In order to make work injury claims for compensation, it has to be established that you sustained a loss or injury due to the negligence of an employer who owed you a duty of care. Certain procedures can be followed which will help support your work injury claims but, in a tough economic climate, some people are apprehensive about making work injury claims for compensation due to potentially harmful consequences to future employment prospects. However, by discussing your claim for work injury compensation with an experienced personal injury solicitor, you can avoid any awkward workplace confrontations and receive helpful and practical advice to maximise the value of your work injury claims.
A member of an Garda Síochána has been awarded €30,000 compensation for an injury to his mouth that he suffered while attending to a reported incident at a house in Finglas. Sean Kelly (aged 31), received the scar nearly five years ago while on duty, in January 2012. Garda Kelly had been called to a house in Finglas to deal with a man who was threatening self harm. As he had just been released from a psychiatric institution, he was deemed dangerous, and two colleagues accompanied Garda Kelly to the scene. In court, Garda Kelly stated that the man was known to have taken a large quantity of non-prescriptive medication. He had locked himself in his bathroom, and was threatening to jump from the window. Garda Kelly and his colleagues attempted to apprehend the man. While doing so, he was struck on his mouth with a toilet brush holder which lacerated his lip. The laceration serious bleeding and he had to be taken to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown to be treat immediately. Medical staff examined the wound, and found a piece of porcelain was found to be still embedded in his upper lip. X-rays revealed he had not suffered any major fractures. Garda Kelly was given a local anaesthetic injection and received seven stitches, several of them on the inside of his mouth. The injury later became infected, and was prescribed a course of antibiotics until the infection cleared up. He said he could still feel the inside scar with his tongue. The scar on the outside of his lip was noticeable at conversational distance and he was still very conscious of it. Barrister Fiona Gallagher, who was representing Garda Kelly, stated that he remains sensitive about a scar on his upper lip and told Mr Justice Bernard Barton he was still conscious of the star-shaped scar. However, Garda Kelly himself joked with the presiding judge that he might have to wear make-up when he gets married next weekend. Counsel for the Minister for Public Expenditure, Barrister Derek Ryan told the court that, based no conflicting medical reports, he did not think that Garda Kelly has suffered Post Traumatic Stress to the extent that it warranted an exceptional compensation award. After taking this information into account, the judge awarded Garda Kelly €30,000 for his injury and consequent scar. He was not awarded any compensation for his Post Traumatic Stress claim. The judge closed the case, and wished Garda Kelly well for his imminent wedding.
The Workplace Relations Commission has awarded a man €15,000 in compensation for his unfair dismissal from the Boyne Valley Group. A supervisor at the Boyne Valley Group´s distribution centre was dismissed for allegations of gross misconduct in May 2015. The man, originally from Drogheda in County Louth, was dismissed due to allegedly making personal remarks to a female colleague about her appearance, her future family plans and her financial affairs. It was further claimed that the supervisor had slapped the woman´s hand when she had asked to see a mobile phone he was holding at the time, and had made comments to her implying some of the workforce had been employed on the basis of sexual favours rather than merit. The woman´s complaint was supported by several colleagues, her mother and boyfriend. The Boyne Valley Group accused the man of singling out the woman and harassing them with unwanted attention. This resulted in him publicly to humiliating her on several occasions. An investigation was launched into the allegations, which led to no concrete evidence of a physical assault on the woman. However, the former supervisor was dismissed on the grounds of breaching the company´s policies on bullying and harassment. The man sought legal counsel and appealed the decision. He made a claim for compensation for unfair dismissal against his former employers. His case was heard recently by the Workplace Relations Commission and, under cross-examination, the man admitted making comments that could be considered insulting. He stated that he had realised his error and that he had tried to offer an apology. However, the woman had refused it. The Chair of the Commission heard the details of the case against the former supervisor, afterwards commenting the processes the company had adopted during its investigation into the allegations and conducting the disciplinary procedures and been fair. The Chair also accepted it was not the Commission´s role to impose its own decision when the decision to dismiss was "within the band of reasonableness". However, the Chair disagreed that the man´s dismissal was within the band of reasonableness, and said it was a disproportionate response to the situation. The Commission awarded the former supervisor €15,000 compensation for unfair dismissal, adding that, although the comments were unwelcome to the employee in question, the matter should have been dealt with in a more "constructive manner", and should not have lead to the supervisor's dismissal.
Ensure you receive legal advice about claiming compensation for a loss of hearing at work to ensure the consequences of your injury are taken into account. Claiming compensation for a loss of hearing at work follows a straightforward procedure. Once you have been diagnosed with a noise induced hearing loss or a loss of hearing due to a sudden loud noise in the workplace, you apply to the Injuries Board for an assessment of your claim. Provided your employer does not withhold his or her consent for the Injuries Board to assess your claim, the Injuries Board will calculate how much compensation for a loss of hearing at work you are entitled to and, provided your employer´s insurers agree with the assessment, your claim is settled. However, the primary basis of the Injury Board´s assessment will be your doctor´s diagnosis. This only states the extent of the injury you have sustained, and not the consequences for your day-to-day living and any psychological injuries you have also sustained. Therefore, if you are unable to watch TV, drive or socialise with friends because of your loss of hearing, these are significant factors that should be accounted for in your application for assessment. The same applies if you have suffered a loss of confidence due to being unable to hear clearly. To ensure these factors are taken into account when the Injury Board conducts its assessment is to communicate them clearly on the application form – and the best way to achieve that is with the help of a solicitor who has experience of submitting applications for assessment to the Injuries Board. A solicitor will also be able to check the Injuries Board´s assessment to see if the proposed settlement is appropriate for the injury you have suffered and negotiate with your employer´s insurance company if you are approached with an unsolicited offer of compensation for a loss of hearing at work. Therefore, it is in your best interests to discuss your specific situation with a solicitor before submitting your application for assessment to the Injuries Board, or have somebody call on your behalf if your loss of hearing is total.
A family has been awarded almost €810,000 compensation for a fatal accident at work following an admission of liability by Cork County Council. On 23rd November 2012, Michael O´Donovan (44) from Aghabullogue in County Cork was fatally injured while helping to clear pine trees at the Carr's Hill pumping station at Arderrig. Michael – who was an employee of Cork County Council – had been standing behind the digger being used to fell a fifty-foot-high Scots pine. But, as the tree fell, it landed on a telephone cable. The pole supporting the cable snapped and hit Michael on the head as it fell. An ambulance was summoned and Michael was resuscitated. However, the head injuries he sustained were fatal, and he died later that day in hospital. An inquest into the fatal accident returned a verdict of accidental death, but the jury was critical of the "careless and reckless" manner in which the task had been performed and made recommendations about how tree felling operations should be conducted in the future. The recommendations have since been adopted. Cork County Council was subsequently prosecuted for three health and safety failings, and fined €48,000 by Cork Criminal Court in February 2016. Following the conviction, Michael´s wife – Yvonne – and her three children claimed compensation for a fatal accident at work. Incredibly, Cork County Council denied liability for Michael´s death and contested their claim on the grounds he had contributed to the tragedy by his own lack of care. The civil hearing to resolve the claim took place last week at the Circuit Civil Court before Mr Justice Robert Eagar. The first day of the hearing, the court heard about the circumstances of the accident and, on day two, was told that Cork County Council was prepared to admit liability and the hearing could proceed for the assessment of damages only. After hearing actuarial evidence on behalf of the family, Judge Eagar awarded the family almost €810,000 compensation for a fatal accident at work.
A childcare worker´s creche employee injury claim has been settled for an undisclosed sum during a hearing to determine liability at the Circuit Civil Court. In January 2015, Natasha Carberry (26) was working at the Precious Minds creche in Lucan, Dublin, when she was asked by a senior member of staff to help her change nappies in the babies room. Natasha was already looking after a group of one and two year old children, but she complied with the request, taking the children who were not sleeping with her. The senior member of staff left the babies room shortly after to attend to other matters, and Natasha was left alone with nine children. While she was helping one of the children, she tripped on a plastic plate that had been left on the floor and fell – twisting awkwardly as she landed and damaging soft tissues in her back and leg. Despite seeking prompt medical attention from her GP, Natasha still suffers from back pain as a result of her accident and may have to look for another career. She applied to the Injuries Board for an assessment of her creche employee injury claim, but Precious Minds withheld their consent for the assessment to proceed and Natasha was issued with an authorisation to pursue her claim in court. The hearing to determine liability was held recently before Judge Brian O´Callaghan at the Circuit Civil Court. At the hearing, a forensic engineer gave evidence that Natasha had been placed in an unduly stressful situation and that the creche had failed to have regard for her safety on the day of the accident due to the high child/adult ratio that existed once the senior member of staff left the room. Precious Minds contested the creche employee injury claim on the grounds that one of Natasha´s duties was to keep the floor clear of hazards to protect the children from coming to harm. The creche claimed that, as Natasha had failed to notice and remove the plastic plate over which she had tripped, she was the author of her own misfortune. However, following a brief adjournment, Judge O´Callaghan was informed that Natasha´s creche employee injury claim had been settled by mutual consent for an undisclosed sum and without an admission of liability. The judge complimented the two parties on reaching an agreement and awarded Natasha her legal costs before striking the claim.
