Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Martin Mahon has won the J/24 Northern Championships at Carlingford Lough Yacht Club after a lack of consistent breeze prevented any racing on Sunday. With the fleet unable to add to the four races completed on Saturday, the overnight results…
Maeve Donagh of the Royal St George Yacht Club and Lough Derg Yacht Club has won the Senior title at the 2026 IODAI Optimist National and Open Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club. Donagh completed the Cork Harbour championship with…
Lough Swilly Lifeboat Brings Two to Safety in Back-to-Back Call-Outs
16th August 2026 RNLI Lifeboats
Lough Swilly RNLI’s volunteer crew responded to two separate incidents on Wednesday evening (12 August) after being requested to launch by Malin Head Coast Guard to reports of red flares, and then to a 28ft vessel with two people onboard.…
Portaferry RNLI’s volunteer crew pagers sounded at 4.11pm on Saturday afternoon (15 August) after Belfast Coastguard received a mayday call from a yacht with two people onboard, which had run aground on Rock Angus at the mouth of Strangford Lough.…
Irish Pair Help Pace Claim Round Britain and Ireland Line Honours
16th August 2026 Rd Britain & Ireland
Irish sailors Tom McWilliam and James “Jim” Carroll were part of the 14-strong crew aboard Johnny Vincent’s Volvo 70 Pace as she completed the 1,805-nautical-mile RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race, the first monohull to enter Cowes on Sunday morning.…
Kerry Freshwater Pearl Mussels Join Marine Institute’s Conservation Programme in Mayo
16th August 2026 Marine Wildlife
Twenty of Ireland’s rarest freshwater pearl mussels were last month airlifted from a river in Co Kerry to the Marine Institute’s Research Facility in Furnace, Co Mayo as part of the effort to save this critically endangered species. Their native…
Ireland’s Sienna Wright remains second overall at the ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Aarhus after winning two of Sunday’s races in testing, shifty conditions. As Afloat reported yesterday, Wright ended Day 2 in second place on four points after…
George Radley’s Cove Sailing Club Sun Fast 32 Tuco took both IRC and ECHO honours in the spinnaker cruiser division at Cobh People’s Regatta on Sunday (August 16th). The cruiser racing followed Saturday’s dinghy programme at Cove Sailing Club, with…
Spanish Officials Launch Probe After Orca Known for Ramming Boats Seen With Apparent Gunshot Wounds
16th August 2026 Marine Wildlife
Officials in Spain have launched an investigation after the sighting of an orca with suspected gunshot wounds in the Strait of Gibraltar. As the Guardian reports, the matriarch of an orca pod that’s become infamous for ramming boats off the…
Bretherton and Luhrs Selected for Ireland's Double-Handed Worlds Debut
16th August 2026 Mixed Offshore Keelboat
Ireland will be represented by Richard Bretherton and Inka Luhrs at the 2026 World Sailing Offshore Double-Handed World Championship in Marseille, France, from 23 September to 2 October. The pair have been selected by Irish Sailing for Ireland's first appearance…
Maeve Donagh of the Royal St George Yacht Club and Lough Derg Yacht Club has extended her lead in the Senior fleet of the Irish Optimist National and Open Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club after two more races on…
Martin Mahon leads a three-way tie at the top of the J/24 Northerns at Carlingford Yacht Club after four races on the opening day, with Charles Heather and Mark Usher also counting seven points. "All very tight at the J/24 Northern…
Ireland’s Sienna Wright of Howth Yacht Club has moved into second overall in the women’s fleet at the 2026 ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, after three races were completed in stronger conditions on Saturday. Wright, sailing IRL…
Ireland have surged to fifth overall at the Team Racing World Championship in Stockholm after a superb second round robin that included victories over both leading United States teams. With only Ireland's resail against New Zealand left to complete the…
Viking Marine has launched a new website alongside a free customer loyalty programme, the Viking Marine Rewards Club, as the Dún Laoghaire marine retailer develops its online offering. The new website makes it easier for customers across Ireland to browse…
Palanad 4 Seizes IRC Round Britain and Ireland Lead as Pace Powers Towards Cowes
15th August 2026 Rd Britain & Ireland
Antoine Magre’s Palanad 4 has taken the projected IRC Overall lead in the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race as Johnny Vincent’s Volvo 70 Pace powers south towards Cowes and monohull line honours. By 1100 BST on Saturday (15 August),…
John Horgan won the Rankin Brothers Cup at Cobh People's Regatta on Saturday (15 August), producing two second places in light airs to take the overall prize in the traditional Cork Harbour clinker-built fleet. Horgan, sailing TR2, counted a pair…
Chris Power Smith's J/122 2.3 GP Aurelia led the Cruiser Zero results as Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Saturday Series B continued in an easterly breeze on Dublin Bay on 15 August. The cruiser courses were sailed in around nine knots…
A strong Dublin Bay fleet is assembling for the final race of the ISORA Viking Marine Irish Coastal Series next Friday evening, 21 August, with the start time moved to 19:00 to avoid a clash with a Royal Irish Yacht…
Ferry Global Border Routes Are Booming in 2026 - from Ireland to Croatia & Japan
15th August 2026 Ferry
With ‘flight disruptions’ still fresh in the memory and ‘slow travel’ showing no signs of losing steam, according to a research study by Rome2Rio, a growing number of holidaymakers are looking beyond airports entirely, and ferry routes are emerging as…
