Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Following the departure last Saturday for her 700-mile Limerick-London voyage, the trading ketch Ilen under the command of Ilen Marine School Director Gary Mac Mahon was able to sail the track as far as Land's Endin Cornwall, which she rounded…

A hard-earned 12th place in the final coastal race (Sunday) was small consolation for Irish solo racer Tom Dolan. Added to his 13th from Saturday’s light wind windward-leeward circuit Dolan, skipper of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan finishes the first major race of…

Barry Keane and Tony Doherty of Mountaineering Ireland have formally proposed that commemorative postage stamps be issued to celebrate the up-coming Centenary of Conor O’Brien’s pioneering voyage round the world south of the Great Capes with his Irish-built 42ft ketch…

There was a dramatic end to the 'grand course' of the 19th edition of the Solo Maître CoQ with plenty of light patches putting the sailors' nerves on edge. Corentin Horeau crossed the finish line completing the 327-mile course between Belle-Ile,…

A long, comprehensive spring season of training and preparation comes to an end Tuesday as Irish solo offshore sailor Tom Dolan takes on the first major solo race of the 2022 season. The Solo Maître Coq is the traditional curtain…

Ireland’s leading solo offshore racer Tom Dolan has almost finished his training phase prior to the start of the five events which comprise the 2022 French Elite Offshore Racing Championship, the season-long solo and short-handed circuit which has La Solitaire…

The 2022 edition of La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe sees the legendary solo Transatlantic race reach the age of 44 years old. It is long since established itself as the most popular and well known solo transoceanic race…

42 sailors have now entered the next Global Solo Challenge which will start from La Coruna in Spain, the first boats setting off in September of next year. The 42nd entrant, announced this week is Italian Riccardo Tosetto, a yachting…

As I sit down to write the update for February, it dawns on me, how quickly the month has raced past and also as to how much sailing and time on the water was achieved in 28 days! We started…

A very complete double of a successful Covid Project, followed by an adventurous Covid Breakout Achievement, came to fruition in January when Jim Schofield (57) of Blessington returned home to West Wicklow. His Covid Project was completed in the cramped…

With a target of this season's 220 nautical mile French Solo Trophée Map race, Dublin Bay offshore sailor Mark O'Connor has launched a Mini 650 campaign. The 23-year-old UCD engineering student has entry into the 2023 Mini Transat as the main aim…

Irish solo sailor Jim Schofield has turned his ambitions from crossing the Atlantic to something a little closer to home: boat repairs. Just weeks after finishing the McIntyre Adventure Globe 5.80 Transat Race in his self-built wooden yacht — constructed…

The French ocean sailing pioneer Bernard Moitessier became famous for trying not to be famous. In the Golden Globe challenge of 1968 with his Colin Archer-style steel ketch Joshua, he was very much in contention in the non-stop circumnavigating contest…

Dublin solo sailor Jim Schofield has taken a more conservative stance towards the McIntyre Adventure Globe 5.80 Transat Race, and is sailing his Molly Claire (Hull 57) under reduced canvass. Schofield’s primary objective is to cross the Atlantic Ocean on…

A group of four Spanish boat builders planned a trip to Lanzarote to surprise the Globe 5.80 Transat entrants before their Atlantic crossing, only to find out the start was moved forward before their landing time on Wednesday (17 November),…

Galway sailmaker Yannick Lemnnier finished the Eurochef MinisTransat yesterday (Monday) in Saint-Francois, Guadeloupe at 20:37:47 UTC in 16th place in the Proto Division in his 2004-vintage Manuard design Port of Galway tracker here  To achieve this, he overcame a dismasting…