Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The Irish National Optimist Championships starting on Thursday 11th August at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay is expected to attract 200 entries but it is understood only four of these are from Northern…

Cannes Yachting Festival, possibly the biggest boat show in Europe for yachts, will be exhibiting some top models from the Key Yachting Stable next month, including the new Grand Soleil 40, the new Grand Soleil 72, Nautitech 44 and J…

Surfers have been invited to help set a new Irish “paddle out” record next month while raising funds for a community mental health project in Sligo. The first “Big Board Meeting”, as it is called, is set for September 17th,…

Light winds continue to affect the 505 World Championship programme at Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour. Racing was cancelled on the second day of the competition at Crosshaven due to lack of wind. Only one of two races…

Jaffa, a nine-metre Dutch yacht with six people onboard that suffered a fouled propeller 4.5 nautical miles east of Ballycotton island in the early hours of this morning (Tuesday, 9 August), was brought to safety by the lifeboat crew from…

Brittany Ferries, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, has launched a website called Livelocal.fr with its partner 321 Founded. The site promises to match holidaymakers with local hosts who offer bespoke and authentic experiences in their destination. The move…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s World Maritime University (WMU) in Sweden is calling all Seafarers to take part in a survey. As gCaptain reports, the survey is open to seafarers who are currently working on any commercial ship, or have…

The Isle of Man Steam Packet has promoted Adam Kelso to the rank of Master of the ropax ferry Ben-my-Chree, which has 1,235 freight lane metres and a passenger capacity of 630 passengers. Adam, born and raised on the Isle…

It’s been a long time coming, but the skippers are finally sharing the same dock, drinks and stories of their preparations, while helping each other with final tasks. These solo sailors, including Ireland's Pat Lawless in the Green Rebel entry…

Union Hall RNLI  was paged by Valentia Coast Guard and launched at 3.17 pm on Monday (8th August) to reports of an overdue boat, that had left Ring pier, at 10 am with one person onboard. Launching in flat calm conditions…

Leading motor yacht brand Prestige will make a double world debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival next month — presenting the Prestige X60 and M48 to the public for the first time at the show from 6-11 September. The Prestige X60 comes…

Lucia Cullen (Royal St George YC) and Alana Twomey (Royal Cork YC) won Gold and took the U17 29er Female World Title in Spain at the weekend. As Afloat reported previously, the Dublin-Cork duo sailed a very strong series and…

Dun Laoghaire RNLI had a busy afternoon on Sunday (7 August) with three separate callouts all within a matter of hours. They began with a missing child at the Forty Foot bathing place, followed by a yacht taking on water…

In a building breeze throughout the day, the three Irish sailors competing in the 52-boat ILCA 4/Laser World Championship warm-up event in Villamoura, Portugal, posted some good results. Sienna Wright of Howth Yacht Club, sailing under the Faro burgee, is…

Americans Stuart Mcnay and Caleb Paine have won the first race of the 505 World Championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour. Best of the Irish in the 77-boat fleet was recently crowned national champion, Monkstown Bay's Chris Bateman…

Cobh People’s Regatta, with Cove Sailing Club, is on this weekend with events ashore and afloat. Sailing races begin with the young sailors of the Optimist fleet on Friday morning, starting at 10 a.m. The cruisers will race that evening…

Wicklow Inshore RNLI lifeboat brought two paddle boarders to safety on Sunday evening (7 August) after they got into difficulties near Wicklow Head. The lifeboat launched at 7.35 pm after members of the public walking on Wicklow Head saw the paddleboarders…

At the UK's biggest container port in Felixstowe, workers are to strike for eight days in a dispute over pay. Around 1,900 members of the union, Unite will walk out on 21 August after rejecting a 7% pay offer from…

Tall ship, The Brian Ború has set sail from Cork's city centre quays today, with 10 young trainee sailors and 3 crew on board, as part of an annual initiative with Sail Training Ireland. The Sail Training Bursary scheme, supported…

Paris 2024 Olympic ILCA 7 campaigner Ewan McMahon has won the Irish Moth National Championships 2022, for the second year running. This year, the Irish Moth Class partnered with the Irish Waszp Class to hold a joint national championships kindly…