Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The historic 1926-built 56ft Conor O’Brien trading ketch Ilen is now comfortably under shelter again after her midwinter adventures (on the Ilen River, naturally) at Oldcourt near Baltimore writes W M Nixon. With her hull, deck and deckhouses restored in…

The Atlantic Anniversary Regatta is the first ever regatta series with two Atlantic Ocean races in both directions. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV), based in Hamburg, Germany. The first part of this extraordinary series was…

People seem to think that tuning a fractional rig is very difficult. In reality, it is not that hard as Mark Mansfield, Professional sailor and racing consultant/agent for UK sails Ireland, describes below in the first part of a series of 'How To'…

#Ports&Shipping - RMS St.Helena, the last ship from a mighty fleet that once bound Britain’s scattered empire together will arrive today (Monday, 29 January) after its final voyage to St Helena. As the UK newspaper, The Times reports the isolated British…

#Ferry - Ben-My-Chree, the ropax Isle of Man Steam Packet Company ferry completed 2017 with a reliability record of more than 99%. Operating services throughout the year, Ben-My-Chree chiefly serves Douglas-Heysham crossings and weekend sailings to Birkenhead during the winter…

After 16 years of progressive existence it needs to negotiate choppy waters. The present Commodore, Simon McGibney, says that the Association is at the stage where it needs an “in-depth” look at its future. Former Commodore Norbert Reilly, who has…

#ClassicBoats - WoodenBoat magazine has put out an appeal for any leads as to the whereabouts of Windflower, a two-masted sailboat sold in Los Angeles nearly 60 years ago and whose trace has since been lost. The EP Hart-designed, 45-foot…

#Angling - Sean Kyne, Minister of State with responsibility for the inland fisheries sector, has announced that Inland Fisheries Ireland will shortly commence fish stock management operations on the Owenriff catchment near Oughterard in Co Galway. The measures to protect…

#Rowing: David McGowan from Australia will be the new Ireland heavyweight coach. As an athlete he competed in the Australia four which finished fourth in the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. As a coach he had a successful run…

#MarineEnvironment - A ban on any new explorations for oil, coal, and gas on Irish territory is through a Bill about to appear before the Dail early next month. The Climate Emergency Measures Bill writes GreenNews.ie, seeks to stop the…

Sail Training Ireland (STIRL) held their sixth Annual Prize Giving and Season Launch event on Saturday 27th January 2018, in the Oak Room at the Mansion House in Dublin, courtesy of Lord Mayor of Dublin Mícheál Mac Donncha. The event…

#RNLI - Three RNLI lifeboats gathered yesterday (Sunday 28 January) at the site off Northern Ireland where the MV Princess Victoria sank 65 years ago with the loss of 133 souls. Donaghadee, Larne and Portpatrick RNLI lifeboat crews laid wreaths…

Voting is now closed in the Afloat.ie Sailor of the Year award, and the adjudicators are working towards a final decision which will be announced as the climax of the Volvo Sailing Awards ceremony in the RDS in Dublin on…

#CruiseLiners – The cruise and ferry industries were among those gathered at the annual Irish Travel Industry Awards held in association with Aer Lingus. The prestigious gala awards of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) ceremony took place recently in…

The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) has postponed next month's annual conference until the Autumn. It follows 'strong representations' about its timing aired at this month's symposium in Limerick. The goal now, according to the ICRA executive, is to have 'a…

It's the end of January. Some of us are still sailing but most of us are sitting around thinking about it. UK Sailmakers Ireland say now is the chance to take advantage of the down time and read something that…

#Rowing: Paul and Gary O’Donovan finished sixth in the Premier Double Sculls Final at the North Island Club Championships on Lake Karapiro in New Zealand today. Earlier, Paul O’Donovan had finished sixth of eight in the Premier Single Sculls, while…

#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan finished sixth of the eight competitors who reached the A Final of the Premier Single Sculls at the North Island Club Rowing Championships in New Zealand. Robbie Manson, the top heavyweight single sculler won. Gary O’Donovan took…

#Fishing - “An attack on fishermen” is how the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative described the the loss of their new fishing patrol boat by arson, as BelfastLive reports. The pilot boat was delivered to the co-op only two weeks before…

#Ecuador - Friends of two Irish kayakers who died in Ecuador last weekend have raised more than €27,000 to bring their bodies back home. According to Joe.ie, the crowdfunding campaign was set up by friends of David Higgins and Alex…