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Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
13 1720s are competing for East Coast Honours as part of the Royal Irish Yacht Club's Dun Laoghaire Cup with reigning European Champion Rope Dock Atara from Howth Yacht Club leading after day one of two
Homeport sportsboats led in three of the competing classes after the first day of racing on Saturday (May 18) at the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC), which hosted the Dun Laoghaire Cup 2024 on Dublin Bay. Three East Coast and…
Light winds for Denis & Mary O'Brien Citroen Car Sales sponsored ''Thank Goodness It's Friday'' Series at Kinsale
With two race wins, David Riome's Sigma 33 Valfreya is the White Sails IRC 1 leader on seven points after three races sailed at Kinsale Yacht Club's Friday night Denis & Mary O'Brien Citroen Car Sales sponsored ''Thank Goodness It's Friday''…
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Waterways Ireland advises all masters of vessels on and users of the Barrow Navigation that Levitstown lifting bridge in Co Kildare is closed with immediate effect (as of Friday 17 May) to facilitate maintenance works. It is anticipated that the…
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Waterways Ireland advises all masters of vessels and users of the Shannon Navigation that that the Spencer Harbour public jetty and amenity area, and the areas of Lough Allen immediately upstream and downstream of the harbour, will be closed from…
Fireball sailors Ewen Barry and Sandy Rimmington were the Monkstown Bay Sailing Club Dash for Cash Trophy winners in Cork Harbour
Host club sailors Ewen Barry and Sandy Rimmington defended their Monkstown Bay Sailing Club Dash for Cash Trophy on Saturday (May 18), picking up the €300 prize after a tight finish in Monkstown Creek against two single-handed ILCAs. The duo…
Manchán Magan joins an illustrious list of The Rivers Trust Ambassadors that already includes TV presenter and archaeologist Professor Alice Roberts
The Rivers Trust has announced the appointment of renowned Irish writer and broadcaster Manchán Magan as its first All-Ireland Ambassador. The announcement was made today (Saturday, May 18th) during the annual All-Ireland Conference hosted this year by Ballinderry Rivers Trust…
The Transgender Participation Policy will apply to all World Sailing events – including World Sailing Championships, the Youth Sailing World Championships, and the world or continental championships of the Olympic Classes – and the Olympic Games, including qualifying competitions, and will come into effect from January 1st, 2025
World Sailing Council has voted to adopt new eligibility rules for transgender athletes at the federation’s 2024 Mid Year Meeting. The Transgender Participation Policy will apply to all World Sailing events – including World Sailing Championships, the Youth Sailing World…
Light airs for Friday's Royal Cork Yacht Club May IHS cruiser-racer league in Cork Harbour led by Louise O'Keeffe's Dufour 30, Labous Gwen
Friday's Royal Cork Yacht Club May IHS cruiser-racer league in Cork Harbour was won by Louise O'Keeffe's Dufour 30, Labous Gwen in a corrected time of 1 hour 16 minutes and 16 seconds. Fiona Young's Albin Express, North Star was second…
A special cake to celebrate 20 years of Lough Derg RNLI last Sunday 12 May
As the RNLI commemorates the charity’s 200 years of lifesaving this year, Lough Derg RNLI celebrates 20 years of service on the lake. Last Sunday afternoon (12 May), volunteers past and present at the Lough Derg lifeboat station gathered with…
Colonel Blair Mayne SAS (and later of Royal Ulster YC) with his best mate, getting into battle mood in the North African desert during World War II of 1939-45. Anyone who gets along well with a Jack Russell terrier, while looking so very like superstar actor Liam Neeson before Neeson was born, must have had some redeeming features - even if he was a danger to all when partying in a new kitchen
County Clare is a place unto itself and a magic if challenging coastline for boats, bounded as it is by the Atlantic to the west, Galway Bay to the north, Galway County to the northeast, Lough Derg and the Shannon…
Women make up less than 2% of seafarers worldwide, an International Maritime Organisation has heard
