Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Young Topper Sailors Navigate Challenges and Celebrate Victories at Donaghadee Sailing Club Event
6th June 2024 Topper
Donaghadee Sailing Club on the Ards Peninsula in Northern Ireland recently hosted the third Topper Ireland/ITCA Traveller event of 2024, welcoming young sailors from various clubs for a weekend of friendly competition and skill-building. The event kicked off with a…
Cathy MacAleavey Steers 'Mariposa' to Victory at Water Wag Women at the Helm Regatta Race
6th June 2024 Water Wag
After two postponements due to weather, the Water Wag dinghy Women at the Helm Regatta race took place at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Wednesday evening, June 5th, in strong, testing conditions. As Afloat reported earlier, 1988 Olympian Cathy MacAleavey's Mariposa,…
Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) Race Officer Harry Gallagher set a two-round course for the 18 dinghies competing in the first race on Wednesday evening in the AIB DBSC Water Wag series at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. In a blustery NW…
The first West Cork interclub race of the season was staged over the holiday weekend in idyllic conditions. Starting in Schull Harbour, the ten-boat fleet rounded Western Calf Island and travelled through the Gascanane Sound before finishing off the Wallis…
First Shouts for New Crew on Lough Ree Lifeboat Called to Assist 11 People in Single Week
5th June 2024 RNLI Lifeboats
Lough Ree RNLI volunteers were on the water to four boats in difficulty on the lake within the span of seven days. Just before 4pm on Sunday (2 June) Lough Ree RNLI was requested by the Irish Coast Guard to…
Rosslare Harbour and Kilmore Quay Lifeboats Launch to Aid of Lone Sailor
5th June 2024 RNLI Lifeboats
In a joint operation, Rosslare Harbour and Kilmore Quay RNLI in Co Wexford came to the aid of a lone sailor early on Tuesday morning (4 June) after an 8.5m yacht got into difficulty. The volunteer crews were requested to…
Ireland's Tom Dolan Celebrates Best Ever Finish Outside of La Solitaire du Figaro in Allmer Cup
5th June 2024 Tom Dolan
Ireland's solo star Tom Dolan is delighted with second place in the Le Havre Allmer Cup, but what most pleases him is his consistency in the race. Twelfth at the intermediate mark at Eddystone light, Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan…
Cunard Line's mega-ship Queen Anne came into Cork Harbour at dawn this morning and dwarfed everything, starting with Roche's Point. But then she's 1,058ft in length, and - perhaps more impressively - 116ft beam,clocking in at 113,000 tonnes. She is…
Foynes Yacht Club May Series Trophies Presented to 'Stouche' and 'Tommiray'
5th June 2024 Shannon Estuary
The overall winners in the Foynes Yacht Club May Series, which presented some challenging weather conditions on the Shannon Estuary, were Darragh McCormack and his Crew on Stouche in the IRC division and Raymond McGibney and his crew on Tommiray…
Chris Power Smith of Royal St George YC is "Sailor of the Month (Offshore)" for May
5th June 2024 Sailor of the Month
While the first weekend of June suddenly brought summer, the last weekend of May seemed to be winter re-asserting itself on the Atlantic coasts, and merely to finish the shortened Kinsale YC Inistearaght Race(it rounded the Bull Rock off Kerry,…
Seashore Discovery Walks Part of Discover Derrynane Festival from June 14th-16th
5th June 2024 Maritime Festivals
Seashore discovery walks with marine artist and photographer Vincent Hyland are among activities planned for “Discover Derrynane”, a weekend family festival hosted by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in south Kerry. Hyland, who is based in Derrynane,is an outdoor…
A north Mayo tidal pool and a number of Atlantic coastal walks have been approved for funding by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys. The projects are among over 69 outdoor recreation schemes earmarked for over €16 million.…
Proposed flood defence work in Galway will be extended to protect some 940 properties – three times the number in an original scheme. However, planning permission for the scheme may not be applied for until 2027, Minister of State for…
SSE Submits Planning Application for Arlow Bank Wind Park 2 Project
5th June 2024 Power From the Sea
A planning application for the Arklow Bank Wind Park 2 project is being submitted this week to An Bord Pleanála by SSE, the British energy major. The 800 MW offshore wind project, quoted at over €2bn and spanning the Wicklow…
Boat in Northern Ireland Flying Irish Tricolour Destroyed by Fire After Three Men Arrested
5th June 2024 RYA Northern Ireland
Police in Northern Ireland are treating a fire on a boat flying the Irish tricolour as a sectarian hate crime. According to the Belfast Telegraph, the incident in Portballintrae on the North Coast on Monday evening (3 June) followed the…
West Coast and Island Energy Organisations Make Their Case at Mary Robinson Climate Conference in Mayo
5th June 2024 Island News
West of Ireland community energy organisations say they believe Ireland can also benefit economically and socially from renewables while tackling climate change. Representatives of the organisations intend to make this case at the Mary Robinson Climate Conference which opens in…
The Leinster Championship for the GP14 fleet held at Howth Yacht Club on the June Bank Holiday weekend attracted a strong turnout, demonstrating the growing depth of talent in the mainstay Irish dinghy class. A fleet of 34 boats gathered for the third…
Busy Weekend for Carrybridge Lifeboat With Two Launches Within 24 Hours
4th June 2024 RNLI Lifeboats
Carrybridge RNLI’s inshore lifeboat launched on Sunday evening (2 June) at the request of Belfast Coastguard to assess an eight-metre vessel with four people on board which had lost steering south of Crom Castle. Winds were north-westerly Force 2 and…
The start of Volvo Cork Week 2024 is now less than six weeks away, with five days of racing in Cork Harbour and beyond set for 15-19 July. Organisers at the Royal Cork Yacht Club say entry numbers have been steadily…
Spawning Salmon in Ireland’s Rivers Have Suffered ‘Catastrophic Decline’ Says IFI
4th June 2024 Angling
Spawning Atlantic salmon in Ireland’s rivers have suffered a “catastrophic decline in one generation”, according to Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Monday (3 June), IFI deputy chief executive Dr Cathal Gallagher said numbers of wild…