Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

IRC rating's 40th anniversary year sees the GBR IRC National Championship leave the Solent for the first time; in 2024, it will be held at 'International' Poole Regatta over the spring bank holiday, 25-27 May, with three days of racing…

Annual maintenance dredging at Warrenpoint Harbour in County Down will continue until the end of March and possibly into April. According to Afloat reader Lee Maginnis, residents and visitors to Warrenpoint and, indeed, Omeath have been treated to the sight…

A Connemara shellfish business is using Brexit-related grant aid for a new packaging and labelling machine. Killary Fjord Shellfish in Leenane received grant aid of over €16,000 through Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) under the Brexit Sustainable Aquaculture Growth Scheme. The…

The national sailing organisation is proposing to raise club affiliation fees and will be asking for approval at the annual general meeting in the Royal Cork Yacht Club at Crosshaven on Tuesday week (March 26th) The proposed increase is 15%,…

Northabout crew from the Irish yacht’s historic polar circumnavigation marked the 80th birthday of their expedition skipper Jarlath Cunnane in Mayo last weekend. The adventurer, boat builder and holder of the prestigious Blue Water Medal, was joined by fellow sailors…

Word on the grapevine is that Jonathan Anderson's Danish-designed X 4.3 will be among the boats new to Royal Ulster’s Bangor Regatta in June. The new boat is still in the factory so brand new. He was the previous owner…

If you were trying to think of the most utterly rural town in all Ireland, Longford would certainly be among the top ten - maybe tops of all. And our rustic view of it is emphasised by the fact that…

Kick off your St Patrick’s Weekend at the National Yacht Club’s Cruising Club Boat Show on Saturday 16 March from 11am. See a live demonstration on life-raft deployment and entering presented by Solas Marine Services. The RNLI’s sea safety team…

Ahead of the St Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday weekend, the Irish Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland are issuing a joint water safety appeal, asking people to stay safe when in, near or on the water. Water temperatures are…

Ireland will stage the GP14 World Championships for the second time in four years following a decision by the International Committee to relocate the 2026 World Championship from Sri Lanka. Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, Belfast, has agreed to…

Tom Dolan overcame a torn spinnaker to finish in 11th place on the 370-mile offshore race of the Solo Guy Cotten-Concarneau, the Irish solo skipper’s first offshore race of the 2024 season. The spinnaker tear happened within the first couple…

Ireland’s inland boating season officially reopens from March 17th, in line with other European countries, with all services and facilities once again accessible at the extensive range of moorings and harbours across Ireland. Over 15,000 registered boats avail of Ireland’s…

It seems a new comedy movie, working title "Carry On Smuggling", may be in the early stages of production in West Cork. Articulated trucks being sent down one-lane cul de sacs near supposed "secret coves" that everyone happens to know…

The first keynote speaker at February's well-attended Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) Conference at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire was Dr Jason Smithwick (technical director of RORC). Jason outlined the composition of the IRC Technical Committee and…

The 40th edition of the Primo Cup was recently held at Yacht Club De Monaco, where fifty J70s competed. Other fleets included Cape 31, Smeralda 888 and Longtze Premier, representing over ten countries. In the J70 class, Ireland’s Team Wildcard,…

The world’s best Olympic sailors have made Hyères on the French Riviera their meeting spot each April for more than 50 years. And this year the stakes are even higher, as the 55th edition of Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères…

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured convictions against two men for illegal netting, with fines and costs reaching €8,000. Valiulis Dalius and Bloslanas Dzapbarovas, both of Kilnamanagh in Dublin 24, were prosecuted for using a net to capture fish in…

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured convictions against three men in two separate cases of illegal angling on Lough Sheelin. Jason Bennett of Blue Ball, Co Offaly and Thomas McCarthy of Tullamore, Co Offaly were prosecuted for trolling — where…

An Aran island family with several generations of volunteering with the RNLI lifeboat are featured in the first episode of a special series of RTÉ Radio 1’s Seascapes to mark the RNLI’s bicentenary. The three-part series also carries an interview…

An offshore patrol vessel with the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) has berthed in Dublin to mark the 20th anniversary of the North Western Waters Advisory Council and the Pelagic Advisory Council. The Ocean Protector is one of three EFCA…