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Displaying items by tag: Team Racing
Jury Required for University Team Racing at Mullaghmore Sailing Club
#teamracing – The Irish University Sailing Association is seeking Jury members for a team racing event on 23 & 24 November next weekend at Mullaghmore Sailing Club. Accommodation and food provided.
Please contact [email protected]
Published in Team Racing
Wessex Exempt Win Irish Team Racing Champs
#teamracing – The results of the 2013 Irish Team Racing Association Irish Team Racing Nationals could inspire a strange feeling of déjà vu. Yet again the final was sailed between visitors Wessex Exempt and local team the George Knights. Once again, Wessex Exempt, this year's Wilson Trophy winners, emerged as overall winners, with the George Knights as Irish Champions.
20 teams entered this year's competition, with 4 teams travelling from the UK. Following a first round, teams were split into Gold and Silver groups for the second round. As dusk fell on Saturday evening it was clear that Wessex Exempt and the George Knights were facing a challenge from the other R.St.G.Y.C. team Spindoctors, and from a new team Southern Discomfort.
One remarkable first round result was that the Knights (essentially the UCD 2009 team) were beaten by UCD 2013. Hopefully this year's team will still be sailing together in 2027.
After dinner in the impressive surroundings of the main club dining room competitors faced a different challenge as they struggled with the intricacies of one-off yacht construction in preparation for a closely fought gutter sailing event. The knock-out final was won by SB20 Master's World Champion Peter Lee representing the combined wisdom of the race officials and umpires!
Several teams failed to realise that the proposed 9.30 start on Sunday morning meant just that. With racing starting on time the second round was completed by mid-morning, just as the wind faded away altogether. The third round was reluctantly abandoned, and as the wind came in from the south the competition moved to the knock-out stage.
Both Wessex Exempt and the Knights won their semi-finals 2-0. The final was decided on the finish line of the deciding third race, as a Knights boat took a penalty for hitting the finish mark. In the petit-final Spindoctors beat Southern Discomfort 2-0 to take third place.
Medals were presented by the Commodore Liam O'Rourke and by Vincent Delaney, member of the R.St.G.Y.C. Team that won the Wilson Trophy in 1973. Vincent was umpiring this year.
The race team of Richard Bruton, Peter Bayly and Mark Henderson ran the event smoothly and, to the surprise of some, punctually. The team of 12 umpires, including visitors from the UK and Germany maintained rule observance both accurately and diplomatically. A special mention should be made of the contribution of John Sheehy to the success of this event. Not only did he manage the R.St.G.Y.C.'s organisation of the Championship, but he was also a member of the Knights team.
The 2014 edition of the Irish Team racing Championships will be sailed in Schull on 8th - 9th November next year.
Team Racing Caps off Vintage Year with Royal St. George National Champs
#teamracing – 2013 is set to be a vintage year for the Irish Team Racing Association Irish Team Racing National Championships at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire on 9th - 10th November 2013
20 teams have entered, with others on the waiting list. Four teams are travelling from the UK, including last year's overall winners Wessex Exempt, and West Kirby. Multiple Irish champions the George Knights will return to defend, yet again, their title. Regrettably, the George Gladiators will not be there to challenge them, as too many of the team were unable to return from economic exile. However, another George team, the Spindoctors, will be competing, together with a strong Munster contingent including Schull and Zephyr.
College teams are also competing in force, with teams from UCD, Trinity, Universities of Limerick and Cork, also Cork IT. Two teams from Manchester University, coached by West Kirby SC will provide interesting competition.
The ITRA Nationals are also an annual gathering for team racing umpires. With 6 umpires travelling from the UK, the event is a unique opportunity fro Irish umpires to compare techniques and interpretations with the aim of achieving consistent umpiring throughout the international umpiring community.
The National Championships is organised by the Royal St. George Yacht Club, the cradle of team racing in Ireland.
For further information please contact :
Gordon Davies
Hon. Sec. ITRA
Respectable Finish For Royal Cork In Ireland's First 2K Tour Appearance
#London2K - Royal Cork Yacht Club's team finished a respectable fifth in the Royal Thames Invitational 2K Team Racing Regatta over the weekend.
Eight teams from around Europe took part in the event from 25-27 October that featured two-boat keelboat team racing using J80-type boats at the Queen Mary Sailing Club, near Heathrow Airport.
Fred Cudmore and Rob O'Leary led Ireland's first ever entry in the 2K tour, with team members Ross Deasy, Phil O'Leary, Sarah O'Leary, Jamie Donegan, Emma Geary and Eimear O'Leary.
And they distinguished themselves in a challenging field against the likes of current UK dinghy team racing champions Sam Littlejohn and Tom Hebbert of first place Spinnaker Auspicious.
Team Racing Nationals Date Set for Royal St. George YC in November
#teamracing – The Irish Team Racing Association National Team Racing Championships will be sailed out of the Royal St. George Yacht Club on 9th - 10th November.
As the Royal St George Yacht Club celebrates 175 years of existence it is appropriate that the Irish National Championships returns to a club that pioneered team racing. Indeed, according to the accepted version of the birth of the sport, the idea of team racing in identical one-design dinghies took form in the bar of the club, as sailors from West Kirby SC relaxed after a days sailing against sailors from the "George". Two Irish teams, including one from the Royal St George YC, then travelled to West Kirby to compete in the inaugural Wilson Trophy in 1949. Teams from the club then went on to win this prestigious trophy in 1956, 1972and 1974. Many of the 1970's generation of team racers are still active in the club, indeed we hope that at least one of them will be umpiring this year.
Last year's winning team, Wessex Exempt, will return to defend their title, whilst the local team George Knights hope to continue a long winning streak, broken only once in recent year by a team of upstarts - the Gladiators, also from the Royal St George YC. On the other hand the Youth Championship in recent years has been dominated by teams from Schull.
Entries are invited from teams of six sailors from Ireland or elsewhere.
The entry fee is €360, which includes dinner on Saturday night in the club. Teams wishing to enter should contact the Irish Team Racing Association. A pre-entry deposit should be sent to arrive on or before Monday 21st October.
This is the major event on the Irish team racing calendar, both for the sailors and for the umpires. As usual for this event local umpires will be joined by umpires from the UK, and, this year, from Germany.
Associating colleagues from the UK ensures consistency in the application of the rules and in umpire technique. This is essential for teams who hope to compete in the UK and elsewhere. As team racing develops in Europe (albeit in a slightly different form) the prospects for Iirsih team racing have never been better.
To enter, or for further details: [email protected]
royal stgeorge yc
International Team Racing Fights Back
#teamracing – At the ISAF Conference last November the Team Racing sub-committee recommended that: no ISAF Team Racing World Championship be held in 2013; that team racing be an event at the Youth World Sailing Championships.
The general tone of the meeting was that 3v3 dinghy team racing was dominated by a few nations, and would not develop outside these countries. The future for the development of team racing was seen to be in the youth classes and small keelboats.
At the recent Wilson Trophy, the 64th edition of West Kirby S.C.'s prestigious event, a group of sailors and umpires, each having some responsibility for developing team racing in their home nation met to discuss the future of team racing. Nations represented were UK, USA, Ireland, Norway, and Australia. Before the meeting contact had also been made with New Zealand and Canada.
The consensus amongst those present was that:
3 boat dinghy team racing was a core activity in the team racing tradition;
there is no conflict of interest between different forms of team racing – 4v4 in Optimists, 3v3 for adolescents and young adults and 2v2 keel-boats for more mature sailors; team racing needs a pinnacle event in all forms of the discipline;
existing well established events could not provide this pinnacle event, largely because they are national championships with limits on international entry; understanding that ISAF may no longer wish to run a World Championships, sailors, umpires and their organisations may wish to organise their own international events;
Finally, it was agreed that the development of international team racing requires the emergence of an international grouping of team racers to promote the interests of the sport and to facilitate the organisation of international events. The working title of this organisation is the International Team Racing Association.
As a a first step a Facebook page has been set up. Friends of team racing can support this initiative by "liking" the page. All those volunteering to contribute actively in the development of international team racing should leave a message giving contact details
Alternatively contact me, I am acting as secretary for the moment:
Hon Sec Irish Team Racing Association
2K Places Available as Keelboat Team Racing Comes to Howth YC
#teamracing – Keelboat team racing is developing fast. With events throughout Europe, most conveniently situated near an airport offering direct flights to Dublin, an inaugural European Championships in the Netherlands, 2K TR offers an international challenge to team racers.
Howth 2K will be sailed next weekend, 1st-2nd June. The event will be sailed in the Sailfleet J80s. 2K is sailed without spinnakers. Teams of
eight sailors will compete. See NOR to download below.
Teams entered include a Howth YC team, teams from various Irish universities and a visiting team from Edinburgh. Any team wishing to
compete should contact the Irish Team Racing Association immediately, as there are one or two places still available.
Please contact: [email protected] 0861501220
Wessex Exempt are Worthy Winners of 64th Wilson Trophy
The 2013 British Open Team Racing Championship for the Wilson Trophy was won by Wessex Exempt on Sunday in a thrilling best of five final sailed on West Kirby's marine lake. The six sailors overcame stiff competition from 34 teams from as far afield as America, Ireland and across the UK, eventually meeting Grafham Gorillas in the tense final round of the three-day event.
The top Irish team of four competing after 19 rounds was Dun Laoghaire's Royal St. George Knights in 12th place. Next was Howth in 17th, Royal Cork in 18th and Schull Youth 19th.
Wessex Exempt (Ben Ainsworth, Rachel Williamson, Jonathon Pinner, Kerry Capps, Tom Heywood, Catherine Friend) put in a consistent performance throughout the 323-race Swiss League preliminary rounds to qualify for the quarter-finals in second place, having won 14 of their 19 races.
Home-team favourites and current World Team Racing Champions, West Kirby Hawks, qualified at the top of the Swiss League, subsequently beating Royal Thames Yacht Club 2-0 in the quarters. But a shock 2-1 defeat in the semi-finals saw the home team favourites knocked out of the event by Grafham Gorillas.
After a solid performance in this morning's races, Grafham Gorillas found their form when it mattered, storming their way into the final having already beaten RF Hoosiers - over-night leaders who had been hotly tipped for the Trophy final – in the quarter final.
American team, Rhode Island Pistols, also sailed a determined series, making it to the semi-final only to find their boat handling skills coming under pressure in a 2-0 defeat by eventual winners, Wessex Exempt, who had previously dispensed with Spinnaker Auspicious in their 2-1 quarter-final match.
So it was Grafham Gorillas who faced Wessex Exempt in the best-of-five final.
As the teams took to the boats sailing a brand new flight of equally matched Fireflies - thanks to support from sponsor DHL – the cheers and shouts of support came from the crowds of spectators gathered in the grandstand and lining the shore of the marine lake. Sunshine and good breeze had the recipe for champagne team racing conditions, and the spectators were not disappointed.
Race one saw a win to Grafham following a penalty on the finish line, but Wessex came back with a stronger start to finish in a 1,3 winning combination in race two. The third race was closely contested, with boats from both teams taking penalty turns on the second leg, but Wessex gained the advantage on the run and held it to the finish.
The fourth race saw Grafham start strong; taking an early 1,2 combination, they consolidated their win with some text book team racing manoeuvres.
And so it came down to the final fifth race decider to determine who would be the new Wilson Trophy Champions. With a Grafham boat over the line, Wessex quickly took control, rounding the first mark in a solid 1,2 position which they never relinquished.
After crossing the finish line, both teams returned to the start area for the traditional sail past of the grandstand in front of the cheering crowds, with runners up, Grafham Gorillas, stopping their boats to applaud the winners in a true show of sportsmanship.
Speaking at the prize-giving, Commodore of West Kirby Sailing Club, David Taylor, who was also an umpire at this weekend's event, congratulated the competitors and said: "That was certainly one of the most sporting finals at the Wilson Trophy in a long time; it was fantastic to watch.
He added: "A huge thanks goes to all our sponsors - DHL, Carlsberg, GJW Direct, MI Finance, Speed Medical and Musto – and to the organisers and the volunteers of West Kirby Sailing Club for making the event possible."
Accepting the prestigious Wilson Trophy, Wessex Exempt team-member, Jon Pinner, said: "This is my tenth year at the Wilson Trophy, an event with an incredible history. Thank you not just to everyone at the event this year, but for the last ten years, and all the years before that. This event is a real institution. We have been smiling all weekend; it's been fantastic and we are delighted to have won. The cheering from the crowds on the last beat was amazing, and thank you to our friends, Grafham Gorillas, for a really fantastic final."
Winners of the Under 21 Trophy was Bristol University, who finished a credible 11th place overall. The Wilson Plate awarded to the first team not to make the quarter-final cut, West Kirby Sailing Club.
Of the 34 teams from USA, Ireland and across the UK, perhaps the team facing the steepest learning curve of all was the British Sailing Team, fronted by 2012 Olympic silver medallists, Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell. Although disappointed not to make the quarter-final cut, the duo found themselves inspired by this, their first ever team racing event.
Speaking after racing today, Stuart Bithell said: "The event has been unbelievable; we have had an amazing three days here. We may not have had such a great time results-wise ourselves, but today it has been an absolute pleasure to watch the world's best team racers here in action, and to watch our friends in the final. If only we had been able to see them show us how it's done beforehand, we could have brought a notebook! But there has been a brilliant atmosphere, and it's easy to see why this event just keeps getting bigger and better. We hope to be back next year!"
Visiting the event earlier in the weekend was John Derbyshire, RYA Performance Manager, who works closely with the British Sailing Team. He said: "This has been great opportunity for the British Sailing Team members to gain some exposure to team racing, which uses many of the skills needed for medal racing at the Olympics. It adds a whole new dimension which we hope will help these guys on their way to Rio 2016. We hope to encourage more members of the British Sailing Team to attend this event in future."
Wilson Trophy
Ireland in the Hunt as Countdown to Wilson Trophy Begins
Less than 48 hours remain until the start of this year's British Open Team Racing Championship for the Wilson Trophy (3-5 May). At 12 noon on Friday, all eyes will turn to West Kirby's Marine Lake to see if home team and current Team Racing World Champions, West Kirby Hawks, can defend their 2012 Wilson win against 200 other top sailors, amongst them, 2012 Olympic 470 silver medallists, Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell.
With 34 top teams from across the UK, Ireland and the USA, the calibre of the competition is in no doubt. Some 300 races are scheduled for the weekend; with 8am start times, the club's volunteer organisers are hoping to complete around 24 hours of racing.
Having made the final play-off for the last four years running, and having won the Trophy on two of those occasions, hopes are high amongst the West Kirby Hawks. Team captain, Andy Cornah, says: "We are feeling confident going into this year's Wilson, having performed well at all the big events - and done more training than previous years. We have a slight team update with me changing crew after sailing with Hamish Walker for nine years; I am now sailing with Charlotte Lawrence, an experienced team and match racer."
But could this crew change prove to be the chink in the Hawks' armour that the other teams will be hoping for? Interestingly, Hamish has made the switch from the Hawks to helm for Spinnaker, a highly experienced team that recently won the UK Team Racing Nationals title for the second consecutive year, which was also sailed on West Kirby waters. Hamish's fellow helms are Tom Hebbert, past World Team Racing Championship runner-up, and Sam Littlejohn of fleet racing fame; they will certainly be amongst the teams vying to make Sunday's quarter-final cut.
Now in its 64th year, the Wilson Trophy is credited with being not only the largest event of its kind in the world, but also the toughest. Andy continues: "There are lots of good teams this year, including Spinnaker, another West Kirby team, Wessex Exempt, Southampton Male Voice Choir, Royal Thames Yacht Club, plus strong US and Irish teams, and of course, the British Sailing Team, which will be really interesting to see how they get on."
Fronting the British Sailing Team are 2012 Olympic 470 silver medallists, Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell, who have teamed up with multiple national champion and past Endeavour Trophy winner, Christian Birrell. All three helms are relatively new to the team racing scene, but are looking forward to cutting their teeth at the world's premier team racing event.
Luke says: "I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to enjoy the sport outside the relentlessness of Olympic sailing. These moments don't often get to come around often, and you never know where you can learn lessons to take to Olympic racing."
Strong competition also comes from across the pond, with teams from Rhode Island and New York Yacht Club making the pilgrimage.
Mike Huang, who was a member of the New York Yacht Club team that won the 50th anniversary Wilson, is once again representing NYYC, and also believes the competition to be open this year.
He says: "Who will be the toughest opposition? Some years it's obvious and others, like this year, it's a complex question. Each team has a competitive cycle and when there have been US teams that have kept the same team while racing together each year, they become dominant as there are few who can manage the time to do so. Then team members begin to have stronger work commitments and as practice wanes, so do results and the team that was 'green' two or three years ago, has now risen to become quite crisp.
"This cycle can been seen globally and looking through that lens, this year's Wilson line up shows experience mixed with youth on many of the teams and I believe the game will be more wide open. We certainly have a lot 'under the hood,' and the hope is always that we knock enough dust off in the early rounds to charge in the qualifying rounds. If we get in there, you're likely to be quite entertained by our performance going forward!"
When it comes to youth teams, leading the charge for the Under 21 trophy will undoubtedly be Schull Youth team. The Irish youngsters have an excellent track record, winning the U21 category at this event last year, as well as the British Schools Dinghy Racing Association Team Race Finals, and having claimed a silver medal in the U21 category at the last World Championships.
Other young teams hoping to excel will be Magdalen College School, and a number of top university teams, including the current British University Champions, Bristol University.
The Wilson Trophy is sailed in a Swiss League format, ensuring that racing remains tight for all teams throughout the qualifying rounds on Friday, Saturday and early Sunday. Crowds of spectators are expected to pack West Kirby's lake wall in their thousands, taking advantage of free grandstand seating and live commentary, not to mention the chance to see two of Britain's Olympic heroes in action sailing just metres from the lake wall.
The final rounds are scheduled to take place on Sunday from 2pm, when the action reaches its climax, with the top eight of 34 teams entering a play off for the all-important final match.
All that remains now for the volunteer organisers at West Kirby Sailing Club is to make the final preparations before the teams and umpires arrive for the first round draw on Thursday evening, ahead of what should be an exciting and fun weekend for spectators and competitors alike.
Ireland Sending Four Teams, Two Umpires to Top British Team Racing Event
#wilsontrophy – Two Olympic silver medallists are set to take on West Kirby Sailing Club's home team plus other top teams from across the UK, USA and Ireland, as the world's largest team racing event, the British Open Team Racing Championship for the Wilson Trophy, is hosted by West Kirby Sailing Club over Bank Holiday weekend (3-5 May).
This year there will be four Irish teams competing from the Royal St George YC, Royal Cork YC, Howth YC and Schull. Irish Umpires Cxema Pico and Gordon Davies will be part of the team of 25 umpires attending.
Amongst the 34 teams entered, the hot contenders for the Trophy win include special guest entry, British Sailing Team, fronted by 2012 Olympic silver medallists in the men's 470 class, Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell. The duo also have silver medals from World and European 470 Championships under their belts, and are both 2016 Rio Olympic hopefuls.
Explaining his motivation for entering the event, Bithell says: "The Wilson Trophy is an event I used to do as a crew when I was very young and I loved every minute. Now we are going there to improve our knowledge of the rules and how we can use them to our advantage in fleet racing."
Despite their outstanding fleet racing CVs, the pair is under no illusion that the event will be an easy ride. Patience says: "Given that we rarely team race, it's impossible to tell how well we will do. I am sure we will be targeted hard by the team racing world and shown how it's done!"
Patience and Bithell will be joined by third helm, Christian Birrell, who boasts National Championship wins in several classes, and is a former Endeavour Trophy winner.
Birrell competed at the UK Team Racing Championships also held at West Kirby Sailing Club in March and despite the weather was so enthused by the club and the competition that he was determined to come back for the Wilson Trophy with his Olympic friends. He says: "When I was invited to do UKTRA, I became a total convert to team racing. I've always listened to friends talk about the excitement in the build up to the Wilson Trophy and the tales which follow, and now I get that excitement!"
This talented trio forms the back-bone of the six-person team, with Lib Manser, Bethan Carden and a 'special guest' completing the line-up as crews.
The British Sailing Team will face particularly fierce competition this year, as the home team and current ISAF Team Racing World Champions, West Kirby Hawks, seek to defend their 2012 trophy win. Other contenders include the current UK National Team Racing Champions, Spinnaker Auspicious; as well as Royal Thames Yacht Club, Southampton Male Voice Choir, Grafham Sailing Club, Itchenor Sailing Club, Royal Forth Hoosiers and two other local West Kirby teams.
From overseas, New York Yacht Club's team has traditionally presented a strong challenge and is predicted to do so again this year. A team from Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Pistols, should also feature in the mix, along with three strong Irish teams representing Royal Cork, Royal St George and Howth Yacht Clubs.
Also competing will be several university teams, including recent BUSA winners, Bristol. Two school teams are also taking part in the form of RYA Youth Team Racing Champions, Magdalen College, and Schull Community College from Ireland who won the Under 21 category at the Wilson Trophy last year.
With so many top sailors vying to earn those all-important places in the quarters, semis and ultimately, the final, all eyes will be on West Kirby as the teams battle their way through the event's Swiss League format.
Commodore of West Kirby Sailing Club, David Taylor, says: "West Kirby Sailing Club is delighted to welcome our Olympic medallists to take part in this year's Wilson Trophy. The Wilson trophy is renowned for its very special atmosphere; and this is a fantastic opportunity to come and watch some of the world's finest sailors in action and to cheer on our Olympic heroes. This year promises a truly thrilling line-up."
The Wilson Trophy is the largest event of its kind in the world; now in its 64th year, the three-day team racing extravaganza takes place in the unique amphitheatre formed by West Kirby's Marine Lake.
With a premium on boat handling and close-quarters tactics, races are short and action-packed, taking place just metres away from the shore. The promenade and sea wall form ideal vantage points for spectators, with live commentary and grandstand seating, and flights of equally-matched colour-coded Fireflies, making the action easy to follow.
Racing takes place over three days, beginning at noon on Friday and at 8am on Saturday and Sunday. The finals are scheduled to commence at 2pm on Sunday. You can also follow the results at www.wksc.net/wilsontrophy
Royal Cork Yacht Club lays claim to the title of the world's oldest yacht club, founded in 1720.
It is currently located in Crosshaven, Co. Cork, Ireland and is Cork Harbour's largest yacht club and the biggest sailing club on the south coast of Ireland.
The club has an international reputation for the staging of sailing events most notable the biennial world famous Cork Week Regatta.
In 2020 RCYC celebrated its tricentenary under its Admiral Colin Morehead.
Royal Cork Yacht Club FAQs
What is the Royal Cork Yacht Club?
The Royal Cork Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in the world, and celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2020. It is one of the World's leading yacht clubs, and is in the forefront of all branches of sailing activity. It is the organiser of the biennial Cork Week, widely regarded as Europe's premier sailing event. It has hosted many National, European and World Championships. Its members compete at the highest level in all branches of sailing, and the club has a number of World, Olympic, continental and national sailors among its membership.
Where is the Royal Cork Yacht Club based?
The Royal Cork Yacht club is in Crosshaven, Co Cork, a village on lower Cork Harbour some 20km south-east of Cork city centre and on the Owenabue river that flows into Cork Harbour.
When was the Royal Cork Yacht Club founded?
The club was founded as The Water Club of the Harbour of Cork in 1720, in recognition of the growing popularity of private sailing following the Restoration of King Charles II. The monarch had been known to sail a yacht on the Thames for pleasure, and his interest is said to have inspired Murrough O'Brien, the 6th Lord Inchiquin — who attended his court in the 1660s and whose grandson, William O'Brien, the 9th Lord Inchiquin, founded the club with five friends.Originally based on Haulbowline Island in inner Cork Harbour, the club moved to nearby Cobh (then Cove) in 1806, and took on its current name in 1831. In 1966 the club merged with the Royal Munster Yacht Club and moved to its current premises in Crosshaven.
What does the Royal Cork Yacht Club do?
The Royal Cork Yacht Club today encompasses a wide variety of sailing activities, from young kids in their Optimist dinghies sailing right through the winter months to the not-so-young kids racing National 18s and 1720s during the remaining nine months. There is also enthusiastic sailing in Toppers, Lasers, RS Fevas and other dinghies. The larger keelboats race on various courses set in and around the Cork Harbour area for club competitions. They also take part in events such as the Round Ireland Race, Cowes Week and the Fastnet Race. In many far off waters, right across the globe, overseas club members proudly sail under the Royal Cork burger. The club has a significant number of cruising members, many of whom are content to sail our magnificent south and west coasts. Others head north for the Scottish islands and Scandinavia. Some go south to France, Spain, Portugal and the Mediterranean. The more adventurous have crossed the Atlantic, explored little known places in the Pacific and Indian Oceans while others have circumnavigated the globe.
Who are the flag officers of the Royal Cork Yacht Club?
As of November 2020, the Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club is Colin Morehead, with Kieran O'Connell as Vice-Admiral. The club has three Rear-Admirals: Annamarie Fegan for Dinghies, Daragh Connolly for Keelboats and Mark Rider for Cruising.
How many members does the Royal Cork Yacht Club have?
As of November 2020, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has approximately 1,800 members.
What are the Royal Cork Yacht Club's burgee and ensign?
The Royal Cork Yacht Club's burgee is a red pennant with the heraldic badge of Ireland (a stylised harp topped with a crown) at its centre. The club's ensign has a navy blue field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and the heraldic badge centred on its right half.
Does the Royal Cork Yacht Club organise racing?
Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. The club also hosts many National, European and World Championships, as well as its biennial Cork Week regatta — widely regarded as Europe's premier sailing event.
Does the Royal Cork Yacht Club cater for youth sailing?
Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has an active junior section with sailing in Optimists, Toppers and other dinghies.
Does the Royal Cork Yacht Club cater for sail training?
Charles Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club regularly runs junior sailing courses covering basic skills, certified by Irish Sailing.
What sailing classes does the Royal Cork Yacht Club host?
The Royal Cork hosts both keelboats and dinghies, with the 1720 Sportsboat — the club's own design — and National 18 among its most popular. Optimists and Toppers are sailed by juniors, and the club regularly sees action in Lasers, RS Fevas, 29ers and other dinghy classes.
Does the Royal Cork Yacht Club have its own fleet?
The Royal Cork Yacht Club has a small fleet of 1720 Sportsboats available for ordinary members to charter.
What facilities does the Royal Cork Yacht Club have?
The Royal Cork Yacht Club's Club House office can provide phone, fax, email, internet and mail holding facilities for a small charge. Club merchandise and postcards may be purchased. Showers and toilet facilities are available 24 hours a day, free of charge. Parking is plentiful and free of charge. Diesel and petrol are available on site. Marina berths are generally available for a fee payable in advance; arrangements must be made before arrival.
Does the Royal Cork Yacht Club have a bar and/or dining facilities?
Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club's Club House has all of the usual facilities, including bars and restaurant, which are open during normal licensing hours. The restaurant provides a full range of meals, and sandwiches, snacks etc, are available on request.
What are the opening hours of the Royal Cork Yacht Club?
Normal working hours during the sailing season at the Royal Cork Yacht Club are 9am to 9pm daily. For enquiries contact the RCYC office on 021 483 1023 or email [email protected]
Does the Royal Cork Yacht Club host functions such as weddings, parties or corporate events?
Yes, the Royal Cork Yacht Club caters for all types of events rom weddings, anniversaries, christenings and birthday celebrations to corporate meetings, breakfast meetings, luncheons, private dinners and more. For enquiries contact the Royal Cork Yacht Club office on 021 483 1023 or email [email protected]
How do I become a member of the Royal Cork Yacht Club?
New members are invited to apply for membership of the Royal Cork Yacht Club by completing the Nomination Form (available from www.royalcork.com/membership) and returning it to The Secretary, Royal Cork Yacht Club, Crosshaven Co Cork. Nominations are first approved by the Executive Committee at its next meeting, and following a period on display for the members, and are reviewed again at the following meeting at which any objections are considered.
Do I need to own a boat to become a member of the Royal Cork Yacht Club?
No; while ordinary members of the Royal Cork Yacht Club are usually boat owners, there is no requirement to own a boat when submitting an application for membership.
How much does it cost to join the Royal Cork Yacht Club?
The annual feel for ordinary members (aged 30+) of the Royal Cork Yacht Club is €645. Family membership (two full members and all children aged 29 and under) is €975, while individuals youth (ages 19-29) and cadet (18 and under) memberships are €205. Other rates are available for seniors, associates and more. All fees quoted are as of the 2020 annual subscription rates.
How long does membership of the Royal Cork Yacht Club last?
Memberships of the Royal Cork Yacht Club are renewed annually, usually within 60 days of the club's Annual General Meeting.
How do I contact the Royal Cork Yacht Club?
For enquiries contact the Royal Cork Yacht Club office on 021 483 1023 or email [email protected]
©Afloat 2020
Northern Ireland Marinas to Close From December 26 in Covid-19 Clampdown