A judge has awarded a woman €15,000 compensation for an injury working in Dunnes Stores after a damages assessment hearing at the Circuit Civil Court. In March 2012, Jessica Kelty (23) was working in Dunnes Stores in Tallaght, Dublin, when she was asked to go to the stockroom to bring a trolley of bread. As Jessica starting pushing the two-metre high trolley out of the stockroom, the tray on the top shelf of the trolley fell and struck her on the head. Jessica – who also lives in Tallaght – was given first aid by a colleague and then attended the A&E department at Tallaght Hospital, where she was detained overnight for observation. Despite being diagnosed with no permanent injury, she has since suffered headaches and neck pain. Jessica claimed compensation for an injury working in Dunnes Stores, and although the company admitted liability the amount of compensation being claimed was contested. No agreement could be found by negotiation, and the case went to the Circuit Civil Court for the assessment of damages. At the hearing, Judge Terence O´Sullivan heard the circumstances of Jessica´s accident and was told that she had been knocked to the ground and felt dizzy afterwards. Solicitors representing Dunnes Stores argued that there had been no significant injury and attributed her neck pain to the work Jessica now does as a hairdresser. Judge O´Sullivan noted that Jessica had not attended her doctor for three years after the accident or gone for any physiotherapy, and commented that she had done a poor job of looking after herself. Jessica´s solicitor told the judge that she had self-medicated with painkillers bought from her local pharmacy. Saying that the court drew the conclusion she "wasn´t that badly hurt", Judge O´Sullivan awarded Jessica €15,000 compensation for an injury working in Dunnes Stores, and gave the store leave to appeal the award of compensation provided that a payment of €10,000 was paid immediately to Jessica.
The High Court has approved the settlement of a roofer´s fall from height injury compensation in favour of a man who suffered life-changing brain damage due to the accident. On 18th July 2012, Paul O'Brien (50) from Glenealy in County Wicklow was working on the roof of a house in Bray on the first day of a roofing contract – his first paid employment since the construction industry went into decline in 2008. When it started to rain, Paul went to descend from the roof of the house using a ladder that had been propped up against the property to provide access to the roof. As he attempted to get onto the ladder, it slipped on the timber decking it had been placed upon, and Paul crashed to the ground. Paul suffered a significant head trauma in the accident which manifested into permanent brain damage, and Paul now has limited short-term memory which will prevent him from ever working again. Through his wife – Sandra – Paul made a compensation claim for a roofer´s fall from height against his employer – Sean Lyons of Clondalkin, Dublin – claiming that Lyons failed to provide a safe environment in which to work or suitable scaffolding to enable him to conduct his work safely. It was also alleged that the ladder that had been provided was unfit for the purpose of safely descending from the roof, that it had not been fastened to the property, and that the combination of an unsuitable ladder and the wet timber decking on which it had been placed resulted in a hazardous means of exit from the roof. At the High Court, Ms Justice Mary Irvine heard that Sandra O´Brien had taken a two-year sabbatical from her job to care for her husband; and that a settlement of roofer´s fall from height injury compensation had been agreed out-of-court amounting to €1.5 million. Judge Irvine approved Paul´s settlement, stating that it was a good one when taking into consideration that Paul´s contributory negligence may have been a factor had the case gone to court. She then closed the hearing, saying that she sympathised with the position of the O'Brien family.
A County Westmeath postman has successfully claimed injury compensation for being attacked by a dog while trying to deliver post to a house in Kilbeggan. Sixty-three year old Joseph Dunne from Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, was attempting to deliver post to house in Kilbeggan when, on 8th October 2008, a husky-type dog escaped from the garden of the house through a hole in the hedge and attacked him. Joseph was knocked to the pavement by the dog, who continued to claw and bite him while the terrified postman was lying on the floor. Fortunately a passer-by was able to stop the attack by hitting the dog across the back with a stick and Joseph was rushed to hospital. At the hospital, Joseph was treated for lacerations to the right side of his face and received twenty-two stitches. He also have to receive treatment for nerve damage just below his forehead and, once the stitches from his cuts were removed, he had to undergo plastic surgery to hide the worst of his scars. Joseph returned to his postal duties soon after the attack, but made a claim for injury compensation for being attacked by the dog against the animal´s owners – Olive Dalton and Martin Maher of Dublin Road, Kilbeggan. The couple denied their liability for Joseph´s injuries, despite having had the dog put down following the attack, and the case was heard at the High Court in Dublin. At the High Court, Mr Justice Michael Moriarty heard Ms Dalton and Mr Maher denying that they had been negligent in failing to enclose their garden securely and allowing the dog to escape; however the judge found in Joseph´s favour and, awarding him €55,000 injury compensation for being attacked by a dog, commended Joseph for returning to work so quickly after his frightening incident.
The Chief Executive of the HSA has issued a warning to employers after it was revealed that workplace slip and fall injury compensation cost industry more than €22 million in 2012. The warning to employers "to take some time this week to consider the safety systems they have in place and make sure not to leave anything to chance" came in a statement made by Martin O´Halloran – Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority – after it was revealed that a third of all accepted Injury Board assessments relating to accidents at work were attributable to workplace slip and fall injury compensation. Mr O´Halloran was commenting on figures released by the Injuries Board to coincide with European Week for Safety and Health at Work which showed that 807 assessments of injury compensation for accidents at work were accepted in 2012 amounting to more than €22 million (1), and he referred to a health and safety study which indicated that employees take less care at work because of the employer´s responsibility to prevent accidents It was also revealed that a quarter of all workplaces inspected by the Health and Safety Authority last year had not conducted a risk assessment to identify the dangers of slips and falls in the workplace, and that two of the highest accepted assessments of work place slip and fall injury compensation concerned avoidable fatal accidents. Other statistics released by the Injuries Board to coincide with the European Week for Safety and Health at Work included: · The average assessment of injury compensation for an accident at work was €27,286. · Men are twice as likely to sustain a workplace injury as women. · Almost one-in-three assessments were for workers in the 25 to 34 age group · One-in-five of the accepted assessments of workplace slip and fall injury compensation were for injuries which resulted in the plaintiff taking at least one month to recover. Mr O'Halloran concluded by saying "Effective management of workplace safety and health not only protects workers from injury and ill-health, but also has the potential to save businesses thousands of Euros. Proper management of workplace safety and health contributes to long-term commercial success and profitability". (1) In 2012, less than one-third of the applications for assessment submitted to the Injuries Board were resolved through the Injuries Board process – indicating that the number of workplace slip and fall injury compensation claims last year could have been as high as 2,500.
A cleaning worker at the Rivercourt Hotel in Kilkenny, who lost part of her small finger when it was cut by a door slamming shut on it, has settled her hotel employee door injury claim in the High Court. Aneta Antoszcsyk (35) made her hotel employee door injury claim for compensation after losing the tip of her little finger on her left hand in a freak occurence. While Aneta was taking away a wooden door stop, which was keeping a door open, the door slammed shut with such force that it severed the top of her finger. Sadly it was not possible to reattach the removed tip of the finger and Aneta – who was seven months pregnant at the time of the incident in April 2011 – will be left with a permanent disfigurement. Having spoken to a solicitor regarding the incident, Aneta made a claim for hotel employee door injury against Gatehalf Limited (trading as Kilkenny Rivercourt Hotel) alleging that, as her employers, the company had neglected to provide her with a safe workplace environment or safe system of work and had exposed her to the possibility of injury. It was claimed in the hotel worker finger injury claim that Aneta had never been guided or trained properly on the safe removal of door stops and that – as she was seven months pregnant – she should have had the assistance of a colleague for the task in question. The Kilkenny Rivercourt Hotel did not accept liability for Aneta's injury – alleging that she had contributed in whole or in part to her injury by putting her hand in an unsafe location while removing the door-stopper and displayed a lack of regard for her own safety on this occasion based on her previous experience of carrying out the same task. However, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith Ó Neill ruled in Aneta´s favour – stating that she had "sustained a most unfortunate injury" due to the negligence of her employers – and awarded her €50,000 in settlement in her hotel employee door injury claim.
A Dublin Airport baggage handler, who experienced two subsequent electric shocks when trying to connect a power cable line to a Boeing 737, has resolved his electric shock accident at work compensation claim out of court. Patrick Kemmy (39) from Blanchardstown in Dublin filed the compensation claim after experiencing a work injury while trying to link the electric cable to the jet in April 2009. At first Patrick felt it was caused by something that he had not done properly which led to the first electric shock, but on a second effort he received an even greater electrical shock. The work accident at Dublin Airport left Mr Kemmy suffering from a tingling sensation in his right arm – which still causes pain intermittently almost four years after the initial event – chest pains, headaches, shortness of breath and neck pains. Due to the injuries he suffered in the accident, Patrick has been unable to work nine or ten times. In his legal action, he claimed that his employers Servisair and the Dublin Airport Authority had directed him to use an electrical power cable which had not been sufficiently protected against the water which, as there was rain at the time, led to the electric shocks. Liability for Patrick´s injuries was denied by Servisair and the Dublin Airport Authority but, shortly before the compensation claim for an electric accident at work was to be heard at the High Court, officials were told that the claim had been settleed out of court. How much electric shock accident at work compensation Patrick received was not revealed.
