Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Ballyholme Yacht Club in Bangor on Belfast Lough is the host club for this year’s Irish National Youth Sailing Championships from 21st until 24th April. The cream of youth and junior sailors from across Ireland will compete in the Laser/ILCA…

Kinsale Yacht Club has launched its Under 25 Team’s J24 and named it ‘Kinsailor.’ The boat is the last J24 to have been built by Jeremy Rogers, who also built Contessas, on the Isle of Wight. “At 31 years old…

Over 450 of the world’s very best youth sailors from 69 countries have confirmed their participation in the Allianz Youth World Sailing Championships 2022. Taking place off the coast of Scheveningen in The Hague, The Netherlands, from 8-15 July 2022,…

The Eric Twiname Junior Championships is back after a two-year absence – and entries are now open. The RYA’s iconic “battle of the regions” pits young sailors from across the country against each other, representing their RYA Region or Home…

21 420 racing dinghies have arrived at Kinsale Yacht Club for their annual February Mid-Term coaching camp. This record number has doubled in number since it was last held at Schull in 2019. Boats have travelled from Wexford Harbour, Waterford Harbour,…

There's a good turnout of young Irish sailors competing in the Caribbean 600 starting on Monday.  The Irish crew are among teams from all around the globe arriving in Antigua this weekend and representing over 32 different nations. The sailors…

The RYA Youth Sailing Brititsh National Championships is making a much-anticipated return to Wales in 2022 – and entries are now open for the Irish Sea event. The week-long regatta heads to Plas Heli, the Welsh National Sailing Academy in…

The last weekend of January saw the RYA Celtic Cup hosted by RYA Scotland at Largs Sailing Club, and taking part were RYANI Youth Sailing Squad Members with RYA Wales and RYA Scotland. As well as racing for the Celtic…

The RS Feva offers a double-handed alternative and stepping stone for young sailors, The world’s leading double-handed dinghy for youngsters and parent/child teams. Exciting performance is the secret behind the success of the RS Feva. The modern styling and practical…

Eve McMahon of Howth Yacht Club, the Golden Girl of the international ILCA Classes, is Afloat.ie “Irish Sailor of the Year” for 2021, deservedly following an honoured track set over many years by Ireland’s legends in the sport. Such elevation…

Although our own domestic season is still many weeks away, six 29er partnerships elected to travel to the UK to compete in the 48 boats UK Winters. Grafham Water is the traditional venue for the event and despite a challenging…

I’m encouraged by the opening of the Under 25 support programme for the season ahead. It is a further positive step towards bridging the gap through which young sailors were lost to the sport. That was when they wanted to…

The national and international achievements afloat of Irish Laser dinghy star Jonathan O'Shaughnessy were recognised ashore this weekend at Royal Cork Yacht Club when the Irish champion was presented with its perpetual Pyewacket Trophy. As regular Afloat readers will recall, O'Shaughnessy qualified as…

Dinghy Performance teamed up with Tralee Bay Sailing Club to bring back the Tralee Bay New year clinic onto the 2022 calendar. The clinic's concept is to have all the main junior and youth classes in the same venue, allowing…

Baltimore Sailing Club in West Cork is, predominantly, a ‘summer club’ that is very busy when seasonal visitors arrive in the village from Cork City, Dublin and other locations. That does not limit its ambitions to develop the sport as…

Topper racer Connie Wilson, who sails out of East Antrim Boat Club in Northern Ireland, is one of 14 young sailors across the UK who have been awarded their own boats and boards donated by the John Merricks Sailing Trust.…