Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine

Sustainability Gong for The Ocean Race in International Sports Awards 2023
7th December 2023 Ocean Race
The Ocean Race has taken the top prize in the sustainability category of the 2023 International Sports Awards, hosted by the International Sports Convention. The award recognises the efforts of the race’s Racing with Purpose initiative, which was created with…

British Sailing Team Reveals Plans for ‘Cutting-Edge’ Performance Centre
7th December 2023 Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing
The British Sailing Team has unveiled plans for a state-of-the-art training base at its home in Dorset. The new Performance and Innovation Centre will bring together sailors, coaches and support staff in one location designed to promote collaboration and innovation.…

2024 European ILCA 6 Youth Championships For Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough
7th December 2023 Laser
The European ILCA 6 Youth Championships 2024 will be sailed at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough next season. “This is a very significant championship for Europe’s youth sailors and hosting the event is a feather in the cap for…

W.B.Yeats Returns to Irish Ferries Service On France Route Albeit Today's Overnight Sailing Is Cancelled Due to Adverse Weather
7th December 2023 Irish Ferries
W.B. Yeats which was delayed in dry-dock has finally re-entered Irish Ferries Dublin-Cherbourg route as the cruise-ferry completed the Ireland-France round trip today, however this afternoon's sailing to the continent is cancelled due to bad weather, writes Jehan Ashmore. It was…

Underwater noise levels and movement of marine mammals are being tracked in European waters by a scientific team led by Dr Joanne O’Brien and a team from the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Galway. The devices were deployed in Turkey and…

Fishing Organisations Guaranteed Consultation in Offshore Wind Energy Development
7th December 2023 Marine Planning
Co-operation, mutual understanding and respect amongst all involved in offshore wind energy development is the best way forward for this island nation. It is a welcome and important step in this process and the protection of traditional fishing grounds that…

Ireland’s expenditure of EU Brexit compensatory funding for the seafood sector is to be extended into next year. The so-called Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) was paid by the EU to Ireland and other affected member states to mitigate the impact…

The success of the Under 25 team sailing the club J24 ’Kinsailor’ is one of the many successes highlighted in the annual Class reports at Kinsale Yacht Club which, like many clubs, had to deal with the occasional ravages the…

National Watersports Campus Plans Get a Boost From Top-Up Funding Pot of Over €37M for Major Sports Projects
6th December 2023 Dun Laoghaire Watersports Campus
The proposed National Watersports Campus for Dun Laoghaire has received a major boost in the form of a €410,000-plus top-up grant under the Large-Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). Sport Minister Catherine Martin and Minister of State Thomas Byrne made the announcement on…

After a weather-challenged year for events in 2023, ICRA Commodore David Cullen is looking forward to a busy calendar in 2024. Key events for ICRA members include the Wave Regatta at Howth Yacht Club over the weekend of 24-26 May,…

Courtown RNLI volunteers invite everyone in the community to their ‘Jingle Mingle’ event this Saturday 9 December. The fundraising committee is hosting the Christmas afternoon from 2pm-5pm on the North Pier in Courtown, Co Wexford. It’s an opportunity to gather…

Sail-Powered French Cargo-Operator to Launch English Channel Service Set for the New Year
6th December 2023 Ports & Shipping
A sail-powered French cargo shipping company, Grain de Sail is poised to launch an English Channel service early next year. The Brittany-based group, founded in Morlaix in 2010, has activities spanning in wine, chocolate and coffee processing, maritime transport, import…

World Sailing Names Belfast Lough's Chris Lindsay as an International Judge for Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition
6th December 2023 Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing
World Sailing, the world governing body of the sport, has announced Belfast Lough's Chris Lindsay as an International Judge and Umpire for the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition. Lindsay, who also officiated at Tokyo 2020, is the only Irish appointment in…

Super-Maxi Law Connect Wins Solas As Sydney’s Sailing Programme Focuses Towards Hobart Race
6th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
Christian Beck’s super-maxi Law Connect won the famed SOLAS Big Boat Challenge within Sydney Harbour in ideal conditions at the weekend, with the traditional buildup towards the Rolex Sydney Hobart race on December 26th also taking in the Cabbage Tree…

Newbuild Order from Aasen Shipping for Three Hybrid Powered Methanol-Ready Self-Discharging Cargo Ships
6th December 2023 Shipyards
Aasen Shipping of Norway which has a fleet of self-discharging cargo ships which call to Irish Ports, has ordered from a Dutch shipyard for three new hybrid powered methanol-ready self-dischargers. Delivery of the vessels from shipbuilder, Royal Bodewes to Assen…

Royal St George Yacht Club Dragon 'Jaguar' is Third at Coupe D’ Hiver in Cannes
6th December 2023 Dragon
Royal St George Yacht Club's Jaguar Sailing Team of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and Rory Byrne took third overall at last weekend's Yacht Club de Cannes, Coupe D’ Hiver des Dragons. 17 Dragons from eight countries competed with victory going…

Crossing the Atlantic, Losing a Friendship - Man Versus Ocean Documentary on RTÉ Tonight
6th December 2023 Maritime TV
“Can you see what I see?” “ Land, land motherfxxxxxs…” “Ireland !!! I see you! Finally, the old sod is in site...” The words of transatlantic oarsman Damian Browne on day 108 of his extraordinary effort to row from New…

Royal St. George's Tom Higgins Fights for Semi-Final Place at 2023 International Youth Match Racing Championship
6th December 2023 Match Racing
Royal St. George's Tom Higgins is fighting for a semi-final place at the 2023 International Youth Match Racing Championship in Australia. The Harken-sponsored Championship is hosting some of the World’s best youth match racing talent, with competitors travelling from across…

Close Shave at the DBSC Turkey Shoot as Overall Lead Shared With Two Races Left to Sail
5th December 2023 Turkey Shoot
With two races left to sail at the AIB DBSC Turkey Shoot at the Royal Irish Yacht Club, there are joint overall leaders at the country's biggest winter sailing league. The 1720 Optique and the Sunfast 3600 Hot Cookie sit…

Who Was First In International Weather Handicap Input? Issue Arises Over Pioneering Use Of Weather Routing To Score Major Offshore Handicapped Events
5th December 2023 Offshore
Afloat.ie’s “Brain Test For The Day” story on Sunday about the introduction of weather routing as a new factor in scoring June 2024’s biennial CCA Newport-Bermuda Race was posted in wonderment (and maybe bewilderment) as much as being the airing…