A former employee of the Quinn family-owned Slieve Russell Hotel , who was allegedly injured while stacking trays onto a trolley, has made a waiter back injury claim for compensation against the hotel and its parent company. Mr Justice Sean Ryan at the High Court heard how Robert Miloch, from Ballyconnell, County Cavan, had been squatting down to place trays onto a trolley when he heard a click in his back and started to feel a pain running from his back to his leg. After being told to go home and see his doctor, Mr Miloch was diagnosed with a lumbar back injury which prevents him from sitting for long periods of time, maintaining certain positions and picking up his nine-month-old baby. The court was also told that an MRI scan taken of Mr Miloch´s back revealed two discs putting pressure on a nerve and, as a result, he was advised not to return to work by his doctor. Mr Miloch has been unable to work since the injury was sustained in April 2010. After seeking legal advice, Mr Miloch made a waiter back injury claim against the Slieve Russell Hotel and Quinn Hotels Limited, alleging that he had sustained his injury due to the hotel´s negligence. Both defendants deny their liability for Mr Miloch´s injury and it was claimed in court that the claimant´s back injury could have been exacerbated by a rear-end collision he experienced in October 2010. It was also claimed that Mr Miloch´s doctor had described the fact that his patient could move in one position but not another as "paradoxical". The case is ongoing.
A waste disposal lorry driver, whose spine was crushed following a crash due to the front wheel of his vehicle collapsing, has been awarded 11.4 million dollars in compensation for injury due unsafe lorry at the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California. Raymond Mariolle (46) from Brentwood, California, had driven waste disposal lorries for Waste Management Co. for more than twenty years prior to his accident in 2007. On the day in question, the court heard that Raymond was driving his lorry near the Livermore airport when the front right hub of the vehicle broke – causing the front right wheel of the lorry to detach and sending the 55,000 pound vehicle crashing to the ground. As a result of the accident Raymond sustained a compression injury to his spine for which he has already undergone three operations and has more scheduled for the future. Raymond has to take strong painkillers to cope with the pain of his injuries and has unsuccessfully attempted to return to work in a non-driving capacity. After seeking legal advice, Raymond made a claim for compensation for injury due to unsafe lorry against the manufacturer of the vehicle – Volvo Trucks – the hub maker – Consolidated Metro – and the company that had modified the vehicle – Wittke Manufacturing – claiming that all three companies had known since 2004 that the aluminium hubs used in the vehicle´s modification were inadequate for the weight placed on them. The three defendants claimed that the hub had only broken due to the excessive amount of rubbish collected by the waste company and that Raymond had a pre-existing back condition which was only exacerbated by the accident. However, Raymond´s solicitor was able to produce evidence that engineers at Consolidated Metro had acknowledged the existing hubs were not sufficiently strong for the loads put on them and that alternatives should be used in the future. The jury at the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California found in Raymond´s favour, and awarded him 7.5 million dollars in general damages for the pain and suffering he had experienced with a further award of 2.4 million dollars in special damages for lost wages and medical costs. The jury also awarded Raymond´s wife – Regina – 1.5 million dollars for loss of marital and family relations. Liability was divided between all three defendants with Consolidated Metro being assigned 52 percent of the blame and 30 percent on Volvo Trucks.
A cattle drover is to receive damages in his injury claim for being kicked by a cow from his employer after the Supreme Court ruled that the employer had placed the injured employee at risk. Mr. Patrick Lynch (53), had been one of a team of three cattle drovers who were employed by Co-operative Mart in October 2003 to herd cattle from a pen in the mart yard to a dividing pen prior to their entering the sales ring. However, on the day that Mr. Lynch sustained his injuries, his two companions had absented themselves temporarily, and it was claimed in court that Mr. Lynch had to perform the two absent drovers' tasks, as well as his own, which required him to enter the individual pens while they were occupied by animals. When Mr. Lynch was moving through the animal pen to open a gate, the court heard how a Limousin bullock delivered a direct kick to Mr. Lynch's groin, causing significant trauma to the scrotum and giving rise to a haemorrhage which caused damage to his right testis. Mr. Lynch was subsequently taken to hospital for medical treatment. The court ruled that, although a safe procedure of work was in place when all three drovers were present, there was no system of supervision by the employer. As the improper absence of the other two drovers exposed Mr. Lynch to danger, Co-operative Mart was liable for his injuries. The action has now been referred to the High Court for the assessment of damages.
The family of a man who died from mesothelioma cancer after working in his local shipyards for 37 years have won their claim for fatal exposure to asbestos in a court in Virginia. The widow of John Bristow and his two sons brought the claim for fatal exposure to asbestos against John Crane Inc. of Morton Grove, Illinois, after John died from mesothelioma cancer in 2011 aged 68. John had worked nearly all his life in the shipyards of Newport News – his home town and a major shipbuilding centre – with his greatest exposure to asbestos estimated as being during the 1960s and 1970s when he worked for John Crane Inc, manufacturing gaskets which were widely used in steam and exhaust systems, and which contained asbestos. John´s widow, Anne, and his two sons alleged in their mesothelioma injury compensation claim that John Crane Inc were fully aware of the risks posed by working with asbestos, but chose not to inform their employees or provide them with any form of personal protective equipment. The defendant´s legal representatives denied the claims, saying that any one of a number of companies on the Newport News shipyards could have been releasing the asbestos fibres into the air which were inhaled by John and his colleagues. However, after a three week trial and two day period of deliberation, a jury found in favour of John´s family and their claim for fatal exposure to asbestos. The seven-member jury awarded the family a total of 7.19 million dollars in consideration of the pain and suffering John and Anne had experienced during his final days, to compensate the two sons for the loss of a father and to account for the medical and funeral expenses incurred by the family.
A nurse, who sustained back and nerve injuries after being left alone to care for fifty residents of an Australian nursing home, has been awarded AU 500,000 dollars in nursing home injury compensation by the Supreme Court in Victoria. Margaret Pozzobon (58) from Nanawading in Melbourne sustained the injuries in February 2006 when she was the only member of staff rostered to work a night shift at the Wantirna Aged Care Facility. Among those left in her care was a resident diagnosed with bipolar disorder who would strip his bed, lie on the floor and have to be picked up and returned to his bed six times a night. The resident, although classified as needing high grade care had been placed in a low grade care facility due to a lack of beds and, while in the course of lifting him back into bed, Margaret sustained a serious injury to her cervical spine which required surgery, nerve blocks and ongoing spinal injections. Due to her injury, Margaret was unable to continue working at the nursing home and has been unable to find work since because of her disability. After seeking legal advice, Margaret made a spinal injury compensation claim against the nursing home, alleging that her injury could have been prevented had the resident suffering from bipolar disorder been managed in the appropriate facility. The nursing home contested her claim but, after an eight day trial at the Supreme Court in Victoria, a jury found in Margaret´s favour and awarded her AU 500,000 dollars in nursing home injury compensation.
A props assistant at RTE´s Donnybrook Studios has won a claim for elbow injury compensation after a YouTube video clip was used in evidence at the Circuit Civil Court. Arthur McMullan (59) from Goatstown in Dublin worked at the RTE Studios as a props assistant when his accident occurred in February 2010. A stage curtain had got caught on a mirror ball and, while Arthur was attempting to unsnag the curtain, he tripped over a studio floor light, injuring his elbow in the process. The video clip which was shown to Judge Jacqueline Linnane at the Circuit Civil Court showed Saturday Night Show host, Brendan O´Connor holding back the same curtain during a musical performance on the show and advising the producers that "I did warn you about this curtain". Arthur´s personal injury claim was also supported by a work colleague who testified that the curtains had been an ongoing hazard for a number of years. After hearing from Arthur´s legal counsel that Arthur still experienced pain from the injury two years after the event Judge Jacqueline Linnane awarded Arthur 18,500 Euros in respect of his claim for elbow injury compensation against his employers, RTE.
The family of a man, who was tragically crushed to death between two diggers in a workplace accident, is to receive 550,000 Euros compensation from the man´s former employers following a wrongful death at work claim. Ronan Conway (27) died after leaving the cab of his vehicle to look at something in the ground in front of where he was working. Sadly he had failed to lock the safety lever on the digger before leaving the vehicle and was crushed between his digger and another working on the site. Following an investigation into the fatal accident of November 2008, Ronan's fiancée of eight years Anne Marie Morgan (30) of Kilcullen, County Wicklow, claimed wrongful death at work compensation from Ronan's former employers – OB Hire and Sales Limited – alleging that they were responsible for Ronan's fatal accident due to permitting him to work in a yard which had "little or no lighting". OB Hire and Sales Limited denied the allegations – claiming that Ronan had not followed the training he had been given in the operation of the digger and that it was his own negligence which led to his fatal accident. However, at Dublin High Court, Mr Justice John Quirke heard that the company had made an offer to settle the claim for wrongful death at work compensation which the family were willing to accept. The final amount of compensation had been reduced to account for Ronan's contributory negligence and was to be divided between the claimant, Ronan's parents and siblings, and the children both Ronan and Ms Morgan had from their previous relationships.
