Irishman on first sailing lesson dies in storm tragedy

·         30 year old was not wearing a life jacket

·         It was his first sailing lesson

·         Violent storm came from nowhere to capsize boat

An Irishman who is presumed drowned after a boating accident in New York was not wearing a life jacket, and was on his first sailing lesson when a violent storm knocked him overboard.

A coastguard search for 30-year-old Eoin Curran, a computer programmer from Templeogue in Dublin has been suspended having covered an area of over 100 nautical square miles.

Mr Curran and two other students whom he’d just met, were on a 23-foot sailing boat with an instructor form the New York Sailing School, at Long Island Sound,  on Sunday afternoon, local time, when a sudden squall blew the boat steeply to one side.

Mr Curran and the instructor were thrown into the water.

The instructor managed to scramble back onto the boat and threw a square flotation device to the Dublin man.

But the winds were strong and Mr Curran was separated from the boat.

His fellow sailors soon lost sight of him in poor visibility.

The flotation device was later recovered, but there has been no sign of Mr Curran.

Small boats scoured the area near Larchmount on Sunday night, and a helicopter from Atlantic City joined the search on Monday, along with the New Rochelle Marine Unit.

In all, 12 searches were conducted over a 21-hour period covering a 101-square nautical mile area, but the search has now been suspended pending further developments.

Local law enforcement agencies are continuing to monitor water nearer the shore.

Curran, a senior software engineer with Google, is understood to have moved to New York recently.

He graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a first class (Gold Medal) honors BA in Mathematics, after winning a Foundation Scholarship.

He completed a masters, before becoming involved in some high profile IT projects in Ireland over the past decade including designing and developing a free web texting service for Vodafone, and ticketing software for the Dublin International Film Festival, and Dublin Fringe Theatre Festival.

A roommate told the New York Daily News that he met him in Ireland a few years ago.

“I moved here to New York and he wanted to come to America,” said Marcal Garolera, 26, “He’s the nicest person I’ve ever known”

“That lesson was his first time. He was having some fun and relaxing.”

The New York Sailing School in New Rochelle has been running sailing classes and renting boats for 32 years.

It's owner said this was "the worst nightmare" and "one of the biggest tragedies in all these years".

The instructor has been described as an experienced and licensed sailor.

He had been giving lessons at the school since the 1970s.

The weather was calm and sunny when the sailboat left Echo Bay on Sunday, but the storm came up fast and fierce.

Winds of up to 70mph knocked the vessel on its side.

Coastguard officials reported getting nine Mayday calls, and reports of many other boats in distress.

They said rain was so heavy at the time that visibility was at zero.

Police have taken the vessel for inspection, but say it had all the required life-jackets on board.

However, while the law requires that the boat carry lifejackets for everyone on board, it does not require passengers to wear them.

The school's policy was that under 15s must wear them, but it was up to the instructor to decide if he wanted to require adults to put them on.

New Rochelle Police Harbor Unit Sgt. Raul Rodriguez appealed to other sailors to wear lifejackets.

“Yes, absolutely should be wearing your life preservers. When you see something like that coming in the sky, definitely put ‘em on as soon as possible. This could’ve been avoided, definitely,” he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish Consulate in New York are providing assistance to Mr Curran’s family.

RESTAURANT REVIEW - David Burke Townhouse, 61st (Lex and Park)

133 East 61st Street
New York, NY 10065-8101
(212) 813-2121

www.davidburketownhouse.com

Everything about the David Burke Townhouse adds up. The decor is beautiful. The food is tasty. The food presentation is special. And yet, somehow it falls short. It's a classy joint - but the atmosphere is lacking something.

The place is perfectly summed up by my starter - Sea Scallops "Benedict" - which is a great original idea, superbly executed, but bizarrely less than satisfying. The pan-fried scallops are placed on a bed of crispy potato cake and a thin slice of chorizo, and topped with lobster foam and a poached quail's egg. It's a genius combination - and works a treat. You can taste the "Benedict", and the ingredients complement each other very well. So what's the problem? Well, maybe just that I don't want eggs benedict as appetizer. And when I order scallops I expect that to be the dominant taste from the dish, not the quail's egg. The dish is executed well, so maybe I'm just being fussy.

