Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Sydney Hobart Line Honours Race is Set to Provide a Thrilling Finale
27th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
The race for line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is poised to provide two thrilling finales in one as the leading boats continue their charge towards Tasmania. Up front in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s race…
BIM Distributes Over Three Tonnes of Fresh Fish Via FoodCloud to Charities over Past Seven Years
26th December 2023 BIM
Almost 8,000 fish meals distributed by the social enterprise FoodCloud to community groups and charities have come from classes with trainee fishmongers, new figures confirm. Over three tonnes of fresh salmon, cod, place and monkfish have been donated over the…
MSO Seeks Applications for Authorisation to Act as Recognised Security Organisations (Ports)
26th December 2023 Ports & Shipping
The Marine Survey Office (MSO) of the Department of Transport is seeking applications from interested parties who wish to act as Recognised Security Organisations - RSO (Ports) for the period from January 2024 to 31 December 2028. The authorisation will…
Harry Pritchard Wins Magner Trophy in Monkstown Bay Sailing Club St. Stephens Day Mixed Dinghy Race
26th December 2023 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
Harry Pritchard emerged as the winner of the Magner trophy for his outstanding performance in the Monkstown Bay Sailing Club St. Stephens Day mixed dinghy race held in Cork Harbour. Pritchard, who was racing his ILCA 7, outclassed his opponents…
Maxis Play Cat and Mouse – Two More Retirements in the Sydney Hobart Race
26th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
As Andoo Comanche and LawConnect continue their game of cat and mouse at the front end of the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet, little more than four nautical miles separating the pair, two further retirements were reported overnight. The Michael Spies…
Adrienne Cahalane Best of Irish as Sydney-Hobart Race Goes Through First Night
26th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
We cast the net wide in assessing just who might be thought of as Irish in the hundred crews still contesting the 2023 Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race as it emerges from its first night at sea. So even though navigator/tactician Adrienne…
Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt of Kinsale, racing the Sun Fast 3300 Cinnamon Girl-Eden Capital, were leading the 628-mile Rolex Sydney Hobart Race's two-handed division of 15 starters after nine hours of racing, and are the top-placed small boat overall,…
SHK Scallywag First of Three Early Casualties from 2023 Sydney Hobart Race
26th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
Seng Huang Lee’s 100ft SHK Scallywag from Hong Kong, has become the first casualty of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, breaking her bow sprit early this evening Sydney time. SHK Scallywag, skippered by David Witt, had recently undergone modifications…
LawConnect Makes Best Start for Line Honours Win in Sydney Hobart Race
26th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
LawConnect made the best of its bid to break a hoodoo of three runner-up finishes in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race by leading the fleet towards the Heads after this afternoon’s start. The Christian Beck-owned maxi led off the…
Tributes have been paid to the late John Dunford, the influential music manager who had recently qualified as a sea angling skipper. As the Sunday Independent reports, Dunford loved the sea, bought a boat, and completed training with Bord Iascaigh…
Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI Crews Lay Wreaths at Sea to Remember Lost Colleagues
26th December 2023 RNLI Lifeboats
Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew gathered at noon on Christmas Eve, with around 200 people, at the end of the East Pier to lay wreaths at sea and remember 15 of their lifeboat colleagues who lost their lives…
ULTIM "Giants of the Seas" World Race Features in Sailing "World on Water"
26th December 2023 Maritime TV
The weekly Global Sailing Highlights show, the World on Water, for the week ending December 22, 2023, features six "Giants of the Seas" to set off from Brest, with a solitary skipper on board, who will attempt to complete a circumnavigation…
Peter and Nathan Dean to Honour Lost Father in Sydney Hobart Race
26th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
Peter Dean will never forget the last moment he shared with his father John; it was dockside, just before John sailed off on Winston Churchill to start the 1998 Sydney Hobart Race. Tragically, John was to never return, being one…
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has announced details of its €30,000 Sponsorship Programme for 2024. The programme is one of the main funding mechanisms used by IFI to promote sustainable angling in Ireland. IFI invested in 71 angling events and initiatives…
Thousands of people are expected to take to the sea for Christmas morning charity swims, with coastal temperatures hovering around nine to ten degrees Celsius. A full moon during Christmas week will result in higher tides that could make some…
An assessment of Ernest Shackleton's lost ship, the wreck of the Endurance in the Antarctic, recommends it is best preserved if left where it is. The shipwreck is 3,000 metres below sea level and in a "very stable" condition, the…
Annalise Murphy and Eve McMahon are among the nominees in this year’s Her Sport Awards. After yet another historic and momentous year for Irish sportswomen, the Her Sport Awards aim to celebrate and recognise the incredible achievements of Irish athletes…
Minister Announces New Appointments to the Board of Inland Fisheries Ireland
24th December 2023 News Update
The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan has announced the appointment of a chairperson and eight board members to the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). Minister Ryan has made the following appointments to the board to…
National Yacht Club Hosts Coached Racing Series for Junior Dinghy Sailors
24th December 2023 National YC
Every Sunday morning until 24 March, the National Yacht Club is running a coached racing series for dinghy sailors. The series comprises short sprint-style races set up as a pursuit, with the slower boats starting first and the faster boats…
Growing Fireball Dinghy Fleet Enjoys Pre-Christmas Blast at Monkstown Bay
24th December 2023 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
Day three of the December Fireball Frostbite League was held on Saturday, the 23rd, on Monkstown Bay in Cork Harbour in glorious winter sailing conditions. A beautiful sunrise set the tone for the morning's racing. The bay was awash with golden light…