A former Ryanair baggage handler has been awarded €45,000 compensation in a work back injury claim. Damian Warcaba of Malahide, County Dublin, was injured in an accident at Dublin Airport on July 17th, 2007, while moving aircraft stairs unassisted. Mr Warcaba was taken to to Beaumont Hospital and was out of work for two months. The standard operating procedure needs two people to manoeuvre aircraft stairs manually for about three metres to rest against an aircraft. Ryanair contested the case, saying that it provided standard training to employees and regretted that the standard operating procedures where not adhered to at the time. Ryanair pointed out that Mr Warcarba had breached the standard operating procedures and was in this case solely responsible for his work back injury. Mr Justice Peter Charleton ruled in the High Court that Ryanair did not provide sufficient workers to ensure that the correct operating procedures were followed.
A pensioner, who broke his leg in three places when falling into a hole at his local park, has been awarded 160,000 pounds in settlement in his leg amputation litigation against his local council after the injuries resulted in the amputation of his leg. Edward Tuffrey (67), a former window cleaner from Barnes, Middlesex, was walking his dog in the Suffolk Road Recreational Ground in May 2006 when his foot plunged into a ten-inch hole in the ground. Despite the insertion of a metal plate and nine screws, the leg did not heal and after the metal plate snapped in 2008, an infection developed in the leg which resulted in its amputation. Edward made a personal injury claim against Richmond Council on the basis that he and other local residents had complained to the council about the state of the recreational ground for several years without anything being done. Richmond Council were found negligent and to blame for Edward´s injuries by the Mayor and City of London Court in October 2010 but given leave to appeal. Shortly before the appeal case was due to be heard in December 2011, the council and Edward´s legal representatives arrived at a negotiated settlement which will see the council pay Edward €194,000 pounds for his injuries.
A dock worker, who sustained a brain injury when hit by a defective mooring cable, has won his brain damage at work injury claim. Cody Karl of League City, Texas, was employed at the Magellan Terminal located on the Houston Ship Channel when, on 1st June 2008, he formed part of a team assigned to dock a 600 foot tanker. Cody was on board a docking skiff when one of the cables used to moor the ship parted and hit him on the head. Despite wearing a hard hat, Cody was diagnosed with brain injuries which resulted in cognitive dysfunction and a loss of physical strength along the left side of his body. After seeking legal counsel, Cody made an injuries at work claim against the Magellan Terminal, claiming that the mooring cable was in an unsafe condition for the tension it had to withstand. Cody's employers argued the claim, stating that Cody himself should have seen that the cable had deteriorated and was not safe to use, but at the 125th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas, Judge Christine Butts found in favour of the claimant and awarded him €11.6m.
A postal worker, who damaged the big toe on his right foot when a delivery of floorboards fell onto it, has won his claim for injuries at work at the Circuit Court in Dublin. Edward Pyne (61) of Balbriggan, County Dublin, brought his claim against An Post after the accident in November 2006 left him in need of several operations for an ingrown toenail which had resulted from the injury. He also claimed that he had suffered from several infections which had developed in the damaged toe. Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard how An Post should have provided steel toe-capped boots as part of a postal worker´s uniform, but Edward had long worn out the pair that had been most recently given to him three years previously. As a result the shoes he was wearing on the day of the accident offered insufficient protection against such an accident happening. An Post refused to deny liability for Edward's claim, but Mr Matthew Deery heard evidence that many of Edward's colleagues at the Balbriggan Post Office also failed to wear the obligatory steel toe-capped footwear, and had An Post provided better supervision of their staff, the accident could have been avoided. Upholding Edward's claim for injuries at work, Mr Justice Matthew Deery said that he was satisfied that An Post had failed to provide adequate protective footwear for their staff, and awarded Edward 16,000 Euros in personal injury compensation.
A New York City sanitation engineer, who made a work ankle injury claim when a colleague ran over his leg in a forklift truck, has accepted €4m in compensation in an out-of-court settlement. Andrew Anderson (37) from New York City, was helping the colleague install a snow plough to the forklift truck when the accident happened in early 2008. His co-worker accidently ran over Andrew's ankle, causing a severe ankle fracture which required two surgeries to correct. Andrew also developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy during post-operative complications and sustained foot drop – for which he now needs the use of a foot brace. Since his accident, Andrew has not been able to work and been forced to take early retirement from the City of New York. After taking legal counsel, Andrew sued the City of New York for his injuries. Liability was undisputed and the case was heard in the New York Supreme Court for assessment of damages. However, just before the jury were about to begin their deliberations, lawyers on the two sides reached a negotiated settlement of €4m to compensate Andrew for personal injury, lost earnings and loss of consortium.
A man, who lost his leg in a workplace accident when it became trapped in a grain bin, has been awarded €1.2 million in a product liability compensation claim against the designer of the grain bin – Ken Babcock Sales Inc. – and his employer – the Fredonia Cooperative Association. Sam Rollings (23), was sweeping out corn in the grain bin in January 2007, when he slipped and his right foot became entangled in the drag chain of the grain bin conveyor system. His leg was pulled into the machine and Sam suffered such severe injuries to his right foot and lower leg that surgeons could not rescue it. In a legal action against the designer of the grain bin and his employer, it was claimed that there were no protective barriers or guard rails in the grain bin, and that no instructions or warnings were ever issued to employees working in the grain bin about the hazards which were present. Claiming personal injury due to product liability, the case was tried before a District Court Judge. After seven hours of deliberation, the jury agreed with Sam that both Ken Babcock Sales and the Fredonia Cooperative Association were jointly responsible for his injuries, and awarded a total of €1.2 million to cover a loss of salary, past medical expenses and future medical care.
A truck driver, who was struck by a steel wedge, has been awarded £67,000 by the High Court in a facial scarring at work injury claim. Mr Justice John MacMenamin heard how Keith Dowling (38) was almost decapitated as a wedge of steel, being used to secure the ballast weight on his trailer, shot from its mounting causing permanent damage to Mr. Dowling's face. The wedge, which measured 14 inches by 6 inches, was being hammered in place by a colleague when the accident happened.
A welder called Ignacio Llamas was recently awarded €6.4 million as compensation for a foot burn at work injury claim when he suffered severe burning when a molten piece of metal broke loose and slid down his foot. The metal burned through a protective Tyvek suit, slid down Llamas jeans and into his rubber boot, and burned the top of his foot. Llamas was working in a confined area and it took some time to remove his boot and take the molten metal off his foot. Llamas was not wearing leather boots, which are normally worn by welders. Welders' trousers usually fit over the upper part of the boots to prevent anything falling into them. Llamas was wearing rubber boots that fit over the jean with a gap for falling debris. This meant that his employers were negligent. The incident happened in February 2007 and the legal relationships were complicated by various subcontracting agreements. The jury assessed liability between different parties – the contractor Altair Strickland at 19 percent; Certified Safety Specialists at 50 percent; Llamas' actual employer, Turnaround Welding Services at 30 percent; and finally Llamas at 1 percent,. The jury effectively found that Llamas was not responsible for his injury. The employer Turnaround Welding was insured by a Worker's Compensation program and Altair Strickland settled before trial for substantially less. The injury was compounded when a Certified Safety Specialist employee instructed Llamas to attend a doctor who did not correctly treat the wound after an emergency doctor said he suffered third-degree burns. The resulting infection worsened the injury.


This is the boring bit.
All you have to do is put the demijohn in a warm place and leave it for a week. At this stage you will not have a full demijohn, so top it up with some sugary water that has a gravity of 1090.
A specific gravity of 1005 or less.
Wine starting to clear from top.
Racking is a dead pretentious word meaning siphon the wine into a clean demijohn, leaving the gunk (lees) at the bottom behind.
Now move onto Clearing and finishing.


text:
Marine Warning
Displaying items by tag: ORC
World Sailing Offshore Commitee Meet Today as ORC & IRC Come to Blows
There appears to be no de-escalation of the long-festering row between IRC and the ORC that spilt out into the public domain this week.
The World's two leading rating administrators are locked into a war of words over the staging of the 2022 World Championships.
The latest is an admission from ORC that in its opinion the combined ORC/IRC event in 2018 in The Hague that featured averaging scores in ORC and IRC, was a 'failed solution'.
A World Sailing Offshore Committee has been silent since the matter aired this week. The governing body is scheduled to meet today and there's likely just one item at the top of the agenda but even then, it's not clear if any oil can be poured on these troubled waters via this virtual meeting.
Bruno Finzi of the ORC
Meanwhile, Bruno Finzi of the ORC has responded to Michael Boyd's Tuesday 'shocked and disappointed' IRC salvo with a 2023 olive branch? Full statement below:
Statement below from Bruno Finzi and the ORC Management Committee in response to yesterday's IRC press release:
We are sorry the IRC Board has expressed shock and disappointment about our decision with YCCS to issue the Notice of Race for next year's ORC Worlds and chosen to misrepresent our dialogue in their press release.
An email was sent on 4 October explaining to them our frustration over their insistence to replicate what we knew was a failed solution of averaging scores in ORC and IRC, as done in 2018 in The Hague. The feedback from the sailors at this event was very negative, and even the minutes of the 2021 IRC Congress admits this as well.
We feel we need to listen to the sailors on what is acceptable to them and not use an ineffectual scoring solution based purely on politics. Our proposal of using ORC scoring for inshore races and IRC scoring for offshore races seems the appropriate solution and we still believe would be acceptable to the constituency.
We, therefore, fail to see why the decision by YCCS and ORC to issue the ORC Worlds 2022 Notice of Race on 21 October could be a surprise: this is only 8 months prior to the start of this event. We also informed them of this on 4 October, their IRC Board meeting was on 6 October, and the IRC Congress was held on 16 October, and yet we still heard nothing from them before our announcement.
