Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
1720 European Champion Ross McDonald sailing Atara starts as favourite at the 1720 National Championships in Baltimore on Friday
A 22-boat entry does not include defending champion Dave Kenefick for Friday's 1720 National Championships at Baltimore Sailing Club, and at least one late entry in West Cork is expected to have some Olympic firepower onboard for the three-day event.…
Dublin Bay Sailing Club's (DBSC) Thursday evening racing was cancelled tonight due to strong westerly winds. Winds measuring gusting over 20 knots meant the eighth Thursday race of the 2024 AIB summer season was scrubbed in all classes at Dun…
Glomar Vantage
The Department of Transport has been advised that geotechnical and geophysical surveys are being undertaken in the Irish Sea on behalf of McMahon Design and Management. The survey work, which was scheduled to start on 1 June, will be completed…
File image of Bangor RNLI’s inshore lifeboat
Bangor RNLI launched to the aid of two people on Wednesday evening (12 June) after their boat encountered engine problems near Groomsport. At 8.35pm, Bangor’s RNLI volunteers launched their Atlantic 85 class lifeboat Jessie Hillyard following a request from Belfast Coastguard…
Pete Smyth and crew arrive into Dingle on the Sunfast 3600 in the 2021 D2D Race
Pete Smyth recently sat down with Simon Johnson for an exclusive interview ahead of the upcoming SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race. The noted Dublin Bay inshore and offshore sailor—known for strong results in his Sunfast 3600, Searcher—recently purchased the…
P&O’s freight-oriented ferry Norbay, which is on charter to ICG, has finally ceased Irish Ferries Pembroke-Rosslare route duties. Taking its place on a temporary basis is Oscar Wilde (Afloat noted this week renamed James Joyce) but will be replaced by the cruise ferry Isle of Innisfree, which is to transfer to the Wales-Ireland route from the company’s UK-France link of Dover-Calais. Afloat also observed last week the Norbay’s return to the Dublin-Holyhead /Cherbourg routes roster.
On Irish Ferries route linking Pembroke and Rosslare, a controversial and passenger-unfriendly ferry that operated this winter has sailed out of the south Wales port for the last time, reports The Pembrokeshire Herald. P&O Ferries ‘economy’ ropax Norbay which had…
Joining forces to demand change at national and EU level are (left to right); Aodh O Donnel of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation, Brendan Byrne of the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association (IFPEA), Patrick Murphy of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, John Lynch of the Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation and Dominic Rihan of the Killybegs Fisherman’s Organisation (KFO)
Five Irish fishing producing and processing seafood organisations have united to “demand change at national and EU level”. “Our objective is to work together on raising awareness of critical challenges impacting the sector at both national and EU level,” the…
Ian Travers and Keith O’Riordan from Kinsale Yacht Club added the South Coast Squib title to their 2024 trophy haul with a win at Baltimore Sailing Club
Baltimore Sailing Club in West Cork was the host of this year's Squib South Coast Championships over last weekend. The event saw a strong turnout, with nineteen boats competing and participants travelling from various locations, including Lough Derg, Dublin, Howth,…
The new currach 'an bideach', built in Kilkenny, will be launched on the River Barrow at Carlow in July
Three Irish men have come together to build a traditional Currach in aid of two charities, Teac Tom Mental Health Services and the RNLI. Pat Comerford of Carlow Rowing Club, along with Pat Sweeney of Achill and Paul Palmer of…
The EPA said the biggest issue affecting quality is nutrient pollution from agriculture and wastewater
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says there has been “no significant change in any of the water quality indicators for Ireland’s rivers, lakes, estuaries and groundwaters”. Results for 2023 show “no sign of improvement overall”, it says. “While improvements are…
Tara Keena, Data Analyst, David Currie, Fisheries Data Team Lead, Eoin O'Grady, Manager of Information Systems and Development; and Michael Gillooly, Director of Ocean Climate and Information Services
Progress on the Marine Institute’s digital services development was presented at the 2024 International Conference on Marine Data and Information Systems (IMDIS) in Bergen, Norway. The conference showcased advances in marine data and digital programmes across the international community, which…
Andrew 'Hammy' Baker on the tiller of Alan Hannon's JPK 1030 Coquine, the leader of the 2024 Musto ISORA Series
After nine races sailed, consistency pays for Belfast Lough debutante Coquine in the Musto Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association Series, where skipper Alan Hannon has a .3 lead at the top of the 34-boat fleet leaderboard. ISORA published the overall…
Swift no. 38 Guy and Jackie Kilroy take the winning gun at the 2024 National Yacht Club regatta Water Wag race at Dun Laoghaire Harbour
Wednesday night’s Dubin Bay Water Wag race was the National Yacht Club regatta race, a class fixture traditionally run inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour ahead of Saturday's main regatta programme. As there were issues with the committee vessel, Dublin Bay Sailing…
Karol McNern from Ballyshannon, a former helm at Bundoran RNLI, will ride unsupported from Malin to Mizen — a 1,225km route from one end of Ireland to the other — and back
A Donegal cyclist is set to embark on a mammoth world-record cycle attempt, riding unsupported from Malin to Mizen — a 1,225km route from one end of Ireland to the other — and back. The gruelling non-stop ride is set…
Chartered catamaran ferry MV Aflred is to operate additional sailings on CalMac’s Arran route until August
Scotland west coast ferry operator CalMac recently announced that, following a successful trial period, the MV Alfred will operate additional sailings between the mainland and Arran until August. The 430 passenger catamaran, which can also carry vehicles, operates the Firth…
Konan Pazzaia of Queen's University Belfast BC will row for Ireland in the Men's Single at World Cup III in Poznan, Poland this weekend
Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni, has announced the rowers that will represent Ireland at World Cup III. Racing will take place from the 14th – 16th June in Poznan, Poland. Selected Irish Crews Women’s PairFiona Murtagh (University of Galway…
The newbuild cable barge was lifted within the Harland & Wolff (Appledore) shipyard building hall in north Devon, England, where the vessel is to operate for the UK’s Royal Navy at the main base in Portsmouth. The yard has, under previous owners, built more than 300 ships, among them the Irish Naval Service’s most modern OPV, L.É. George Bernard Shaw (P64) which was commissioned in 2018.
Harland & Wolff (Appledore), the north Devon shipyard in England, has reached an important milestone at the facility that, under previous owners, as Afloat reported, built in 2018 the last offshore patrol vessel for the Irish Naval Service. On this latest…
J109 yacht Jelly Baby from the Royal Cork Yacht Club n the rocks at the entrance to Cork Harbour during an Autumn League race. No one was injured in the incident on October 24th, 2021, when nine crew were competing in the last race of the series.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) says the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) should take action to ensure skippers and people in charge of its racing yacht fleet review their crew training obligations. The review should be conducted in the…
Magnet (Kieran O'Brien and Fiorentina Stanciu) was the IRC and ECHO winner of the first race of the Whitesail IRC Cork Harbour Combined Clubs June League
The revived Cork Harbour Combined Clubs June League has been strongly supported by cruiser racers. The first race, including whitesail and spinnakers, sailed around Spike Island and in the main harbour. The results provided by the RCYC (see below) show…
Independent councillors Paddy McQuillan and Kevin Callan (on right), after hearing the update on the fate of the disused dredger Hebble Sand, which is to be removed from Drogheda town quay
The Deputy Mayor of Drogheda has been campaigning for some time the removal of a disused dredger, Hebble Sand, at Drogheda Port. As LMFM reports, Independent Councillor Kevin Callan has welcomed confirmation from Louth County Council that the 757-ton grab-hopper…

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Please show your support for Afloat by donating