Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Turn The Tide On Plastic Leads Charge As Volvo Ocean Race Fleet Dives South
19th March 2018 Ocean Race
#VOR - An intense start saw the seven-boat Volvo Ocean Race fleet – back up to full complement with the return of Vestas 11th Hour Racing – sail straight into a 30-knot easterly just hours after the leg start on…
Flying Fifteen 'Fflogger' Leads Weather Hit DBSC Spring Chicken Series Now Extended to March 25th
19th March 2018 DBSC
A weather–hit DBSC Spring Chicken Series will sail an extra weekend between Saint Patrick's weekend and Easter in order to complete the series. Total calm last Sunday was 'not forecast or expected' which means only three races have been sailed…
Clifden Lifeboat Rescues Missing Spear Divers On St Patrick’s Day Callout
19th March 2018 RNLI Lifeboats
#RNLI - Minutes after participating in the local St Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday 17 March, Clifden RNLI joined a full-scale search and rescue operation for two spear divers reported missing. Clifden’s all-weather and inshore lifeboats were tasked alongside Achill…
Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan has revealed further details of plans to compete in the hotly-contested Figaro class in 2018 – a move that takes him one step closer to his ultimate goal of the Vendee Globe. Dolan will join…
Paul O’Donovan won his heat of the Open single sculls at the Sydney International Regatta on Monday. The Skibbereen oarsman finished more than 16 seconds ahead of second-placed Jack Hargreaves. Gary O’Donovan finished eighth in his heat and must take…
Ulster Sailor Oisin McClelland on Verge of Top Third of Finn European Fleet
19th March 2018 Tokyo 2020
Oisin McClelland, Ireland's solo participant in the Finn European Championships, in Cádiz, Spain, finished 34th overall in his 91–boat fleet, a very satisfactory overall result, but a black flag disqualification in the final race on Friday will have been a…
Much of Ireland may seem to have endured one bout of meteorological mayhem after another for most of the winter, with this weekend being no exception writes W M Nixon. Yet the Guardian Angel of the Ilen Project has always…
#Rowing; Trinity won the Gannon Cup with a fine performance today. The Colours races were run on a reverse of the Trinity Regatta course above the weir for safety reasons. There was a strong east wind and a powerful flow.…
Mayo solo sailor Joan Mulloy successfully completed her first race in the highly competitive Figaro II fleet in France this morning. The Solo Maître CoQ was the first major race of Joan’s 2018 season and the first time her ‘Taste…
Sigma 33 Fleet Reaches 20 Boats for Royal St. George Championships; Early Bird Entry Deadline Extended
18th March 2018 Sigma
The Class Captain of the Sigma 33 East Coast Association is reporting a bumper entry of 20 'Early Bird' entries received from 14 different clubs for June's Dublin Bay Chmpionships at the Royal St. George Yacht Club. 'The entries to date reflect…
The weather in recent weeks has been variable and has curtailed a number of 420 training weekends around the country but three Irish boats travelled to the UK Spring Championships on the 10th and 11th March at Royal Torbay Yacht…
Interim Statement On Rescue 116 Tragedy Calls For ‘Thorough Review’ Of Irish SAR Operations
18th March 2018 Coastguard
#Rescue116 - The Air Accident Investigation Unit has called for “a thorough review of search and rescue aviation operations in Ireland” in the wake of the Rescue 116 tragedy one year ago. Four Irish Coast Guard crew — Capt Dara…
#Angling - At a sitting of Ardee District Court on Monday 12 March, Irish Water pleaded guilty to the discharge of deleterious matter to the River Dee on 15 May 2017. The offence related to a poor quality discharge from…
Dongfeng & Brunel Lead Volvo Ocean Race Fleet Hours Into Epic Southern Ocean Leg
18th March 2018 Ocean Race
#VOR - It was a spectacular start to Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race as the fleet left Auckland in perfect conditions on Sunday afternoon, 18 March. The sun was out, the wind was near 20 knots, and as…
#eastcoastports – Ireland's east and north coasts may lack the cruising glamour of the south and western seaboards, but W M Nixon suggests that the ICC's East & North Coast Sailing Directions points the way to an area with its…
#VOR - Seven Volvo Ocean Race teams will embark on one of the most classic legs in offshore racing on Sunday afternoon (18 March) from Auckland, New Zealand. Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race is an iconic Southern Ocean…
‘Real Race Of Mixed Conditions’ For Conall Morrison’s Clipper Race Team
16th March 2018 Clipper Race
#ClipperRace - Yesterday was a day to remember at Wanda Marina and Yacht Club in Qingdao as the full Clipper Race fleet berthed at the brand-new facility, following the arrival of last-placed HotelPlanner.com just before 11pm Irish time/UTC. Crew member…
#MarineNotice - Fugro is currently carrying out marine operations for the HAVFRUE Subsea Cable System Project, further to its work carried out in January. The current survey within Irish territorial waters off the North West Coast began on Wednesday 14…
The EU’s 2013-2020 Atlantic Action Plan has spurred over 1,200 new maritime projects and nearly €6 billion of investments so far, according to an independent consultant tasked by the EU to take stock of the initiative at mid-term. Most of…
Minister Visits Marine Ireland Pavilion at Oceanology International 2018
16th March 2018 Marine Science
#BlueEconomy - Marine Minister Michael Creed this week visited the Oceanology International trade exhibition in London on day two of his six-day visit to the UK. Held every two years, Oceanology International at ExCeL London is recognised as the leading…
