Swimmers in Singapore - Bronze!

Artwork at Whiterock

Back to a seaside theme, after the previous post's radical departure!

Distance to the buoy

Distance calculations
Method 1 - utilising surfboard and mobile phone.
The surfboard is 11.3 cinclus feet, or 3.70 metres long.
When the surfboard is beside the buoy and parallel to the shore it subtends the same angle as my mobile phone held at arms length.. The mobile phone is 0.04 m wide and eye to phone distance is 0.72m.
So the distance to the buoy is 3.7 x 0.72 / 0.04 ie 66.6m, or about 63 m from High Water Mark.
Method 2 - utilising sightlines.
The sightlines from the corner of Sorrento Terrace to the Lead Mines chimney, and from the Hut to Bray Baths intersect at the buoy.  Drawing these on openstreetmap.org and connecting the intersection of the two lines to the shore displays a distance of, yes, 63m

Lisbon?

The great Lisbon debate

Poetry Competition:

I reckon some of the Vicover body of work would have a good chance in this competition!

First Swim to JudgeJim!

JudgeJim is hereby logging the first (hopefully!)  swim of 2009 at 12:30am, independently witnessed by vico intelligence & covert observation department official, Gerry!

Reply to "Reason"

The Vico Fairies don't agree
with these old Rocks beside the Sea,
been uglified in a vile way,
with useless bars 'n' cement all grey.
And Rocks and Sea will raise one night
and shake away the man-made blight!

Ramparts Rhyming Reason

Valiant Vico fairies there be none
Vanished, gone with kinder's puerile fun,
Risen up has Ramparts son
An' laid brown carpet for all an' one

Heavy lies some maiden's ills
For past ageing Vico hills,
Weeping laments and scripted damn
Decried 'n' echoed ad nauseam

Give whinge and whine a timely break
Ramparts folk 'ave all they'll take,
Button up those fairy lips
Vico's steps have lost their trips

What's new is oft' hard to wear
But worry not there's time to spare,
For Winter's song will aid despair
By Summer's light 'til all be fair!

Sonnet Nr. 1 (Maidens ending)

Who was so cruel to take away my rocks,
T'was done by unspiritual engineering cocks!
I used to be one with that magic place,
it lost it's magic, and now it's funct'nal space.
I wish (and that not merely for the rhyme)
that Vico fairies will revenge the crime!

Sonnet No 1

The works were made by men from lands afar
Who toiled in baking sun and mist and rain.
Before the pathway coated was with tar
We dippers had much reason to complain -
Oft'times o'er missing step my toe did trip,
When going for a dip in yonder sea;
But now I have no fear of awkward slip,
And safely can return for Dermot's tea;
In summer sun I'll laze on concrete seat
With views across the sea to mountains high;
Below the steps are cubic, straight and neat
They have been made with wondrous expert eye.
    But since the works do not meet maiden's pleasure,
    They are reserved for working men at leisure

Through the binoculars at coliemore...

Signage eyesore

 
 
"Improvements" to the Vico Road entrance to White Rock. Those signs certainly enhance the view!
Complain to environ@dlrcoco.ie

Sea Gooseberries on the rampage

At least that's the way it looked this morning through the facemask. Literally millions of them, along with a few Moons and Lion's Manes.

By the way, Lidl is doing swimming this week - wet-suits, masks, snorkels, fins; no anti-jelly-suits though.

Dangerous place, that Dalkey Island!

Myself & Judge will be wearing bullet proof vests on our next paddle to the Island, after reading the following recent newspaper article:

The Times, July 30 1828.

It's reassuring to know not only that the price of oak bark is soaring, but more importantly, that the Island is now fortified against those Normans:



The Times June 10 1805

Dipper Mailing List

I've set up a dipper mailing list for team members to be informed of new postings on the blog.

Jellys fight back!

After years of tyranny at the cruel net of evil Vico dictator, Dr. Death, the jellys have finally initiated a retaliatory suicide stinging campaign, that would strike fear in the hearts of Mossad!
The Jelly Jihad became manifest last night, when a precisely orchestrated land-based attack was executed to effect maximum injury upon Dr. Death, in the supposed safety of his bullet proof armoured car.
The plan involves what we must assume to be but the first of many jellys pulsing towards the callous murderer's net of martyrdom.
The aspiring martyr castrates his tentacles upon entering the glorious net and smears them around the tool of terror, in the hope that they will enter the dastardly doctor's secure vehicle.
As the dying lion lies listlessly in the lush vico vegetation - fertilized by the death of his ancestors - he unleashes his coup de grâce, exploiting the little understood phenomenon of quantum entanglement, which allows him to control his severed tentacles from a distance.
The scheme was executed with near perfection last night, when the evil doctor's eyes were subjected to a torturous attack by the remote controlled tentacles, with near fatal consequences on the tyrant! Will he change his ways???

Flowers of the Vico

Black Knapweed and Creeping Thistle - these are remarkably similar - both Compositae (members of the daisy family). A large spider is using the thistle as an umbrella.

Serendipity

JudgeJim's new sanctuary that was stumbled upon on Tuesday. Heavenly after the sun has set at the Vico, and so far, totally free of self appointed dictators, pseudo political analysts, jellyfish, faecal coliform, faecal streptococci and other sickening aspects of the Vico ... until we arrived!!!

In response to mm's question, they have a chart with regular measurements of the bacteria levels.
I suspect that it's proximity to the treatment works means it's more carefully monitored than other places.
I dread to think what the numbers would be at the Vico sometimes!