Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Revenues reported at Mersey Ferries have been buoyant in the year to 31 March, 2026, as the summer period of holidays has helped boost earnings. However, the commuter and excursion operator had only a small pre-tax profit, which was wiped…
A collection of “toxic tyres” gathered from the shoreline and waters of Lough Corrib were removed this week as part of a community initiative to mark National Heritage Week. Research shows that as tyres break down, they can release a…
Ireland's 2021 World Championship silver medallist Finn Lynch leads a six-strong home challenge when one of the deepest ILCA 7 World Championship fleets of recent years begins racing on Dublin Bay, with 141 sailors from 45 nations assembled in Dún…
An overcast Dublin Bay provided a busy backdrop for Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Saturday Series B racing on August 22, with the regular cruiser and one-design fleets sharing the bay with the Melges 15 National Championship fleet and ILCAs training…
Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team from Dun Laoghaire Harbour has won the Corinthian title at the 2026 Edinburgh Cup and UK Dragon Grand Prix in Cowes after a dramatic final-race battle decided on countback. Byrne, sailing IRL201 Jaguar with his…
Resolute and Illegal Take Early Control at RCYC At Home Regatta Light northerly winds provided a testing opening day for the 306th Royal Cork Yacht Club At Home Regatta in Cork Harbour on Saturday (August 22), with two races completed…
A new Shannon-class lifeboat has been officially named Bobby Cameron at Kilkeel RNLI in County Down in memory of the late brother of its principal donor, Margaret Cameron. The naming ceremony and service of dedication took place at Kilkeel Lifeboat…
France has shattered the SailGP speed record after hitting 107.63 km/h during a high-octane opening day of the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix in Sassnitz on Saturday. DS Automobiles Team France eclipsed the previous championship record of 103.93 km/h, set…
Norwood and Donagh Lead Melges 15 Nationals After Four Dublin Bay Races at Royal Irish
22nd August 2026 Melges 15
Royal Irish Yacht Club pair Tim Norwood and Luke Donagh have taken the overnight lead in the 22-boat Melges 15 Irish National Championships after four races on Dublin Bay on Saturday (August 22). Norwood and Donagh, sailing NonameO, opened the…
The world’s largest floating bookfair ship, MV Logos Hope, currently at the Port of Cork, is a former Denmark-Faroe-Iceland ferry that is from a series all built by the same West German shipyard in the 1970s, writes Jehan Ashmore. The…
Jetpack Takes IRC Three Win as Round Britain and Ireland Fleet Heads Home
22nd August 2026 Rd Britain & Ireland
Mark Brown’s JPK 1010 Jetpack has become the latest class winner in the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race, taking provisional IRC Three honours as the flow of finishers into Cowes gathered pace overnight and into Saturday. The 1,805-nautical-mile race…
Scientists have warned that the seas around Ireland and much of Europe are warming beyond a stage that many marine species can tolerate. The World Weather Attribution (WWA) network of scientists forecast severe disruption to ecosystems, with impacts ranging from…
Kinsale Yacht Club Celebrates Atomic's Reclaim of the Irish Squib National Title
22nd August 2026 Squib
Five boats from Kinsale Yacht Club’s growing Squib fleet travelled to Killyleagh Yacht Club on Strangford Lough for the Irish Squib National Championships, where Ian Travers and Keith O’Riordan reclaimed the national title in Atomic. As Afloat reported, the six-race…
North Dublin boatbuilders and rowers aim to set off and row the North Channel from Donaghadee to Portpatrick in two west of Ireland currachs this weekend. Weather permitting, a crew of about ten from Currachaí na Sceirí in Skerries, Co…
Poole Port Workers Fear Cuts as Brittany Ferries to Axe Route to Cherbourg
22nd August 2026 Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries is to axe two of its English Channel routes, and this includes up to 20 jobs expected to be axed on its Poole-Cherbourg, France, service. As Afloat reported in June, the ferry operator announced that it would end…
The Isle of Man Constabulary has issued a warning after incidents took place at the Sea Terminal in Douglas. Following a reported increase in "unruly and rude behaviour" by young people around the terminal in the Manx capital, police say…
Irish-American sailor Colm Walker has withdrawn from the 2026 McIntyre Golden Globe Race, ending a second strand of Irish interest in the solo non-stop round-the-world race ahead of its start from Les Sables-d’Olonne on 6 September. Walker reached the French…
The Rolex SailGP Championship returns to the Baltic this weekend, with stronger winds potentially putting the championship’s outright speed record under threat at the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix in Sassnitz. Thirteen international teams will race close to the shoreline…
El Syd Wins ISORA Night Race as Howth's Indian Takes Viking Marine Coastal Series
22nd August 2026 ISORA
Frank Whelan's Sydney 43 GTS El Syd from Greystones won Friday night's final Viking Marine ISORA Irish Coastal Series race on IRC, while Simon Knowles' Howth Yacht Club J/109 Indian produced the result it needed to leap from third to…
Former Ferry Now Christian ‘Book Ship’ Visits Cork Quays for Tours This Weekend
22nd August 2026 Port of Cork
This weekend, at Cork’s city centre quays, is the world’s largest floating book fair on board the MV Logos Hope, previously a Faroe Islands-Denmark passenger car ferry, which, since conversion, has been run by Christian missionaries. The former North Atlantic…
