Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The opening race of the women's Laser Radial (ILCA6) World Championships in Mussanah, Oman has been postponed due to lack of wind at the venue. A fresh attempt to start the series will be made on Thursday to begin the…

Conor Haughey of Malahide’s handsome silver-liveried Moody 54DS Hibernian is having a very good Transatlantic race with the ARC+ division of 70 boats, which has taken in the transoceanic hop in two stages with a stop in the Cape Verdes.…

Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann) has launched a national rail freight plan in Ballina in Co Mayo, which aims to increase operations in line with growth in demand across the EU. As RTE News reports, the company says the expansion will…

Afloat tracked yesterday Irish Sea freight ferry MV Arrow to the Port of Larne, having departed Douglas Harbour on Sunday, however the crossing was separate to any requirements of the Isle of Man Steam Packet, writes Jehan Ashmore. According to…

The RS 400 Winter Series continued last Sunday at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough. The series is now twelve races in and has thrown up some surprises, twenty boats currently entered. Race 10 started in a…

The annual Irish Seaman's National Memorial service this year was again cancelled given ongoing Covid circumstances, however a small low-key ceremony did take place along Dublin's south quays, writes Jehan Ashmore. Attending the ceremony last Friday at City Quay, was…

New data confirms that the volume of goods shipped directly from the Republic to the EU on new Brexit-busting ferry routes have rocketed by 50%.  As the Irish Examiner writes, in the past six months, exporters seek to avoid travelling…

Afloat.ie in association with Dubarry brings you a bi-monthly nautical crossword competition (No. 194). Win a pair of Dubarry Commodore X LT or Sailmaker X LT deck shoes! Complete the crossword below and add your details below and the first…

In November 1971, Malahide sailing enthusiast Gerry Watson journeyed with his son Philip from their comfortable home down the slow Irish roads of half a century ago to Crosshaven, where the son had signed up to join a new sailmaking…

As 2021 draws to a close, the Irish sailing community has learned yet again that there’s nothing like a major international success by one of our own to brighten the dark days of November. And when that success comes to…

Team Racing makes for great sailing sport, and is unrivalled in its effectiveness in honing close-quarters boat-handling skills. But it’s an especially unforgiving type of contest, for although everyone is mutually reliant for success, at the very end it often…

It’s nearly two years since the Strangford Ferry was transformed into a Carol Ship in celebration of the Christmas Season, its last transformation being in December 2019 before Covid restrictions were imposed.  There has been a ferry crossing the fast-flowing…

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD and Minister Malcolm Noonan TD, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, visited the Shannon region to mark the successes of the first year of the Shannon Tourism Masterplan.…

John O'Gorman's Sunfast 3600 Hot Cookie from the National Yacht Club (on board footage from Prof O'Connell of North Sails below) is the overall leader of the mixed cruiser DBSC Turkey Shoot Series on Dublin Bay after four of seven races sailed.  Another…

The Navan-born Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort KCB FRS FRGS FRAS MRIA (1874-1857) was a man of very many interests, some of them a little startling. His work as the Hydrographer of the Navy is remembered in the name of the…

The Cabinet has agreed that people arriving at Irish ports and airports will need a negative Covid-19 test from Friday. Travellers can have either a professional antigen test taken a maximum of 48 hours prior to arrival, or a PCR…

Dun Laoghaire Habour received another call by an Emergency Response & Rescue Vessel (ERRV) albeit for a brief period which took place almost a week ago, writes Jehan Ashmore. The red-hulled ERRV named Vos Endurance had arrived on Wednesday morning, having…

The North Rotunda in Glasgow was the swanky venue for the Clyde Cruising Club’s Annual Prizegiving last weekend and there to pick up his prizes won at the Scottish Series way back at the end of May was Royal Ulster’s…

The 2021 Royal Ocean Racing Club Annual Dinner and Prize Giving was held to celebrate a spectacular season of racing. Dubbed the RORC Oscars, over 300 attendees enjoyed a cocktail reception and a three-course gourmet dinner. A glittering array of…

The circumstances surrounding the death of a crew member on ARC yacht Agecanonix at the weekend are not yet known, according to rally organisers the World Cruising Club. Late on Friday 26 November, a Mayday call was made from Agecanonix…