More Blog Stories
Is Antarctica Safe for Cruise Ships?
1st November 2017
There’s increasing concern about cruise ships in the Antarctic and whether people could be rescued should one get into trouble amidst the ice. 300 ships traverse that Polar region, with nearly a quarter-of-a-million tourist visitors aboard from November to March…
2017 – A Very Irish Sailing Season
27th October 2017
While sailing is now a year-round interest, and for many a year-round activity too, the notion of a traditional season is natural for anyone who lives in Ireland. Admittedly, there are times when we seem to be experiencing the four…
United Nations Marine Safety Agency To Examine Disposal Of Fibreglass Yachts & Boats
25th October 2017
The International Maritime Organisation, that’s the United Nations agency for safety at sea, has acknowledged, the first time this has been publicised, that a large number of abandoned or no-longer usable fibreglass vessels - including fishing vessels and leisure craft…
Annalise Murphy Leads Irish Sailors Offshore in the Volvo Ocean Race & Middle Sea Race
20th October 2017
There is a time and a season to all things, and in some years, that time comes earlier than others. Ireland has been getting away with it in remarkable style in recent weeks, putting through 2017’s Autumn sailing fixtures in…
Mark Mansfield, 'Force of Nature' in Irish & International Sailing
13th October 2017
Mark Mansfied of Cork has been a major presence in Irish and international sailing for decades. With his considerable height and presence, and air of being intensely focused on the task in hand, he is at the core of any…
Why Has Irish Ferries Chosen The Same Name as the Navy?
10th October 2017
Hello and you’re welcome to the weekly MacSweeney Podcast… The procedures and practices involved in the naming of ships once appeared to be the product of evolution and tradition, then became the choice of politicians – at least as far…
70th Anniversary of Championship of Champions at Mullingar Tells us Much About Irish Sailing
6th October 2017
It has had at least two different event descriptions since it was first sailed all of seventy years ago. Back then, Irish sailing was finding its feet in the late 1940s, becoming re-energised in the exciting developmental world of modern…
Dedicated Volunteers Driving Maritime Change
3rd October 2017
Ireland is a nation which has been slow to recognise its maritime resources and its international maritime achievements made by Irish sailors. This I was reminded about again this week. But there are indications of changes for the better, driven…
For Tom Dolan & Mini-Transat Comrades, the Long Wait is Nearly Over
29th September 2017
In its forty years, the 4,000 mile Mini-Transat has become a very French event, despite always having a significant international presence which this time round will see Ireland’s Tom Dolan (30) in a leading role for 2017’s staging, starting tomorrow…
World Maritime Day 2017 Is Today – Did You Know?
28th September 2017
“Connecting Ships, Ports and People” is the theme of World Maritime Day which is today, September 28, as marked by the International Maritime Organisation, the United Nations maritime agency. Does anybody notice anything being done officially by the Government here,…
Abandoned Boats: What is it that Makes Owners Abandon Their Boats?
27th September 2017
I don’t mean abandon in emergency at sea, I mean leave them to rot away in boatyards or on rivers or harbour moorings or in boatyards .. to ignore them …. deliberately forget about them …perhaps hoping never to be…
Fastnet Race Justice for Irish National Sailing School's Jedi
22nd September 2017
With 312 entries in the IRC divisions alone, and numbers pushing towards the 400 mark when all classes are included, the record-breaking Fastnet Race 2017 was surely on the edge of becoming an unwieldy beast as it got under way…
The Amazing Song of the Humpback Whales
19th September 2017
To mariners the sound of the sea is the sound of life and this week I heard some of the most amazing sounds ever recorded underwater. ‘The song of the Humpback Whale,’amazed me. It is the sound the males use,…
What the Sigma 33 Means to Me
14th September 2017
Hearing about the open morning on Sunday, the 24th of September at the Royal St.George YC in Dun Laoghaire where Sigma 33 Class Captain Paddy Maguire wants to raise more interest in Sigmas, brought back how I became interested in…
Annalise Interest Shows That International Sailing Programme Has New Ordering of Priorities
16th September 2017
In the days when sailing was a seasonal sport, a few main pillar events dominated the international programme. The Sailing Olympics. The America’s Cup. The Fastnet Race. The Dragon Gold Cup. The Sydney-Hobart Race. The Whitbread Round the World Race.…
County Kerry's Big Presence in October's Volvo Round the World Race
11th September 2017
Kerry will have a dominant presence in this year’s Volvo Round the World Race. Three of the Kingdom’s notable maritime figures are involved and, with Olympian Annalise Murphy also sailing, there will be strong Irish interest, writes Tom MacSweeney. Biologist…
