Afloat.ie Team
Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.
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When Garry Crothers (64) of Lough Swilly YC brought his Ovni 435 Kind of Blue into her berth in Foyle Marina in the heart of the City of Derry this (Saturday) afternoon at 1520 hrs, it marked the completion of…
John Killeen is June’s “Sailor of the Month (Services to Sailing)”
4th July 2020 Sailor of the Month John Killeen of Galway’s services to sailing and the broader maritime world expanded still further in June, when he became Chairman of the RNLI Council for Ireland. This is in addition to his major role as Chairman of the Marine…
RYA Northern Ireland has updated its guidance for boaters following recent announcements by the NI Executive. Sport Northern Ireland officials confirmed that the sport sector remains in Step 2 of the Roadmap to Recovery until further announcements. The situation in…
ISORA Attracts 19 Boats for First Viking Marine Coastal Race (Race Tracker Here!)
4th July 2020 ISORA This morning's Dun Laoghaire Viking Marine Coastal Race (Re-Boot) course has drawn a potent fleet of ISORA 19 boats that includes former champions Mojito (Peter Dunlop & Victoria Cox) from North Wales and reigning champions Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins). The…
Over the years Eddie, English of SailCork has trained literally hundreds of sailing instructors. And following the coronavirus-enforced break, this week he was back at his favourite job, holding his first five-day course of the summer season with a new…
The 2020 Eric Twiname Youth & Junior Team Racing Championships, which had been rescheduled for this October, have now been cancelled. Organisers the RYA and Eric Twiname Trust took the “difficult decision” to call off the event in agreement that…
Call For Proposals For Senior Post-Doc Fellowship In Ocean Ecosystems & Climate
3rd July 2020 Marine Science The Marine Institute has announced a call for proposals for a Senior Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Ocean Ecosystems and Climate for a duration of five years. This fellowship is designed to provide the link between current climate change research, on international…
Dublin Bay Sailing Club Keelboats Get Ready to Start as Season Extends into October
3rd July 2020 DBSC Dublin Bay Sailing Club's (DBSC) plans for the revised 2020 season continue apace as a bumper dinghy fleet is already in action and the start for keelboat and cruiser classes is now slated for July 7th, two weeks earlier than…
Red Bull Heart Over Dun Laoghaire Harbour is Tribute to Front Line Staff
2nd July 2020 Dun Laoghaire Marina A 'Red Bull' tribute to Front Line COVID-19 pandemic staff took place over Dublin Bay this afternoon leaving massive heart shapes in the sky over Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The Red Bull Flyover Project was originally planned for the Bay at…
Thunderchild II's Trans-Atlantic Record Attempt Postponed Says Safehaven Marine
2nd July 2020 Safehaven Marine Safehaven Marine's Frank Kowalski has announced that his planned Trans-Atlantic record attempt this year in Thunder Child II has been postponed. Speculation mounted this week when the asymmetrical catamaran was lifted out of the water in Cork Harbour that it…
Two More French Class 40s Brings Round Ireland Race Entry to 49 Boats So Far
2nd July 2020 Round Ireland Two more international entries into August's SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race brings the fleet total to just under 50 registered entries so far. Franz Bouvet's Yoda from Caen, France and Greg Leonard's Mach 40.3, Kite brings to four the…
Lough Derg RNLI assists a family of four on a 32ft cruiser that ran aground by Parker’s Point, on the Tipperary shore. At 5.35 pm today, Wednesday, July 1, Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI to go to the…
Germany's Boot Dusseldorf “Reboot" Aims to Fuel the Passion for Water Sports
1st July 2020 Boot Düsseldorf “Many of the hotspots of the water sports community in Europe are coming to life again”, boot Director Petros Michelidakis is delighted to report. He is Greek by birth and a keen sailor – and will soon be paying another…
Daniel Smith (39) and his partner Becky Jeffery (29) were set to be married this Friday the 3rd of July, the day travel restrictions are to be eased and overnight accommodation is allowed in Scotland in the wake of the…
The UK’s coastguard is warning people of the dangers of jet skis, personal watercraft (PWC) and motorised recreational craft after a spate of incidents in recent weeks around the south west coast of England. Many were breakdowns, but these incidents…
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Barry Cowen T.D. today announced €3.4 million in new investment by 15 aquaculture enterprises, with his Department’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme providing grants of €1,282,277. Minister Cowen said, “I am…
Thunderchild II on the Hoist at Crosshaven Boatyard Ahead of Record Bid?
1st July 2020 Safehaven Marine The fully refurbished Thunderchild II was on the hoist at Crosshaven Boatyard in Cork Harbour yesterday, fuelling speculation that she is preparing for a new world record transatlantic crossing? As regular Afloat readers will know, the record bid for the…
Four Fireballs made it to the start line of the long-awaited first Tuesday DBSC races since lockdown. The forecast was not promising much more than 2 knots but actually sailors were greeted with a very decent force 2-3 southerly. On…
ISORA Fleet Building Nicely For Saturday's First Coastal Race From Dun Laoghaire Harbour
1st July 2020 ISORA Offshore entries are building nicely for Saturday's first ISORA race of the season climbing from ten boats on Monday to 18 on Wednesday, indicating a fleet of 20 plus is possible for the weekend's outing. It looks like quite a…
Laser DBSC Dinghy Racing Resumes with Big Fleet at Dun Laoghaire Harbour (Results HERE!)
30th June 2020 DBSC Tuesday evening Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) dinghy racing got off to a great start in Dun Laoghaire Harbour tonight with a bumper Laser fleet competing. As Laser Class Captain Gavan Murphy predicted on Afloat a fortnight ago, there was a…
