Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Dublin Port chief executive Barry O’Connell had previously worked in eight different countries for Coca-Cola before he took up his new post a year ago this November. The port has been investing in community projects, including the refurbished substation on…

As solo star Tom Dolan said when he arrived this week in Greystones to position himself on stand-by for his waiting-game round Ireland record challenge from the Kish Lighthouse, the current increasingly Autumnal weather pattern is much more encouragingly dynamic…

Noel Campbell, Assistant Keeper at the National Museum of Country Life in Turlough Park, Castlebar, is leading the development of a boat gallery to preserve the history and culture of Irish traditional vessels. Turlough Park is about eight miles from…

You never really know when you’re experiencing history in the making. It was early in March 1973 when we were invited to Portaferry, along the east side of the Narrows going into Strangford Lough, on a Saturday morning. The idea…

It seems the sailing world has “recovered from recovering from the pandemic lockdowns”, as the world’s year-round programme of major events – particularly high-profile offshore challenges – swings back into top gear. Not that some of these events didn’t somehow…

“Offshore sailing is a mechanical sport, and it is an intellectual sport. More than using physical abilities and power, you can use your head to get the boat to work for you.” That piece of advice could, it seems to…

Pip Hare picked up a magazine one day to read about the BOC challenge, which was the forerunner to the Vendéé Globe. “And all of a sudden, there is Isabelle Autissier, absolutely kicking arse and being written about in the…

The life story of Sean Flood, who has died at the age of 91, is in many ways the story of modern Ireland as seen through a sailing and business lens. From a family of traditionally and strongly patriotic outlook,…

How did Dublin’s East Wall get its name, and where did Dublin City once stop and the port begin? These and other interesting questions were answered at last week’s opening of the renovated 18th-century Dublin Port Substation by the Minister…

The sailing scene in Ireland has lost three significant figures this past week with the deaths of Liam Shanahan of Dun Laoghaire, Mick Hunt of Howth, and Sean Flood of The Baily overlooking Dublin Bay. They were very much distinctive…

They’ve been part of our sailing furniture for so long that you could be forgiven for thinking Ireland’s historic local classes might just quietly fade away through being barely noticed. But you’d be very much mistaken. 2023 has been a…

Tara is a 36-metre French-registered marine research schooner which has an “excellent chef” on board, according to chief scientist Emmanuel Boss. It has been commissioned by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) for the Traversing European Coastlines (TREC) project, which…

When the three-day Irish Cruiser-Racing Association monday.com-sponsored annual National Championship gets underway today (Friday) at Howth, it will be the combination of a modern innovation in Irish sailing, which is barely twenty years old, and a local regatta tradition of…

Yesterday (Friday), Afloat.ie listed eight of our “Sailor of the Month” awards for August 2023. As most involved either double-handed teams or helmsmen representing more numerous crews, in total, the achievements mentioned highlighted the successful sailing performance of 22 people…

There are nearly 17,000 boats on the inland waterways, of which 9,000 are registered on the Shannon, 7,000 on the Erne, and 600 boats on the canals. New bye-laws to control usage of the waterways are being prepared, which will…

Solo sailor Tom Dolan was fairly tired when I talked to him at Kinsale Yacht Club after he had finished second in the first leg of this year’s Figaro Race, sailing Smurfit Kappa into Kinsale with a 14-minute advantage over…