My dining companions started with a Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake and Sweet Chilli Prawn, served with an orange confit and poppy seed honey.

For my entree, I opted for the Roasted and Crispy Seawater Soaked Organic Chicken, which came with roasted corn-whipped potatoes, watercress and barbecue jus. The mash was delicious, but I found the barbecue flavoured corn, slightly off-putting. The chicken was cooked perfectly, but not as crispy as I was expecting.

My dining companions both opted for the Mustard Crusted Tuna, which was served with compressed watermelon, avocado mousse and a red beet-lime emulsion. It certainly looked terrific on the plate - but by all accounts it was good without being spectacular on the palate.

For dessert, I chose the Chocolate mousse layer cake, which had a mix of bittersweet and mint chocolate mousse, and was served with a cherry sorbet, and raisins. It was a pleasant way to finish the meal, but I did have dessert envy watching the choices of neighbouring tables.

Both the Drunken Donuts (chocolate baileys, strawberry daiquiri, and cafe au lait) and the restaurant's signature dessert Cheesecake Lollipop Tree (bubblegum whipped cream and raspberries) looked spectacular.

My fellow diner chose the Caramelized Warm Apple Tart, which came with dulce de leche ice cream, and covered in cider caramel. It tasted good, but was more an Apple Danish than a Tart.

The wine list was extensive and expensive - the cheapest bottles were around $42, but I spotted a red wine that will set you back €5000! Call me cheap, but there is something plain wrong about spending five thousand dollars on a bottle of wine. We settled for a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, which was frankly, mediocre, for €50. It wasn't helped by the fact that, at first, they brought us a red - Cabernet Sauvignon.

Overall, I may be over-critical here. There were some lovely touches - a very tasty hors dourves of White Truffle and Parmesan Quiche promised great things. And sitting in the restaurant, you definitely "feel" like you are being treated.

So how much did all of this cost? Well, because it was Restaurant Week, the three courses were included in the $35 special price, with a $5 supplement for choosing the scallops to start. But for the record, here are the prices that would normally apply to our meal:

Sea Scallops "Benedict" 16

Pretzel Crusted Crabcake and Sweet Chili Prawn 17

Roasted and Crispy Seawater Soaked Organic Chicken 29

Mustard Crusted Tuna 33

Caramelized Warm Apple Tart 12

Chocolate Layer Cake 12

Rating: 3.5/5

Cowen “dealt tough hand” says New York Mayor

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has met New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the second day of his visit to the United States.

Mr Cowen also met with executives from Goldman Sachs and Bank of New York Mellon, both of which have significant operations in Ireland.

Speaking at City Hall after the meeting, Mayor Bloomberg said Mr Cowen had “been dealt a tough hand, like at a lot of leaders around the world” but said he had “a lot of respect for him and his willingness to take on the tough issues.”

The Taoiseach said he used the meeting to indicate the continuing interest of Irish business in penetrating the New York and Tri-State area.”

“Since beginning of the year 32 more companies from Ireland have set up in the States, eight in New York City,” said Mr Cowen.

Mr Cowen said he wanted to learn lessons about the innovative way in which Mayor Bloomberg had been delivering public services.

The Taoiseach will travel to Atlanta, Georgia tomorrow (Wed) where he will open the first ever Irish consulate office in the southern United States.

He will also meet Governor Sonny Perdue and give an interview to CNN.

Cowen Condemns Belfast Rioting

The Taoiseach Brian Cowen has condemned the sectarian violence in Belfast over the past two days.

Speaking on the second day of his visit to New York, Mr Cowen said the rioting of the past few days had “no place in building peace and prosperity in the North or indeed the island of Ireland”.

“I think all of us have to be very strong in our support for the police service on both sides of the border, the Gardai and PSNI,” he said, “I know that community workers work hard in many respects within their communities and we have to, obviously, work even harder to avoid unrepresentative elements who have nothing to offer their communities engaging in this sort of sectarian activity.”

Asked about PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Alistair Finlay’s criticism of the Stormont government over its preparations for the Twelfth, Mr Cowen said, “The devolution of policing powers to Northern Ireland has been a very important step. It has only just taken place in the last number of months. But the operational responsibility the police service has, has to be respected and it has to be supported.”

