The weather was perfect; the sea resembled a “glass” like appearance, the scene was set for the next four day race to Greenock. Sailing across the Irish Sea was an incredibly challenging ordeal but one that I will never forget. Some of the many incredible experiences included my first chance at seeing a baleen whale. Being a Wildlife Biology Student with a huge interest in cetaceans, I wanted to have a career linked to or someway involving cetacean research and conservation. The moment the whale was spotted; Conor Ryan immediately confirmed the species as a Minke whale. That visual of a dorsal fin cruising along the surface is the one which constantly comes back to mind when I am at sea. It was also extremely interesting to learn about all the Avian Species that were encountered along the way, as well as seeing the bioluminescent Plankton during the night. Conor talked about all of these sightings in great detail! The 3 hour shift was another experience which I hadn’t experienced before and at times challenged me. At several moments I can recall nearly falling asleep during the day when not on shift! There was one day in particular where weather conditions turned on us and the sea threw up the largest swells than I had ever encountered, as well as rain pouring from the skies! It was certainly a challenge to get up at midnight and head out into the rain for a three hour shift, but I’m really glad I got to experience this as it really gave me a good idea of the sailing experience. Cooking was done by two team members each day; I have to mention that the food was one part which I enjoyed extremely! It felt great to sit down to eat together as it really felt like a team effort and a reward for the work we were doing, especially the day which we arrived into Greenock. On this particular day Conor caught us some mackerel on a hand-line and Garry prepared a super tasty homemade brown bread. One of the highlights of the trip was docking on Lamblash Island, where we ate and had a few drinks in the local pub. Eithne and I enjoyed a walk around the beaches. The Boat itself was fantastic in that no considerable work had been done on it and we were able to sail, sleep and eat comfortably without any complications. Overall the Tall Ships race was a challenge and a learning experience filled with moments which I will never forget, stories I will re-tell and emotions I have never felt – including being quiet nervous when strapped onto the guides at night. More importantly, I was a part of a voyage that took place on-board the RV Celtic Mist in its early days. The people I met were all incredible; each had their own unique personalities that brought something new to the team. The expertise of the experienced members was invaluable at certain points along the line and without them; we certainly wouldn’t have made it to Greenock. THE RETURN VOYAGE HOME by Michael Andrews (with a little help from Bernie O'Brien) Our voyage was from Greenock around the north of Ireland and down the Atlantic coast to the Shannon. It was a romantic, almost exotic, experience for me. A tiny, fleeting incident at the parade of crews in Greenock set up an elusive out-of-the-ordinariness with which the whole voyage is now invested in memory. After leaving Greenock harbour and starting the first watch, we passed below a beautiful unspoilt headland to starboard. Its long arm sheltered the estuary from the wild seas to the north and west. “Mull of Kintyre” said Bernie. There’d been a stop for fuel on the run down to it, prosaic enough, but there were fishing boats unloading at that tiny place, Kip Marina. First mate and joint shipboard chef, Garry, stepped briskly ashore and found someone to sell him a bagful of very active live prawns for a feast, pushed them into my hands and went about other business. The prawns found their way to the galley as Celtic Mist made her way out of narrow waters for the relatively open sea of the North Channel and the lingering twilight. Oh, those fresh prawns were delectable! Greenock harbour had been swarming with tall ships – familiar from their visits to Waterford and Dublin. A Parade of Crews takes place at each city visited by the Tall Ships’ Race. In Greenock it was decided that Ireland and IWDG should participate, and, because the young crew which had sailed her there, as participants in the race, had already returned to Ireland, we, the crew who were to sail her to Kilrush, were thrown into the breach. We felt uncertain of our appropriateness or even legitimacy (we were far too old to have been a crew in the race). A little uncomfortable, we took the IWDG banner and Celtic Mist’s tricolour, both rolled tight, and made our way to the assembly point. We were assigned our appropriate place and proceeded to unroll the long banner and sort ourselves out. While two of us were sorting out the banner, a brief cheer – obviously impromptu - and a round clapping broke out as if, say, a popular member of another crew had arrived unexpectedly to participate. We looked round to see what had happened. It became apparent at once that the cheer had gone up when the green, white and orange had been unfurled. It came from the nearest crew, Venezuelan or some such.

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