Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Olympian Annalise Murphy and her crew were the winners of a breezy Water Wag race at Dun Laoghaire Harbour this evening. Dublin Bay Sailing Club race officer Tadhg Donnelly set a three-round windward/leeward course for the Water Wags in a westerly 14-22 knot breeze.…

In July, a new classic boat/yacht parade is planned for Dun Laoghaire Harbour. This event is being arranged in association with Dun Laoghaire's Coastival Festival, a week-long series of events and activities that culminates in the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta.…

The recent spell of hyper-sunny weather was a reminder of the time we stumbled upon the “lost” Dublin Bay 24 Zephyra while searching for shade to walk our little dog around the back of a castle in Mayo. The elegant…

DBSC Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly postponed Wednesday evening’s Water Wag dinghy race at Dun Laoghaire for 40 minutes due to cruise ship tender activity in the harbour. Donnelly set a three-round windward/leeward course in a stiff westerly breeze with squalls…

Sean and Heather Craig's new Water Wag dinghy Puffin debuted with a second place in the first Wag race of the DBSC 2023 at Dun Laoghaire harbour on Wednesday evening. Held in a cool southeasterly light to moderate breeze, Race Officer…

Classic clinker-built wooden dinghies can mean a lot of maintenance work as they mature. Betty Armstrong's recent stories on Afloat.ie of restoration projects on some of the almost-forgotten 14ft Ballyholme Insects in the North, will have been an evocative reminder…

Although women sailors have played an active role in the Dublin Bay Water Wags OD Dinghy Class since their foundation in 1887 as revealed in Afloat.ie recently until Gail Varian (RStGYC) was elected President at last night's AGM in the…

The St Ayles skiff Ealu, new-built by Seol Sionna in Kilrush, has been entered for this year's edition of the vast and deservedly legendary Semaine du Golfe for traditional and classic boats at the Morbihan in Southern Brittany from May…

In one of the largest-ever class turnouts, 100 Water Wag Club members and their guests attended the 2022 season prizegiving dinner in the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Friday 10th, February. Guests included the 2022 race management…

The gaunt but serene Erskine Childers (52) died an hour after dawn on November 24th 1922 in Beggars Bush Barracks in Dublin. He had been captured as an armed opponent of the new Irish Free State Government’s policy of implementing…

It could be argued that the progress of the Dublin Bay Water Wag Class has been unstoppable since its foundation in 1887 by Ben Middleton and his friends as the world’s first One-Design fleet. There may have been times in…

The DBSC Water Wag dinghy fleet raced their last race of the season on Wednesday for the Candlelight Trophy at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay. Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly set a course of three rounds, four beats in winds of eight-ten knots…

There was a bumper turnout of 32 Water Wags for Wednesday night's DBSC Captain’s Prize race at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay. After a general recall, Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly lengthened the start line for one of the biggest…

A strong turnout of Water Wags on Wednesday night in Dun Laoghaire Harbour counted for the National Yacht Club's Women at the Helm regatta as well as regular Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) points.  19 Wag dinghies entered 'WATH', all helmed…

The 23-boat Dublin Bay Water Wag dinghy fleet had one light air race on Wednesday evening (August 17th) in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. DBSC Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly set a course of three rounds (four beats) in a six-knot breeze from…

In a tight finish to Wednesday's single DBSC Water Wag dinghy race inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour, Guy Kilroy executed a race-winning move at the favoured end of the finish line to take the gun.  Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly set a course…