Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
#NewBuild - Almost exactly a year after the Brexit vote, Brittany Ferries on Thursday confirmed an order for a new "£175m LNG cruiseferry for English Channel service. The 42,400 gross tonnage newbuild (slighty larger to Pont-Aven of 41,000 on the…
#SeafarersMatter - Today 25 June is the Day of the Seafarer (DotS) an annual event which celebrates and recognises the role that people have on our oceans. The theme of this year's Dots event run by the International Maritime Organisation…
#Rowing: Niall Beggan and Andrew Goff gave Gary and Paul O’Donovan a good battle in the Division One double sculls at Cork Regatta today. The Ireland under-23 lightweights, drawn from UCD and Commercial, placed second behind the Ireland senior lightweight…
#NewService - An established Wexford boat tour operator writes Independent.ie is due to start a new river cruise service by bringing people on the Barrow by 2019. New Ross Municipal District Director Eamonn Hore told last week's meeting of the…
#AmericasCup - The Mercedes Formula 1 Team’s former chief executive has spoken of his pride in Sir Ben Ainslie and crew’s performance in the America’s Cup amid criticism of their failure to reach the big race in Bermuda. Land Rover…
#Skibbereen - TheJournal.ie reports that a 14-year-old boy is in critical condition after he was struck in the head by a boom while yachting off Skibbereen yesterday morning (Saturday 24 June). The teenager was airlifted to Cork University Hospital by…
Stand–Out Performance of Dunmore East Yacht 'Fools Gold' Wins Sovereign's Cup at Kinsale
25th June 2017 Sovereign's Cup
The standout performance of the 2017 O'Leary Life Sovereign’s Cup was Rob McConnell’s Fool’s Gold, with a string of six bullets in a Class 1 IRC fleet jam-packed with top-notch racers and no less than eleven J109s writes Peadar Murphy.…
After yesterday's cancellations due to strong winds, 2017's O'Leary Life Sovereign's Cup concluded in fine style off Kinsale today. Bob Bateman captured the final races for Afloat.ie. See the gallery below.
#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan set a new personal best as a single sculler at Cork Regatta today. The Skibbereen sculler won the Division One A Final in six minutes 50.819 seconds. Gary O’Donovan was 13 seconds further back in sunny conditions…
#MarineWarning - PSE Kinsale Energy Ltd advises that, that following a recent survey of the Kinsale Head Gas Field pipeline, it has identified a possible seabed obstruction off the South Coast of Ireland. The nature of the obstruction, south-east of…
Never Fails to Impress: Sailing Flagship Surfs Into Dun Laoghaire Harbour
24th June 2017 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
#SailFlagship –The presence today of the five-masted flagship Wind Surf in Dun Laoghaire never fails to impress despite been the most regular cruiseship caller to the harbour of recent years, writes Jehan Ashmore. All five masts of Wind Surf are…
#NewFastFerry- The newest and largest fastferry between Doolin and the Aran Islands has recently begun operations with reduced sailings times by half, writes Jehan Ashmore. Introduction of Doolin Express is a major advancement in the upgrade of the fleet for…
With the southwesterly piping up to 30 knots in the final race, the RORC IRC Nationals got off to a brisk start on the Solent today with two windward-leewards followed by a round the cans race. Appropriately, given this is…
The 275-mile Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race overall win was still open to challenge until the leader on the water, Paul O’Higgins’ JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI, had cleared the Fastnet Rock. However, with every mile sailed thereafter, it looked…
Difficulty in anchoring Sovereign's Cup Commitee Boats in a large Atlantic swell has been given for the postponement of today's racing off Kinsale. Racing for the 98–boat fleet is scheduled again for tomorrow (Saturday) for the final day of 2017…
#MCIB - The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) is continuing its inquiry into the death of a fisherman who went overboard from a prawn fishing trawler off Slea Head a year ago. The interim report released today (Friday 23 June)…
Ireland’s Marine ‘Internet Of Things’ To The Fore At Digital Ocean Conference
23rd June 2017 Marine Science
#BlueTech - Enabling a connected ocean presents enormous opportunities for the Irish marine sector, with this country fast becoming a global hub for the Blue Internet of Things — the collective term for sea-related connected devices. The growing market opportunities…
Greystones Pair McCarthy & Bracken Win GP14 Ulsters at Newtownards Sailing Club (Drone Footage Here!)
23rd June 2017 GP14
The GP14 Ulster Championships took place over the weekend. The fleet were welcomed back to Newtownards Sailing Club by Michael Cox who organised an outstanding event. It felt more like Barbados than the Ards peninsula as we had the most…
'Fools Gold' Keeps Lead At Halfway Stage of Kinsale's Sovereign's Cup
22nd June 2017 Sovereign's Cup
The halfway stage of the O’Leary Life Sovereigns Cup at Kinsale Yacht Club was marked by perfect sailing conditions today with the 98-strong fleet revelling in the steadily building breeze that topped out with 25 knot gusts and brilliant sunshine…
B21S - 1. CAPILANO (S STORAN), 2. BILLY WHIZZ (P SHANNON), 3. VENTUNO (R FOGARTY) B21S - 1. CAPILANO (S STORAN), 2. VENTUNO (R FOGARTY), 3. MARISSA XIV (FRANK ELMES) BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Crazy Horse (F Heath & I…