EDMONTON, ALBERTA, March 18, 2014 - Mindoro Resources Ltd. (TSXV: MIO; ASX: MDO; Frankfurt: WKN 906167) ("Mindoro", or "the Company") today advised that joint venture partner, TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX:TVI) (OTCQX:TVIPF) ("TVI") and its Philippine operating affiliate, TVI Resource Development (Phils.), Inc. ("TVIRD"), announced the first nickel production from the joint venture's pilot plant at Intertek Minerals Philippines in Manila, for the Agata North project, Agusan del Norte Province, northern Mindanao.
TVI Pacific Chairman, President, & CEO, Cliff M. James, said this is another significant milestone that has allowed us to successfully validate both production and cost efficiencies of our process, adding that the technical program is on track to provide metallurgical data required to design the proposed full-scale pilot plant.
A Nickel Hydroxide Product (NHP) filter cake was produced from TVIRD's pilot plant on February 7th, 2014 with a 52% to 54% Ni grade.
NHP impurities such as Fe, Ca and Mg are low, thereby resulting in a versatile refined intermediate nickel product that may be directly processed to nickel oxide or nickel metal with no further refining required.
Prior to NHP production, 8,000L of Fe and Ni rich Pregnant Leach Solution ("PLS") was purified via TVIRD's continuous counter-current ion exchange ("IX") pilot plant, successfully validating the viability of this IX purification process as well as establishing all design parameters for full-scale plant design.
IX Ni recovery from PLS to eluate was 99.3%.
Pilot Plant Metallurgist Vito Andada demonstrates the production of NHP from a filter press at the Agata Nickel Project pilot plant in Intertek Minerals Philippines.
The successful pilot testing is an important step in producing the bankable feasibility study, currently in progress. For further details, see TVI's March 17, 2014, press release, available on TVI's website (http://tvipacific.com/) and SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
A National Instrument 43-101 Compliant Mineral Resource estimate released on April 10, 2013 (available on www.sedar.com and www.mindoro.com) shows the Agata DSO project to have reported Proven and Probable Reserves of 9.70 million wmt grading of 48% Fe with 0.9% Ni. The joint venture is currently seeking the final required permits to allow the DSO operation to commence. Prime Resources Holdings, Inc., a Philippines corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Prime Asset Ventures, Inc., holds a 68.42% direct equity interest in TVIRD. See Mindoro's October 1, 2012, and June 24, 2013, press releases for further joint venture details.
Mindoro is a Tier 1 Issuer trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (MIO), Australian Securities Exchange (MDO) and Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN 906167). Mindoro has a 75% interest and an option to acquire the remaining 25% in the Agata Nickel Project, Mindanao, and the Pan de Azucar Sulphur-Copper-Gold Project, Iloilo. TVIRD has the option to earn up to a 60% interest in these projects by meeting the earn-in requirements outlined in the June 24, 2013, release. Mindoro also holds a 9% stake in ASX listed Red Mountain Mining (ASX: RMX), which has a 100% direct and indirect interest in the Batangas gold and copper-gold projects.


