Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

A recurring case of tonsillitis rules out Howth Yacht Club  Laser ace Aoife Hopkins from this week's Princess Sofia regatta in Palma.  "I'm really gutted to have to announce that I will not be competing", Hopkins told Afloat.  Over the last…

Waterways Ireland is extending its Smart Card system to include lock passages on the River Shannon and Lower Bann. The service will be tested from a technical perspective at Albert Lock on the Shannon and the Cutts Lock on the…

Royal Cork Yacht Club's David Kenefick has finished seventh in a fleet of 33 at the Moth Bermuda National Championship in Hamilton, Bermuda. The top result comes as the Moth World Championships begin today at the same venue. Joshua Greenslade…

In recent weeks, much of the attention on the traditional boat-building Mecca of Oldcourt in West Cork has been focused around the complex moves involved in vacating the 56ft ketch Ilen from the boat-building shed writes W M Nixon. This…

Larne RNLI launched their inshore lifeboat Terry yesterday afternoon (Sunday 25 March) to a 21ft motor vessel experiencing engine difficulties near Browns Bay. The inshore lifeboat launched at 3.22pm and quickly made its way to the scene at Skernaghan Point,…

Dun Laoghaire's National Yacht Club hosted a welcome dinner for visiting officers of the Monte Real Club de Yates in Bayona, Galicia, North West Spain with whom the National Yacht Club, the Irish sailing club of the year, has a…

“In the summertime……….when the weather is hot”. To paraphrase the words of Mungo Jerry, with the arrival of summertime, the sailing was hot! British and therefore Irish Summertime arrived in Dun Laoghaire with a pleasant blue sky day for what…

#VOR - As the winds moderated to 20-25 knots earlier today (Sunday 25 March), the seven Volvo Ocean Race boats racing through the Southern Ocean towards Cape Horn are taking the opportunity to regroup before the next gale. Bouwe Bekking’s…

#INSS - The Irish National Sailing and Powerboat School (INSS) will host the first of its three-date series on dinghy racing tactics and strategy on Tuesday 3 April. Multiple dinghy national champion and offshore helmsman Kenneth Rumball is holding this…

#ClipperRace - Things are starting to look up for the Clipper Race fleet on Day 2 of Race 9: The Race to the Emerald City today, Sunday 25 March.  Glorious sunshine has emerged after a challenging 24 hours for the…

Dun Laoghaire RNLI has rescued seven teenagers this afternoon after they got into difficulty when walking on Sandymount Strand on Dublin Bay. The volunteer lifeboat crew was requested to launch their inshore lifeboat at 2.24pm at the request of the…

#Rowing: The under-23 lightweight pair of David O’Malley and Shane Mulvaney were the most emphatic of winners on the first day of the Ireland trial at the National Rowing Centre in Cork, while Philip Doyle won the men’s single sculls…

#VOR - The Southern Ocean is beginning to exact a toll on the Volvo Ocean Race fleet as conditions intensified today, Saturday 24 March. The wind is consistently above 30 knots now, with gusts approaching 40 knots and the sea state…

#Rowing: Jack Dorney was an impressive winner of the Junior 18 men’s single sculls final at the Ireland Assessment at the National Rowing Centre today. The Shandon man moved into a clear lead by the 1500 metre mark and won…

#InlandWaters - Waterways Ireland has announced revised opening hours for the locks on the Shannon-Erne Waterway for 2018. From next Thursday 29 March to Wednesday 16 May, locks will open from 9am to 6pm daily, extending to the full summer…

#RNLI - Baltimore RNLI were called out in the early hours of yesterday morning (Friday 23 March) to a fishing trawler with five people on board which had broken down close to shore. The volunteer lifeboat crew launched their all-weather…

#Navy - A visitor to Waterford City today (Saturday, 24 March) is the leadship of the OPV90 class LÉ Samuel Beckett which is open to the public this afternoon between 2pm and 4pm.. The 'Samuel Beckett' class offshore patrol vessel…

It’s big, it’s unique, and it’s the focal point of recreational interaction with the sea for one of the more affluent areas of population in Europe writes W M Nixon. But anyone visiting Dun Laoghaire Harbour for the first time,…

Cork Harbour's 'Women on the Water' were out in force for the SailCork annual dinner in the Royal Cork Yacht Club in early March. The Cork Harbour Sailing School presents its students who attend winter navigation courses with their certificates…

In the tradition of strong wind Finn racing that transcends and inspires generation after generation of young sailors, the on-board videos that have been published over the past few days from the medal race at the 2018 Finn European Championships in…