Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Those of us who have found it challenging enough to get a sailing dinghy with a purpose-designed road trailer into a road-ready and race-ready condition was in awe this week of the achievements of Aongus Ó Cualáin of Connemara and his…

Hundreds of swimmers ranging from beginners to experienced athletes, fearlessly took on the challenge of the Dunmore East RNLI Open Water Swim last Sunday (28 May). The event garnered an impressive response with 360 registered swimmers, all driven by a…

The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) has set up a “virtual regional academy” to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) commercial fishing. The EU-funded e-FishMed project aims to foster co-operation, initially between northern and southern Mediterranean states, on IUU fishing,…

Baltimore RNLI in West Cork rescued a kayaker who got into difficulty in freshening winds this afternoon and was drifting backwards towards rocks off Sherkin Island. The volunteer lifeboat crew were requested by the Irish Coast Guard to launch their inshore…

“The saddest thing really is to see how, all around the coast, indigenous fishing people like me become extinct, we’re just not going to be there,” says former skipper and trawler owner Caitlín Uí Aodha in an interview with The…

A gentle breeze and sunshine got the new Melges 15 fleet off to the perfect start on Dublin Bay on Wednesday. With sailors still working out settings, tensions, and even basic rigging, a nice soft breeze was just what the doctor…

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly set a triangular course of two rounds for the first of two DBSC Water Wag races on (Wednesday evening, May 31st) in order to maximise the use of the western half of Dun Laoghaire Harbour, keeping…

In accordance with The Ocean Race sailing instructions, which allow the race committee to shorten the course for boats still racing, the Leg 5 finish line for Biotherm has been moved to longitude 0-degrees. Accordingly, the team finished at 10:37:50…

Rosslare Harbour RNLI launched to the assistance of a 44ft sailing yacht with three people aboard on Tuesday (30 May) after it developed mechanical problems. The all-weather lifeboat was requested by the Irish Coast Guard at 2.27pm and within half…

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels on the Shannon Navigation that the in-river works for the construction of the Killaloe Bypass bridge are progressing as planned. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the bridge is being constructed around 1km downstream of…

A group of young kayakers in Galway were treated to a scarce sight at the weekend when an angelshark surprised them for a brief swim-around. Kayaking instructors Ronan Breathnach and Colm O’Loan from Galway Bay Sailing Club had the presence…

Cork Harbour Festival starts this week to celebrate Cork’s greatest natural amenities, Cork Harbour and the River Lee, through a packed festival programme across 10 days from 2 – 11 June. The festival highlights the incredible choice of attractions and…

Scottish government owned ferry operator CalMac have confirmed the new timetable for the catamaran MV Alfred which is to serve on the Forth of Clyde route between Ardrossan and the Isle of Arran. According to the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald,…

Irish Ferries celebrated the first day of sailings today of the cruiseferry Oscar Wilde, which is the largest and fastest on the Irish Sea and aims to live up to the famous Oscar Wilde quote “I have the simplest of tastes.…

“There’s a Japanese man coming, it’s probably revenge..would you just go away, I’m old; I don’t mind dying “ “I came back three hours later and they were on their third bottle of white wine..” That’s one of many memories…

Long serving RNLI lifeboat Coxswain John O’Donnell retired today (Wednesday, 31 May) after 21 years of saving lives at sea on the west coast of Ireland. Born and raised on Inis Mór on the Aran Islands, John has been Coxswain…

Royal St George Yacht Club's Michael O'Connor, Davy Taylor and Ed Cook have taken third overall in the SB20 class of the North Sea Regatta, the largest regatta on the Dutch North Sea. The consistent Dublin Bay crew are in training…

Tokyo 2020 UK stars John Gimson, Anna Burnet, and Emma Wilson will headline a stellar cast of athletes picked to represent Great Britain at the Paris 2024 test event that includes Dun Laoghaire's Saskia Tidey from the Royal Irish Yacht…

Finn Lynch will not be racing at the Allianz Regatta at The Hague this week, despite his silver medal performance at the North Sea Regatta at the same venue, because the Rio Olympian is focussing on preparations for the Olympic test event…

Tokyo 2020 Olympians Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) with Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) return to competition in the 49er Men's skiff event at Allianz Regatta in The Netherlands this week after a period of illness and a year after achieving…