Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Cork’s Lower River Lee
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has opened the second draw for anglers wishing to catch and keep salmon from Cork’s Lower River Lee in 2024. ‘Brown tag’ regulations came into force on the river from 1 February and will remain in…
Irish Sailing League logo
Steady entries are coming in for the Irish Sailing League with the inaugural event coming over the weekend of 20-21 April, as Kenneth Rumball writes. We are delighted to welcome two more clubs to the entry list who committed over…
Aerial view of the Royal Cork Yacht Club
Volvo Cork Week 2024 entries have been steadily climbing with a huge variety of boats and sailors from Ireland and all over the world expected to be competing at the Royal Cork’s famous regatta from 15-19 July. The championship fleet…
Irish youth sailors at the Royal Cork in Crosshaven
The early bird entry for the Waterman Kelly Irish Sailing Youth Nationals 2024 is closing later this week at midnight on Friday 15 March. This year’s event will be hosted by the the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven from…
Forth Warrior workboat
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Greenlink Interconnector Ltd is proposing to develop an electricity interconnector to allow for offshore cable installation and burial at a later stage. A pre-lay grapnel run (PLGR) will be performed along the planned interconnector route…
The lifting bridge over the Royal Canal at Newcomen Bridge in Dublin’s North Strand
Waterways Ireland advises arrangements have been made for Iarnród Éireann to open the lifting bridge at Newcomen Bridge on the Royal Canal in Dublin on the following dates and times, if there is demand: Sunday 5 May, 9am-1pm (Low water…
Gavan Murphy (ILCA 7) working hard to maintain his advantage on the water
Despite a horrible forecast of wind which caused Howth’s Round the Island Race to be cancelled (on the Saturday) and huge seas in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday, the DMYC dinghy Frostbites, sponsored by Viking Marine took place on Sunday afternoon…
The Captain Desmond Fortune “Founders Award” for the highest placing Venture Scout was won by Conor Brosnan from 7th Port (Howth) Sea Scouts. The Captain Cian Timmons memorial trophy for the highest placing Rover Scout was won by Cormac Eason from 9th Port (Malahide) Sea Scouts. The event included a practical boat handling exercise in Malahide Marina, with Dan Clohessy from 9th Port (Malahide) achieving the highest marks in this section, receiving the Eoghan Lavelle Cox’n prize.
The 2024 Sea Scout Master Mariner competition took place in Dublin on 10 March. This maritime skills event has been running since 1995 and is supported by the Irish Institute of Master Mariners. This year’s event had a focus on…
Malahide Yacht Club Invites Entries for March 23rd “March Hare Regatta”
Malahide Yacht Club is inviting entries for the March Hare Regatta on Saturday, March 23rd, 2024. This open event will feature ILCA/Laser, Optimist, and PY class races on the beautiful Broadmeadows Estuary. "Sailors of all ages are welcome to participate…
Anthony Marchand (Actual Ultim 3) Finishes Fourth in Ultim Challenge
French solo skipper Anthony Marchand took fourth place on Ultim Challenge this afternoon when he sailed the ULTIM Actual Ultim 3 across the finish line off Brest at 14:08:21hrs UTC. Marchand, who turned 39 years old during this first ever solo…
Basking sharks have a long association with Irish waters, going back to the earliest recording of their presence in 1739
What significance is there in the first arrival of a basking shark in Irish waters this year being spotted on the West Coast? It is not the earliest date of arrival of a basking shark. It ranks as the third…
At the Port of Sligo this morning, a general cargo ship, Wilson Lahn at the Deepwater Quay to load fishmeal, while another Wilson ASA operated cargo ship, Wilson Mosel, which last night completed loading the same cargo, is also seen at dawn, departing and bound for Norway. The scene of two ships at once at the north-west port follows the same scenario on 11 February, when more vessels of the Bergan-based operator, Wilson Ruhr, departed the port and also went to Norway, while Wilson Elbe was inbound. Up until then, a two-ship scene was a rare sight at the small regional port.
While tracking vessels in the north-west today, among them passenger ferry Aran Islands Express, a trio of general cargo ships operated by Wilson ASA have been trading in the Port of Sligo at the weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore The operator…
Aran Islands Express, which has completed an overhaul at Mooney Boat, Killybegs, Co. Donegal, AFLOAT tracked this morning depart on its return passage to Co. Clare to resume 'seasonal’ ferry services for Doolin Ferry Co. In addition, this summer, the company is to introduce a new, larger passenger ferry, setting new standards of facilities on routes to the Atlantic archipelago.
Doolin Ferry Co.’s 294-passenger Aran Islands Express this morning departed Killybegs, Co. Donegal, fresh from overhaul in readiness for St. Patrick’s Day and this year's season, writes Jehan Ashmore. Afloat tracked Aran Islands Express, having left Mooney Boats, the boat-builder,…
Royal Cork Yacht Club's Denis Byrne was elected Commodore of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association at the 2024 national cruiser conference and AGM and will lead the national cruiser-racer body for the next two years
The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) has laid out its plans for the forthcoming 2024 season, and it features a packed calendar of events that will, among other things, produce the ICRA Boat of the Year 2024 by the end…
Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan: “Staying fresh, hungry and focused are my targets this season.”
Irish solo offshore sailor, Tom Dolan, is starting his 2024 racing season with a new approach. Rather than spending most of his time on the water, the skipper of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan has prioritised his physical and mental preparation. Dolan is…
The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will be a Rolex race for another decade thanks to a new sponsorship deal that extends naming rights to the event through to the 2033 edition
Rolex has renewed its sponsorship of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race for another ten years, extending its naming rights to the event through to the 2033 edition. The announcement, say the sponsors, is a testament to the brand's privileged relationship…
The AIB DBSC Spring Chicken fleet enjoy some ideal sailing conditions in the penultimate race of the 2024 series. The final race was cancelled in strong easterly winds on Dublin Bay
Strong easterly winds and big seas may have prevented the final race of the AIB-sponsored DBSC Spring Chicken Series from sailing on Sunday morning (March 10) – the first cancellation of the six-race mixed cruiser and one design league –…
Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin make history by becoming the first ever French sailors to win the 49er World Championships
Giving the host nation a huge boost just months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin of France emerged victorious in the 49er World Championships held in Lanzarote on Sunday (10 March). Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz of the…
Alan Mulcahy's Albin Express Apache (left) was the winner of the first race of the Frank Godsell Kinsale Yacht Club March League at Kinsale
The Frank Godsell March League 2024 for mixed cruisers at Kinsale Yacht Club got off to an exciting start on Sunday. The fleet decided to round alternative turning marks after discovering that some of the prescribed buoys on the course…
“A History of Lifeboats in Dublin Bay”, an illustrated lecture by Cormac Lowth, takes place in the Maritime Museum, Haigh Terrace, Dun Laoghaire on March 12th at 1.30pm.
While the RNLI celebrates its bicentenary, the first lifeboats in Dublin Bay date back to the early 19th century and were run by the Port Corporation. This is the subject of a talk by maritime historian and researcher Cormac Lowth…

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Please show your support for Afloat by donating