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Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Marine Ireland Industry Network Event in Donegal
Join the Marine Ireland Industry Network (MIIN) for the first in-person event of the year in Killybegs, Co Donegal on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 June. An event of two parts, join on the Thursday evening in the Tara Hotel…
Portaferry RNLI volunteer crew assess the second casualty when brought onboard the lifeboat in the man-overboard exercise on Sunday 9 June
Portaferry RNLI joined the Strangford ferry service and Portaferry Coastguard on Sunday morning (9 June) for a planned man-overboard exercise on Strangford Lough. The exercise focused on an alert that one, then two people had fallen overboard. There was a…
DFDS is to sell its routes linking Norway and Denmark to Swedish operator Gotlandsbolaget in a deal that includes two cruise ships, Crown Seaways (built in 1994) and Pearl Seaways (built in 1989). The routes across Skagerrak and Kattegat involve around 800 employees at sea and on land. AFLOAT adds that DFDS has an Irish operation through the ferry route connecting Rosslare Europort and Dunkirk, France.
Ferry and logistics operator DFDS will sell the mini-cruise route Oslo-Frederikshavn-Copenhagen, linking Norway and Denmark, to the shipping company Gotlandsbolaget. The decision will ensure that the Oslo, Frederikshavn, and Copenhagen (OFC) route to be sold to the Swedish company receives…
The anemometer pylon is removed from its East Pier housing at Dun Laoghaire in January 2024 for refurbishment
Dun Laoghaire Harbour's anemometer pylon has been refurbished, and work is underway this week on its reinstallation at the town's East Pier. Eagle-eyed observers spotted its removal in late January, and this week, the structure arrived back on site for…
Craner Swift, the name given to the second of two new £25 million ship-to-shore (STS) container cranes, arrived at the Port of Greenock in what is a major boost to productivity for the Clydeside port in south-west Scotland.
The second of two new £25m ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, each of 932 tonnes arrived at the Port of Greenock, where it was unloaded yesterday after having been transported from Cork Harbour. Following a naming competition with local schoolkids, the cranes…
Industrial Action: the Harland and Wolff shipyard in east Belfast with its iconic cranes. Afloat notes this week (11-13th June) the company is exhibiting at Seawork 2024 held at the Mayflower Park in Southampton.
At the historic Harland & Wolff Group’s shipyard in Belfast, workers have voted in favour of carrying out industrial action. The General, Municipal, & Boilermakers (GMB) union has said its members voted with a 98% majority after the shipbuilder, which…
The start of the 2022 Round Ireland Yacht Race. The biennial event epitomises the spirit of sailing, and with the countdown to June 22nd underway, the stage is set for an exhilarating 2024 event
With just 10 days to go until the 22nd edition of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race, scheduled for June 22nd at 13:00 hrs, Wicklow Sailing Club, in partnership with SSE Renewables, is gearing up to welcome 54 boats…
Galway RNLI return to the dock in Galway Harbour with the capsized vessel in tow
In a dramatic rescue operation, the Galway RNLI saved three individuals after their boat capsized off Salthill yesterday evening. The Irish Coast Guard swiftly dispatched the volunteer crew following reports of a small boat in distress off Blackrock in Salthill,…
The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) workshop in Mozambique
The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) has expanded its activities to the Indian Ocean. The agency has adopted the first joint deployment plan (JDP) for this ocean area. The plan relates to control and inspection of activities by EU purse…
Pictured at UCD for the announcement on €1.4m on researching food supplements using seaweed-based micronutrients were (left-right): Shane O’Connell, Head of Innovation, Marigot Ltd, Dr Aisling McEvoy, Director of Enterprise Partnerships at SFI, and Prof. Kenneth Dawson, Project Co-Lead
Seaweed is central to a €1.4 million research project exploring opportunities to produce more effective and inexpensive food supplements. Researchers at University College Dublin (UCD) have been given the four-year award by Science Foundation Ireland for the project, which is…
The Port of Waterford at Belview Port on the River Suir is located 8km downstream from Waterford City
The Port of Waterford is gearing up to host a 'Port & Cheese' Waterford Chamber Business Afterhours event on Thursday, June 20th, 2024, starting at 5:30 pm. CEO David Sinnott and the Port of Waterford team are anticipating the opportunity…
A sunny June Saturday afternoon, and high water in the Tolka Estuary (with Clontarf beyond) for the new skiff and builder Patsy Whelan Jnr.
For sailing folk in Dublin Bay, coastal rowing and racing with skiffs in their many forms seem a world unto itself. As too does the Tolka Estuary, that mysterious waterway in the North City that makes it way southeast to…
Some of the 3,000 participants prepare to set sail at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023
The Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing event in Ireland. To deliver a quality experience for almost 3,000 participants (30% visitors), sailors, and volunteers both ashore and afloat, a sophisticated management team is required. As the biennial event…
The J24 Southern Championships will be sailed on July 27th and 28th at Wicklow Sailing Club for the first time
Wicklow Sailing Club is preparing to host the inaugural Little Dragon sponsored J24 Southern Championships on July 27th and 28th, 2024. Promoters say the event will spotlight the J24 class for the first time in Wicklow and is the result…
Dead fish taken from the River Allow in North Cork following the recent fish kill incident
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) says it is continuing to investigate a major fish kill in Co Cork in which at least 5,000 fish have died. The pollution incident occurred on the River Allow, a tributary of the Munster Blackwater catchment…
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Waterways Ireland advises users of the Royal Canal feeder in Mullingar that the towpath between the Royal Canal and St Oliver Plunkett GAA Club is closed until Monday 1 July inclusive. This closure is to facilitate new culvert construction underneath…
File image of Enniskillen RNLI’s inshore lifeboat John and Jean Lewis
At 10.55pm on Friday evening (7 June), Enniskillen RNLI’s inshore lifeboat John and Jean Lewis was launched at the request of Belfast Coastguard to assess a boat with six people onboard, which had encountered difficulties while making its way from…
Youghal RNLI observes Helvick Head’s inshore lifeboat approaching the 35ft yacht in difficulty
Youghal RNLI’s volunteer crew in East Cork were requested to launch their inshore lifeboat at 4.03pm on Sunday (9 June) to assist a sailor onboard a 35ft yacht that had suffered steering failure some two miles south of Mine Head…
RS400s race downwind under  kites in a blustery northwesterly at the Greystones Sailing Club hosted exciting RS Dinghy Sprint Championships
This past Saturday, the RS400 and RS200 Eastern Sprint Championships at Greystones Sailing Club showcased thrilling dinghy sailing action off the County Wicklow coast. A total of 19 boats participated, from both the 200s to 400s. The day promised 12-18…
The black-hulled Dublin Bay 21 Garavogue (No 4) was the winner of the 2024 DMYC Regatta pictured above, with fourth-placed Geraldine (number 7) off Dun Laoghaire's East Pier
Saturday, June 8th, brought the first of the 2024 waterfront regattas, which was hosted by the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club. All four Dun Laoghaire clubs agree on the format, and the sailing instruction is standard to all clubs. This…

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