Regardless, we are available to re-engage in these discussions for a combined ORC/IRC event in 2023.
Published in RORC
RORC 'Shocked' Over ORC 2022 Championship Announcement
London's Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) is considering staging its own separate IRC World Championships to "preserve the rights of sailors using our rating system" following a rival ORC decision last week to launch its separate championship in 2022.
The international war of words broke out between the two leading yacht rating systems over the proposed scrapping of a previously 'agreed' combined World Championships for 2022.
In a statement, IRC Board Chairman Michael Boyd says: "It appears that ORC has no wish to honour our shared commitment to hold joint World Championships made at the World Sailing Annual Meeting in Barcelona in 2016. We hope that this is not true, and we continue to be open to constructive dialogue.
Michael Boyd, IRC Board Chairman
Boyd says the decision by the ORC to issue a Notice of Race for an exclusive ORC World Championship in Porto Cervo, Italy, in June 2022 cancels the previously agreed joint IRC/ORC event.
Boyd, who is a Dublin Bay-based yachtsman, says, "The IRC Board, RORC and UNCL were shocked and disappointed to read the ORC/YCCS Notice of Race".
"This was a totally unexpected unilateral decision at a time when we thought negotiations were continuing to finalise a combined scoring system", he says.
"This action has damaged the foundation of trust and respect, which is essential for progress. If we cannot re-engage, we must consider our options to exercise our right to hold separate IRC World Championships to preserve the rights of sailors using our rating system to compete internationally at the highest level", Boyd concludes.
120 Entries for 2021 ORC World Championship in Tallin, Estonia
Organisers from the Kalev Yacht Club and the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) have announced a change to the Notice of Race that will broaden participation in the 2021 ORC World Championship being held over 6-14 August 2021 in Tallinn, Estonia.
Currently, there are 120 entries from 14 countries that are divided into three classes, the largest turnout of entries at an ORC World Championship in five years since the 2016 ORC World Championship at the Royal Danish YC in Skovshoved, Denmark.
Due to this strong interest, organisers for the Tallinn Worlds have chosen to amend the Notice of Race to accommodate all existing and possibly even more entries since there is a capacity limit of 50 boats on each starting line. Currently, Class A has 7 entries, Class B has 38 entries, and Class C has 75 entries, and World Championship titles are awarded in each of these three classes.
The NOR change would allow organisers to divide a class that has at least 60 paid entries by 1 June into two groups within the same class. A plan for heat scoring, if needed for a class being raced in two groups, would be published on 15 July.
Having been the site of the 1980 Olympic Sailing events and with sailing and iceboating being major and very successful watersports activities here ever since, the City of Tallinn is a major supporter of the 2021 ORC World Championship, investing more than €800K in total in this and other sporting events taking place in Tallinn this year.
Published in Offshore
ORC/IRC World Championship 2022 To Be Held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia
The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC), the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) are pleased to announce the next biennial ORC/IRC World Championship will be held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy. Dates for the event are to be 18-26 June 2022.
The event will be the second World Championship held using both of these two World Sailing-recognised international rating systems since this year's event planned to be in the USA at New York Yacht Club had to be cancelled due to pandemic restrictions. The first combined ORC/IRC Worlds was held in 2018 in The Hague, Netherlands and attracted 85 yachts from 15 nations.
The choice of YCCS has been accepted and approved by the ORC Offshore Classes and Events Committee and the IRC Board, so now the planning of details may begin on the format, scoring and other topics once a Working Party is formed from members representing ORC, IRC, and YCCS.
As in previous planning for the combined Worlds, three full-crew classes segregated by size and speed will be competing for three World Champion titles. A Notice of Race is expected to be issued in mid-2021, about one year in advance of the start of racing.
Michael Illbruck, Commodore of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, said "We are extremely pleased and honoured to have been appointed to organize the 2022 ORC/IRC World Championship. We will use the two years at our disposal to work on all the details of the event, on both the sporting and social fronts. Watching this impressive and varied fleet competing on the waters of Sardinia will be thrilling!"
"We are looking forward to bringing a World Championship to the Mediterranean region after a 3-year absence," said ORC Chairman Bruno Finzi. "We expect this to be a very popular regatta, with many participating teams not only from this region but also from around the world because Porto Cervo is widely recognized as being one of the world's greatest sailing venues."
"The RORC and our partners in IRC, Union Nationale pour la Course au Large (UNCL), are delighted that the second joint ORC/IRC World Championship is being held in the Mediterranean and being run by the YCCS," said RORC Commodore Steven Anderson. "The YCCS has an excellent reputation for its management of yachting events and this championship will attract a world-class fleet of boats."
ORC Rating Rule for Cruiser-Racers to be Debated in Public at Zoom AGM
The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) is highlighting the transparency of its rating system in advance of this year's AGM that will be conducted online.
Some Rating rule systems for yachts are often operated behind closed doors, with decisions and policies made without user input and rule formulations left unpublished to protect "rule integrity" and other such opaqueness. The underlying justification for this policy often lies in an imperious assumption that the rule makers know what's best, with no formalised system of feedback to solicit input for improvements to the rules.
The promoters of ORC say this is not the case with its own technology rating, where, they say, the principles of transparency are practised each year at this time during the Annual Meeting. Submissions sent by users of the system through their national authority will be discussed in open committee sessions, with proposals and their rationales published in advance, as are the committee agendas, so that the public may observe and (at the discretion of the Chairman) also participate in the discussions.
This year the meetings of the ORC AGM are being held on ZOOM over Saturday, October 31 – Saturday, November 7, and members of the big boat sailing public are invited to observe by registering in advance at www.orc.org/meetings. Here the full schedule of committee meetings, their agendas and submissions are also published.
Once meeting minutes are created – usually within days – these too are published, along with approvals of changes made by the Congress. The new rules, policies and formulations are then published as soon as possible after January 1st in time for the new year's racing season.
More on ORC here
Published in Racing
ORC Race Management Guide Now Available
The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) has announced its publication of the inaugural edition of the ORC Race Management Guide.
The 24-page manual "contains ideas learned from decades of successful race management experience in events that range from local club contests to world championships held all over the world".
While written to assist race managers, the guide is also expected to be useful to owners and sailors for improving their understanding of how ORC's science-based handicap rating system works in theory and practice.
"Every year we work with organisers of world and continental championships to maintain the highest standards for their events, and we thought it would be useful to gather what we have learned into this book," said Hans-Eckhard 'Ecky' von der Mosel, who is based at Kieler Yacht Club in Germany, host of the 2014 ORC World Championship.
"We also realised we need to help those who are not at this level but also want to provide fair and fun racing to the sailors. It has taken some time, but we have this now completed and I am very happy with the results of all the work, and very thankful for the various input from all our colleagues and specialists."
The comprehensive guide is divided into three broad categories — Event Structure, Scoring and Best Practices —and is focused on how these rules apply to racing with handicap ratings.
While it is not intended to train race managers on the basic skills of how to lay a course, start a race or implement course changes (as these skills are assumed), it should nonetheless be a useful reference for both new and experienced race managers to improve their game.
The guide is also expected to evolve in content along with the trends in the sport and as ORC rules and guidelines change, so as that new content will be added with new editions that are offered on a regular basis.
A simplified Quick Guide version is also anticipated for those race organisers who are brand new to ORC, and this will follow soon.
"A major role for ORC is not only developing accurate and transparent technical tools for fair racing," said Bruno Finzi, chairman of ORC, "but also the guidance through experience on how best to use these tools.
"I congratulate Ecky, his committee and the Staff for working so hard to pull together this knowledge and express this in this important new book. We hope it is well-received in the racing community."
The ORC Race Management Guide is available for download at www.orc.org/rules and more on ORC rating systems, ORC certificates and events can be found at www.orc.org
2020 ORC/IRC World Championship in New York is Cancelled
Despite a strong entry list from the United States and abroad including Ireland, and the exhaustive efforts of the New York Yacht Club along with the governing bodies for the ORC and IRC rating rules, the decision has been made to cancel the 2020 ORC/IRC World Championships, originally scheduled for Sept. 25 to Oct. 3 at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I.
As Afloat previously reported, at least two Irish Sea campaigns were scheduled for the championships. Former ISORA champion J109 Mojito (Peter Dunlop and Vicky Cox) was making the trip to the Big Apple and a second ISORA contender, Andrew Hall's Jackhammer, a J121, was also slated.
"The impact of the coronavirus has been felt throughout the sporting world," said Christopher J. Culver, Vice Commodore of the New York Yacht Club. "Given the challenges involved with shipping boats and teams to the United States from Europe and elsewhere and the lead time required for foreign teams to make a competitive run at this prestigious world title, we don't feel that a representative world championship is possible."
The 2020 ORC/IRC World Championship was to bring top sailing teams from around the globe to battle on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay for one of three coveted world titles. The regatta would've been scored using a combination of the two most popular rating rules in the sport, ORC and IRC, and racing would've been a mix of around-the-buoys racing and longer, offshore courses.
The 2020 World Championships would've been the first time this regatta was held in the United States in two decades, and early interest exceeded expectations, with 50 boats from eight countries registering for the regatta before the COVID-19 pandemic put the sailing season in doubt.
