Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
#TallShips - This year’s Belfast Maritime Festival kicks off tomorrow (Friday 16 June) with a chance to climb aboard some of the visiting tall ship flotilla, as the Belfast Telegraph reports. The Phoenix, Earl of Pembroke and Kaskelot welcome visitors…
Fogerty Maintains Ostar Transatlantic Progress, Autopilot Malfunction is Main Concern
15th June 2017 Solo Sailing
Conor Fogerty is making great westerly progress this morning following a windshift last night in the closing stages of the OSTAR Transtlantic Race. The Howth Yacht Club sailor is vying for overall honours after a storm ravaged crossing. He has…
#Delays - The Scenic Carlingford Ferry, which was set to launch this month has stated that it is "looking like it could be another couple of weeks" before the car-ferry is ready to get underway. In the Dundalk Gazette, the Chief…
Rockabill VI Leads as Dingle Race Leaders Hard on the Wind After Tuskar
15th June 2017 Dun Laoghaire Dingle
Although a fairly consistent southwest breeze gave the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race fleet a useful slant from Arklow southwards through the night, they’re currently rounding the Tuskar with the expectation of a dead beat most of the way to…
All Shipshape: HMS Caroline Greets Tourists Again After Major Refurbishment
15th June 2017 Historic Boats
#HMScaroline - An historic ship with a wartime past that is a modern day Belfast tourist attraction has had its future secured thanks to a major programme of innovative repairs, safety upgrades and improvements. As the Belfast Telegraph writes, HMS…
A Tall Ship For Ireland: Is There a Lack of Joined–Up Thinking in Sail Training?
15th June 2017 Island Nation
Hello and you’re welcome to my weekly podcast on Afloat, based on my This Island Nation radio programme. While debate continues – and so do efforts – to get another Tall Ship for Ireland – that would provide sail training…
Byrne Seeks Fifth Title At Royal St. George Dragon Nationals, Dillon Up to 15th at World Champs
15th June 2017 Dragon
The Dragon National Championships start today at the Royal St George Yacht Club with teams from Dublin Bay, Glandore, Kinsale, Abersoch & Cowes making up a smaller than usual fleet. Martin Byrne's, Jaguar Sailing Team, are the defending champions and…
If anyone is thinking of producing the Very Rough Guide to Making a Start in a Yacht Race, this evening’s opening episode in the continuing drama which is the 275-mile Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race 2017 produced Rules 1,…
One of the musical highlights of the recent Irish Maritime Festival in Drogheda were the two unique sold out concerts held on the deck of the Tall Ship Earl of Pembroke on the historic River Boyne. The idea for the…
#Rowing: The 2017 World Cup series heads to Poznan, Poland for the second of three regattas in 2017. Almost 500 athletes will compete from 39 countries with several countries, including Australia, China and New Zealand, arriving on the international scene…
#SOD - The Shannon One Design Association (SODA) has announced its latest Long Distance Race for the weekend of Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 June. First raced in 1953, the Shannon One Design (SOD) competition is the longest inland dinghy…
#AmericasCup - Hanuman rebounded from a false start to claim victory in the first round of the America’s Cup Superyacht Regatta in Bermuda yesterday (Tuesday 13 June). Optimised for expected light conditions, the J Class fleet leader was quick despite…
One of Jack Roy’s priorities for his presidency of the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) is to get more women involved in sailing. As he wrote for Afloat.ie in April, the ISA wants to encourage greater female participation via a two-pronged…
Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race Form Guide: D2D Could Be Another J/Boats Triumph
14th June 2017 Dun Laoghaire Dingle
Even with leading contenders Aurelia (J/122) and Jacana (J/115) scratching (the former with rigging problems, the latter with logistics difficulties), J/Boats still might have it all the way in the remaining fleet of 43 boats in the National YC’s 275-mile…
#EntersService – The new custom-built car ferry Spirit of Rathlin has finally entered service with a first scheduled sailing today on the Rathlin Island link with Ballycastle on the Antrim mainland, writes Jehan Ashmore. Spirit of Rathlin built by Arklow…
National Yacht Club's Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race Ready for 7pm Start
14th June 2017 Dun Laoghaire Dingle
A 43–boat fleet are expecting an upwind start and winds gusting to 25–knots for tonight's 7pm Dun Laoghaire–Dingle Race at the National Yacht Club. At start time, winds are expected to shift from a southerly to a south westerly direction…
While everyone who enters the Rolex Fastnet Race dreams of winning or doing well, the event's stature as the world's largest offshore yacht race, means this is often not the only reason for taking part writes James Boyd. Around 400…
Visit to Dublin of Spanish Navy Tallship Open to Public Likewise of Former Fleetmate In Glasgow
14th June 2017 Tall Ships
#OpenTallships - As one of the world’s largest tallships from the Spanish Royal Navy is visiting Dublin Port, Afloat also highlights a former sail trainee from the Iberian nation that is the centrepiece of a Scottish museum, writes Jehan Ashmore.…
The Volvo Ocean Race will switch from a 3-year to a 2-year cycle after the upcoming 2017-18 edition, a change that will provide more continuity and more commercial value for professional sailing teams, sponsors and Host Cities. It's the latest…
#BantryBay - MS Prinsendam of Holland America Line made her maiden call to Bantry Bay Harbour writes West Cork Times on what was to be the first visit of a cruise liner to Bantry in almost 30 years. Carrying more…