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SMARTbooks – Intellectual Fuel for the Military!
SMARTbooks: Reference Essentials for the Instruments of National Power (D-I-M-E: Diplomatic, Informational, Military, Economic)!
Recognized as a "whole of government" doctrinal reference standard by military, national security and government professionals around the world, SMARTbooks comprise a comprehensive professional library designed with all levels of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Civilians in mind.
SMARTbooks can be used as quick reference guides during operations, as study guides at education and professional development courses, and as lesson plans and checklists in support of training. Our reference series of books are carried at virtually every Army and Air Force base around the world and have spanned the globe with more than 550,000 copies sold.
Browse our collection of Military Reference SMARTbooks to learn more!
The SMARTbook reference series is used by military, national security, and government professionals around the world at the organizational/institutional level; operational units and agencies across the full range of operations and activities; military/government education and professional development courses; combatant command and joint force headquarters; and allied, coalition and multinational partner support and training. SMARTbook features include:
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Applying Informational Art
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The SMARTbook reference series is used by military, national security, and government professionals around the world at the organizational/institutional level; operational units and agencies across the full range of operations and activities; military/government education and professional development courses; combatant command and joint force headquarters; and allied, coalition and multinational partner support and training.
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National Training Center (NTC), Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Mission Command Training Program (MCTP)
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All references used to compile the SMARTbooks are in the public domain and are available to the general public through official public websites and designated as approved for public release with unlimited distribution. The SMARTbooks do not contain ITAR-controlled technical data, classified, or other sensitive material restricted from public release. SMARTbooks are reference books that address general military principles, fundamentals and concepts rather than technical data or equipment operating procedures.
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Temple Beth Sholom is a Conservative egalitarian synagogue offering a full range of Jewish services for all life-cycle events. We look forward to your visit and hope you will join us for services and some of our other activities and programs.
Welcome to FirstSarasota, the Downtown Baptist Church! We invite you to visit us for worship, Bible study, and fellowship! Experience all that we have to offer, as we share the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Pine Shores Presbyterian Church is a faith community of seekers and disciples, those who choose to make the world a better place, those who have questions while living a life of faithfulness. We have young and old, singles and those in all kinds of family configurations.
A welcoming Catholic community devoted to living out and celebrating God's Word and Sacraments by connecting people to Christ through faith, love and ministry.
All people are welcome here! We are an inclusive, progressive congregation, holding fast to the best traditions of the past and willing to explore the new places God may lead us. We are a large and diverse community of faith. We invite you to join one of our ministry or program groups where you will be personally supported, spiritually and intellectually challenged, and encouraged to make a difference in the world.


