Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
British sailor David Hartshorn, 53, from Chepstow, is to take over as Great Britain Skipper for the remainder of the Clipper 2017-18 Race, replacing Andy Burns who has made the difficult personal decision to step down here in Airlie Beach,…
Ocean Cruising Club Award to First Woman to Navigate the Northwest Passage Single–handed
22nd January 2018 Cruising
The Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) has announced the recipients of awards that recognise achievements in blue water sailing over the past 18 months. The recipients of these awards were selected from among those nominated by OCC members. The Club’s premier award, the OCC…
Irish Sea freight specialist Seatruck Ferries had another strong year of growth in 2017. Volume across the three routes increased at just over 10% compared with an overall market growth of *3.9%. (* source IRN Freightstat) Since 2015 Seatruck volumes…
Henry Williams was a renowned Dun Laoghaire lifeboat Coxswain. His son, Alexander, succeeded him and both died in the attempt to rescue the crew of the Palme in Dun Laoghaire Eve, 1895. That rescue is remembered in an evocative ceremony…
#FerryNews - The UK's busiest ferryport, Port of Dover handled 2,601,162 lorries in 2017 up on the previous record by almost 10,000 units. According to Multimodal News, this brings the total increase over the last five years to just under…
Combined total traffic through the Port of Cork and Bantry Bay Port Company reached 10.3 million tonnes in 2017, a very good increase of 8.6% compared to 2016. Total imports increased by 6.4% while exports increased by 12.3%. The Port…
Laser Sailors Lynch & Hopkins in Miami for 2018 World Cup Sailing Series
22nd January 2018 Tokyo 2020
Two Irish Olympic sailing hopefuls for Tokyo 2020 are among 540 sailors have gathered in Regatta Park, Miami, USA, for the second round of the 2018 World Cup Series, running from 21-28 January 2018. Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins and…
#Cruiseliners - The Port of Cork is braced for a cruise bonanza in 2018, with some 200,000 people due to arrive on cruiseships to Cobh, Ringaskiddy and the city centre this year. The long-term outlook is even more promising reports the…
Dublin Bay Sailing Club has launched its first event of 2018 with the continuing sponsorship of the DBSC Spring Chicken Series by Rathfarnham Ford. A series of six races to be held on Sunday mornings organised by Dublin Bay Sailing…
Bundoran Big Wave Surfer Conor Maguire Making A Splash On World Surf Scene
21st January 2018 Surfing
#Surfing - Irish sports website The42 has turned its spotlight on young Irish big wave rider Conor Maguire, who’s beginning to make a big impact abroad as he works on an upcoming three-part documentary on surfing in Ireland. Currently prepping…
Laser Sharp O'Sullivan Continues to Lead Monkstown Bay Sailing League
21st January 2018 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
Daragh O'Sullivan continues to lead the 16–boat Monkstown Bay Sailing Club Laser dinghy League in Cork Harbour by a margin of two points from local Chris Bateman after nine races and two discards. Charles Dwyer is third. Overall results are downloadable…
The Cruising Association (CA) has just released a video highlighting the dangers of entanglement with lobster pots as part of its campaign for better marking of static fishing gear. Afloat.ie has previously highlighted the perils of unmarked pots. On March…
#Ecuador - Afloat.ie has learned of unconfirmed reports that an Irishman has died in a canoeing accident in Ecuador today (Sunday 21 January). The deceased is believed to be a member of Sligo Kayak Club. There is as yet no…
#Rowing: Sam McKeown set a new Irish record of five minutes 53 seconds at the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships at the University of Limerick today. The Queen’s University man was the only competitor to breach the six-minute mark. In the…
US Anglers narrowly escaped certain injury when a motorboat collided with their small fishing boat. See video below. An Oregon fisherman whose dramatic escape from an oncoming motorboat was caught on video is suing the driver of the other boat…
Time Penalty For Conall Morrison’s Clipper Race Boat After Race 6 Exclusion Zone Breach
20th January 2018 Clipper Race
#ClipperRace - Conall Morrison’s HotelPlanner.com has retrospectively been given a six-hour time penalty for breaching the two-nautical-mile exclusion zone as stated in the Clipper Race course instructions for Race 6. At 11.30am Irish time/UTC on Tuesday 16 January, HotelPlanner.com breached…
Fisherman Dies After Collision With Volvo Ocean Race Yacht Off Hong Kong
20th January 2018 Ocean Race
#VOR - A collision overnight between Volvo Ocean Race vessel Vestas 11th Hour Racing and a fishing boat off Hong Kong has resulted in the death of a fisherman. The incident occurred approximately 30 miles from the finish of Leg…
Ireland’s Contribution to the International Classic Wooden Boat Movement
19th January 2018 W M Nixon
The traditional and classic wooden boat-building movement is gaining momentum in many parts of the world. It can be part of educational and training schemes which provide skills and purpose in life, usually for young people but also for older…
Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag Record Historic Volvo Ocean Race Leg Win Into Home Port Of Hong Kong
19th January 2018 Ocean Race
#VOR - Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag have won Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, leading the fleet into their home port of Hong Kong. It’s a historic win for skipper David Witt and his team who had to overcome…
New Irish Ferries’ Cruise Ferry W. B. Yeats Named At Launch Event In Germany
19th January 2018 Ferry
The completed hull of the new Irish Ferries cruise ferry W. B. Yeats – ceremonially named by Ms. Rikki Rothwell – was launched into the water earlier today at the shipyard of Flensburger Schiffbau–Gesellschaft in Flensburg, Germany where the vessel…
