Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#Angling - Anglers fishing in Ireland will now be allowed to keep one bass a day from Monday 1 October till the end of 2018. The move follows new advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea…

#VOR - Kerry sailor and Volvo Ocean Race veteran Damian Foxall had a very different role in the most recent edition of the round-the-world yacht race. As sustainability manager for Vestas 11th Hour Racing, Foxall was responsible for guiding the…

The National Yacht Club’s Frostbite Series for Flying Fifteens, sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors, kicks off next Saturday 6 October. The five-race series runs till Saturday 17 November, with breaks for the October Bank Holiday and Lough Derg Regatta on 13…

Gregor McGuckin is currently and very deservedly the best-known Irish sailor in the world writes W M Nixon. The sheer gallantry and utter rightness of his efforts to bring aid last weekend to injured fellow Golden Globe competitor Abilash Tomy…

33-boats registered fleet of Flying Fifteens enjoyed balmy conditions for September on the opening day of their Deloitte sponsored Championship of Ireland writes Cormac Bradley. Two windward-leeward courses were set by International Race Officer Jack Roy and the fleet enjoyed…

#Canoeing: Ireland’s Liam Jegou finished 24th in the semi-final of the canoe slalom World Championships in Rio de Janeiro. The C1 paddler incurred four seconds of penalties for touches on gate one and gate 10 which cost him his chance…

The Conor O’Brien-designed 56ft ketch Ilen sailed for the first time in twenty years today off Baltimore writes W M Nixon. Originally built in 1926 at the picturesque West Cork port, and recently restored at nearby Oldcourt by Liam Hegarty’s…

#Kitesurfing - Independent.ie has the lowdown on this weekend’s Battle for the Lake kitesurfing extravaganza on Achill Island. Keel Lough is the venue for the finale of the 2018 IKSA tour that will see many of the same competitors that…

Dublin Bay Sailing Club has released further details about this weekend’s end-of-season race day at the Royal St George. Amendments to the sailing instructions will see the Blue Fleet (including Shipmans) start and finish at MacLir, displaying a blue pennant,…

Richard Hayes’ Laser isn’t the only small boat to complete a circumnavigation of Ireland in recent days. This past Monday (24 September), the crew of Arthur — a 40-year-old inland motor cruiser based in Portumna on the River Shannon —…

#Lifeboats - After almost four years, Jack Lowe will this week reach the halfway point of his epic ambition to photograph all 238 stations in the RNLI network when he visits Dover Lifeboat Station. Since he began The Lifeboat Station…

#Lifeboats - Baltimore RNLI has welcomed its new Atlantic 85 class inshore lifeboat on service in the West Cork village. The inshore lifeboat arrived at Baltimore lifeboat station on Thursday 13 September and replaces the Atlantic 75 class lifeboat, Patricia Jennings,…

#FastnetRace - Organisers of the Rolex Fastnet Race have moved to shoot down rumours that the offshore classic was planning a move from its “ancestral home” in Plymouth to France, as the Plymouth Herald reports. Earlier this month the Royal…

#MarineNotice - Fugro is currently carrying out marine operations in the Irish Sea on behalf of Alcatel Submarine Networks for the Havhingsten Subsea Cable System project. The works from Loughshinny in North Co Dublin on an east-northeasterly route were scheduled…

#DLHarbour - Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown county councillors have suggested a potential increase in Local Property Tax to help offset Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company’s multi-million-euro liabilities, now that the harbour has been officially transferred to local authority control. Cllr Barry Ward tweeted…

#FerryNews - Lorries forming long queus across Anglesea, north Wales could stretch from Holyhead Port to Bangor if there's a "no deal" Brexit, says a councillor amid uncertainty over the impact on the port. As the Daily Post reports, London…

As regular Afloat.ie readers will know, in August, Carlingford Marina introduced a “Universal Basic Berthage” rate for visiting boats, doing away with the tried and tested price per metre rate used by the majority of marinas around the world. They…

Joan Mulloy will be at Mayo Sailing Club Friday, the 5th October at 7 pm to give a presentation about her recent experience in the single-handed endurance Solitaire du Figaro race, her other sailing and her ambition to go all…

The transfer of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company to Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council will be raised by Independent Senator Victor Boyhan in the Seanad today at 11am. Boyhan who previously expressed doubts about the corporate governance of the Harbour Company…

#FerryNews - A ferry firm state-owned by the Scottish Government has insisted it will not pay any extra cash for two new car-ferries being built to serve Scotland’s island communities, despite the work running over time and over budget. As…