Blogs

Cork Harbour sailors are being offered a different opportunity this season – to turn left rather than right when they leave Roches’ Point at the mouth of the harbour… This will be a new departure for Cork Harbour boats. Apart…

Irish Cruising Club Fulfill Idealistic Objectives Set By Founders 90 Years Ago
29th March 2019 Cruising
When the Irish Cruising Club was established in Glengarriff at the head of Bantry Bay on Saturday 13th July 1929, the friendly gathering of the crews from a modest flotilla of five decidedly varied sailing yachts – mostly small craft…

I don’t particularly like the ‘macho’ element which crept into sailing during the past few years. “Macho” has been defined as “behaving in a way that is thought to be typical of a man, especially by seeming strong and powerful…

Annalise Brings Stardust to Sutton & the Dickson-Waddilove Tokyo 2020 Campaign
23rd March 2019 Howth YC
Annalise Murphy’s role in raising sailing’s profile in Ireland was brought home to us last weekend when The Irish Times ran a St Patrick’s Eve Quiz. Set by Eoin Butler, it aimed to test how truly Irish we who like…

The last competitor still at sea of the eighteen yachts which started the Golden Globe Race last July is not expected to finish back in France until the middle of May. Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen is in fifth place in…

New American Sailing Book with Irish Input Gives a Fresh Angle on our Scene Afloat
18th March 2019 W M Nixon
Pete Brennan is an American of partially Irish ancestry who came originally from New Jersey, and now lives in Florida writes W M Nixon. For most of his life he has had steady jobs which had nothing whatever to do…

Cork Port Company says that mooring and boating fees for use of the harbour will all be reinvested in the marine leisure sector. They are being increased for this year. The port has increased the charges for having a mooring…

The Different Class Associations of Sailing in Ireland are a “Benevolent Mafia”
9th March 2019 W M Nixon
They’re the sometimes well-hidden glue that holds key elements of Irish sailing together writes W M Nixon. They’re a formidable power in our sport. They might seem to outsiders like secret societies. Yet each in its own way – for…

Sailing and yacht clubs should start appointing Sustainability Officers and every club and boat should immediately “kick out” single-use plastics from every aspect of their sport – both aboard and ashore. That is the view of one of Ireland’s top…

Sailing in Ireland is a sport of long-lived organisations, writes W M Nixon. It’s a vehicle sport in which a significant number of the sailing vehicles are cherished classics, sometimes passed down from one generation to the next. Like it…

Dragons To Race in the Sovereign's Cup For The First Time at Kinsale
27th February 2019 Sovereign's Cup
For the first time, Dragons will sail in the Sovereigns Cup at Kinsale this June, even though they have been part of the club for over 20 years. “Yes, it’s surprising that they haven’t been in it before, but they…

Dungarvan in the west of County Waterford is in some ways one of Ireland’s best-kept secrets writes W M Nixon. It’s big enough to be considered a real town by Irish standards – it’s the County Town too - yet…

Is Your Boating Equipment Protected? Forcing a Change at Irish Water & The Battle on Dalkey Island
22nd February 2019 Tom MacSweeney
Thefts of outboard motors and break-ins to boats on moorings were prevalent a couple of years ago. My own boat suffered nearly €6,000 of damage and theft when it was broken into on the mooring at Crosshaven in Cork Harbour…

RNLI: A Centenary for Baltimore, New Lifeboats for Clogherhead & Wicklow & Crosshaven Needs Volunteers
14th February 2019 RNLI Lifeboats
When Baltimore Lifeboat Station in West Cork was established the First World War was raging in Europe. That was back in 1915 when the original station was built, but due to the War no lifeboat arrived in Baltimore until 1919…

“Sailors of the Year” Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove Have Shown Special Determination From an Early Age
9th February 2019 W M Nixon
There is no other event quite like the annual Afloat.ie Volvo Irish Sailing Awards writes W M Nixon. Ireland is small enough for most of the key people in sailing ashore and afloat to know each other personally. So it…

Yachts are marvels of engineering…. So I have been told – many times – at boat shows; by designers; builders; by sales staff; by sailors, amateur and professional; by proud owners….. Yachts are also nice to look at … I’ve…