"We are thankful to the organizers at the New York Yacht Club for all their efforts to attract a strong fleet to what would have been a memorable event," said Bruno Finzi, Chairman of ORC. "This enthusiasm for high-level handicap racing we hope will continue in the US, and we look forward to being supportive in any way we can in the post-pandemic times ahead."
"We are saddened to announce the cancellation of the ORC/IRC World Championships, long planned to be held in late September 2020 at the Newport base of the New York Yacht Club," said Michael Boyd, IRC Congress Chairman. "A large number of owners and crews will be very disappointed by our news, but will understand the many challenges posed by COVID-19 to the resumption of our sport, especially at the international level. We have also been conscious of the necessity to make a decision well in advance of the event.
"For some time, we have worked with a dedicated New York Yacht Club team and our ORC counterparts to ensure a memorable regatta, and we thank them for their professionalism and friendship. We were particularly enthusiastic about holding our joint Worlds in North America and in such a special location. We all look forward to the return of IRC yachts to race courses in North America and to getting together in Newport in more favourable times."
While the ORC/IRC World Championships was to be the penultimate event on the New York Yacht Club's 2020 sailing calendar, the Club remains hopeful it will be able to hold a handful of events during the second half of the summer and into the early fall. For the most up-to-date schedule and current regatta information, please visit the Club's website.
Published in ICRA
Entries Open Friday for 2020 ORC/IRC World Championship in New York
The 2020 ORC/IRC World Championship will be held September 25 to October 3, 2020, at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I but it is not known if any Irish boats are planning to compete.
As Afloat previously reported, the event will feature up to 100 teams from throughout the United States and beyond competing in three classes for three World Champion titles. Racing will be on both inshore courses and offshore races and will use the world's two most popular measurement-based rating systems recognized by World Sailing: IRC and ORC.
A single Irish boat competed at the 2018 Offshore Championships in the Hague in Holland where Waterford Harbour's Fools Gold flew the flag for Irish IRC interests. It remains to be seen if any Irish campaigns will venture across the pond next October but the fact that the double Commodore's Cup-winning captain Anthony O'Leary found the Newport race track so fruitful recently might just encourage further Irish interest in 12 months time. O'Leary's Royal Cork Yacht Club crew took bronze at New York Invitational Cup a month ago in a new Irish designed IRC boat that was tipped recently for success by Irish Olympic helm Mark Mansfield.
Against that, IRC Chief Michael Boyd confirmed this week that the 2020 IRC European Championships will sail this year at Cork Week in July so it is not clear if any Irish skipper will have an appetite for both.
The conventional wisdom says the sailing season in the Northeastern United States ends with the Labor Day holiday, celebrated the first Monday in September. But the locals will tell you that September and October are the best months of the year in Rhode Island and ideal for top-level sailing. Regattas held in Newport around the fall solstice usually bring a testing variety of wind and weather conditions coupled with temperate evenings perfect for post-race socializing. The absence of summer crowds makes this historic resort town that much more accessible and welcoming.
The 2020 ORC/IRC World Championship will bring top sailing teams from around the globe to battle on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay for one of three coveted world titles. It's the first time in two decades this regatta, which will be held at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court from September 25 to October 3, 2020, has been held in North America. Entries will open on Friday, October 25.
"We're extremely excited for next year's ORC/IRC World Championship," said Patricia Young, the event chair and a passionate sailor who is often found racing on her Tripp 41 Entropy. "We recognize that it's a big commitment to ship a boat from Europe, or further abroad, for this regatta. But Newport and the New York Yacht Club will reward anyone who puts in the effort with one of the best regatta experiences of their lives."
Because each of the three divisions is limited to 50 boats, there is a strong incentive to sign up early. The first 30 boats that register for each class will be guaranteed a spot in the regatta. Beyond that initial group, a selection process may be required if there are more than 50 total entries for any class. The division of classes is determined by CDL (Class Division Length) limits defined in the Notice of Race.
Class A will have the fastest boats in the fleet, from about 45 to 55 feet in length, with TP52s being among the fastest boats allowed to enter. Already there are preparation plans amongst boats in this fleet to optimize for the 2020 Worlds, and at least one new boat is being built now to compete in this class.
Close racing in Class B at the 2018 Hague Offshore Worlds © Sander van der Borch
Class B is typically composed of mid-sized boats from 39 to 44 feet in length. A ClubSwan 42, a class created by the New York Yacht Club in 2006, won Class B at the D-Marin ORC World Championship in Croatia in June.
Class C has been the most popular and competitive class at world championship events held in Europe the past few years. Boat types that compete in this class are typically production racer/cruisers, such as the J/112E from, the Netherlands that won Class B at the 2018 ORC/IRC World Championship in The Hague and Class 3 at the IRC Europeans in Cowes, UK. Small fast sportboats, such as GP26s, C&C 30s and other nimble designs, may also enter this class.
Besides 2020 World Champion titles, the event will also award for each class trophies for the top Corinthian team and the top team competing in a boat designed before 2010.
The 2020 ORC/IRC World Championship will include a mix of buoy racing and offshore courses, and use two of the world's most popular systems for rating boats, IRC and ORC. The exact scoring methodology will be confirmed shortly, but both rating systems will play a significant role.
"We're very excited to return to the U.S. with a World Championship after such a long absence," said Bruno Finzi, Chairman of the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC). "Newport and the New York Yacht Club are the perfect venues, and the interest we have had from teams here in Europe who wish to attend has been strong. We look forward to seeing the best of the U.S. and the best of the rest of the world come to race in Newport."
"Newport and the New York Yacht Club will provide a tremendous backdrop for the second combined World Championship of IRC and ORC," said Michael Boyd, IRC Congress Chairman. "Moving the championships around the world, from Europe in 2018 to now the United States in 2020, shows the truly international reach of our rating systems. We can't wait to see the broad range of sailing talent from around the world compete for this prestigious event at this esteemed venue."
Purchased by the New York Yacht Club in 1988, Harbour Court has become one of the preeminent regatta hosts in the United States. Recent events hosted by the Club include the historic J Class World Championship in 2017 along with world championship regattas for the Etchells, J/70s and Farr 40s. A 2020 summer schedule that includes the 166th Annual Regatta and the 2020 Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex will provide plenty of opportunity for visiting teams to become familiar with the local conditions and enjoy a full summer of sailing in Newport.
The stunning grounds of this 115-year-old clubhouse are perfect for entertaining regatta guests and VIPs after racing and provide one of the most spectacular views of Newport Harbor. The Club's location in Brenton Cove is in close proximity to a full suite of maritime services and diverse lodging options and provides sailors with quick access to the racecourse.
Entries open on Friday.
2020 IRC/ORC World Championship in Newport, Rhode Island, USA
The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) working in cooperation with the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and Union National Course au Large (UNCL), founding partners of the IRC rating system, are pleased to announce the approval of the New York Yacht Club to host the 2020 IRC/ORC World Championship in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.
This will be the first World Championship for offshore boats held in the United States since the IMS World Championship in 2000, also hosted by the New York Yacht Club.
"We are very pleased to work once again with RORC to plan this important event on the offshore sailing calendar," said Bruno Finzi, Chairman of ORC. "It has been too long since we have been away from the U.S., where US Sailing was one of our founding members when ORC was formed in 1969."
The proposed dates are 25 September – 3 October 2020, subject to slight modifications pending review by a Working Party formed by members representing all three partners to start on the detailed planning.
"Our experience in The Hague for the first edition of the IRC/ORC World Championship this year was positive on many levels," said Steven Anderson, Commodore of RORC, "There is a strong desire to continue this cooperative momentum towards the future. We have agreed that IRC and ORC will work with each other to approve and plan these Worlds events every two years so that our sailors may also plan to put this on their calendars as well."
"Offshore sailing is part of the DNA of the New York Yacht Club," said Commodore Philip A. Lotz. "Our waterfront clubhouse at Harbour Court combined with Newport's tremendous sailing conditions and extensive marine infrastructure, provide what we feel is one of the greatest venues for offshore racing. The Club is very excited to welcome the world to our hometown for the 2020 IRC/ORC World Championship."
The typical format of the combined Worlds has been 2 to 3 offshore or coastal races, followed by 6 to 7 inshore races. Racing will be in three classes defined by the size and rated speeds of the boats, and all-amateur Corinthian prizes will be offered in each class. ORC and IRC ratings will be used to score the racing, however the Working Party will make the final determination on how when a Notice of Race is issued for the event in 2019.
Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.
RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.
Irish Lifeboat Stations
There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.
Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues
Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.
32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.
Which is Ireland's busiest lifeboat station?
While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.
Do the RNLI get paid?
Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.
How many RNLI Lifeboat stations in Ireland?
There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland
How many lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions?
32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895
How many people are rescued by the RNLI?
In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.
What type of boats does the RNLI have?
The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.
How are lifeboats called out?
The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.
What is the relationship between the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI in Ireland?
The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.
What is a coxswain?
A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.
What training do RNLI lifeboat crews get?
RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset
How can one support the RNLI?
While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.
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EXPLETIVES IN A FAMILY PAPER, DIVERSITY AND CELEBRATING MICE
The media's classical role is to inform, educate and entertain. But in the Kenyan situation, it's not surprising to encounter a media that regularly misinforms, confuses and corrupts public morals. So you might come across expletives in a family paper, diversity and celebrating mice!
