Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine

The EU is giving 8 million euros to set up Ireland’s first “hydrogen valley” in Galway port as one of nine such projects across Europe. The EU funding is a significant boost for the multi-million euro green energy scheme, which…

With 20,000 miles and five months at sea — 70% of their voyage complete — the leading yachts in the Golden Globe Race are starting to show little signs of fatigue requiring constant maintenance, just as they are undertaking the…

The Ocean Race Leaders Pushing Hard to Make Up the Miles — But Black Hole of Light Winds Lies Before Cape Town
7th February 2023 Ocean Race
It’s been a long, exhausting but also thrilling second leg of The Ocean Race 2022-23 and the pattern is not going to change in the final stages, with the five IMOCA crews bracing themselves for one last push to Cape Town.…

British Ports Association (BPA) Welcomes New Shore-Power Government Funding
7th February 2023 Ports & Shipping
The British Ports Association (BPA) has welcomed the UK Government’s new £77m Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition, which was launched yesterday. BPA research has found that no shore power project anywhere in the world has gone ahead without…

Teen Sailor to Highlight 'Alternatives to Fossil Fuel Boats' While Attempting Round UK World Record
7th February 2023 Isle of Man
A student is to visit the Isle of Man as part of a Round Britain tour using an 'electric' rigid inflatable boat (RIB) rather than a traditional outboard engine. The tour will be a World Record attempt to travel around…

Irish Documentary to Make International Debut at Ocean Film Festival in Canada
7th February 2023 Maritime TV
An Irish short film featuring communities who make a living from the sea is set to reach global audiences tonight (Tuesday, February 7th). Fair Seas: The Kingdom of Kerry has been selected for inclusion at the Festival of Ocean Films…

Daria Blackwell Of Clew Bay Brings Top International Voyaging Honour To Western Ireland
7th February 2023 Cruising
Daria and Alex Blackwell of County Mayo have been a significant power couple in global voyaging for many years now, operating from their base at Port Aleria among the many islands of the inner reaches of Clew Bay, and voyaging…

Second LNG Dual-Fuel Newbuild Tanker for James Fisher Everard Enters Service
7th February 2023 Ports & Shipping
A second 6,000dwt LNG dual-fuel tanker for James Fisher and Sons plc based in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria on the Irish Sea has been delivered. The newbuild Lady Maria Fisher will be traded by James Fisher Everard (JFE) alongside its existing fleet…

All of the America's Cup teams have had an extremely busy January due to their training regimens being notably more intense. Data gathering and analysis are more crucial than ever, with only a few months till sign-off for the AC75…

East Down Yacht Club welcomes Impala and Sonata keelboats to a two-day combined racing event on the 27th and 28th of May. The club is situated near Killyleagh on the west side of Strangford Lough on a nine-acre site, including…

Cove's Dorgan Leads Overall at Monkstown Bay's Laser League
7th February 2023 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
At Monkstown Bay Sailing Club in Cork Harbour, where eleven races have been sailed in the club’s Winter Laser League, racing resumed on Saturday when Kieran Dorgan from Cove Sailing Club just around the corner at Whitepoint, continued to lead…

Cinnamon Girl, the two-handed cruiser crew of Sam Hunt and Cian McCarthy, sailed the Squib, Breakaway, to first place in the first race of Sunday’s Custom Rigging Frostbite Series at Kinsale Yacht Club. This was the second day of racing,…

National YC Members Invited to Presentation on Safe Navigation in Dublin Bay
6th February 2023 National YC
Members of the National Yacht Club are invited to a talk on safe navigation in Dublin Bay, hosted by Dublin Port Company on Thursday 23 February at 7.30pm. The talk will be will be presented by members of the port…

Vendée Globe Record-Setter Clarisse Crémer ‘In Shock’ as She’s Dropped By Sponsor After Having Baby
6th February 2023 Vendee Globe
Vendée Globe competitor Clarisse Crémer says she is “in shock” after being dropped by her main sponsor just weeks after having a baby. According to Marine Industry News, the record-setter was let go by Banque Populaire in the wake of…

Inaugural Melges 15 Dublin Bay Meeting on Zoom This Tuesday, 7th Feb at 8.30 pm
6th February 2023 Melges 15
The Melges 15, a new double-handed dinghy, will launch in Europe this summer, with its first European fleet set for Dublin Bay. The drive for the new class is being led by John Sheehy of the Royal Saint George, who hosts a Zoom call…

Difficult Day All Round at the DMYC Viking Marine Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour
6th February 2023 DMYC
There are days when it is difficult for competitors, there are days when it is difficult for the Race Officer, and then there are days when it is difficult for everyone! Sunday, 5th February, was one of these latter days!!…

Royal Irish Extreme 37 Wow! Enters 2023 Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale
6th February 2023 Sovereign's Cup
Kinsale Yacht Club has 30 registered entries to date for its biennial Sovereign's Cup 2023 Regatta. One of the latest entries for the Simply Blue sponsored Cup from 21st to 24th June is George Sisk and Tim Kane's Dun Laoghaire-based Wow! The…

UK Sailmakers Ireland Talks Series Begins at Ballyholme Yacht Club
6th February 2023 UK Sailmakers Ireland
Irish Laser ace Liam Glynn will be on home waters when he and UK Sailmakers Ireland manager Barry Hayes deliver the first of a series of UK Sails countrywide talks beginning in Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough later this month.…

A post-mortem investigation will be performed on the body of a fisherman who drowned on Saturday evening (February 4th) off the coast of Donegal. The man, who was in his late 30s, fell overboard from a boat off the northwest coast…

Two of the primary events of AC37 in Barcelona are the Women's & Youth America's Cup Regattas, which place a strong emphasis on the upcoming generation of America's Cup sailors. The most prestigious prize in sailing is the ultimate platform…