Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Kerry County Council approached McWilliam Sailmakers in Crosshaven to build and design new windmill sails for the Blennerville Windmill on Tralee Bay. Restoration works on the windmill have already seen new wing frames built by Cedarlan Ltd, which has its…

Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland gives us the ins and outs of forestay sag and how it affects your sail so you can get the best out of your headsail shape and rig settings. Regardless of if you’re cruising…

Congratulations to Finbarr O'Regan and his J/109 crew that won Class Zero and One IRC overall in the Axiom Private Clients Race at Kinsale Yacht Club on Saturday. Finnbar was using a brand new UK Sailmakers Ireland headsail to our…

Code zeros are all the rage; choosing between masthead or fraction code zeros can be tricky writes, Barry Hayes of UK Sailmakers Ireland. The code zero is a reaching sail to be used between 45 and 110 degrees apparent wind angle,…

UK Sailmakers Ireland is looking forward to the coming season. It’ll be here very soon and we want you to get the most of your 2022 season. So get out early! We have had a very busy winter period getting…

We hope you had a great sailing season, and we are looking forward to next season. It’s coming up soon and UK Sailmakers Ireland want you to get the most of your 2022 season. So get in early and get…

Everyone at UK Sailmakers Ireland is proud of how well our customers performed at last weekend's 1720 European Championships at Waterford Harbour Sailing Club. We would also like to congratulate the McBearla's team on their overall victory. UK Sailmakers Ireland…

Setting the inhaulers is often discussed before a race yet rarely changed on any boat once set. Maybe it's too hard to adjust them once the sail is trimmed, or maybe they aren't considered once the gun goes off? Neither…

As the summer season draws to a close and the last Thursday night race ends, it is time to consider what can be done to improve your sailing for the 2022 season. Take advantage of our autumn discount to assess…

It's often talked about and rarely changes on any boat once set. But it's an important tool that needs to be changed between light and heavy airs.  Rake defines the balance (Lead) of the boat and how it sails upwind…

Using a full inventory of UK Sails and a new XD carbon mainsail, big congratulations to the McBearla crew of Ross McDonald, Aoife McDonald, Killian Collins and crew on Atara on winning the 1720 Eastern Championships at Howth Yacht Club…

UK Sailmakers Ireland congratulates Ann Kirwan and the crew of Bandit for its weekend win of the Ruffian 23 Nationals 2021 on Dublin Bay. Taking six first places and two seconds over the three-day championship, Bandit's performance speaks for itself.…

A small tear or a complete blowout to your sails? Cork-based UK Sailmakers will be on-site at this week's O'Leary Insurances Sovereign's Cup Regatta at Kinsale Yacht Club to carry out sail repairs for the 62-boats competing in the biennial regatta. …

Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland explains which slab reefing system is best for various situations. With an eye towards optimizing the boat for the way you sail it, you can opt for different reefing options. Finding the right combinations…

There are times in your boat-owning life when you need to step back and evaluate your vessel's set-up. With an eye towards optimising the boat for the way you sail it, you can opt for different sails, winches, running rigging,…

Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland explains which system is best for various situations There are times in your boat-owning life when you need to step back and evaluate your vessel's set-up. With an eye towards optimising the boat for…

Barry Hayes of UK Sailmakers Ireland (in conjunction with Jenny Howells of the RORC Rating Office) explains the main difference between a flying Jib and an IRC flying headsail  The main difference between a flying Jib and an IRC flying…

We would like to wish all our customer a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2021. In such a hard year, we would like to thank everyone for all the support and most of all the staff and people who helped…

Small fathead mainsails, where the roach of the sail is increased due to a considerably wider head of the sail, are starting to pop-up on the racecourse and they are proving to be a winner. Getting extra sail area on…

Racing a J/109 in IRC has its compromises because you're sailing with asymmetrics, you're limited to certain angles and only so much boat speed is generated both up-wind and down. While living in Hong Kong, I raced the J/109 Whiskey…