Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Inaugural J80 Champs Set for Howth Yacht Club's Sportsboat Cup; 100 Boats To Gather for One Design Event
20th December 2017 J80
15 boats are expected to enter the inaugural J80 National Championships when it features as part of the line-up of Howth Yacht Club's Sportsboat Cup next May. The event will run over three days at the end of May, Friday the…
Volvo Ocean Race Leaders Trading Blows In Southern Ocean With 2K Miles To Leg 3 Finish
19th December 2017 Ocean Race
#VOR - A little over 2,000 miles now stand between the Volvo Ocean Race pace setters and the Leg 3 finish line in Melbourne – and with just eight miles splitting the first two teams on Tuesday, it couldn't be…
#RS - Sunday 17 December saw the end of the Bosun Bob’s RS 400 Autumn Series hosted annually at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club. The series has built up over the last 10 years to now have up to…
#Laser - Following on from the success of recent years, the Monkstown Bay Sailing Club Laser Winter League returns in January 2018. Running every Saturday from 6 January to 10 February, three short races will be held per day with…
#Dispute - A Dublin Port stevedore, Doyle Shipping, whose case against Stena Line was back in court recently, where a ruling on costs was reserved. Earlier this month as The Irish Times reported, Doyle won an injunction allowing it to…
Tokyo Laser campaigner Finn Lynch (21) has notched up an important second overall at this month's Gran Canaria Olympic week. The youngest ever Irish Olympic helmsman, who debuted in Rio, declared himself "happy with my sailing and the progress I've…
Holyhead to Increase Cruise Figures in 2018 And Plans for Further Development
19th December 2017 Cruise Liners
#CruiseHolyhead - The Port of Holyhead in north Wales will according to Cruise Europe welcome 34% more passengers in 2018 than this year, bringing the total to 36,000 on 43 calls. The jetty, which is owned by Stena Line but…
#Rowing: Irish boats are making progress in the Atlantic Rowing Race. Damian Browne, who was tested by difficult conditions and seasickness in the first two days, reported on his Facebook page that he has recovered. By 6pm on Monday he…
The historic 1926-built 56ft ketch Ilen is to exit The Old Cornstore in Liam Hegarty’s boatyard at Oldcourt near Baltimore, the building which has accommodated her re-birth, early in the New Year writes W M Nixon. Much remains to be…
#Seafest2018 - Returning to Galway in 2018 will be Seafest, Ireland's biggest and most spectacular maritime festival. For three days SeaFest 2018 take place from from 29th June to 1st July – a weekend of fun, family friendly events not…
#WW1ceremony - The relatives of two men who died when two merchant ships were torpedoed by a German submarine in December 1917 have spoken of their pride at seeing their family members remembered at a ceremony in Waterford. As The…
The forecast was for wind! The Frostbite organisers were expecting wind as they posted on Facebook that although the wind in the earlier part of the day was strong, it was due to moderate by the start of the afternoon…
Mermaid IV, a Beneteau 50, one of the biggest yachts in the 73–boat Rathfarnham Ford DBSC Turkey Shoot, held on to her overall lead in the predominantly heavy weather series to clinch the Christmas Turkey First Prize at the Royal…
“I’m that bad nobody would come with me….” That’s what Enda O Coineen told me when he confirmed that he will be completing his round-the-world voyage which he started as part of the Vendee Globe Race, alone to complete the…
#Angling - Angling clubs have until this Friday 22 December to submit their tender for rivers opening in the New Year in the State Fisheries Tender Process for 2018. Tenders will be accepted up until Friday for rivers opening in…
Francois Gabart, who left Ouessant on 4 November 10:05 (UTC+1), crossed the finishing line of his solo round the world, located between Lizard Point and Ouessant, at 02:45 (French time, UTC+1) this 17 December. For his first attempt, the MACIF…
#MarineScience - The Marine Institute awarded €108,000 in grant-aid funding to 94 recipients in 2017 under its Networking & Travel Awards. This scheme, funded under the Marine Research Programme with the support of the Government, makes awards to provide assistance…
#Property - Galway City Council has granted permission for the construction of new student accommodation on the former Topaz oil site in Galway Docks, as Galway Bay FM reports. Two blocks of seven and eight storeys each would provide 345…
Big Demands On Volvo Ocean Race Crews Gybing Close To The Iceberg Zone
17th December 2017 Ocean Race
#VOR - The leading crews in the Volvo Ocean Race are currently in the middle of the most physically demanding hours of the race to date. Dongfeng Race Team and MAPFRE are gybing back and forth and they zig-zag in…
Plastic & Nitrates Concerns For Irish Shores In Latest Coastwatch Survey
17th December 2017 Coastal Notes
#CoastalNotes - Plastic continues to litter Ireland’s coastline, with over 8,800 drinks bottles recorded around the island’s shores in the 2017 Coastwatch survey. Preliminary results from the volunteer survey conducted in September and October show that more than four-fifths of…