One can argue that an advertiser is largely responsible for the brief to the newspaper publisher, in terms of form and content (plus the attendant cost).
And some actually present finished material, as opposed to having designers from the newspaper actualising the concept in the brief.
But I strongly want to believe that some editorial control is still wielded by the newspaper, otherwise a lot of offensive content could easily reach the masses.
So, to the average reader out there, coming across the advert in the page above, with the phrase:
"CELEBRATING MICE IN DIVERSITY"
...what would be the intended meaning? Mice are celebrated? It's better to celebrate the mice in diversity? The venue being advertised is the best place to celebrate mice...in diversity?
The confusion is annoying, yet somewhat bearable.
But for a supposed family paper, (or am I mistaken here?) to even contemplate publishing the 'F-word' in all its inglorious suffocation, is crossing the ethical line.
A liberal world view is all good.
And prudes can be a tad slow in keeping with the 'trendy' alignment with moral decadence.
Still, any publication meant for public consumption should uphold certain ethical standards, in tandem with obtaining average decency levels.
After all, even the terms and conditions of use for the publication's website forbids content that is
'... sexist, or demeaning to either sex, abusive, sexually explicit, pornographic, of a disturbing nature...'
Stop the double standards and let your standards stand out!
Thank you for your continued support. Each visitor to this blog, feedback or any links from it are greatly appreciated. And as we confidently march into the 8th year of regular posts, it's my hope that we'll continue sharing and critiquing media content in a healthy, responsible and progressive manner.
Have a very fulfilling 2016!
Labels: Bomas of Kenya, Daily Nation, The Standard
STILLBIRTH SUCCESS: A TV STATION'S PIGGYBACK RIDE ON TWITTER
One million followers. The most engaged media brand on Twitter in the East African region. This particular feat had to be sounded off from the mountain top. But a little historical context of how it all began could offer intriguing insights. And such a success should be measured in terms of your own online real estate, not your brand piggyback riding on another popular platform.
Fact is, five years ago, Twitter was a very neglected social media platform in this particular channel.
Actually, my main point when called upon to address the big editorial meetings, was the need for the newsroom staff to open Twitter accounts and especially how this would be useful in breaking news scenarios.
Okay. A disclaimer first. I was the pioneer Online Editor of the channel in question, (a disastrous one perhaps?).
Now that we have that out of the way, I would like to disassociate myself with any impression that I'm writing this out of bitterness, (the bile is just for emphasis).
Very strangely, there was resistance to officially use Twitter on air, from very high places.
I vividly recall the day I was on reporting duties, and I asked the video editor to put my Twitter handle, alongside my name, as he rendered my piece to camera.
In my excitement, I told the boss to watch my story on air, with the hope of being among the first TV journalist in Kenya to have a Twitter handle on air, and eventually turning this into a common practise in the newsroom.
But that was not to be. My then overall boss, in a rare panic mode, ordered me to remove my Twitter handle on the story (hardly five minutes prior to it going on air).
So I always marvel at the way Kenyan broadcasting stations and even mainstream print outlets, nowadays freely display Twitter handles of their institutions and even individual journalists. And there's plenty of hashtag this or that.
Why was this a difficult thing to do five years ago, and yet internationally, this had been an approved trend, even much earlier? Or it's just the usual fear of change? (Or was the problem me taking the credit?).
So now the same TV station feels very proud to have registered a supposed highest number of Twitter followers regionally.
This could as well be a fallacy, because all the accounts in this mega count are not verified. A single follower could be operating several Twitter accounts, using different handles.
But what I find most unusual, is the objective given to the channel's digital team, to get people away from their Internet-enabled mobile phones and directing their attention to the content airing on TV.
I'm of the opinion that the reverse should be the sequence of events: get those watching TV to go online for more related content or latest updates, especially given that most stories airing on local TV have already done the rounds on the Internet.
This mentality, partly explains why many Kenyan media outlets have found it hard to maintain truly dynamic websites, laden with compelling content to sustain the interest of their online communities.
In any case, isn't it a bit foolhardy for a media outlet to boast about how well its brand is doing on another external platform?
It's similar to boasting how one's rented house is magnificent, while at the same time identifying who the landlord is.
Again, your brand's worth as a media outlet on the Internet, should be measured from the performance of your very own online real estate!
It seems the futility and vanity of mainstream media riding on their external social media presence is still not apparent to everyone.
Behold! Wading through the social media wilderness can lead to the promised land of likes and followers.
But a day will come when it becomes apparent that the online audiences of these local mainstream media have been willingly delivered to global competitors.
Labels: Larry Madowo, NTV Kenya, Twitter
MEDIA, ADVERTISEMENTS AND CONSPIRACY AGAINST CONSUMERS
It's the festive season again. When the pure Christmas spirit chokes under commercial impurities. The ingenuity of sellers goes into overdrive. As the vulnerability of buyers soars. Advertisements may not be innocent attempts to drive sales. And the media must strive not to facilitate the duping of consumers.
The advertisement above, appearing in Kenya's leading Sunday paper, looks legitimate from a casual glance.
Nearly all sales are often branded 'biggest' so that lie is harmless for now.
But one would expect some other 'falsehoods' to be at least cleverly disguised.
If you can't see what I'm talking about, look closely at all the products being advertised above. They are from one brand or manufacturer, right?
Wrong! The logo on one of the product is for a well known brand. But the description with the 20% price reduction alludes to a product of a different brand.
It's hard to believe this is an innocent mistake.
Actually, it's perhaps easier to be convinced this was an act of industrial sabotage, where one manufacturer intercepts a rival client's brief, and using its mole in the ad-agency, commits a nefarious product placement.
Quite a yarn admittedly.
The media then, ought to be more careful not to unwittingly propagate misleading information, embedded in published advertisements.
Unless...the media is part of a conspiracy against consumers.
Labels: Advertisements, Mika, Saturn Electric Mixer, Sunday Nation
LINGERING STALE HEADLINE FOR AN UPDATED ARTICLE
A headline sells a newspaper article. Similarly, the front page headline can be the difference between high and average newspaper sales. So great care is taken to craft the most appealing headlines, to grab a reader's attention. But a headline must not contradict details in the body of its own article.
It's obviously very unprofessional for a newspaper to publish one story containing two sets of facts.
What should the reader of Kenya's leading daily believe?
'Nigeria says mobile firm MUST pay $5.2bn fine'
'...the Nigerian Communications Commission... had agreed to reduce the fine to $3.4bn...'
Perhaps the story had developed. But even so, it's strange that the body of the published article is updated, (from the second paragraph), but the headline remains stale.
Or is it that a $5bn figure is more attention-grabbing than $3b?
Most probably, this is another instance of sloppy sub-editing, symptomatic of the cosmetic editorial refinement, regularly administered to Kenyan newspaper copy.
And if such contradictory facts are carelessly thrown around within a single story, what does that say about the believability and indeed credibility of a newspaper publisher?
The road to major mistakes in the media is littered with little inaccuracies!
Labels: Daily Nation, MTN, Nigeria Communications Commission
EXPLETIVES IN A FAMILY PAPER, DIVERSITY AND CELEBR...
STILLBIRTH SUCCESS: A TV STATION'S PIGGYBACK RIDE ...
MEDIA, ADVERTISEMENTS AND CONSPIRACY AGAINST CONSU...


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Press Releases Loudenbeck campaign: Achieves ballot access
Loudenbeck campaign: Achieves ballot access
Contact: Rep. Amy Loudenbeck
Madison— The Wisconsin Elections Commission approved ballot status for the fall 2018 election for state Rep. Amy Loudenbeck (R-Clinton) after she submitted in excess of the required 200 nominating signatures and her Declaration of Candidacy form earlier this week.
"It is in an honor and a privilege to serve the 31st Assembly District. I am proud of my numerous legislative accomplishments that have truly made a positive impact on my constituents and the citizens of Wisconsin. I believe the Wisconsin of 2018 is so much better than when I first ran for office in 2010.
"Unemployment is at a record low, property taxes are below what they were in 2010, and Wisconsin's Moody's credit rating was boosted to Aa1. We froze UW tuition for five years in a row while providing millions of dollars in new financial aid assistance for all types of post-secondary education. The Interstate 39/90 expansion is funded and on schedule, and K-12 education funding hit a record high.
"I know that additional work remains to address the high cost of health insurance and the long-term sustainability of the segregated transportation fund. I would like to see more income tax reductions and comprehensive reform to make our tax code fairer and flatter. I also want to continue my efforts to ensure that all Wisconsin youth succeed despite challenges they may face at school and at home.
"I look forward to another positive, inclusive re-election campaign, and am excited to build on my record as a great listener, advocate and problem-solver who works with everyone to get things done.
The general election will be held on Tuesday November 6, 2018. The 31st Assembly District contains part or all of the following communities:
Rock County Walworth County
City of Janesville City of Elkhorn
City of Beloit Town of Darien
Town of Beloit Town of Richmond
Town of Bradford Town of Sharon
Town of Clinton Town of Sugar Creek
Town of Harmony Town of Walworth
Town of Johnstown Village of Darien
Town of La Prairie Village of Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake
Town of Turtle Village of Sharon
Village of Clinton Village of Walworth
Village of Williams Bay
Rep. Loudenbeck was elected to her fourth term in November of 2016 when she won the 31st Assembly District with 64% of the vote and a difference of over 8,000 votes over her opponent.
