Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Irish Sailors Finn Lynch and Ewan McMahon Continue Battle for Olympic Spot in Men's Single-Handed Event at Paris 2024 Regatta
15th February 2024 Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing
Irish sailors Finn Lynch and Ewan McMahon are battling it out for a spot in the Men's ILCA 7 single-handed event at the Paris 2024 Olympic regatta. With just five months to go before the event begins in Marseilles, the…
Kidzink, the women’s team from the UAE, continues to maintain its lead in the overall standings at the SB20 World Championships in Dubai. The team, skippered by Charlotte Borghesi, has been in fine form, putting up a strong performance in…
Promoted
With the new season fast approaching, Quantum Sails Ireland has just announced a new 10% spring discount for sails ordered by the end of March. An average delivery time of 8 weeks allows sails to be delivered before most boats…
Organisers of The Ocean Race have confirmed Kiel.Sailing.City as the host of the start of The Ocean Race Europe during a press conference in Kiel on Wednesday morning (14 February). The second edition of the European race, which was confirmed…
Bundoran Lifeboat in Rescue of Two Trapped on Rocks at Mermaid’s Cove
14th February 2024 RNLI Lifeboats
Bundoran RNLI came to the aid of two people who got trapped at the bottom of a cliff in county Sligo on Wednesday afternoon (14 February). The inshore lifeboat was requested to launch at 2.41pm following a report from the…
Stormont Debates Motion Calling for Action to Save Lough Neagh from ‘Ecological Catastrophe’
14th February 2024 Northern Ireland Waters
Three Sinn Féin MLAs have brought a motion to the newly restored Stormont Assembly for action to save Lough Neagh from its pollution crisis, as The Irish Times reports. MLA for North Antrim, Philip McGuigan described the situation on the…
Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) Publish Unitised Traffic Report for Q4 2023
14th February 2024 Ports & Shipping
The latest Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) Unitised Traffic Report for Q4 2023 has been published with an Executive Summary below. As part of the Marine Institute, the IMDO is Irelands' dedicated, development, promotional and marketing office for the shipping…
Another “First” For Conor O'Brien: His Alternative Image of An Unknown Ibiza
14th February 2024 Conor O'Brien
Conor O'Brien’s outstanding pioneering achievement was in demonstrating that a sailing vessel as small as his own-designed 42ft Baltimore-built ketch Saoirse could complete a global circumnavigation through the vast expanse of the Southern Ocean, south of the Great Capes. The…
What Will Be The Effects on Watersports of Government Plans for Marine Protection?
14th February 2024 Tom MacSweeney
“It is not good enough to designate parts of the marine environment as conservation areas without talking to the people, groups and businesses which use and depend on an area for their livelihoods and recreation.” That comment from the Campaign…
British Team Dominates Challenging Fifth and Sixth Championship Races at 2024 Fireball Worlds
14th February 2024 Fireball
The fifth and sixth championship races of the 2024 Fireball Worlds were held on what was supposed to be a lay day, in switchy and gusty southerly winds. The conditions were challenging, with big shifts, big gusts, and some of…
Marine Institute Launches New Resources to Promote Ireland's Marine Biodiversity in Primary Schools
14th February 2024 Marine Science
The Marine Institute Explorers Education Programme team has launched a new set of resources for primary schools, aimed at promoting Ireland’s rich marine biodiversity in the classroom. The new class projects, called Fin-tastic Sharks+, will focus on the 71 species…
The RS Fest is back for 2024 after a hugely successful weekend in Blessington last year; this time, the fleets are heading to Lough Derg Yacht Club. The core ethos remains the same of all RS Sailing to have family-orientated…
RYA Northern Ireland Youth Squads Shine at Celtic Cup in Pwllheli
14th February 2024 RYA Northern Ireland
Ten of Northern Ireland’s Topper and ILCA sailors travelled to Plas Heli in Pwllheli for the Celtic Cup earlier this month (3-4 February). This annual event sees the best youth and junior sailors from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland compete…
In Sunshine and Wind, the 1720 'No Show' Wins Second Race of DBSC Spring Chicken Series
14th February 2024 DBSC
The AIB DBSC Spring Chicken Series on Dublin Bay came to an exciting conclusion last Sunday as 'No Show', the 1720 sportsboat, clinched the top spot. The second race of the six-race series saw sunny conditions accompanied by a good…
Dubai witnessed a spectacular start to the SB20 World Championship as forty-eight teams, with over 12 nationalities, took to the water for four races. The highly anticipated event commenced with two general recalls due to unstable wind and significant shifts,…
Captains Cook and Bligh and Their Place in Valentine's Day Maritime History
14th February 2024 Historic Boats
February the 14th is mostly known as Valentine’s Day, but it has a significance in maritime history far removed from romantic exploits – other, of course, than the romanticism of sailing the seas…..! In 1813, it was the day when…
Oil Company's Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) Vessel Arrives at Harland & Wolff, Belfast for Upgrade
13th February 2024 Shipyards
A Canadian flagged Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel which arrived at shipyard, Harland & Wolff, Belfast is to undergo a £61m base contract to deliver a mid-life upgrade of the large ship, writes Jehan Ashmore The contract for…
Waterways Ireland advises masters of all craft on the Shannon-Erne Waterway that repair works will be taking place at Roscarban Bridge in Co Leitrim from Wednesday 14 February until mid-March. During these works, a mechanical platform will be hung from…
Rosslare Harbour Lifeboat Assists Five on Fishing Vessel With Snagged Propeller
13th February 2024 RNLI Lifeboats
Rosslare Harbour RNLI’s volunteer crew were requested by the Irish Coast Guard on Sunday evening (11 February) to assist five crew on board a stricken fishing vessel. The all-weather lifeboat was launched shortly after the shout at 5.26pm and quickly…
Inland Fisheries Ireland Chief Addresses Oireachtas on New Barrier Programme for Irish Rivers
13th February 2024 Angling
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) chief executive Francis O’Donnell addressed the Oireachtas on Tuesday (13 February) on the State body’s programme to mitigate barriers to fish passage on Irish rivers. “Migratory species such as Atlantic salmon, sea trout, sea lamprey, river…