Hermann, Missouri is a town not only rich in heritage and culture, but also in beauty. In Hermann, Missouri – One of the Prettiest Towns in America, local photographers William Fields and Tony Carosella take you on a tour of Hermann, spotlighting her breathtaking landscapes, her majestic river, her architectural beauty and, of course, her people.
With over 150 photographs, the book will allow you to see with your own eyes why Hermann has been called "one of the prettiest towns in America" by travel writers, national publications and now, by you.
Tony Carosella began his career as a freelance photographer in St. Louis, Missouri. His clients included Industrial and Architectural firms and he traveled around documenting their projects. Tony settled in New Haven, just a little east of Hermann and loves photographing the beauty of Missouri Wine Country.
William Fields has been a visual artist throughout his entire life, creating drawings, watercolors, art prints and ultimately, fine art photographs. He became a full-time art photographer after retiring from a career in aerospace and automotive management consulting. William is devoted to and inspired by the Missouri countryside. His work has been used as set decorations on a Steven Spielberg television series and can be found in both public and private collections. He lives on a forested hilltop overlooking the Missouri River with his wife, Louise, and a dog named Smooch.


Click the button below to add the Okuma Convector Line Counter Reels to your wish list.
Convector levelwinds and line counters revolutionized the fishing tackle industry, offering a powerful gearing and drag system platform previously unattainable at the Convector's value-oriented price. Today, the Convector has grown to a position as a staple in salmon fisheries from Alaska to the Great Lakes, and everywhere in between. The Convector's no-nonsense design features aluminum and stainless steel components at all critical stress points, along with Okuma's patented Mechanical Stabilization System that maintains parts alignment over the long term. Line counter models are available in both right and left hand retrieve to serve all anglers. Convector stardrag reels are backed by a 1 year warranty.
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Gamma-rays are photons at the extreme end of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are very energetic but, like X-rays, they are absorbed by a few metres of ordinary air so gamma-ray detectors are placed on rockets, balloons or satellites.
Gamma-rays tend to be produced in enormous explosions, so ordinary stars and galaxies are not very bright in images made using gamma-ray telescopes. The brightest sources in the gamma-ray sky are quasars, supernovae, gamma-ray bursters and neutron stars.
Famous gamma-ray observatories include the SWIFT satellite, the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, and INTEGRAL.


l o u p * c h a r m a n t: Loup Charmant Paris Showing & Beyond.
Loup Charmant Paris Showing & Beyond.
Moira, April, Cassi et Moi.
and it was great to show the line there with our friend April of Alasdair.
Le Dauphin is a beautifully designed space. A windowed, mirrored marble box. Perfect.
They so kindly lent us their space for two beautiful days of our showing.
for all they did to make Paris such a success for us.
If you're in Paris, definitely add reservations at the delicious Le Dauphin or Le Chateaubriand next door.
The prix fixe at Le Chateaubriand is outta control.
in Paris and then in the country & coasts of Brittany & Normandie.
All gorgeous in the early fall & I finally got to see the fairy tale that is Mont St Michel.
What a magical Medieval fantasy land.
and then surrounded by vast stretches of sand or ocean.
The tides move in & out extremely quickly exposing or covering about 9 miles of coastline.


