Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Kinsale Yacht Club's Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin has won the 2026 Irish Sailing Keelboat Champions Cup at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire, defeating defending champion Cillian Dickson by a single point in Sunday's (11 October) four-race final. Representing…
Pat Lawless, sailing his Saga 36 Silvermines Hydro, has picked up a developing stream of fresher north-north-easterly wind, enabling him to continue his weekend pattern of closing the gap on Golden Globe Race leader Damien Guillou aboard the Rustler 36…
Furio Benussi and his Arca SGR sailing team have claimed a fourth consecutive victory in the Barcolana in Trieste, Italy, leading a fleet of 1,858 boats in one of the world's largest sailing races on Sunday, 11 October. More than…
The new lifeboat, operational since April, replaces the Minnie and Ernest George Barry, which launched 265 times over almost 19 years at Lough Swilly and rescued 233 people, including five lives saved. As previously reported by Afloat.ie, Davdot arrived in Buncrana on 8…
Polish Double Gold and British Multihull Victory Close Inclusion Worlds
11th October 2026 Sailability
Poland's Piotr Cichocki claimed two world titles, while Britain's James Coxon completed his return to international sailing with multihull gold as the 2026 World Sailing Inclusion Championships concluded in Portimão, Portugal, on Saturday, 10th of October. The six-day championship attracted…
Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Too leads the seven-boat IRC 1 fleet after the only race sailed so far in Kinsale Yacht Club’s Victoria Antiques White Sail Series. High winds forecast for Sunday afternoon, 11 October, prompted the cancellation of the next…
Strong south-easterly winds reaching 30mph restricted the Royal Cork Yacht Club Autumn League to a single race on Sunday (October 11), with the fleet racing inside Cork Harbour for the third Sunday of the series. The decision to race within…
Eight Irish seafood processors explored cutting-edge technology at seafood production facilities in Ålesund, Norway, during a field mission led by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).Representatives from Kish Fish, Good Fish, Northcape Seafoods, Greenisle, Cheflink, Irish Seaspray, Albatross Seafoods and Galway Bay…
The RNLI plans to build eight of its next-generation coastal lifeboats in the first year of production, with two prototypes scheduled for 2027 and the first operational vessel expected to enter service in 2028. The charity has outlined the next…
The Government has extended fuel support for Irish fishermen for a further five months, from August to December 2026, under a €31.2 million package announced as part of Budget 2027. The additional funding covers fuel support schemes for fishermen, farmers,…
A design team for a permanent flood defence for Clontarf in north Dublin is being sought by Dublin City Council. As The Dublin Inquirer reports, a tender has been issued with a closing date of October 30th. The tender involves…
John Driscoll of the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club and Michael O'Connor of the Royal St George Yacht Club lead their respective fleets after the opening day of the Irish Sailing Keelboat Champion's Cup on Dublin Bay on Saturday…
Ireland's Pat Lawless has experienced good sailing south of Trinidade through Saturday in the Golden Globe, pulling Damien Guillou's lead back to 142 miles as the Dingle man's Silvermines Hydro makes 5.4 knots to Guillou's Solarem at 3.3. Admittedly the…
National Yacht Club sailors John Lavery and William Russell finished seventh overall at the Flying Fifteen European Championship in Palma, Mallorca, after a second-place finish in the final race on Saturday (October 10th). Peter and Juliette Kennedy of Strangford Lough…
Irish sailors Grattan Roberts and Oisín McClelland have won the 2026 52 SUPER SERIES season championship aboard Harm Müller-Spreer's German-flagged Platoon Aviation, completing a five-regatta campaign with a 30-point advantage over their nearest rivals. The championship was decided on Saturday…
Dublin sailor Nicole Hemeryck and Cork's Joe Griffiths are expected to join Rob Craigie and Deb Fish at the Royal Ocean Racing Club's annual prize-giving in London next month, as the British yacht Bellino collects six trophies following its fourth…
Poland's Piotr Cichocki is within reach of two gold medals at the 2026 World Sailing Inclusion Championships in Portimão, Portugal, after taking the lead in both the one-person and two-person keelboat events ahead of Saturday's, October 10th, final races. The…
Irish solo sailor Pat Lawless has spoken of the loneliness of life at sea during the 2026 Golden Globe Race, admitting that he misses his family and has even dreamt of being reunited with his wife Rita. Speaking to Georgie…
Irish fishing businesses are among those eligible for an additional €500 million in Government-backed lending announced under Budget 2027, bringing the total capacity of the Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme to €1 billion. The expansion, announced by Minister for Enterprise,…
Winter Yacht Lift-Out Underway at Dún Laoghaire Harbour
10th October 2026 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
The annual winter lift-out of sailing cruisers is underway at Dún Laoghaire Harbour today (Saturday, 10 October), with two large mobile cranes operating in a brisk north-westerly wind of 15 to 20 mph. Boats are being lifted ashore at the…
