
Afloat.ie Team
Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.
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Two races into the March cruiser league at Kinsale and heading for the conclusion of the Frank Godsell series this Sunday, Stephen Lysaght’s Reavra Too is setting the pace in the cruiser/spinnaker IRC and ECHO fleets, while Alan Mulcahy’s Apache…

The IMOCA teams have the end of the hardest part of the longest leg in the history of The Ocean Race in sight. On Friday afternoon UTC (24 March), the most iconic of landmarks to offshore sailors — Cape Horn…

Simply Blue Group Sovereign’s Cup Launched at Kinsale Yacht Club with 60% of Entries Already Received for June Regatta
24th March 2023 Sovereign's Cup
Sixty per cent of the entries have already been received for June's Simply Blue Group Sovereign’s Cup at Kinsale Yacht Club on the south coast of Ireland. The 15th edition of the biennial regatta will run from 21st to 24th June…

Bill O’Hara, Maeve Bell, Curly Morris and James Nixon Inducted into RYA Northern Ireland's First Ever Hall of Fame
24th March 2023 RYA Northern Ireland
Four sailors have been inducted into RYA Northern Ireland’s Hall of Fame at a special gathering in Belfast. Sailors, club members, and sports representatives from right across NI joined together in Belfast for its first-ever Hall of Fame and the launch of…

Welsh Solo offshore Alex Thomson, who has ties to Cork Harbour in Ireland, has bought Banque Populaire’s IMOCA 60 following the team’s withdrawal from the next Vendée Globe in 2024 due to the controversial circumstances over dropping female skipper Clarisse Crémer.…

Figaro Sailor Tom Dolan in Solo Round Ireland Speed Sailing Record Bid
24th March 2023 Round Ireland Speed Record
Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan plans to return to his native Ireland from France in May when he will seek to break the singlehanded record for sailing 698 nautical miles around Ireland. The skipper of Smurfit Kappa –Kingspan is aiming…

RORC Double-Handed Champion James Harayda on His Vendee Globe 2024 Plans (Video)
25th March 2023 RORC
Royal Ocean Racing Club member, and aspiring Vendee Globe Sailor, James Harayda is just 25 years old and already a two-time British Double Handed National Champion, racing with teammate Dee Caffari on Sun Fast 3300 Gentoo. In 2022, racing in…

Battle of the Doldrums at the Front of the Golden Globe Race is Raging
25th March 2023 Golden Globe Race
Only three sailors are racing for the finish in the solo round-the-world Golden Globe Race, and it’s getting really close! Who will be the first to cross the finish line in Les Sables d’Olonne? Who will win this incredibly disputed…

Golden Globe Race ‘Code Orange’ and Paying the Price for a Cape Horn Rounding!
24th March 2023 Golden Globe Race
Way before the start of the Golden Globe Race in Les Sables d’Olonne, the last stretch to Cape Horn was always a concern for Ian Herbert-Jones (GBR). It became more of a worry for him in the South Atlantic when…

True to its tradition of hosting world-famous sailors, Les Sables d'Olonne, the global capital of single-handed ocean racing, is now home to the International Association of Cape Horners Cape Horn Hall of Fame. The International Association of Cape Horners (IACH)…

For 50 years of The Ocean Race, sailors have considered the Southern Ocean leg — the racing that takes place between Cape Town and Cape Horn, deep in the southern latitudes — as the biggest milestone in the event. Rounding…

Schull Team 1 Win Record Breaking Munster Schools Team Racing Championships
24th March 2023 Team Racing
Schull Community College Team 1 were the victor at the Munster Schools Team Racing event hosted by the Fastnet Marina Outdoor Education Centre (FMOEC) at Schull in West Cork on Saturday, the 18th of March. The team Captain was Rory…

Paris 2024 Sailors Benefit From Olympic Federation of Ireland Athletes Fund
23rd March 2023 Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing
Paris 2024 Irish Olympic sailors are among athletes across sixteen sports who were awarded a total amount of €115,000 to support their performance through an Olympic Federation of Ireland athlete's fund ILCA 7 solo campaigner Finn Lynch, who just finished…

Irish Cruising Club To Mark Centenary of Conor O'Brien's Circumnavigation at Sligo Dinner This Weekend
23rd March 2023 Cruising
The Irish Cruising Club (ICC) gathers in County Sligo for its annual dinner this weekend, at which Commodore Dave Beattie will launch a new edition of Conor O'Brien's 'Across Three Oceans' to mark the centenary of the circumnavigation. As Afloat…

Pre-registration for the International Maxi Association’s second Maxi European Championship ended last Wednesday, with the entry list already exceeding the 25 participating in 2022, writes James Boyd. For a second year the IMA Maxi European Championship will be part of Tre…

The Marine Institute's Research Facility in Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo, will open its doors to primary school students this month, and hold an Open Day for all on Sunday, 2nd April 2023, from 11 am to 4 pm. Pupils from…

Dubarry Holdall and Backpack Up for Grabs in Latest Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 'Early Bird' Draw
23rd March 2023 Volvo Regatta
With less than a week to go until the reduced early bird entry fee for July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta expires, you could be in with a chance to win a Dubarry holdall and backpack set in the regatta's latest…

As if to signal the start of summertime this Sunday, a magnificent three-masted Tall Ship arrived on Dublin Bay this morning, and with her spring arrival, the promise - perhaps - of a bumper 2023 Irish boating season ahead. The German-flagged…

The Ocean Race IMOCAs In a Drag Race Towards Cape Horn With the Weather Beginning to Turn
22nd March 2023 Ocean Race
The Ocean Race fleet passed Point Nemo just after 1730 UTC on Tuesday (21 March), leaving the most remote and isolated place on the ocean in their wake. It likely didn’t feel as isolated as it usually would. All four…

Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue welcomed the conclusion on Monday (20 March) of prolonged negotiations between the European Union and Norway, resulting in a bilateral fisheries agreement for 2023. And for Ireland, the outcome is an 89 per cent increase in…