Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

A successful new development in the national sailing programme will inevitably be something of a revolution. Yet if those managing the event handle it in the right way, the changeover can take place without people thinking that anything really revolutionary…

#ClipperRace - Sanya Serenity Coast skipper Wendy Tuck has geared up for her 11th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race by winning the fourth leg of the 2017-18 Clipper Race late on Thursday 14 December Irish time. It was a photo…

#VOR - It’s still blowing a solid 25 knots across most of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet on Friday morning (15 December), almost five days into Leg 3 from Cape Town to Melbourne. This might seem like a bit of…

#ShannonEstuary - Another boost this week for Shannon Foynes Port Company, is the news that funding worth more than €4m is on the way from the European Union. As the Limerick Leader writes the company has been cleared for almost…

2017 has been a very productive year for Dublin Port. There has been sustained, significant growth across the business, from cargo to cruise, and it has also been a year of firsts on a number of fronts. Trade  Latest trade…

#Rowing: The Dam Buster Head of the River, scheduled for this Saturday, December 16th, has been cancelled. The weather forecast for Blessington was not good, and the organisers chose to abandon the event because of safety concerns. It was the…

#OceanRowing: Damian Browne has just set off to row the Atlantic. The former professional rugby player, in his boat Darien, left today from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to embark on the Atlantic Challenge race to Antigua. The fours,…

#PeopleOnPier - Due to popular demand DLR Libraries “People on the Pier” exhibition has been extended giving the public the opportunity to view the free photographic indoor event. Afloat had reported of the exhibition launched earlier this month which involved an open-air…

Santa Claus was out sailing for the final day of the O’Leary Insurances Winter League on Sunday, 10th December writes Class 1 Captain Ria Lyden. He travelled All the way from Schull HSC and was crewing aboard Shelly D with…

Irish youth Laser Radial sailors Conor Quinn and Sally Bell are 24th and 26th respectively with one race left to sail at the 2017 Youth Sailing World Championships in Sanya, China tomorrow.  Quinn, from Rush Sailing Club, made the top…

The steps towards delivering a planning system for the seas around Ireland has been set–out by Government this week.  Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy and Minister Damien English published the 'roadmap' on Wednesday. 'Towards a Marine Spatial…

#Horizon2020 - This week’s information day on Horizon 2020 as a key investment driver for the marine sector highlighted the importance of ‘blue growth’ as an important opportunity for marine research in Ireland. Since 2014, 27 Irish marine participating organisations…

When we recall the exposed conditions in which some coastal boat and ship-builders had to work in the days when life and labour were cheap, and health and safety were considered more important for thoroughbred animals than for workers, then…

#Ports&Shipping-  Clare Guinness has been appointed as the new chief executive officer by the Warrenpoint Harbour Authority, the first female head of any port on the island of Ireland. She joins from Fane Valley Group, where she held the position,…

#VOR - Faced with the tough decision of whether to take on the impending storm by diving south on a quicker but more risky route or escaping the worst of the weather to the north, each of the seven teams…

Vendee Globe solo hero Enda O’Coineen will share the stage in Westport in Mayo in a week’s time, on Wednesday December 20th, in a double-bill with local star Joan Mulloy, who is carving her own career in the Figaro Solo…

#Fishing - Following two days of intensive negotiations at the EU Fisheries Council which ended at 7.30am this morning (Wednesday 13 December), Marine Minster Michael Creed secured a total package of fish quotas worth €266 million for Irish fishermen for…

#BantryBay - A final approval from the Government has been given for a contentious large-scale kelp harvesting project in Bantry Bay despite strong opposition from local residents. As the Green News.ie writes the license granted to Tralee-based biotechnology company BioAtlantis covers…

#Condor70th - A UK-Channel Islands freight operator, Commodore Shipping reached a major milestone this year as the company celebrated seven decades of providing lifeline freight services from the mainland. Now known as Condor Freight, Commodore first appeared on the horizon…

Eric de Turckheim's French Nivelt-Muratet 54 Teasing Machine is the overall winner of the 2017 RORC Transatlantic Race. Whilst many of the record 23–yacht fleet are still racing, none of them can better Teasing Machine's corrected time under IRC. Teasing…