Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, today launched the ‘Strategy for the Irish Inshore Fisheries Sector 2019-2023’ on behalf of the National Inshore Fisheries Forum. The Strategy will frame the work of the Inshore Fisheries…

North Sails Ireland had the pleasure of presenting their latest sail trim seminar at Howth YC last night for its members and guests writes Nigel Young. I counted over seventy people in the audience and my colleague Maurice "Prof" O'Connell…

The Irish Film Institute in Dublin joins the list of locations for a special screening of Alex Holmes’ Tracy Edwards documentary Maiden on Thursday 7 March. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Cork’s Gate Cinemas will also host the preview followed…

New customs checkpoints in Dublin Port are expected to be a ‘pinch point’ for hauliers, according to the port company’s chief executive. Eamonn O'Reilly tells RTÉ News that delays are likely to result from the new border inspection posts as…

More details have emerged of X-Yachts’ new X40 cruising yacht which was announced earlier this month. The pre-launch brochure includes renderings of almost all options available for the new 40-foot performance cruiser yacht, both above and below deck, ahead of…

An American philanthropist with a taste for Irish whiskey has stepped in to support the salvage operation to recover Gregor McGuckin’s yacht Hanley Energy Endurance drifting some 1,200 miles west of Perth, Australia. Speaking from Fremantle overnight, American tug boat…

This past weekend’s discharge of wastewater in the River Liffey from the Irish Water treatment plant in Ringsend is being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency. As RTÉ News reports, failure of a processing tank at the locally controversial site…

#Rowing: Athlunkard Boat Club has set up a gofundme page for their young rower, Amy Mulcahy, and her family. The 12-year-old was involved in a capsize on Saturday in Limerick and had to be cut free as her hair caught…

#ferries -  Ben-My-Chree, the only year-round ferry operating Isle of Man services has achieved a reliability record of more than 97% over the past 13 months. According to the Isle of Man Steam Packet, during 2018 and up to January…

#dublinport - The Connaught Telegraph writes the Revenue Commissioners have offered a ship to be sunk in Killala Bay on the Mayo/Sligo border as part of a plan to attract divers to the area. The 60-metre MV Shingle won't cost…

Hamble-based yacht sales business Key Yachting Ltd has announced the sad news that Paul Heys, co-founder and Managing Director, has died. Heys was holidaying in the Caribbean with his wife Marie-Claude and got into difficulty while swimming on Monday morning, according…

As Afloat.ie previously reported, fifty keen junior sailors from all four provinces took to the waters of Dubin Bay over the weekend as the National Yacht Club, with the support of Viking Marine, hosted Topper Ireland’s third annual Winter Regatta…

#Lifeboats - Skycam Ireland has released some breathtaking drone video from the arrival of the relief Shannon class lifeboat Jock and Annie Slater in Wicklow on Sunday afternoon (24 February) after travelling from RNLI headquarters in Poole, Dorset. A large turnout of…

The headsail trimmer is a crucial member of a boat’s “speed loop” along with the mainsheet trimmer and the helm. But often headsail trim is overlooked and is reduced to “pull it in and hike” mentality. Without good headsail trim,…

#TopBeaches - Kerry dominates TripAdvisor’s list of the best Irish beaches for 2019, with the Kingdom taking six of the top 10 places. Ladies Beach at Ballybunion (9th), Coumeenoole (6th), Derrynane (5th) and Inch Beach (3rd) all make return appearances…

The Irish Pike Society (IPS) and the Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs (IFPAC) have welcomed the annulment by the High Court on Monday 25th February of ‘The Designated Salmonid Waters Bye-Law’, which has provided for the killing of four…

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D., met yesterday with Irish fishing industry representatives in the National Seafood Centre, Clonakilty to discuss the state of play on Brexit and possible serious impacts facing the sector. The Minister…

With two races left to sail, a variety of boats occupy the top ten of the DBSC Spring Chicken Series leaderboard at the National Yacht Club. When the discard was applied after Sunday's race four, White Knight leads the 40–boat fleet…

The Irish Ocean Literacy Network held its sixth national meeting last Wednesday 20 February at the Marine Institute in Galway, where keynote speakers Dr Easkey Britton — surfer and post doc fellow at NUI Galway — and filmmaker Ken O’Sullivan of…

Sunday, February 24th was more akin to the opening lines of John Keats’ “Ode to Autumn” “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom friend of the maturing sun, Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit, the…