Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
1720, SB20, B211 and J80 Leaders Emerge After Three Races Sailed at Royal Irish's Dun Laoghaire Cup 2024
19th May 2024 Royal Irish Yacht Club
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…
David Riome's Sigma 33 'Valfreya' Leads White Sails IRC 1 at Kinsale Yacht Club's TGIF Series
18th May 2024 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''…
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…
Shannon Navigation: Spencer Harbour Closure for Site Investigation Works
18th May 2024 Inland Waterways
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…
Barry and Rimmington Swap 5o5 for Fireball to Successfully Defend Monkstown Bay Dash for Cash
18th May 2024 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
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…
The Rivers Trust Announces Writer Manchán Magan as First All-Ireland Ambassador at Annual Conference
18th May 2024 Inland Waterways
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
More Women Needed in the Marine Sector Says International Maritime Organisation
17th May 2024 Ports & Shipping
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,…
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, Britain and Belgium Sign Agreement on Renewable Energy and Electricity Interconnections
17th May 2024 Power From the Sea
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…
Study Finds a Windfarm Can Offset Carbon Emissions in Under Two Years External
17th May 2024 Power From the Sea
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…
‘Spirit’ Class Ship to Join Irish Ferries Dover-Calais Service Sees Isle of Innisfree Bound for Rosslare-Pembroke
17th May 2024 Irish Ferries
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…
EPA Says Bathing Water Quality "High Overall" in 2023 But Five Beaches Recorded Poor Results
17th May 2024 Sea Swim
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…
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…
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…
"No Shouting" - Joan Mulloy and Ann Kirwan On the Women At The Helm Regatta
16th May 2024 Wavelength Podcast
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…
Monkstown Bay Sailing Club ‘Dash for Cash’ Dinghy Race Has €300 First Prize
16th May 2024 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
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…