Briana Reilly


The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection presented Pittsburgh-based Optimus Technologies and 20 other organizations from across the state with the 2017 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence. According to DEP, their projects "represent the very best in innovation, collaboration, and public service in environmental stewardship".
Founded in 2010, Optimus Technologies is the market leader in high performance biodiesel conversion solutions that utilize biodiesel and diesel for medium- and heavy-duty truck fleets. With Optimus, fleet operators have a simple way to significantly reduce fuel costs and emissions, while addressing renewable fuel targets. Optimus was built on the vision and the knowledge that other alternative fuel solutions are prohibitively expensive and do not provide the same results as biodiesel.


Jill De Haan grew up in the glorious mountains of Utah making bows & arrows and collecting unusual rocks. She reveled in her grandparents massive garden and workshop, drawing artistic inspiration from the vintage items in their home, many of which she now keeps in her own home. Her work today is always created by hand and often has a vintage or natural feel.
An old soul to the core, Jill loves embroidering handkerchiefs, sipping on cups of tea and perusing consignment shops. She specializes in lettering and illustration and loves exploring different mediums in both areas. She currently lives in Salt Lake City with her husband Michael, their baby boy Judah, and their scruffy, little dog Crackers Prish Preed.
Clients Include: Adobe, American Greetings, Atlanta Magazine, Baltimore Magazine, Boll & Branch, Christianity Today Magazine, Compendium Inc., Dunemere Books, Fight the New Drug, Hodder & Stoughton, House That Lars Built, Little Brown Book Group, Lululemon, Papyrus, Schoolhouse Electric, Vivint, Seattle Met Magazine, Sheaffer, Simon & Schuster, Southern Living Magazine, Tabletop Magazine, Two Roads Books, Vanguard, Mollie & Ollie, and Washingtonian Magazine.


The Zimbabwe Amalgamated Council of Churches (ZACC) will hold a mass prayer and unveil a petition for the removal of illegal and immoral sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Britain, the US and the European Union.
The devastating effects of illegal sanctions have impacted on the political, social, cultural, religious, economic sectors, hence ordinary Zimbabweans and churches are calling for the immediate removal of these sanctions.
Briefing the media in the capital, head of media for the programme Dr Davison Gomo said these sanctions have soured the politics of Zimbabwe to the extent of making governance not only difficulty, but dangerously volatile.
"We the undersigned under the auspices of ZACC hereby petition Britain and its supporting allies namely the EU and the US to withdraw or remove forthwith the illegal sanctions and to pay compensation to Zimbabwe and the people for the damages and grave harm caused to the economy and lives of the people of Zimbabwe," said Dr Gomo.
ZACC Patron Mr Jimayi Muduvuri noted that they are going to have huge prayer meetings on the 8th of March across the country's 10 provinces to send a message to the people about the effects of sanctions.
"Plans are currently underway to meet ministers of state from all the country's provinces so that we can address gatherings for the noble cause on that particular day," Mr Muduvuri said.
Speaker after speaker from students unions, representatives of retrenches, people living with disabilities and bishops acknowledged supporting ZACC for the petition for the removal of the illegal sanctions which they all condemned.
The illegal sanctions have excluded Zimbabwe's economic efforts from all formal international markets directly leading to industrial shutdown, blockages of credit lines and foreign direct investment and ushering untold suffering to the people of Zimbabwe.


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TechBoss – Your The Best Technology Friend
Technology news, guides and tutorials for beginners and advanced users
Posted on July 27, 2019 July 27, 2019 by Ryan
The new "King of the Lions" songs are much better – but unfortunately not in the cinema!
It has been a wise move by Disney to bring Beyoncé and Donald Glover, two of the currently biggest music superstars, as spokespersons as well as singers for Nala and Simba aboard "The Lion King". Elton John and Hans Zimmer, as well as successful music producer, hip-hopper and "Happy" hit singer Pharrell Williams, who were already part of the original film, also gave the well-known songs the necessary update to make them look modern, without losing their core and heart change.
This actually leads to an outstanding result. When I hear the songs just like that, I like the new versions even better than the originals of 1994 – by the way (with a few drawbacks) also in the German version, for which you could win among other things good children singers. But in the movie, the numbers are in my opinion very lame, the songs look even worse than their 94er versions.
ANIMALS DO NOT DANCE!
In the original from 1994, the music scenes are also so impressive, because the creators rely on a completely overbearing staging . For example, while "I want to be king right now", Simba and Nala ride in the cartoon classic on the backs of two ostriches, and the complete animation style changes right at the beginning of the song. The moment Simba starts and lands on the ground, the whole picture turns red. It's a wicked, exalted scene that awaits you in a musical that's totally out of the real world.
In the remake missing such wacky scenes. The lions, who come from the computer but are deceptively real-looking, behave like real animals. And animals do not dance, they do not ride on the back of an ostrich. It's hardly surprising, then, that the song of villain Scar, was significantly shortened in the remake. Because this song breaks even stronger than the other songs in the original with a single world. It is one big nightmare scenario in which hyena armies march, eerie shadows take place and everything seems to burn in a conflagration. It's a typical musical insert, as one might expect in the genre. Even in real films the characters in the singing and dancing deposits often say goodbye to our world.
In "The Lion King" of 2019 they do not do this. All the characters are always stuck in their world. The fact that the musical scenes are so reduced, dance performances only play a very small role, ensures that Favreau's version is a bit more fluid, smoother, more of a piece. But it also devalues the songs, because they have such a power, because the songs also pull us out of the action, you can look at each individual moment from the original as a small short film separately.
In the end, the songs in Favreau's "The Lion King" just swept past me. There are no highlights, no exceptional moments in the movie, just parts of it. And so the songs are also much worse in the end, although I find them much better. You can watch the new Lion King on fmovies.com
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I'm Brian from Dublin. I've some basic knowledge of fish keeping and I've kept small tanks in the past.
I recently bought a roma fluval 90 litre and I decided to go down the organic aqua route. After following the instructions I added in 8 harlequin rasbona and within 24 hours, 7 of them have died.
I decided to go down the organic aqua route to save me from doing the standard cycle method that I've done in the past.
I'm hoping I've recognised my error as I think it's because I didn't use an air pump in that first critical 24 hours and I've read a lot today that an air pump is essential when using organic aqua.
As of now. I've drained the tank fully and will be starting again tomorrow.
I will be using organic aqua again. Has anyone any advice or tips to ensure disaster doesn't strike twice?
I ran Organic Aqua for about 7-8 years on mine, have gone away with it in the past year back to the old normal cycled tank. What you've done sounds fine to me as you can add fish immediately after starting the tank with the Starter Pack. Air pump is always a help but I don't think the lack of it killed your fish.
Have you any test kits to test the parameters of the water out of yor tap. You might have a really high PH that was too much of a shock for the fish compared to the fish shop you bought them from. Once the OA kits are in testing for Ammonia is pointless as they are always zero.
Have you added a declorinator to the water you add into the tank like JBL Biotopool? You're in Dublin so Darren in Seahorse uses OA himself and is a big expert on it.
Thank you for the replies and advice guys.
Ive always enjoyed the weekly water change and day to day care of fish keeping. Although the organic aqua route recommends only a monthly water change it wasn't the reason I decided to give it a go.
After a bit of research i was encouraged by the results users were getting over the long term so I decided to give it a go.
Interesting about live plants though. I didn't think they struggle in an organic aqua tank. Will they die off completely or just not flourish as much as they do in a more traditional route?
For now. I will give it a chance but I can always wean off it if I'm not happy.
The only testing kit I don't have at home is PH (ran out of it) so I brought a sample over to the shop and they said it was fine.
I'm happy to write since I restarted the tank on Thursday I have had no casualties and the fish are done very well.
I was surprised, but happy with the shops recommendation of how many fish to stock straight away.
They are the fish I bought on Thursday and I also have 1 harlequin rasbora that survived my fist batch and 2 very small Norman Lampeye that were in a smaller tank I had.
Yeah I read about that mate.
I will kind of miss not using my kits!
Other than observing my fish behaviour is there any other tests Ican carry out or has the organic aqua ruled everything else out?
It feels a bit weird not having to do much maintenance?
Just observation of your fish Brian really.
One tip I was given is that if you have a hooded tank is to open up the lid at night time. As you've heard with OA there is gas build up so surface agitation and using the air stone is key. This is an extra help/boost as it allows for more exposure to moving air currents and helps clears any of the gases better as they can still hang around under the hood and above water surface.
It's a hooded tank and I do leave one of the lids open 24/7 as well as having an air pump.
My only gripe with the above is its a little noisey due to the airpump creating the bubbles and with the lid open the noise is easier to hear.
Would it be okay turning the pump off for a couple of hours per evening or is it vital to have that running 24/7?
Always been told its needed 24x7. You could close the lids during the day if it muffles the sound enough.
Ill look into that product. nice one!
Just on your stock of fish. What shop recommended black Molly and Rams for the same tank. Mollys need a teaspoon of salt per gallon in the aquarium and rams would not do well in those conditions.
Maybe I am wrong on this and someone will tear me a new one but thats what the books I have read recommend.