Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
#RNLI - Skerries RNLI rescued two fishermen from a sinking razor fishing boat near Laytown early this morning (Thursday 2 November). Shortly before 5.30am, Dublin Coast Guard received an emergency call from the skipper of a razor fishing boat with…
Damian Foxall Podcast: Volvo Ocean Race Crew 'Shenanigans', Marine Debris, What it Takes to Make it Offshore & Who to Call if You Hit a Whale
2nd November 2017 Ocean Race
Ireland’s Sailor of the month for October, Damian Foxall talks (play podcast below) about Sunday's start of the Volvo Ocean Race 6,000–mile leg two to Capetown. From the deck of Vestas 11th Hour Racing, he tells about crew 'shenanigans' aboard the VOR 65s and admits Dong…
Michael O’Suillebhain Gets Junior 'Sailor of the Month' Award for October
2nd November 2017 Sailor of the Month
If you accept that West Cork begins at Kinsale, then West Cork has made a clean sweep of Irish Sailing’s All-Ireland Titles for 2017. Before Fionn Lyden of Baltimore put his stamp on the Seniors’ historic silver salver at Mullingar…
The Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” process in October is normally self-selecting, as the Senior and Junior awards go to the new Irish Sailing All-Ireland Champions. But when Fionn Lyden of Baltimore demonstrated at Mullingar in 2017’s Championship of Champions…
Alex Pella, the world-record breaking sailor, said today (Wednesday) that the Transat Jacques Vabre offshore 2017 will mark the emergence of a new future for multihulls. With all eyes on just how fast the latest 30-metre Ultime to launch is…
Over 500 boats took part in the 2017 RORC Season's Points Championship, with teams flying the flags of 30 different nations from Canada to Russia and Chile to New Zealand. Well over 4,000 sailors took part, and whilst the majority…
#Offshore - Doubts have been cast over the predicament of two female sailors rescued in the Pacific last week after investigators called into question some parts of their story. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiaba were…
Prof O'Connell Celebrates Special Anniversary on Jump at CH Marine League
1st November 2017 Royal Cork YC
There was an interesting anniversary on Sunday at Royal Cork Yacht Club for Maurice 'Prof' O'Connell, the sailing professional, aboard Conor Phelan's all winning class one entry, Jump Juice. The Ker 37 won the CH Marine Autumn League with nine race…
#ClipperRace - Greenings’ stand-in skipper Andy Woodruf and crew were reportedly doing well after some rest in Cape Town hours after they ran aground on the western side of the Cape Peninsula last night (Tuesday 31 October). No injuries were…
#Property - New Ross Boat Yard in Co Wexford is now on the market at a price point of €4 million. With 230 metres of frontage on the River Barrow and easy access to the Nore and Suir (and by…
Nicholas O'Leary Reveals Ireland Ocean Racing's IMOCA 60 at Dun Laoghaire Marina
1st November 2017 Vendee Globe
Ireland Ocean Racing, the team behind Nicholas O'Leary's 2020 Vendee Globe Challenge, are back in Dun Laoghaire, this time with their own IMOCA 60 racing yacht. The team tweeted this morning 'We are super excited to announce that we have…
One of the Largest Irish Flagged Ships Makes Maiden Calls to Dublin And Cork
1st November 2017 Ports & Shipping
#LargestIrish - One of two of the largest Irish flagged cargoships, Arklow Spirit of 33,905 deadweight tons (dwt) made a maiden call to Dublin Port over the October bank holiday, writes Jehan Ashmore. Arklow Spirit's arrival took place on Monday…
There’s increasing concern about cruise ships in the Antarctic and whether people could be rescued should one get into trouble amidst the ice. 300 ships traverse that Polar region, with nearly a quarter-of-a-million tourist visitors aboard from November to March…
Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan has vowed to bounce back after a disappointing start to his bid to reach the podium of the Mini Transat when the second leg begins on November 1. The 30-year-old from Kells, County Meath, admits…
Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC) starts its 47th Season of dinghy frostbite racing in Dun Laoghaire Harbour this Sunday with a warning signal at 01.57 hrs. The series is open to monohull centre board dinghies and attracts entries from…
In just one week (7 November), some of the biggest names in sailing will be celebrated in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at the inaugural World Sailing Awards evening. The World Sailing Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of the world's leading sailors…
Risk of Tropical Storm on Northerly Route Prompts Mini Transat Course Change
31st October 2017 Solo Sailing
As the tension builds for Ireland's Tom Dolan, the Mini Transat fleet have had a late change of course ahead of tomorrow's Transatlantic start from Gran Canaria. Midway between the Bahamas and the Azores, a tropical wave is taking shape…
Humble Works for Humble People: The History of Fishery Piers & of Galway & North Clare
31st October 2017 Book Review
This beautifully illustrated book explores the history of the fishery piers and harbours of Galway and North Clare. A testament to these structures as feats of engineering, it is also a riveting account of the human aspect that shadowed their…
#DailytoFrance - A new sailings schedule from Irish Ferries will be introduced following the arrival in mid-2018 of its new 55,000 tonnes cruise ferry W. B. Yeats currently being built in Flensburg, Germany. Highlights of the plan will see a…
2019 is set to be an exciting year in the Irish cruise calendar as Celebrity Cruises confirms that Dublin Port will become a regular fixture. With five turnarounds in the port, Celebrity Refection will call Dublin home from May to…
