Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
St Andrew’s College Wins Fifth Successive Leinster Schools Team Racing Title
19th October 2026 Team Racing
St Andrew’s College continued its dominance in Leinster schools team racing on Sunday, 18th of October, securing its fifth successive provincial championship at the Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) on Dublin Bay. Sixteen teams took part in the 2026 Irish Schools Team Racing…
Optimist champion Emily Donagh and ILCA 6 youth sailor Rory Brennan-Hobbs claimed class victories as the National Yacht Club hosted the final ILCA Ireland Sprint of 2026 on Dublin Bay on Sunday, 18 October. Emily Donagh won the ILCA 4…
The international fleet enjoyed a steady six-to-nine-knot breeze on Sunday, 18th of October, as crews completed final preparations for championship racing on the Mediterranean coast. Despite morning showers, conditions improved for the 2 pm practice session, with sunshine breaking through…
Pat Lawless's Cruel Golden Globe Exit Ends Remarkable Irish Challenge
19th October 2026 Golden Globe Race
Six weeks of outstanding solo sailing brought the Kerry skipper within striking distance of the Golden Globe Race lead before another equipment failure ended his circumnavigation ambitions. Afloat looks back on his performance and the reaction from Irish sailing supporters.…
Ireland's emerging blue bioeconomy will be the focus of a major industry conference at the Convention Centre Dublin on Monday, 19 October, where the BIM Aquatech Business of the Year will be announced. BIM Conference to Explore Blue Bioeconomy Opportunities…
Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Too and Padraig O’Donovan’s Chameleon lead the IRC divisions after two races in Kinsale Yacht Club’s Victoria’s Antiques White Sail Series. Four points separate Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Too from her nearest rivals in IRC 1, while Padraig…
Shane Hughes is aboard the line-honours leader Black Jack 100, while Tom McWilliam's Pace remains among the leading IRC 1 contenders in Sunday's Rolex Middle Sea Race estimates. Wicklow sailor Shane Hughes is aboard Black Jack 100 as the 100-foot…
Artful Dodger Extends Royal Cork Autumn League Lead With Two More Wins
18th October 2026 Royal Cork YC
Finbarr and Colm O'Regan's Kinsale Yacht Club J109 maintained its winning form as two more races were completed in the Royal Cork Yacht Club Autumn League on Sunday (October 18), with close contests developing in the smaller spinnaker and white-sail…
Dublin-based Irish Commercial Charter Boats has played a key marine operations role in a record-breaking 1.8-kilometre cable duct installation for ScottishPower Renewables' East Anglia TWO offshore wind farm off Suffolk. Dublin-based Irish Commercial Charter Boats (ICCB), headed by Eoin Grimes,…
A Swedish-built Malö 39 bluewater cruising yacht, owned by the same person since new and fitted with recent sails and standing rigging, has come onto the market through Crosshaven Boatyard in Cork Harbour. A 2000 Malö 39 cruising yacht is…
Inland Fisheries Ireland is seeking public views on proposed oyster dredging licences in Tralee Bay and Lough Swilly for 2027–2032, with environmental assessments published for both locations. Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has opened public consultations on proposed oyster dredging licences…
Irish solo sailor's second Golden Globe Race challenge ends in the South Atlantic while lying approximately 100 miles behind leader Damien Guillou. Ireland's Pat Lawless has retired from the 2026 Golden Globe Race after a serious rigging failure aboard his…
The Government has yet to identify locations for additional Irish Naval Service bases, as work continues on plans to expand the country's maritime defence capabilities. No locations have yet been selected for additional Irish Naval Service bases, despite the Government's…
Ireland's Pat Lawless was setting the pace among the three leaders as the Golden Globe leaders raced into Saturday night in the South Atlantic, with the developing low-pressure area off the coast of Uruguay and southern Brazil bringing fresh energy…
American Chris Poole and Britain's Christian Hamilton will contest the Bermuda Gold Cup final after contrasting routes through the knockout stages, guaranteeing a first-time winner of the prestigious World Match Racing Tour event. Chris Poole and Christian Hamilton will meet…
A new display at the harbour’s historic anemometer will bring Dublin Bay weather observations to East Pier visitors from Thursday 22 October. A live weather information display at Dún Laoghaire Harbour’s historic East Pier anemometer is due to go live…
Black Jack Leads Middle Sea Race Fleet Around Sicily as Pace Sets Early Handicap Pace
17th October 2026 Middle Sea Race
The 606-nautical-mile race around Sicily began with seven cannon-fire starts from Malta's Grand Harbour, where light winds greeted the fleet beneath Valletta's historic bastions and the Three Cities. Thousands of spectators watched from the waterfront as yachts ranging from double-handed…
The inaugural championship concluded on Saturday, 17th October, after ten races in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, with ten different race winners underlining the competitiveness of the growing international one-design fleet. Eker Süzme entered the final day with a 17-point advantage…
Sweden's Johnie Berntsson produced a remarkable turnaround at the Bermuda Gold Cup, winning five consecutive matches on Friday, 16th October, to lead the repechage standings and secure his place in the quarter-finals. The five-time Gold Cup champion, who had lost…
Galway Bay Sailing Club (GBSC) hosted the Dart 16 Open Championship for the second consecutive year on Saturday, 10 October, with 14 catamarans competing in fresh conditions on Galway Bay. The one-day event attracted sailors from Galway City Sailing Club,…