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Ex-CIA Man Warned Top Executives To Leave New York On 9/11
Report: Warner Bros. senior executive told staff "something big is happening that day"
According to a report by Jeremy R. Hammond of the Foreign Policy Journal, senior executives of a major U.S. corporation were warned by a former CIA operative to leave New York on September 11, 2001, the latest smoking gun to add to a bulging stack of examples concerning specific prior knowledge of the attacks.
The article cites an anonymous source who worked under a managing director as number two at a European branch of the media giant Warner Bros. The source's boss was close friends with a senior executive who worked at the head office in L.A. and had also formerly worked for the CIA.
During the memorial arrangements for a senior director from a foreign office who had died, the L.A. executive rejected September 11th as a date for the service because "something big is happening that day" and the top executives from the New York office would all be traveling out of the city.
(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)
When asked further about this big event, the executive replied that it was a confidential matter and disclosed no further details, except to say that it was "not corporate".
The source told the Journal, "I had no reason to think that the 'event' could be anything more than perhaps a junket, an out of town think tank exercise or whatever – I remember that these possibilities ran through my mind."
But after 9/11, thinking back upon the conversation, he grew more curious and tried to ascertain where the board members had been that day. They had indeed been out of New York, he says, traveling not to one location, but each to their own destination. Destinations included overseas locations such as Paris, London, and Amsterdam.
Foreign Policy Journal has not been able to verify the location of individuals on 9/11 or other aspects of the story concerning any potential warning received or given by any Time Warner executives, but did confirm the source's position at the foreign branch office, the name and position of that office's managing director, and the name and position of the senior executive from the Los Angeles office.
The fact that senior corporate executives were absent from New York on 9/11 is interesting considering what we know about Warren Buffet hosting a "charity fundraiser" that was preceded by CEO's receiving a tour of the US Strategic Command (Stratcom) headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, and also being given an "unclassified mission briefing".
The corporate media has given limited coverage to reports of general prior knowledge about 9/11, while almost universally ignoring specific examples of foreknowledge.
Perhaps the most blatant example of specific prior knowledge is the fact that, as Newsweek reported in its September 13th 2001 issue, top brass Pentagon officials were warned the night before the attacks and cancelled a trip scheduled for the next day.
Warnings about a big event happening in New York were widespread in the weeks and days before the attacks.
In a story entitled Some Got Warning: Don't Go Downtown on Sept. 11, the New York Daily News reported, "Some Middle Easterners in the New York area were warned ahead of time to stay out of lower Manhattan the morning of Sept. 11," noting that federal investigators received tips about overheard conversations in which people were "boasting about or warning about coming attacks."
Another case involved a Palestinian boy at the New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn. On September 6th, 2001, the boy looked out of his classroom window towards lower Manhattan and said, "Do you see those two buildings?" while pointing at the WTC twin towers. "They won't be standing there next week."
This was not an "urban legend" as some have claimed, it has been proven in triplicate by numerous mainstream media reports and acknowledged by federal authorities and the FBI.
This was just one example amongst several reports of schoolchildren in the New York area circulating knowledge of the attacks before they happened. If school kids knew that a major attack was about to take place, how on earth could the most sophisticated intelligence apparatus in the world have failed to pick up on it?
German police confirmed that an Iranian man frantically tried to warn U.S. authorities of an attack on the eve of 9/11, attempting to call them from his deportation cell.
Another proven example of specific prior knowledge that the establishment has attempted to sideline as an "urban myth" is the story concerning the Israeli instant messaging company, Odigo.
A report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which was later confirmed by the Washington Post, related how employees of Odigo were warned specifically about the attack via instant messages two hours in advance.
Mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown was set to fly into New York on the morning of September 11. However, he got a call from what he described as his 'airport security' late September 10th advising against flying due to a security threat. Brown awoke on September 11th to scenes of the WTC on fire and his flight was cancelled.
A record number of 'put' options, speculation that the stock of a company will fall, were placed on American and United Airlines in the days preceding September 11th. This despite a September 10th Reuters report stating 'airline stocks set to fly.'
Between September 6 and 7, the Chicago Board Options Exchange saw purchases of 4,744 put options on United
Airlines, but only 396 call options. On September 10, 4,516 put options on American Airlines were bought on the Chicago exchange, compared to only 748 calls.
The investigation as to which criminals benefited from advance knowledge of the terrorist attack led straight to Alex Brown/Deutsche Bank – chaired up until 1997 by executive director of the CIA, Buzzy Krongard.
This article was posted: Monday, November 3, 2008 at 12:04 pm


Helping others is more than rewarding and the Elks has many opportunities everyday to volunteer, giving back, in addition to the opportunity to earn community service hours. Be part of a bigger movement and volunteer today!
Never forget our Veterans. They served, they fought, and it's time for us to repay.
They are tomorrow's future, help us to help them develop & grow through our Therapy Services and Youth Camp.
See how the Elks are making a difference. Take pride in where you live. Give back and volunteer.
The Elks National Drug Awareness program is the largest volunteer drug awareness program in the United States.
The Elks National Foundation provides more than $3.74 million in college scholarships each year through its three scholarship programs. Contact your guidance counselor for more information or visit the Elks National Foundation Scholarship at www.elks.org/enf/scholars.


