Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Undaunted after being forced out of the Golden Globe Race at Cape Town in November, Pat Lawless is going to try again to sail solo, non-stop around the world. This time he will enter the Global Solo Challenge Race, with…

The Commodore of the South Coast Offshore Racing Association (SCORA) says it has a number of aims for the season ahead – getting more boats off the marinas and out racing, creating links between dinghy sailors and keelboat racing and…

Islanders are unique people. I have often tried to make the point that we Irish should be particularly proud to claim that uniqueness because we live on an island at the edge of Western Europe. It is not a claim…

The RNLI will always remain an independent voluntary service. That is according to Anna Classon, RNLI Head of Region, Ireland, who is the first woman to lead the lifeboat organisation in Ireland. It is important that the RNLI should always…

The ‘Holy Ground’ is a legendary part of Cobh, renowned in song and remembered in the Cork Harbour town’s folklore. Now the ‘Holy Ground Lady’ is part of Cove Sailing Club, a boat built by local shipwright Mark Richard in…

There is a huge amount of research being done in Irish waters. But are marine scientists getting their message across to the general public? “We have to get into a space where we put the complexity aside and move to…

Cork’s community boatyard, Meitheal Mara, has appointed writer, sailor and adventurer, Jasper Winn, as its “writer-in-motion”. His task is to write a book about its history since foundation in 1993, analysing what it has achieved and looking to its future.…

The “Spatial Squeeze” is a term you can expect to hear quite a lot about in the immediate future. It’s all to do with the increasing competition for space in the offshore sector. Wind energy developers require space for wind-generating…

The Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) at Crosshaven has received a lot of praise for the running of Sunday’s Autumn League during a “weather window” in Cork Harbour, getting the fleet home before a gale hit the Cork area which…

There is no greater community to understand the changes in the oceans and what needs to be done to protect them than sailors. From those like myself, a leisure sailor, to fishermen, to marine scientists, to the professional seafarers, greater…

“Irish people of the sea have called for generations on the Blessed Virgin Mary as a guiding spirit while they are at sea.” That aspect of Irish maritime tradition refers to the use of the name Stella Maris on boats.…

The inland waterways will be celebrated at Killaloe next month, the quintessential waterways town on the River Shannon in Co.Clare. Called ‘LUA’, it will be “a celebration of wild water at the ancient settlement of Killaloe, which is a gift…

The first appearance of a Galway Hooker on the Dutch canals is likely to create a lot of attention and there may even be links found between the traditional West of Ireland boat and historic vessels in Holland  The ‘Galway…

The mast is everything to Pat Lawless. So, before his yacht, Green Rebel, went back into the water this week on Valentia Island and he headed for Dingle in “a nice light breeze” on his final preparations to take part…

Northabout, the 47-foot Westport expedition yacht of Jarlath Cunnane from Mayo, which with a crew, many of them Galway Hooker sailors, completed an Arctic circumnavigation of the world with a transit of the Northeast Passage north of Russia, has been…

Irish fishing industry leaders have warned that the costs of marine diesel are so high they are challenging the resilience of the Irish fishing fleet. CEOs of the main Irish industry organisations say fishing operations are being made uneconomical and…