Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
World-renowned yacht designer Jason Ker, has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Maritime Studies by Solent University today. Founder of Ker Yacht Design, an industry-leading company based in Winchester, Jason has forged a formidable reputation for racing yachts,…
ESPO Welcomes Draft Report but Calls for Stricter Application of ‘Polluter Pays’ Principle
10th July 2018 Ports & Shipping
#PolluterPays- European Sea ports Organisation (ESPO) have welcomed proposals put forward by the European Parliament Rapporteur Ms Gesine Meissner in the draft report of the Transport Committee on the review of the Waste Reception Facilities Directive (Com (2018) 33). The…
In a month, where Irish Laser sailors are celebrating a U21 World bronze medal, the Class returns to Howth Yacht Club for an open event after a long absence. HYC will host this two-day event which kicks off on Saturday…
State Cannot Licence Seaweed Harvesting Where Rights Already Exists Says English
10th July 2018 Coastal Notes
#Seaweed - The State cannot licence seaweed harvesting in a era where harvesting rights already exist. That is the official position of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, following “ongoing assessment of the legal interaction” between applications for…
#MarineNotice - Fugro will be carrying out further marine operations on behalf of TE Subsea Communications LLC for the HAVFRUE Subsea Cable System Project south of Achill Island from this week. The operations are an extension of the project outlined…
Illegal Salmon Netting in Donegal, Inland Fisheries Ireland Identifies 'Two Significant Cases'
10th July 2018 Fishing
Inland Fisheries Ireland has seized 26 untagged salmon in The Glenties area in Donegal and 1,100 yards of illegal salmon drift nets off Inishbeg Island. The seizures were secured last week by Inland Fisheries Ireland’s Fisheries Officers who are based…
#MarineScience - Applications are open for shiptime in 2019 and 2020 on Ireland’s national research vessels Celtic Explorer and Celtic Voyager, as well as the ROV Holland I and the Laochra na Mara glider. Every year a broad range of…
Battle To The Finish As Hometown Skipper Leads Remaining Clipper Race Fleet Foyleside
10th July 2018 Clipper Race
#ClipperRace - With 13 nautical miles to go as of 9am this morning (Tuesday 10 July), Conall Morrison’s HotelPlanner.com leads the five Clipper Race boats still battling to the finish of Race 12: The LegenDerry Race. Yesterday’s arrivals were completed…
The Royal Yachting Association in Northern Ireland (RYA NI) has followed Irish Sailing in congratulating Belfast's Liam Glynn who secured Bronze in the U21 Laser World Championships in Poland after he took on 133 competitors from 40 countries. Glynn, from…
The long-awaited pontoon at the popular boating harbour in Schull, West Cork looks to be finally underway with the arrival, this week, of a jack-up rig for pile driving. As Afloat.ie reported in April, the Department of the Marine gave…
#OurOceanWealth - New research from NUI Galway’s Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit (SEMRU) focuses on the ecosystem service benefits that society receives from Ireland’s marine environment. The latest bi-annual report — Valuing Ireland’s Marine Ecosystem Services — was launched at the…
Ireland’s Gregor McGuckin Makes Best Day’s Run of Golden Globe Fleet
9th July 2018 Golden Globe Race
Eight days into the Golden Globe Race non-stop solo round the world from Les Sables-d'Olonne, and Ireland’s Gregor McGuckin had today’s best 24-hour run of the 17 boats still racing as they close in on the Canary Islands writes W…
#MaritimeHeritage - A rich seafaring past in Derry-Londonderry tells the story of the city itself. From pre-history settlements to nineteenth century emigration, from the Siege to the Second World War, the water has played a vital round in shaping the…
#Rowers of the Month: Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan are the Afloat rowers of the month for June. Both brothers showed outstanding form at Cork Regatta. Paul O’Donovan won the single sculls. In the heats, Gary had not been the…
Further Disruption As Technical Issues Force Ulysses to Be Out of Service Longer
9th July 2018 Ferry
#FerryNews - Technical issues for Irish Ferries Ulysses remain unresolved as they are more serious than originally anticipated, forcing the operator to cancel further sailings than expected during the peak season on the busy Dublin-Holyhead route. Ulysses since late last…
Pressure Remains On For Clipper Race Teams Still En Route To Derry-Londonderry
9th July 2018 Clipper Race
#ClipperRace - While the battle for the Race 12 podium was settled earlier this morning by victorious Visit Seattle, second-placed Unicef and Garmin in third, the pressure remains on for the rest of the Clipper Race fleet as teams push…
#RNLI - Yesterday afternoon (Sunday 8 July), Dun Laoghaire RNLI responded to a 31ft yacht with two onboard when their vessel became stranded just off Bray Head. The volunteer lifeboat crew was requested to launch their all-weather lifeboat at 2.18pm…
27 times National Windsurfing Champion Oisin van Gelderen of Dublin, continued his quest to be the first Irish Sailor to break the 50knot (92kph) barrier last week, when competing in the 'Prince of Speed' event in the South of France…
Nikki Henderson, 24, from Surrey, UK, has led her Visit Seattle team to an impressive victory in Race 12 to Derry-Londonderry, the penultimate race of the 40,000 nautical mile Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race. Visit Seattle crossed the…
Over 500 sailors and 100 keelboats and dinghies relished in the champagne sailing conditions served up in Belfast Lough by joint host yacht clubs Royal Ulster and Ballyholme in the first Bangor Town Regatta. The new event is already booked…