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St. Olaf Magazine | Winter 2019
The 2018 Mayo Innovation Scholars (from left) Rayan Saldeldin Bashir Mohamed '20, Bjorn Anderson '20, Disa Sullivan '20, Suvd Davaadorj '20, Dao Thi Anh Nguyen '20, Yilin Song '20, Jessie Le '20, and Wael Awada '19 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
St. Olaf has a strong track record of preparing students for careers in medicine and the health sciences, most notably as physicians, nurses, and physical therapists. Students benefit from a rigorous and broad liberal arts education, one-on-one advising, faculty-student research collaborations, and internships and clinical experiences at top health care organizations like Mayo Clinic, as well as networking opportunities with engaged alumni who willingly share their knowledge and expertise.
St. Olaf's claim as one of the best baccalaureate colleges for preparation to work in the health professions is backed up by data. From 2011 to 2016, 75 percent of St. Olaf students who applied to medical school with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.60 were accepted, compared to the overall national average acceptance rate of 47 percent among students with comparable grade point averages during the same time period.
"Liberal-arts-trained health care workers tend to be better problem solvers," says Kevin Crisp, biology professor and chair of St. Olaf's Health Professions Committee. "They pay attention to the social, economic, and cultural context of patient care. Through their exposure to the humanities and social sciences and arts, they're broadly trained in communication, cultural competencies, and intercultural awareness to be effective in their work."
For the past two years, every senior nursing major at St. Olaf — 48 students in total — has passed the Minnesota State Board of Nursing RN licensure exam. As students of the liberal arts, these nurses-in-training have developed critical and ethical reasoning skills, applied interdisciplinary knowledge to their understanding of patient care, and become proficient collaborators and leaders. As well-rounded generalists with clinical experience in pediatrics, geriatrics, public health, and other medical specialties, St. Olaf nursing graduates are in high demand with employers.
"Our clinical partners are eager to employ our graduates," says Susan Huehn, associate professor of practice in nursing and chair of the Department of Nursing. "This past summer, we had 11 juniors complete nursing internships, and four of them had jobs before they even started their senior year this past fall. All of the nursing graduates in the Class of 2018 had jobs before graduation."
Students interested in the health professions earn majors across the liberal arts, including science and non-science disciplines. Those who are considering medical school can pursue pre-med (or pre-health) studies in tandem with their major.
At St. Olaf, being pre-health is an intention, not a major, and that intention guides students' curriculum choices, as not all of them will go on to become doctors. Among those who do head to medical school, the Association of American Medical Colleges notes that, nationally, only 51 percent of medical school enrollees in 2012 majored in biological sciences. The remaining matriculants majored in the humanities, mathematics or statistics, the physical sciences, the social sciences, or specialized health sciences.
St. Olaf's philosophy is to help students think past the title of "doctor" to examine how they can best use their skills to improve the lives of others, Crisp says.
"We want students to explore career options that suit them and that fit their specific set of skills," he says. "We offer a rigorous science education, research opportunities, and support for students to discover all sorts of possibilities to make a difference within the health sciences. We help them put their unique talents, perspectives, and experiences to best effect and to go on to get jobs in the field of their choice, whether that's as a physician, dentist, nurse, physical therapist, or any number of other options."
Liberal-arts-trained health care workers tend to be better problem solvers. Through their exposure to the humanities and social sciences and arts, they're broadly trained in communication, cultural competencies, and intercultural awareness to be effective in their work. Biology Professor Kevin Crisp
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, between 2016 and 2026, health care-related occupations are projected to add more jobs to the economy than any of the other occupational groups. Both Huehn and Crisp note in particular that the booming nursing industry (15 percent of jobs added to the health care market will be in nursing) will benefit from St. Olaf's excellent nursing program, whose students will be well-positioned to fill many of those vacancies.
While nursing students earn a bachelor of arts degree in nursing, they also partake of St. Olaf's liberal arts curriculum by completing the general graduation requirements, such as courses in a foreign language, oral and written communication, and abstract and quantitative reasoning.
After becoming an RN, nursing major Erica Rempert '20 would like to become a traveling nurse, a position that would enable her to accept assignments in different locations across the country at hospitals in a variety of units for a minimum of 13 weeks. "I really value the small class sizes and the close relationships my fellow nursing students and I are able to have with our faculty, who genuinely care for and about me, not only as a student nurse but more importantly as a person." The nursing program also encourages its students to pursue other interests, notes Rempert, who participates in the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, and the Swing Club, and works in the college's Wellness Center as a peer educator.
"It's imperative that students have the combination of a liberal arts education with professional preparation because the health care system is so complex," Huehn says. "A broad education prepares students to become discerning practitioners."
Admission to St. Olaf's nursing program is competitive, with only 24 students admitted each year. The program includes clinical experiences that prepare nursing students to work in all specialty areas, including psychiatry, obstetrics, and general medical surgery, as well as in elementary, middle and high schools, among others. St. Olaf's clinical preparation for students in public health, in particular, sets the college apart from other baccalaureate nursing programs.
"While most programs prepare generalists, most don't offer public health certification as we do," Huehn says. St. Olaf's location also provides nursing students with the best clinical experiences in a combination of urban and rural, public and private settings through partnerships with a variety of clinical agencies, ranging from Rice County Public Health and Northfield Hospital to Twin Cities hospitals like Abbott Northwestern, Hennepin County Medical Center, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
The nursing program soon will benefit from enhanced facilities as well. Having been temporarily housed in the basement of Ytterboe Residence Hall for the past three years, the department will move in February 2019 into newly renovated space in Regents Hall of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.
The new space, which includes two labs for simulation training with high-fidelity patient simulators, improves the department's technical capacity to educate future nurses. In simulation labs, students work with educator-controlled adult and neonatal patient simulators that mimic neurological and physiological processes like respiration, blood flow, muscle activity, eye movement, and skin response. The training leads students through a variety of unfolding scenarios related to patient care, which helps them learn to tend to a patient's emotional needs while also treating their physical needs.
"Simulations are a great way for students to practice their skills in a safe environment," Huehn says. "Students learn to interact with other members of a health care team as well, such as a physician or a chaplain."
The move also better supports the nursing program's collaboration with faculty and students in other science programs, Huehn says. "Proximity to other departments, both in the natural and social sciences, will allow us to provide cross-disciplinary training. Students in other health science programs will also benefit from using the simulation labs."
In addition to simulation work, all nursing students and most pre-health students participate in cadaver dissection as part of St. Olaf's comprehensive anatomy and physiology program.
"Working with cadavers is another experience that can be quite impactful for our pre-health students, as it's an experience that is rare at the undergraduate level," Crisp says. "The cadaver dissection students conduct a memorial service of gratitude in honor and thanks to the individuals who donated themselves as cadavers to our program. This is a powerful, moving event each year, and it is an important part of our students' anatomy education as they reflect on the dignity and selflessness of our donors."
While nursing students gain clinical experience beyond the Hill, pre-health students also have numerous experiential opportunities that offer firsthand exposure to health care. Administered by the St. Olaf Piper Center for Vocation and Career, cohort internship programs pair students with mentors (some of whom are alumni) who oversee the students in laboratory research and job shadowing in all areas of patient care.
The 2017 Rockswold Scholars (from left) Rebecca Martin '19, Peter Cunniff '19, Beth Westphal '19, Eleanor Goodnow '19, and Ann Jensen '19
These programs include the Rockswold Health Scholars Program at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis — where students are mentored by neurosurgeon and program creator Gaylan Rockswold, M.D., '62; Sarah Rockswold, M.D., '90; and Jon Snyder, M.D., '94 — and Health Scholars at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where mentors include David W. Larson, M.D., '93; Erik K. St. Louis, M.D., '87; Scott H. Okuno, M.D., '85; Scott E. Kaese '83; and Stephen Q. Sponsel '82.
In addition, small teams of students participate in the Norway Innovation Scholars and the Mayo Innovation Scholars Programs, founded by alumnus and retired Medtronic executive John Meslow '60, and overseen by faculty advisor Kevin Crisp. The teams of students conduct biotech research projects or evaluate potential business opportunities for discoveries and inventions created by physicians and researchers.
In keeping with the St. Olaf value of civic engagement, pre-health students are encouraged to pursue community service opportunities.
Students also have the opportunity to intern and/or conduct research at Fairview Health Services; Allina Health; TRIA Orthopedic; the Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplantation Center at UMN under the supervision of John Wagner, Ph.D., P'11; the Center for Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in Northfield, Minnesota; Consultative Health and Medicine in Minneapolis (an internship provided by Chris Johnson, M.D., '76 to two students every summer); and the Children's Mercy Center for Bioethics in Kansas City, Missouri.
The 2017 Mayo Innovation Scholars (from left) Madeline O'Connor '19, Beth Westphal '19, Soren Schwendeman '20, and Christopher Casey '18
These programs are intentionally developed in partnership with hospitals and clinics to offer unique experiences that are available only to Oles, says Katie Hughes, the Piper Center's associate director for pre-health career development and coaching, who provides personalized advising while overseeing experiential pre-health programs, including structured job shadowing, for students interested in the health professions. "We work really hard to create formal opportunities for students to do more vocational discernment to make sure a career in the health professions is right for them," Hughes says.
In keeping with the St. Olaf value of civic engagement, pre-health students are encouraged to pursue community service opportunities. For example, nursing students teach about oral hygiene at local Head Start programs and recently participated in discussions with community members to understand further how health care workers' attitudes toward patients in poverty affect the health care those patients receive. "It's an effort to help students become more compassionate caregivers," says Huehn.
With careful planning, pre-health students can also study abroad — another hallmark of a St. Olaf education. Many choose St. Olaf's service learning–focused Peruvian Medical Experience, during which students assist alumni health professionals who are serving the dental and medical needs of Andean communities in and around Cusco, Peru.
"All told, St. Olaf supports and empowers pre-health students to be autonomous decision makers with respect to their careers, guiding them along the way with everything from individualized advising and academic planning to experiential development and networking opportunities. "We want them to ask, 'How can I use my education to be the best doctor I can be? The best nurse?'" Crisp says. "We're here to support their development according to their potential and their desires.
The Institute for Freedom & Community Explores the Complexities of Health Care
In spring 2018, St. Olaf's Institute for Freedom & Community offered a series of events related to health care, which remains one of our country's most urgent, complex, and controversial public policy issues.
The diverse slate of experts included Joanne Lynn, M.D., who addressed elder care in America — an increasingly urgent social problem as the boomer generation ages — and Gilbert Meilaender, who provided guidance in thinking through the complicated ethics of palliative sedation. Two other events focused on the question of what kind of health care system the U.S. should adopt: David Craig and Joan Tronto debated the merits of incremental or radical reform while considering solutions ranging from single-payer insurance to community health centers, while Amitabh Chandra and Tyler Cowen highlighted the critical role that market incentives and innovation play in the quality and quantity of health care Americans can access.
These thought-provoking conversations are available online at http://institute.stolaf.edu/public-programs/2017-2018.
EconomicsFacultyMagazineOle AchieversOles Can Oles WillOles in ActionResearchSTEMStudents
This article is found in the Winter 2019 issue of the St. Olaf Magazine. Written by Marla Hill Holt '88
St. Olaf Magazine Writer
St. Olaf researchers study snow for clues on climate change Academics
St. Olaf researchers study snow for clues on climate change
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Q: Android - RSS - How can I get RSS of this link http://vtc.vn/RssCate.aspx?Group=0 I want to get rss of this link
http://vtc.vn/RssCate.aspx?Group=0

how can I do that?
I use DOM parser, but it's not work
Please help me!
Thanks and best regard

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Kids tell honest and important stories, yet they often go unheard. BYkids is here to change that. Founded by Holly Carter, a Pulitzer Prize nominated journalist, BYkids is a non-profit organization pairing master filmmakers, including the late Albert Maysles and Ric Burns, with youth (ages 8-21) from around the world to create short documentaries that educate Americans about globally relevant issues and give them concrete ways to respond.
In January of 2016, Season One of "Films BYkids" aired nationally on PBS. The five-part documentary series, narrated by Ashley Judd, took viewers around the world — stopping in Tibet, India, Mozambique, and the United States. As for the directors, they were all 16 and 17 year-olds who shined a light on social issues they face daily. It was such a hit, the team is back for Season Two with a new batch of mentors and directors, and we want to help.
Covering topics such as climate change, child marriage, human trafficking, indigenous people, the juvenile system and more, Season Two will be nothing short of riveting. Our AWB grant will be towards editing fees for Episode One. In this film, 12-year-old Edelcine Mendez will share her personal story of how climate change is directly impacting her family and their livelihood from coffee. She is mentored by the legendary filmmaker, Joyce Chopra, whose work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
You can find BYkids on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. If you missed Season One, you can watch it here.


