Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

A new interactive outdoor experience along the Royal Canal hopes to bring to life the experience of famine emigrants who walked from Strokestown to Dublin at the height of An Gorta Mór. The National Famine Way was launched last Thursday…

Cruiser hire firms on the River Shannon have experienced a boom in business from ‘staycationers’ as holidays abroad this year were cancelled in droves, according to RTÉ News. While some operators felt the brunt of coronavirus restrictions in the spring…

The Leitrim Observer reports on the rescue of four people from a Shannon cruiser that caught fire on Sunday 6 September. Firefighters were called to the indecent at noon on Sunday on the Jamestown Canal close to Albert Lock. Those…

The Iniscealtra Sailing Club annual Gortmore Bell Race took place on Lough Derg on Saturday, 5th September. With a forecast of 15 to 20 knots westerly and sunshine, it promised to be a good day sailing for the 28-boat fleet.…

A number of vessels seized and removed from Shannon Harbour by Waterways Ireland will be disposed of in a sale this month. All vessels available will be sold as seen, in individual lots, to the highest acceptable tender price. Completed…

Waterways Ireland advises masters and owners of vessels that Lock C7 on the Grand Canal at Portobello is temporarily closed for essential maintenance. Passage through the lock will not be possible until repairs are completed on Monday 7 September.

Waterways Ireland has issued notice that it plans to remove vessels in contravention of bye-laws from the Grand Canal in the area between Hazelhatch and Sallins in Co Kildare later this month. Vessels that appear abandoned or have no no…

Reigning all Ireland Junior sailing champion Chris Bateman swapped his local waters of Cork Harbour for Lough Ree Yacht Club's 'Double Ree' double-handed dinghy regatta last weekend and provides this report for Afloat On the last weekend of August 2020, Lough…

Waterways Ireland advises masters and users of vessels on the Royal Canal that the inland waterway is closed between Balroe and Ballynacarrigy in Co Westmeath. Navigation will be prohibited between the 34th and 35th locks for the next two weeks…

"The seas is for sailing and the lakes are for fishing". Quite. It's a gross over-simplification to put any analysis of the Irish public perception of our use of waterways into such crude terms. But we didn't get where we…

Water-skiing is just about the only waterborne activity for which the Afloat.ie style-book permits the use of exclamation marks (or screamers as we call them in the trade, and there are much rougher words with crude canine associations, but we…

Instream works to install floating jetties downstream of Roosky Bridge on the Shannon Navigation have begun this week and will continue until Wednesday 30 September. Waterways Ireland advises that delays to bridge lifts and lock operations on the inland waterway…

Waterways Ireland has announced the reopening of Lock 15 on the Shannon-Erne Waterway at Tirmactiernan in Co Leitrim as of Thursday 27 August after a temporary closure for safety reasons. The lock has been closed due to the high volume…

Waterways Ireland’s jetties have reopened at Clonmacnoise, Shannonbridge, Shannon Harbour and Banagher on the Shannon Navigation following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions on counties Laois and Offaly. Meanwhile, visiting moorings on the Grand and Royal Canals, Barrow Navigation and Barrow…

Waterways Ireland has given notice of upcoming closures on the Lower Bann in Co Antrim and the Grand Canal in Dublin. On-location filming will see the Lower Bann closed to all boat traffic from the downstream side of Portglenone Bridge…

A unique collection of short stories celebrating individual connections with Ireland’s rivers, lakes and beaches has just been published. Stories from the Waterside is the result of a national story writing competition of the same name held in April and…