Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Call for Government to Purchase Medal Awarded to Ernest Shackleton Ahead of Events to Mark 150th Anniversary of Explorer’s Birth
10th February 2024 News Update
Celebrations are planned for Dublin and London for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Irish Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton on Thursday (15 February). Born in Co Kildare, Shackleton led three expeditions to the icy regions of the South Pole,…
Bateman Wins Monkstown Bay Sailing Club Laser Frostbite League in Cork Harbour
10th February 2024 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
Monkstown Bay Sailing Club's ever-popular Laser Frostbite League concluded in Cork Harbour on Saturday afternoon (February 10th). A cold north-easterly wind and heavy rain were present on the final day of racing. This did not phase the eager competitors in…
Royal Cork Yacht Club's Denis Byrne has been elected Commodore of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association at today's national cruiser conference and AGM and will lead the national cruiser-racer body for the next two years. Byrne takes over from Howth Yacht Club's Dave Cullen,…
ICRA National Championships 2025 to be Sailed at Kinsale Yacht Club's Sovereign's Cup Regatta
10th February 2024 ICRA
The 2025 ICRA National Championships will be held at Kinsale Yacht Club it has been confirmed. Newly elected ICRA commodore Denis Byrne announced at Saturday's AGM that after examining several submissions, the cruiser-racer national championships would return to the biennial…
Sailing event organisers from across Ireland convened on Saturday to coordinate actions on the national sailing events calendar. The high-powered meeting, described as 'informal' was held immediately after the ICRA AGM at Dun Laoghaire Harbour and was attended by representatives…
Dun Laoghaire's Royal St. George Yacht Club is seeking to recruit a Boathouse Manager. The position is a permanent full-time position with some weekends and evenings subject to seasonal demands. Who we are: Located in Dún Laoghaire, the Royal St.…
Howth Yacht Club is set to host the biennial Wave Regatta in May 2024, inviting sailing enthusiasts from Ireland and beyond to compete in a showcase keelboat-racing event. The three-day regatta welcomes all cruiser-racing class boats competing under current IRC…
Environmentalists Urge that Nature is 'Not Squeezed Out' as Irish Sea Comes Under Pressure
10th February 2024 Marine Wildlife
Wildlife conservation bodies numbering 13 groups across all the Irish Sea nations, known collectively as the Irish Sea Network, is urging planners in all six nations bordering the Irish Sea to collaborate and cooperate for the sake of nature. In…
Ultim Challenge's Anthony Marchand (Actual) Forced to Make Technical Stop in New Zealand's South Island
10th February 2024 Ultim Challenge
At 0143hrs UTC Anthony Marchand notified the Ultim Challenge race direction that he had started a technical stopover. Now at anchor in Dunedin, on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, his repairs have begun. Meanwhile, Cape Horn is coming…
The Firth of Clyde ferry route to Brodick on Arran is set to resume today (10 February) - weather permitting - but sailings to the island will be departing to and from Troon Harbour, and not the usual port of…
Ireland’s Cruiser-Racer Dreams Are In The Caribbean, Reality Is In Dublin Bay
10th February 2024 W M Nixon
The weather may have decided that winter is far from gone in the last couple of days, but in Dun Laoghaire this morning, the annual conference of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association at the Royal Irish YC remembers only sun-filled…
Ireland Medals at the ILCA 7 World Masters: Colin Leonard Wins Silver, Mark Lyttle Bronze
10th February 2024 Laser
Irish sailors held their nerve over the final two back-to-back races on Saturday to win ILCA 7 silver and bronze at the World Masters Championships in Adelaide, Australia. Irish champion Colin Leonard of Ballyholme Yacht Club in Northern Ireland won silver in…
Waterways Ireland Seeks Planning Permission for Maintenance Works on Barrow Navigation
9th February 2024 Inland Waterways
Waterways Ireland is seeking planning permission for a five-year programme of maintenance works along the Barrow Navigation at townlands throughout counties Carlow, Laois and Kildare. The proposed works will consist of essential maintenance and repair of the navigation assets and…
Public Consultation on Changes to Salmon Draft Net Season on Loughros Estuary
9th February 2024 Fishing
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is seeking submissions in relation to a proposal to restrict the commercial salmon draft net season on the Loughros Estuary (Owenea/Owentocker) in Co Donegal in 2024 to fishing between 1 and 21 July. The proposed changes,…
Just days after the Arranmore RNLI volunteer crew carried out a marathon rescue of a fishing crew in challenging weather conditions, they were again called out to assist with a medical evacuation from the island at 7pm on Thursday evening…
Carrickcraft Changing Its Cruising Fleet to HVO Sustainable Biofuel
9th February 2024 Inland Waterways
Citing efforts to lower its environmental impact on the inland waterways, Carrickcraft says it will be changing its entire fleet from diesel to HVO biofuel from the start of the 2024 cruising season. HVO is a sustainable, low-carbon replacement for…
Oscar Wilde Soon to Debut on Ireland-France Route of Dublin-Cherbourg
9th February 2024 Irish Ferries
Oscar Wilde, Irish Ferries chartered-in cruiseferry, is to enter the Dublin-Cherbourg route joining W.B. Yeats, with the debut of the second ship to boost capacity in the year the French capital hosts the Olympic Games, writes Jehan Ashmore. The Paris…
Coastal residents are urged to support a new campaign to save the Hen Harrier and its “captivating skydance” before it becomes extinct. BirdWatch Ireland, An Taisce and the Environmental Pillar are urging people across the country to call for a…
As the Irish Melges 15 dinghy fleet grows and evolves, Dublin Bay's newest class will debut in Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) 2024 summer season racing starting this April. The fledgeling two-man class are looking forward to racing on Tuesday nights…
The Chief Executive of Cork Port is leaving after four years in the post. Eoin McGettigan announced his intention to step down from his role in May today. “This is not a decision I’ve taken lightly as it has been…