Following an increase in the ongoing volcanic activity on Ambae, Vanuatu, a state of emergency has been re-instated and compulsory evacuation of the island has been ordered.
For policies purchased before 27 September 2017 7:00am AEST, and between 21 October 2017 and 26 July 2018 inclusive, cover is available where you have no option but to change your travel plans because your service provider cancels or restricts services as a result of any volcanic activity. Where your trip has not yet begun, cover is available for the lesser of rearrangement or cancellation costs.
Where travel has begun and you have no option but to change your travel plans, your policy covers the following benefits when they are listed under the plan you have purchased: medical expenses overseas; travel delay; cancellation costs or additional travel and/or accommodation expenses resulting directly from a provider cancelling or restricting your scheduled public transport services.
For policies purchased between 27 September 2017 7:00am AEST and 20 October 2017 inclusive, and on or after 27 July 2018, cover is not available for claims arising from any volcanic activity, including any new ash cloud events, as such events are no longer unforeseen.
This restriction of cover also applies to any travel plans made or changed between 27 September 2017 7:00am AEST and 20 October 2017 inclusive, and on or after 27 July 2018, where you are impacted by the volcanic activity.


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FDA Approves Intrarosa
FDA Approves Intrarosa (prasterone) for Postmenopausal Women Experiencing Dyspareunia
November 17, 2016 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Intrarosa (prasterone) to treat women experiencing moderate to severe pain during sexual intercourse (dyspareunia), a symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy (VVA), due to menopause. Intrarosa is the first FDA approved product containing the active ingredient prasterone, which is also known as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).
During menopause, levels of estrogen decline in vaginal tissues, which may cause a condition known as VVA, leading to symptoms such as pain during sexual intercourse.
"Pain during sexual intercourse is one of the most frequent symptoms of VVA reported by postmenopausal women," said Audrey Gassman, M.D., deputy director of the Division of Bone, Reproductive, and Urologic Products (DBRUP) in the Office of Drug Evaluation III in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). "Intrarosa provides an additional treatment option for women seeking relief of dyspareunia caused by VVA."
Efficacy of Intrarosa, a once-daily vaginal insert, was established in two 12-week placebo-controlled clinical trials of 406 healthy postmenopausal women, 40 to 80 years of age, who identified moderate to severe pain during sexual intercourse as their most bothersome symptom of VVA. Women were randomly assigned to receive Intrarosa or a placebo vaginal insert. Intrarosa, when compared to placebo, was shown to reduce the severity of pain experienced during sexual intercourse.
The safety of Intrarosa was established in four 12-week placebo-controlled trials and one 52-week open-label trial. The most common adverse reactions were vaginal discharge and abnormal Pap smear.
Although DHEA is included in some dietary supplements, the efficacy and safety of those products have not been established for diagnosing, curing, mitigating, treating or preventing any disease.
Intrarosa is marketed by Quebec-based Endoceutics Inc.
Posted: November 2016
Intrarosa (prasterone) FDA Approval History
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New Jersey's 9th Legislative District
Connors, Rumpf & Gove
District 9 Newsletter
Connors, Rumpf & Gove Oppose Common Interest Community Bill; Express Concerns About Impact on Age-Restricted Communities
June 12, 2019 Contact: Jason Smith / (609) 693-6700
As legislators with a longstanding track record of supporting the rights of age-restricted community residents, Senator Chris Connors, Assemblyman Brian Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove (all R-9) said that they will continue to oppose legislation (S-2425) that would consolidate laws concerning common interest communities, including the taxation of common property, applicability of local ordinances, the effects of eminent domain, and other statutes.
As legislators with a longstanding track record of supporting the rights of age-restricted communities, the 9th District delegation will oppose legislation that would consolidate laws concerning common interest communities. (©iStock)
Senator Connors voted against the legislation in committee and on the floor of the Senate when S-2425 was presented on the Senate floor for a full chamber vote on June 10 of this year.
The members of the 9th District delegation emphasized that this legislation is especially alarming, because it would allow Trenton to interfere in the operations of age-restricted communities in cases in which it deems that a community's bylaws do not speak to a specific issue. This means that Trenton, in turn, would act as the community's de facto governing body.
The delegation, which represents a number of age-restricted communities, issued the following statement in opposition to S-2425:
"Residents of age-restricted communities value their autonomy. They do not want nor need Trenton interfering with their affairs.
"At first glance, this bill seems innocuous. But after careful consideration, our delegation will oppose this bill, because of provisions in the legislation that could leave the door open for Trenton to impose its will on our seniors, by filling in what it sees as gaps in a community's bylaws.
"We don't question the intent of the bill's sponsors or supporters. It's just that there's too much history of Trenton trying to over-regulate age-restricted communities, when there is no pressing need or public support to do so.
"The fact of the matter is age-restricted communities are better run than the state government is, largely because local residents – not bureaucrats – are in charge.
"New Jersey is grappling with a number of serious problems that are victimizing taxpayers statewide. We shouldn't be spending limited time and resources on specifying what residents of age-restricted communities can and cannot do."
S-2425 was passed by the full Senate on June 10, 2019 and referred to the Assembly. Assemblyman Rumpf and Assemblywoman Gove will vote 'NO' should S-2425 be presented on the Assembly floor for a full chamber vote.
NJ's 9th Legislative District
Similar Posts on SenateNJ.com
Connors Votes "NO," Rumpf & Gove Remain Opposed to Common Interest Community Bill - July 1, 2020
Connors, Rumpf & Gove: Trenton is At It Again – Vetoed Common Interest Community Bill Reintroduced and Back on the Agenda - May 29, 2020
Connors, Rumpf & Gove Deliver Petitions Signed by Thousands Who Oppose Common Interest Community Legislation to Trenton - September 18, 2019
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Win Battles With "No Power"!
It was an awesome array of military might: An army of 580,000 mighty men of valor, all well-armed and skillful in warfare. However, the army that came against them had a million men and three hundred chariots!
Lesson 020 - "Five Simple Words"
It is far easier to criticize our families rather than to praise them. Even in trying to praise them, pitfalls may arise. How can fathers encourage their wives and children? Mothers, also: how can they praise their husbands and children?


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Rock Cress is smothered in stunning violet cup-shaped flowers with yellow eyes at the ends of the stems from mid to late spring. Its small tomentose round leaves remain green in color throughout the year. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.


Middleburg Heights, OH (Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015) – For the fifth consecutive ratings period, Southwest General has earned a continual 'A' in The Leapfrog Group's elite national ratings program, "Hospital Safety Score"—recognizing the hospital's strong commitment to patient safety.
The announcement, released nationally today by the independent hospital watchdog, shows key shifts among many hospitals on the A, B, C, D and F grades rating them on errors, injuries, accidents and infections.
The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation's leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, independent nonprofit. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Hospital Safety Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.
Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog's Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single A, B, C, D or F score. The score represents a hospital's overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm.
More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in Oct. 2015, with 773 hospitals receiving an A grade. Only 10 hospitals in Greater Cleveland earned an 'A' grade, with three of those 10 hospitals being from Cleveland's west side—Southwest General, St. John Medical Center and Lakewood Hospital.
The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, offering a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades on the website. Also, patients can review their hospitals past safety performance alongside its current grade, allowing them to determine which local hospitals have the best track record in patient safety and which have demonstrated consistent improvement.
To see Southwest General's full score, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. Hospital Safety Score, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.


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Our Day at the Giant Magnet
We headed up to Seattle for a day at the Giant Magnet. We didn't know what to expect, but we certainly didn't expect what we found. We got there a bit later than we had planned and had just enough time to eat lunch before heading over to McCaw Hall for the World of Laughter show, which was a set of shorter shows by a couple of the performers.
We arrived at the performance hall to find kids. Lots and lots of kids. It was chaotic and loud as the public school classes formed up outside the doors. Fortunately, being an individual family rather than a school group, we got let in and seated first...in the front row.
First up was this guy. He was our MC who also played a couple of really odd songs. The poor guy thought he was hip and funny, but he was really just a dork. Gosh, it's got to be painful to have your material fall that flat.
Now THESE guys are really weird! According to the MC and the Giant Magnet website, this is Godfrey Daniels but he has a couple of partners. His routine is completely silent and slow, but then you find yourself amused by the antics. It's really hard to explain.
Then after some more moments with our MC, we listened to this guy tell us a rather surprising story. According to the Giant Magnet website, this guy is part of Tahqua. He told us a story about how he was alive in his mother's belly and went into detail about swimming, and feeling, and thinking in the womb. Then he told about the birth and declared us all "awesome" because we were "birth warriors". His story was humorous and very descriptive. He was kind of like a combination of Native American and hippie stuck in the 70s.
Finally, the show concluded with a short skit by Jamie Adkins. It was a shorter version of the show we saw Tuesday night, so not quite as great as the first time. I would really love to see a full performance by Jamie. He is so darn good!
After the show, we headed outside where it was bright, beautiful, and sunny. The Space Needle looked awesome against the blue sky. (I've never seen it from this angle so had to get a picture.)
There were various free activities that were part of the Giant Magnet. Hula hooping, kite making, and working with clay were just a few options. With it being the warmest day of the year so far (74 degrees), we opted to play in the fountain. My kids have never played in a fountain like this, and boy did they love it.
Josh, who doesn't like getting splashed, threatened the fountain with a hula hoop. He mostly kept out of range of the spray, though the mist kept him cool. At one point, the fountain sprays stopped, leaving just a bit of water coming off the big dome. Josh, thinking it was safe, headed up to the dome and was standing right on top of one of the jets in the ground when it came back on. Boy did that shock him! He went running away in anger. I was quite a distance away at the top of the bowl (the fountain is located at the bottom of a huge depression) with Madelynn and had to yell for Mika to go running after him before he totally disappeared in the crowd. He was really unhappy about that jet!
At one point, I took Madelynn down to see the fountain. She didn't think much of it.
Mika and Sam jumped right in and had a ball. This especially warms my heart because not too long ago, this would have never happened. Mika was too afraid of getting water on her face to have this kind of fun.
The fountain won the battle; the sopping wet warriors returned to lay in the sun and warm up. Unfortunately for them, we weren't prepared for playing in the fountain so they went home sopping wet and cold.
It turned out to be a great day. The kids want to go back just to play in the fountain again.
Labels: Our Homeschool Adventures