The International Maritime Organisation, the United Nations agency for the sea, has called for more involvement by women in the world’s maritime operations, marking today’s International Day for Women in the Maritime sphere. Its Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez, says that, currently,…
For the Grand Ouest Trophy race, Tom Dolan (right) will resume his partnership with the young French co-skipper Paul Morvan, whom he sailed with on the Laura Vergne Trophy race earlier in the season, finishing in fourth place
At 735 nautical miles long, the Banque Populaire Grand Ouest Trophy race, which starts Saturday at 1300hrs local time, is one of the most extended offshore courses of the 2024 season for Ireland’s Tom Dolan. For the double-handed course, which…
Ireland, Belgium and the UK signed a letter of agreement on the development of Europe’s first planned hybrid electricity interconnector between three countries. It took place at a meeting on offshore wind development in Bruges. Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan (centre) has signed the agreement in Bruges with his Belgian and British ministerial counterparts, Tinne van der Straeten (left) and Andrew Bowie MP
Ireland, Belgium and Britain have signed a new co-operation agreement on renewable energy and electricity interconnections between the three states. Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan has signed the agreement in Bruges with his Belgian and British…
To address the carbon outlay of the process of developing such wind farms, the expert team recommend developing a recycling process for end-of-life blades
A windfarm can offset carbon emissions generated across its 30-year lifespan in under two years, a new study says. The study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand also demonstrates that within six months a turbine…
Fleet movements: One of the Irish Ferries trio of vessels on the Dover-Calais route, the Isle of Innisfree, is to transfer to Rosslare-Pembroke when Spirit of Britain (to be renamed) is introduced on the Dover-Calais route in June. The ‘Spirit’ class cruise ferry is to boost capacity on the busy UK-France short-sea trade link in competition with P&O Ferries and DFDS. In the meantime, as Afloat previously reported, Irish Ferries fast-ferry Dublin Swift resumed its'seasonal’ service on the Dublin-Holyhead route today.
Irish Ferries bareboat charter and acquisition of Spirit of Britain, which served P&O Ferries Dover-Calais service, will lead to the Irish operator’s transfer of Isle of Innisfree from the UK-France link to their Rosslare-Pembroke route, writes Jehan Ashmore. The changes…
The popular Sandycove beach near Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay. Bathing water quality monitoring at Sandycove and other beaches around the coast takes place during the bathing water season (June 1st to  September 15th) according to the Environmental Protection Agency
Bathing water quality around the Irish coast was high overall last year, with 97 per cent of monitored sites meeting or exceeding the minimum standard, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says. The EPA says that some 114 bathing sites (77…
Sean Lemass's First 40, Prima Forte was third in the Cruisers Zero division of Dublin Bay Sailing Club's fourth AIB-sponsored Thursday evening race of the 2024 season
Kyran McStay's X-35 D-Tox was the winner of Dublin Bay Sailing Club's fourth AIB-sponsored Thursday evening race of the 2024 season as Royal Irish Yacht Club boats swept the Cruisers Zero IRC podium. The McStay boat took the victory in…
Harland and Wolff has said negotiations with the UK government are continuing
The shipyard owner of Belfast’s Harland and Wolff Group has denied that the UK government has refused to give the group a £200m loan guarantee which is seen as crucial to the yard’s future. As The Times newspaper reported on…
Ann Kirwan at the helm of a Ruffian 23 in West Cork
Irish international offshore sailor Joan Mulloy has recently completed a ten-day trip from Antigua to Portugal in a Mod 70 trimaran as part of the Famous project led by Dee Cafarri and Alexia Barrier, which aims to break the record…
The 2024 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club will hold their annual ‘Dash for Cash’ race on Saturday afternoon
Monkstown Bay Sailing Club will hold their annual ‘Dash for Cash’ race on Saturday afternoon with First Gun at 2 p.m. It is a dinghy pursuit race with €300 cash first prize, €100 for second place, and €100 for the…

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