Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

I've never given much thought to why lifeboats are orange. It just seemed to me to be the right colour to be seen easily at sea. Now I know that it's also a colour that provides reassurance and relief -…

Reviewing the equipment on my Sigma 33. Scribbler, before launching this year, I've been wondering about flares. I don't have any needing disposal at present, but I've been following the debate in the UK where the Royal Yachting Association has…

This is a crucial time for all those involved in sailing, with frustration clear because of uncertainty about the future of competitive events, including world championships such as the Topper Worlds, Laser 4.7 Worlds on Dublin Bay and other big…

Sixty-one years after the first Rankin came off a mould in Cobh, a new one has been built from the same mould. "From the roots of this revered dinghy class in Cork Harbour, a new boat has been built," the…

Rosslare just breathes the atmosphere of the sea. Next month Rosslare Europort will hit a new record – a total of 36 shipping services a week operating from the port, which, its General Manager tells me, will make it the…

The oldest yacht club in the world has noted an increase of interest amongst members in motorboating. The Royal Cork Yacht Club at Crosshaven held a webinar in response to the interest of members in using motorboats to access areas…

The community group at the renowned South Coast landmark, the Old Head of Kinsale, plans to build a major, new Lusitania Museum to replace the present small museum at the site, where they have also constructed a memorial garden. The…

There will be more boats on the water in the season ahead, crewed by young sailors supported by the Irish Cruiser Racing Association's Under 25 programme which has been so successful that ICRA is now working with the national sailing…

More young sailors are interested in racing offshore, an encouraging trend that should be fostered. It can help to bridge the problems that have been encountered in sailing where younger sailors have been lost to the sport in bridging the…

Two and a half years after Dublin solo sailor Gregor McGuckin returned from the Golden Globe Race, the strong public interest in Gregor's story led me to Malahide Marina Boatyard in County Dublin for this week's podcast. As regular Afloat…

The Chief Executive of the State agency, Water Safety Ireland, has made an appeal to all fishermen to take a "risk-based approach" to safety throughout the year to reduce tragedies which coastal communities have endured. John Leech says that the…

It is time to look at renewing club memberships. With lockdown continuing and no certainty about when the country will "re-open", renewals are easy to forget. But clubs need them and many saw a reduction and slowness in paying those…

"Someone needs to bang the table and bang heads together. Do State agencies talk to each other?" That blunt statement caused me to think a lot this week when I am still disappointed at official attitudes towards the marine sector.…

It seems logical, boats move, but that is their business. The Department of Finance takes a different view. It has told boat operators that this mobility excludes them from being given the supports offered to businesses which are landbound –…

What would our island nation be like if we did not have thriving coastal communities? How much awareness is there amongst government politicians and the mandarins of the civil service that there is a considerable level of fear and concern…

Sailing should be marketed in the widest way possible to the public to increase participation. Clubs and the national association can do this together to emphasise its accessibility, the President of Irish Sailing, the national association, has told Afloat. In…