Fourth-grade scientists at JFK recently explored animal kingdoms, the food chain and food webs, culminating in the dissection of owl pellets.
In their studies, they realized that much can be learned about a barn owl's diet by analyzing the types of bones in the pellet the owl regurgitates after swallowing its prey whole. The students dissected the owl pellets together and used reference materials to identify the prey animals by their bones. Dozens of tiny bones were compared to those on a poster of animal skeletons to reveal the types of prey consumed. The hands-on experiment led to a true understanding of how the food web really works.


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Home / Supplements / Section 2 / A hoary legend of the Amarnath Yatra
A hoary legend of the Amarnath Yatra
The Amarnath Yatra, which started for the cave shrine with its ice lingamon 28 June, is a vital strand in the perennial fabric that envelops Bharat Mata and the belief in Lord Shiva. But fewer Kashmiri woodcutters and shawl sellers, came to Delhi now, though the legend of the silver mace lives on.
R V Smith | New Delhi | July 13, 2019 1:36 am
The Amarnath Yatra may culminate next month but the magic of Lord Shiva's silver mace, Chhari Mubarak, with its lovely Urdu name, will linger on the whole year
The silver mace of Lord Shiva will, after the month-long yatra, reach its annual destination, the holy cave of Amarnath and the ice lingam, which waxes with the full moon. There are many stories about the mace (known as the Chhari Mubarak) and how it came to be associated with the pilgrimage. But off the beaten path one heard this one at the shrine of Sheikh Kalimullah in Delhi, where the Kashmiri woodcutters and shawl sellers camp during their winter migration and is tempted to repeat it now that there is so much concern over the yatra because of a terrorist threat. Incidentally, Kalimullah means one who talks to God and the name was originally given to the patriarch Moses. But Kalimullah, the saint whose shrine is situated opposite the Red Fort, was a religious reformer in the reign of Aurangzeb and had his hospice at the spot where he was later buried.
In the 1960s, the Kashmiri labourers used to migrate to the Capital in large numbers to escape the rigours of winter in their home state. Since one did not stay very far from the shrine, it was possible to visit it every evening for the qawwalis that were a regular feature then. Sitting outside one of the tents in front of a logwood fire on which the handi was being cooked, it was a pleasure to listen to a bearded man, who spoke of the time when the custodian of the Chhari Mubarakwas a Kashmiri Pundit, who had embraced Islam.
The man, who will have to remain nameless as the storyteller just referred to him as the "former Pandit", would bring out the Chhari every year to cries of "Nare taqbi". His family saw to it that the occasion turned into a real festive one, with drummers playing before the house since early morning. After the community feast the pilgrims used to assemble. Swinging the chhari, the ex-Pandit would proceed towards the mahantand hand it over to him with due ceremony amid cries of "Har har Mahadev".
The custodian, his sons and other male members of the family would accompany the procession for 500 yards while the women looked on. Then after embracing the mahantand enjoining on him the duty of bringing back the chhari safely, the custodian would return, but five of his relatives accompanied the mace right up to Amarnath. On the day of the full moon when the mahantreached the holy cave he would offer the chhari to the ice lingam, the visible form of the ever present Shiva, for it was actually his walking stick, which he missed the whole year. How it was bestowed to mankind is another story
Once while descending from his Himalayan abode, Shiva met a lame man who couldn't move out of his way fast enough. His retort brought the reply from the lame man that he too would move fast if he had a silver walking stick. The kindhearted god immediately handed over his mace to him. The chhari remained in the man's possession ever since. It was handed down from father to son until it came to the exPandit. Well, he revered the heirloom all right and on the final day of the pilgrimage distributed sweets to mark the culmination of a great event.
And then on the return journey, when the runners brought word that the Chhari procession was only a few miles away, the ex-Pandit and his family began preparing for the reception. Preceded by the nishan (flag) and drummers, the Chhari came into view and the custodian went forward to receive it. He embraced the mahant again and swung the mace three times in the air to a deafening cheer and slogans, both of Hindu and Muslim faiths. Everybody in the family rejoiced that the priceless heirloom had arrived safely, to be kept away with thanksgiving for another year.
We know how the Chhari now begins its journey from Jammu, arrives in Srinagar, where it is kept at the Dashnami Akhara, and then taken by MahantDipender Giri after the puja to Pahalgam, from where it proceeds to the cave shrine via Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni. But the bearded man's tale, redolent with cries of "Allah ho Akbar", "Nare taqbi" and "Har har Mahadev", had its own charm and comes to mind as a symbol of communal amity, more so now because of the threat by the Harkatul-Ansar and other terrorists.
The pilgrimage may culminate next month but the magic of the Chhari Mubarak, with its lovely Urdu name, will linger on the whole year. One does not know if that old man still comes for his annual sojourn at the shrine of Kalimullah Sahib, but even if he doesn't there must surely be someone still who relates such tales while the evening meal is cooked, for how can a Kashmiri forget the hallowed mace of Lord Shiva? Even Allama Iqbal, such a proponent of the initial idea of a Pakistan homeland, revered the god because of his Kashmiri Pandit ancestry that made him refer to Lord Rama as "Imam-e-Hind" and the Ganges as the life-sustaining sacred river. To quote from the poet: "Ai Ab-e-rood Ganga hai yaad din woh tujko / Uttara tere kinare jab karavan hamara" ~ a lucid reference to the arrival of the Aryans. The Chhari Mubarakalso is a relic of that cherished past.
The same shair (poet) went on to eulogize the mother country with this remarkable verse: "Yunan, Misr, Rooma sab mit gaye jahan se / kuch baath hai ke hasti mitthi nahin hamari. (Greece, Egypt and Rome have gone into oblivion after their heyday, but isn't it amazing that Indian civilisation still continues to flourish as of old?)."
According to another story, the mace of Shiva was welded under the supervision of Vishwakarma and was originally seven feet in length and weighed 20 seers. Once the demons sneaked into Swarg to steal the Amrit churned out from the ocean, Parvati woke up the god from his trance and told him to protect the nectar which could have made the Rakshasimmortal. Shiva look hold of his mace and threw it at the demons with whose impact they were buried under Mount Kailash. Every year they tried to get out of the crushing burden on them and every year Shiva used the mace to subdue them and keep them in bondage, until they were finally annhilated.
With a view to keeping this happening alive, Bhole Nath told Rishi Markande to organise a yearly yatrato his cave in Amarnath. The Chhari Mubarakwas handed over to the Rishi, who had defied death by sending back even Yama with his tapasya when he came to take his "prana" after he had attained the age of 16, which had been fixed as his life-span by Shiva, following the penance by the rishi's parents for the birth of a son and heir. Rishi Markande sought out a man who could keep the Lord's mace in safe custody for the Yatra. He eventually found a Pandit, who was a celibate and had never cast an evil glance at any woman, despite the efforts of apsaras sent by Indra to tempt him to break his vow of Brahamacharya. The Pandit was a Kashmiri named Pran Nath, who lived to the grand old age of 150 years after Bhraspati, the physician of the gods, had prolonged his life by making him drink a few drops of his own blood.
When the time came for Pran Nath to relinquish his mortal coil, he called his chief disciple, Gopal Nath and handed over the mace to him. Thereafter it was handed down generation after generation to the Akhara members of Pran Nath and is still with them. When the end of the world comes the Chhari Mubarak will pass on to Kalpi Maharaj who will, after his sojourn on earth, return it to Shiva so that he can use it to usher in a new world order after pralaya. How true these stories are is a moot point but they nevertheless perpetuate the legend of the Chhari Mubarak that leads lakhs of pilgrims to the Amarnath shrine.
Amarnath Yatra
Har har Mahadev
ice lingam
Sheikh Kalimullah
Amarnath Yatra suspended today as separatists call for protest shutdown
Governor appreciates role of Mountain Rescue Teams in smooth conduct of Amarnath Yatra
Over 95,000 pilgrims perform Amarnath Yatra in past 7 days