Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Role Of Cable Ships In Transatlantic Communications To Be Celebrated in Kerry's Waterville
13th August 2026 Maritime Festivals
Tales of the ships that laid Waterville’s cables off the Kerry coast will be told during several special events planned for Heritage Week 2026 this month.Friends of Waterville Cable Station are organising two special events on Saturday, August 22nd. The first…
The history of Monkstown Bay Sailing Club’s burgee goes back much further than the club's founding in June of 1970. As far back as 1872, members of the public who visit the club this Saturday, when it opens its doors as…
The angler who had his leg bitten by a blue shark off the Waterford coast this week said he feared for his life. As The Irish Times reports, Sebastian Achim (27) was fishing with four others some 6.5km from Ram…
Two Cruise Ships at the Same Time Mark a Busy End to Season at Bantry
13th August 2026 Cruise Liners
Bantry Bay had a 'first' of two cruise ships at the same time as its ‘cruise ship visitor season came to an end.’ "The sight of two cruise vessels was both unusual and welcoming, demonstrating the Bay’s capacity to accommodate…
MARA Rejects Criticism of "Underperformance" By Minister For Environment
13th August 2026 Marine Planning
The State’s marine regulator has defended its track record, following criticism by Minister for Environment Darragh O’Brien. As The Irish Times has reported, a freedom of information request it tabled confirmed that the minister wrote the Marine Area Regulatory Authority…
Port of Cork Loses Case Over Public Right Of Way At Deepwater Quay Area
13th August 2026 Port of Cork
The Port of Cork has lost a case over a public right of way on deepwater quay land. The Currency reports that the case taken by the port against a group of community activists in Cobh collapsed “within days”, after…
Twenty-six Water Wags turned out for Wednesday evening’s AIB DBSC race in Dún Laoghaire Harbour, on an evening marked by both a partial solar eclipse and Water Wag President Gail Varian’s 80th birthday. Seán Craig and Heather Craig took the…
Irish Wildlife Trust Speaks Out Over Media Coverage of Shark Bite Incident Off Waterford
12th August 2026 Marine Wildlife
The Irish Wildlife Trust has spoken out over “sensationalised” media coverage of an incident off Co Waterford in which a man was bitten by a blue shark. As The Journal reports, the casualty was part of a group on a…
Pace Powers North as Round Britain and Ireland Race Splits Into Two Battles
12th August 2026 Rd Britain & Ireland
Johnny Vincent’s Volvo 70 Pace has surged clear at the front of the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race, clocking up around 428 nautical miles in 24 hours as an Atlantic low propels the leaders north towards the top of…
World Sailing Signs Three-Year Partnership With FarEast to Support Global Development
12th August 2026 World Sailing
World Sailing has signed a three-year global partnership with marine manufacturer Shanghai FarEast Co. Ltd, with boats and equipment to be supplied for international events and development programmes around the world. The agreement, announced on Wednesday (12 August), makes FarEast a…
Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan is preparing to return to racing later this month aboard the repaired Figaro Kingspan, teaming up with longtime friend and mentor Gildas Mahé for the season-ending L’Adventura. The double-handed race starts from Port Bourgenay on…
Unlicensed Boat Captain Charged After Mother and Baby Killed in New York Capsizing
12th August 2026 News Update
A boat captain is facing federal charges after a vessel carrying 14 people capsized near the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour, resulting in the deaths of a 27-year-old woman and her five-month-old daughter. The incident occurred at approximately…
Ballycotton and Youghal RNLI Join Rescue After Suspected Shark Bite Off Ardmore
12th August 2026 RNLI Lifeboats
A person was airlifted to hospital following a suspected shark bite off the Waterford coast on Tuesday afternoon, in a multi-agency rescue involving Ballycotton and Youghal RNLI and the Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117. Ballycotton RNLI was requested to…
Belfast's 'Samson & Goliath' Return to Service as Navantia UK's (H&W) Re-Enters Naval Market
12th August 2026 Shipyards
Belfast Harbour’s iconic yellow gantry shipyard cranes, Samson and Goliath, are returning to regular service for the first time in over two decades at the Queen's Island site, according to a report from Yahoo Finance. As IndexBox writes, the cranes,…
Irish Sailing is inviting southern cruising skippers to help identify the obstacles facing coastal cruising in Ireland at a meeting in Crosshaven later this month. The Irish Sailing Cruising and Representation Policy Group (IS CRPG) will hold the meeting at…
Four Irish boats will line up at Cowes for the 2026 Dragon Edinburgh Cup and UK Grand Prix, where a 49-strong international fleet will contest the largest edition of the regatta in 30 years. Ireland’s challenge includes former Edinburgh Cup…
Saving Lives at Sea Returns for 11th Series as RNLI Programme Marks 10 Years on BBC
12th August 2026 RNLI Lifeboats
The RNLI’s Saving Lives at Sea will return to television screens for an eleventh series this month, marking ten years since the lifesaving series first aired on the BBC. The new 10-part series, featuring RNLI lifeboat crews and lifeguards from…
Ireland's eight-strong squad for the World Sailing Team Racing World Championship brings together sailors with backgrounds ranging from Olympic classes and team racing to match racing, keelboats and offshore competition. The championship begins in Stockholm on Wednesday (12 August), with…
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) and its statutory partners are investigating another “significant” fish kill, this time near Kells in Co Meath where more than 500 brown trout have died. The incident occurred at a tributary of the Moynalty River north of Kells,…
Marine Notice: Hydrographic and Geophysical Surveys in South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan
12th August 2026 ESB Renewable Energy
The Department of Transport has been notified by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE) that they will undertake hydrographic and geophysical surveys in the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) to inform future offshore renewable energy…
