Afloat.ie Team
Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.
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#rorcrfr – What a difference a day makes. Yesterday morning boats were pulling out of a largely windless Fastnet Race, claiming that their time was running out. Quite what anyone thinks they're doing, going off in the Fastnet Race without…
Fastnet Race Prediction – French Yacht Courrier du Leon For The Overall Win
19th August 2015 Fastnet
#rorcrfr – We're in to sticking our neck out territory now as predictions on overall Fastnet race winners are being made but it is hard to ignore the impressive performance so far of the French JPK 10.80 Courrier du Leon (Gery…
#fastnet – Well up in the overall fleet, and lying side by side after just rounding the Fastnet Rock this morning are Stormy weather, the winner of the 1935 Fastnet and Dorade the winner of the 1931 Race. Presently they…
#baskingshark – A Donegal based adventurer and mountain guide has compiled some superb footage showing basking sharks off Malin Head. Bren Whelan specialises in rock climbing on sea cliffs in truly remarkable locations. The attached video shows scenes from yesterday off Ireland's…
#Jonathan Wormald's sailing video at Howth brings back yesterday's summer sun shine with beautiful aerial views of the Howth 17s and Squibs sailing in Howth Sound.
#fireball – After a day of glorious sunshine on Monday which was used for measuring, boat preparation and some late afternoon sailing, the assembled Fireball fleet in Pwllheli, North Wales, was in race mode yesterday, Tuesday 18th August writes Cormac…
#rorcrfr – Jim Clark's 100-ft American Maxi Comanche has claimed monohull line honours at the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race. Arriving in Plymouth at 05:22 BST this morning, Comanche completed the 603-nm offshore race in 2 days, 15 hours, 42 minutes…
Optimist Sailor Conor Gorman Sails Well on Final Day to Win Junior Championship
19th August 2015 Optimist
#optimistnationals – I was delighted to win the Junior Optimist Nationals in Skerries, County Dublin last weekend writes Conor Gorman (aged12) . When I saw the forecast, I was happy that the winds were going to be light, which are…
Fastnet Yacht Race Video Shows Stunning Irish Sailing Waters But Little Wind!
19th August 2015 Fastnet
#rorcrfr – First arrivals in the Rolex Fastnet Race are due into Plymouth in the early hours of Wednesday morning. But for sure the only records likely to be broken in this 90th anniversary edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's…
#12–footer – Royal St. George Yacht Club organisers would like to hear from any Irish owners of International 12–footer dinghies with the aim of joining the fleet for a championship is to be held on 30th August at the Dun Laoghaire…
Howth Yacht Club's Checkmate XV Continues Lead At Half Ton Classics Cup
19th August 2015 Half Tonners
#hyc – Howth Yacht Club's Checkmate XV skippered by Dave Cullen continues to lead after the second day of the Half Ton Classics Cup fleet in Nieuwpoort. Another HYC boat, Jonny Swann's Harmony, is fifth overall. The regatta faced strong…
#dbsc – CRUISERS 2 - 1. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power), 2. Borraine (Ean Pugh) CRUISERS 3 Tuesday - 1. Jiminy Cricket (M Tyndall), 2. Papytoo (MWalsh/F Guilfoyle), 3. Isolde (B Mulqueen & J Martin) Ensign - 1. NYC2…
#rorcrfr – This Tuesday evening, Dieter Schoen's new Maxi 72 Momo continues to be the best overall performer in the Rolex Fastnet Race's core IRC Division writes W M Nixon. The front-runners in the mono-hulls continue to be the hundred…
#rorcrfr – It was looking like a middle sized boat was best positioned to win it for a long time with Class 1IRC having six of the top 10 places including first place. Royal Cork's Antix has always been behind two…
Lifeguards rescued 173 casualties from our beaches, rivers and lakes last month, that is 240 less than last July. There were 278 children lost and reunited with their parents. There were another 8,665 accidents prevented by the proactive actions of…
#rnli – Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat rescued five crew from a 22–ft speedboat off the Inner Barrel Rocks near the Old Head of Kinsale writes Vicent O'Donovan. The above picture shows the Lifeboat crew pumping out water from the speedboat. All…
Howth Yacht Club's Checkmate Leads Half–Tonners At Classics Cup in Belgium
18th August 2015 Half Tonners
#halfton – Dave Cullen's Howth crew has taken the immediate advantage on day one of the 23 strong Half Ton Classics Cup 2015 on the North Sea. The regatta got underway in big confused seas with a practise race followed by the…
Royal Cork Dinghy Fest Attracts 142–Boat Fleet For Cork Harbour Regatta
18th August 2015 Royal Cork YC
#dinghyfest – This weekend's Cork Dinghy Fest already a triumph for the organisers with a confirmed entry of one hundred and forty two boats, expects the final figure to reach one hundred and sixty writes Claire Bateman. This of course…
#youthsailing – There was another successful day for the Irish youth sailors at the Laser Worlds in Kingston, Canada today. In the 55-strong girl fleet, a 12th and a 4th for Aisling Keller (LDYC) moved her up to eighth place overall,…
Irish Olympic Sailors Face Test At Aquece Rio as Breeze Fails To Materialise
17th August 2015 Olympic
#aquecerio – Irish Olympic sailors have dropped out of the top ten in each of their competing disciplines at Aquece Rio. The Olympic test event approached its half way stage in Rio yesterday leaving Irish sailors with a lot of…