A rowing event of a different kind, The Blue Light Regatta took place in Whitegate, East Cork on Sunday 13/09/15. This is the second year that this Regatta was held which saw teams from An Garda Síochána, Phillips 66 fire team, the Port of Cork, the Army/Air Corps, National Ambulance Service, First Responders, local businesses and clubs take part in a series of challenging coastal rowing races. The Regatta was a major fund raising event in aid of the East Cork Rapid Response, the voluntary group that provides a Pre-Hospital Emergency Service for the East Cork Community. A full programme of races was on the card which comprised the following categories:
- Novice Ladies – winners: Ballinacurra team
- Inter Firm Race – winners: O’Riordan Pumps
- Schools and Universities Race – winners: St. Colmans
- Hospitality Race – winners: Schooner Bar, Ballycotton
- Clubs & Gyms Race – winners: Mulls Gym
- Battle of Ballinacurra Race – winners: Ballinacurra team
- The Blue Light Boat Race – Ladies – winners: Composite Garda/ECRR/ Airport Police
- The Blue Light Boat Race – Gents – winners: Army/Air Corps
The event was hosted at the club facility of Whitegate Rowing Club with the main sponsors of the event being the Port Of Cork.
After many weeks of hard training, the various crews gathered for the first race of the day, which commenced at 3.30pm, to compete in coastal rowing boats with a crew of 4 per boat and Cox and battle it out over a 1500m course in order to claim the title of Blue Light Regatta Champions 2015.
The Battle of Ballinacurra was one of the highlights of the day which saw the Ballinacurra walkers/running group compete throughout most of the races on offer in the regatta programme. This group were given their own race where they competed in mixed crews against each other with the winning team being crowned the Ultimate Champions of Ballinacurra!
The Special guest at this event was Sean Coleman who recently won 2 silver medals in swimming at the Special Olympics world games 2015.
Enthusiasts from all over the East Cork area gathered in support of this worthwhile cause to cheer on the crews taking part in the event.
ECCG was on hand to capture the event from different vantage points around the village including Sawmills Pier, the Whitegate RC clubhouse, the strand and on the water. A fantastic event for a very worthy charity, it was enjoyed by everyone in attendance and, as heavy rain fell in the surrounding areas, Whitegate stayed dry! Maybe the volume of the cheering crowds drifting across the water convinced the weather Gods to give the place a miss? Who knows?
Click here to see our full gallery of images. Enjoy!
– Noelle Lowney
On board, we were taken for a beautiful meal in the very plush Villa Verde panoramic restaurant on Deck 6, following which we went to the Aft Lounge on Deck 7 for tea and coffee. During this we made a presentation of a framed series of images of the ship, taken in Cork harbour during 2015, to the ship’s events manager, Ms. Anna Vakulenko.
At this stage we did a tour of the ship taking in the wonderful Aqua Park featuring four outdoor pools and one indoor pool with a retractable roof – ideal for cruising in our weather. We also visited the shopping mall and casino as well as the many restaurants and wellness/fitness centres. The Sports bar with its two bowling lanes was an interesting feature while the stylish Reception area with its waterfall and Swarovski crystal stairs was really classy.
As the bells of St. Colman’s Cathedral rang out for 9pm, three long blasts of the ship’s whistle announced her impending departure. With mooring ropes cast off and recovered, she was off the berth and moving downriver past the town, dipping her deck lights a number of times in farewell. A beautiful sight in the blue hour, she slipped almost silently around the Spitbank light and headed for Roches Point and out of the harbour on her way to Southampton.
It all started on 25th April with the arrival of the 
As the clock ticked past 6.30am, Royal Princess, with its 3,600 passengers and 1,300 crew on board, was visible from Cobh at Roches Point. On her tenth and final visit of the season, she was the 46th liner of the year and the first of three to call on this day. As she made her way between Forts Davis and Meagher, the sun began to spread its magic over the harbour and bathed the ship in a golden glow as she did a 180 degree turn and went alongside at Cobh Cruise Terminal.
Thereafter, we toured the ship and took in her splendour. Only two years old, she was named by the Duchess of Cambridge on the 13th June 2013 and like her ‘godmother’, exudes elegance and style at every turn. Among her highlights, the Royal Princess offers a larger and expanded atrium with additional entertainment and casual dining options and it boasts the largest top deck pool ever with Princess Watercolor Fantasy, an enhanced Movies Under the Stars screen, and a SeaWalk with views 128 feet straight down through the glass floor!
Having worked up an appetite, we adjourned to the Horizon Court restaurant on Deck 16, for lunch, for which the choice was seemingly unending. It was really relaxed and enjoyable and afterwards we planned the afternoon’s shoot which took us to the casino (which was closed unfortunately) and the atrium where an All Ireland champion uilleann piper and a local troop of Irish dancers entertained the cruisers to great applause.
Resisting the temptation to somehow stow away and depart Cork with the mighty ship, we made our way to deck four and the exit where cruisers, who had been ashore, were streaming back to the ship for the 5.30pm ‘all aboard’ time. With a glance back we marvelled at the feat of engineering and logistics that is the Royal Princess with a more meaningful understanding of the Princess Cruises slogan, “come back new”. Our brief introduction to the world of cruise liners definitely left us with a taste for more and I even heard a suggestion that next year the club should have a foreign shoot ….. on a cruise!!