Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
#Laser - Irish Laser Radial Olympian Ciara Peelo will be head coach for the Irish Laser Class Association’s upcoming training weekend on 24-25 March. The Beijing 2008 flag-bearer will offer her guidance especially to lighter and female Laser sailors over…
#Optimist - Wednesday 21 March is the closing date for registrations for the 2018 Irish Optimist trials. The Royal St George and National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire will be the host venues for this year’s trials taking place from…
Irish Skipper Departs In All-China Clipper Yacht Race From Sanya To Qingdao
5th March 2018 Clipper Race
The final section of the Asia-Pacific Leg 5, officially known as Race 8: The Sailing City Qingdao Cup, has got underway following the inaugural Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Stopover in Sanya, China. Sanya, which made its debut on…
#IrishSailing - The Irish Sailing Race Officials Conference for 2018, originally set for this past weekend, has been rescheduled for next month on Sunday 15 April. Irish Sailing made the decision on Friday (2 March) on account of the extreme…
Dun Laoghaire Pier Sustains 'Substantial Damage' in Storm Emma
5th March 2018 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
There is 'substantial damage' to Dun Laoghaire's East Pier following Storm Emma. The bad news for the harbour, following its bicentenary year, comes as Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will recommend the dissolution of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company and the transfer of its assets…
Donaghadee RNLI Lifeboat Tow 117ft Spanish Fishing Vessel to Belfast Harbour
5th March 2018 RNLI Lifeboats
Volunteer lifeboat crew with Donaghadee RNLI abandoned their Saturday evening to assist a 315 tonne Spanish fishing boat with 18 crew members onboard, which had a broken down engine, and bring it safety in Belfast Harbour. Donaghadee RNLI all-weather lifeboat…
#FerryNews - There are fears that the ferry operating to Arran, Scotland, was docking at Troon because of issues with Ardrossan Harbour have been quashed by Calmac. As the Herald reports, on Saturday, Calmac sparked debate when confirming that the…
It was a well known Dublin Bay sailor who came to the rescue of a swimmer at the height of Storm Emma yesterday in the popular bathing spot of Sandycove in County Dublin. As social media revealed, it was the…
A sea state post Storm Emma has been judged to be not suitable for sailing and led to the cancellation of tomorrow's popular Dublin Bay Sailing Club Spring Chicken Series. Easterly winds, that brought wild conditions to many Dublin Bay harbours…
Irish Coast Guard & RNLI Issue Joint Call for Caution Around Coastal Areas & Rivers After Storm Emma
3rd March 2018 RNLI Lifeboats
In the aftermath of storm Emma and the heavy snowfalls around the country the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI have issued a joint call for people to exercise caution and remain vigilant around the coast and near rivers. High…
#Rowing: Monika Dukarska and coach David McKenzie McGowan have been snowbound at the National Rowing Centre for four days. The Ireland international trained on the lake on Wednesday but her car has been snowed in and she sees little chance…
Ireland’s 'Bantry Boats' – Complex Heritage Creates Historic Gems For Lough Neagh this Summer
2nd March 2018 W M Nixon
Most sailing folk in Ireland will have some level of awareness of the Bantry Boat. Even those who live most determinedly in the present, and look unswervingly to the future, will be vaguely aware that thanks to some fortuitous turns…
Following today’s devastating damage in northeasterly storms at high water to the shed towards the end of the East Pier in Howth where seven of the 1898-founded Howth 17s are in winter storage, the members of Howth YC are keeping…
Flooding in South Dublin coastal towns and villages came when high tides arrived at lunch time today. In Bulloch Harbour in Dalkey, on the southern tip of Dublin Bay, storm waves swept through the harbour as Bay waters threatened the top…
#CruiseLiners - According to Cruise Belfast 2018 will be another record cruise season for Belfast Harbour with 117 ships expected to dock in the city bringing more than 200,000 visitors to Northern Ireland. 25% more ships are booked to arrive…
The Howth 17 class – founded 1898 and the world’s oldest continuously sailing one design keelboat class - have endured a severe body blow after last night’s uniquely severe Force 12 northeast gales wrecked the roof of the shed in…
Volvo Ocean Race Launches Independent Report Into Night Racing In High Traffic Areas
2nd March 2018 Ocean Race
#VOR - Organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race have commissioned an independent report into ocean racing at night in areas of high vessel traffic density, to establish what steps race organisers may take to mitigate risk going forward. The move…
DLRCoCo To Recommend Dissolution Of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company For Council Control
2nd March 2018 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
#DLHarbour - Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will recommend the dissolution of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company and the transfer of its assets to the local authority at a meeting next week, The Irish Times reports. Following months of slow progress, DLRCoCo…
Force 12 winds that battered Holyhead Marina, Anglesey have left the marina 'in bits' and boats berthed in the North Wales facility are reported as 'lost'. The sad scene became apparent at first light this morning. It is understood yachts in…
#Rowing: The Leander Galleon, the trophy presented at Cork regatta each year, was on show with two other cups which have been on display in the Leander dining room at a special occasion at Trinity College. The three ‘Cork Cups’…