“It just re-emphasises and reinforces the fact that we have to do everything we can and work even harder to achieve a situation where these unrepresentative elements are not given an opportunity to display sectarianism on the streets.”

Cowen launches €500m Innovation Fund on US visit

Taoiseach Brian Cowen is in the United States on a three day mission to spread optimism and confidence about the Irish economy.

Mr Cowen is eager to convince business leaders here that Ireland’s fiscal fortunes have turned a corner, and the country is on the road to recovery.

He’s also announced a new venture capital fund, worth half a billion euro, aimed at promoting entrepreneurship.

On Monday morning, he met with the President of the New York Stock Exchange Duncan Niederaur on Wall Street.

He followed that by a meeting with leading business figures, including many members of the Global Irish Network, established at the Farmleigh Summit last year.

He has also been holding talks with US companies that have invested in Ireland, as well as giving a series of high profile media interviews including Bloomberg and CNN.

On Tuesday, he is meeting held talks with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

He travels to Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday, where he will meet Governor Sonny Perdue, before opening a new Irish consulate.

It will be the first ever Irish diplomatic mission in the southern United States and the first new consulate to be opened here in several decades.

Mr Cowen is using his visit to the US to promote a new Innovation Fund, worth half a billion euro, aimed at boosting Irish business over the next five years.

The government is investing €125m from Exchequer funds into the project, and €125m will be provided by the National Pension Reserve Fund.

The remaining €250m will come from venture capital companies, which Mr Cowen expects to locate in Ireland, bringing money and expertise.

“The Innovation Fund was very well received,” Mr Cowen said after the Wall Street meeting.

“It’s about Ireland setting itself up as a place where business can be done, where start-ups can take place, particularly in the technology and life sciences and other areas, and ensuring there is risk capital available to help those companies scale up.”

He also expressed confidence that, based on market testing they’ve done on the initiative, that some US Tier 1 Venture Capital companies would send personnel to Ireland to establish European bases over the next few years.

“This fund is an opportunity for people with good ideas, whether they are in Ireland or within Europe, to see the country as a good location to start up their business or grow their business.
Although the visit is focussed on economic issues, Mr Cowen also stopped off at Gaelic Park in the Bronx on Monday afternoon to launch a GAA summer camp aimed at children.

The 2010 New York Cúl 4 Kids Summer Camp has around 200 participants from the Tri-State area.

He posed for pictures with many of the children, including 6 year old Roisin Smith, from Woodside, Queens, who wore the GAA jersey of Mr Cowen’s home county Offaly.

Roisin’s mother, Marie is from Mr Cowen’s constituency.

“I didn’t expect her to get a picture with him,” she said, “but it’s great that she did!”

Her son Sean, 8, was also taking part in the summer camp.

But did they know who Mr Cowen was?

“I’ve been explaining to them by comparing him to Barack Obama,” said Marie, “I said that in the way that Obama runs the US, Mr Cowen is in charge of Ireland.”

World Cup - Quarter Finals

Sneijder sinks favourites Brazil

The Netherlands shocked Brazil with a stunning second-half comeback to knock the favourites out of the World Cup 2-1. Robinho put the South Americans ahead after just 10 minutes, and Brazil looked in complete control in the first half.

But the Dutch were a different team in the second half. And two moments of madness from Brazil changed the game. The first led to Holland's equaliser, as Sneijder floated a ball across the box, goalkeeper Julio Cesar came for it, and flapped and missed, and it glanced off Felipe Melo's head and into the goal to make it 1-1.

Then on 68 minutes, the Netherlands took the lead with a brilliantly worked corner. Kuyt runs to the near post to flick it on, and Sneijder is there to turn into the goal with his head to complete a stunning turnaround.

After that, Brazil lost their cool and the game. Five minutes later Felipe Melo brought Robben to the ground, and then needlessly stamped on his leg, earning him a red card, and condemning Brazil to playing the last 15 minutes with just ten men.

Brazil never looked likely to score, and it was the Netherlands who could have added two or three more before the end. A massive shock. A deserved win for the Dutch. 2-1.