Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Former Faroe Islands-Jutland, Denmark Ferry Visits Belfast Harbour As 'Bookfair Store' Ship
4th October 2026 Belfast Lough
Belfast Harbour recently saw the arrival of the world’s largest floating bookfair store ship, which marks the third and final call to the island of Ireland this season with public tours available, writes Jehan Ashmore. As Afloat previously noted, the…
Waterways Ireland advises boaters on the Royal Canal and Grand Canal that there will be one further lift of Newcomen Bridge in Dublin’s north inner city in 2026, scheduled for Saturday 10 October, before further engineering works on the bridge…
Tim Norwood and Luke Donagh scored three straight wins as the Irish Sailing Dinghy Champions’ Cup opened at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire. Tim Norwood and crew Luke Donagh produced a clean sweep on the opening…
The two leaders in the Golden Globe Race 2026 continue to sail merrily down the South Atlantic off the coast of South America in a continuing soldier's wind from east sou'east, while the remainder of the fleet continue to be…
France’s Thomas André and Colombe Julia have won the 2026 Offshore Double Handed World Championship after taking a closely fought 190-nautical-mile final off Marseille. The French pair, racing FRA01, emerged from a four-boat battle in light and shifting winds to…
A reef off West Clare which is familiar to big wave surfers is linked to a local superstition that it was once the location of a village swallowed by the sea. The legend of Cill Stuifín is the theme for…
Damien Toner has been appointed Director of Development and Innovation Services at Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM). He has over 30 years’ experience in the seafood industry in the private and public sectors, having previously worked for Údarás na Gaeltachta, Inland…
Sligo-based surf pioneer and three-time national champion Seamus McGoldrick has explored 6,000 years of local history for a book he has just published. Waking Maeve: an excavation of Sligo’s landscape, myth and history spans a period from “Stone Age tomb…
Howth sailor Eve McMahon and Olympic rowing medallist Aifric Keogh have outlined the financial pressures facing Irish athletes as the OFI seeks changes to tax relief. Eve McMahon says her €40,000 annual Sport Ireland grant helps her compete as a…
Donaghadee RNLI launched late on Wednesday night (30 September) after a fishing boat was reported to have collided with a cargo vessel east of the Copeland Islands. HM Coastguard paged the volunteer crew at 11.20 pm after a report that…
Irish Coast Guard Director Asked To Address "Horrendous Conditions" in Which Kilmore Quay Volunteers Work
3rd October 2026 Coastguard
A Wexford councillor has called on the director of the Irish Coastguard to address what he calls “horrendous conditions” in which Irish Coast Guard Kilmore Quay volunteers have to work. Cllr Ger Carthy says the director should attend the October…
South Korea’s Jeemin Ha and Thailand’s Sophia Montgomery have secured the first sailing quota places for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after winning the ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 events at the Asian Games in Japan. The results on…
Cork boatbuilder Safehaven Marine has launched Ederra 8, a new 18-metre Interceptor 60 pilot boat for the MVD Pilots Association in Montevideo, Uruguay. The new vessel is the third Ederra built by Safehaven for the Uruguayan pilots, following the two…
Sailing’s Championship of Champions Gets Fresh Head of Steam With 80th Anniversary On Horizon
3rd October 2026 All Irelands
The new-look Championship of Champions is taking place during this and next weekend, with the Dinghy Championship starting this morning for two days at Royal St George YC in Dun Laoghaire racing Melges 15s with GP14 ace Ger Owens of…
Golden Globe leader Damien Guillou of France with the Rustler 36 Solarem was making hay right through Friday, speeding south on a reach at 7.5 knots, with 172 miles made good in the 24 hours as he raced into the…
Smyth’s Searcher 2 and Goodbody’s SPIIP Eye Saint-Tropez Finale
2nd October 2026 Royal Irish Yacht Club
Pete Smyth’s Searcher 2 and Tim Goodbody Jnr aboard the Swan 88 SPIIP carry Royal Irish Yacht Club interest into Saturday’s final racing at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. Smyth’s Ker 46 Searcher 2 took sixth in Friday’s fourth race of…
Ireland’s Conor Cronin finished seventh overall at the 2026 ILCA 6 Men’s World Championship in Vilamoura, Portugal, after recovering two places on Friday’s final day. The Irish sailor had gone into the concluding two races in ninth overall on 114…
Kinsale Yacht Club has confirmed the dates and senior race management team for the 2027 Sovereign’s Cup, with Michael O’Sullivan returning as Race Director and Anthony O’Leary again taking charge on the water as Principal Race Officer. The four-day regatta…
Six class winners have been crowned in the 2026 AIB Dublin Bay Sailing Club Royal Alfred Yacht Club Super League, with the historic Royal Alfred silverware presented at an end-of-season prizegiving at the Royal St George Yacht Club. AIB, the…
The Port of Cork Company (PoCC) has published its Annual Report for 2025, reporting higher cargo throughput, turnover, and profitability as it continues to invest in the infrastructure needed to support Ireland’s trade, connectivity, and energy transition. Total consolidated traffic…
