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Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Marine Institute marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science
The Marine Institute has shared its pride in celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Sunday 11 February. The United Nations Theme for the ninth International Day of Women and Girls in Science is “Women in…
Gary Fyfe
Tributes have been paid to Red Bay RNLI helm Gary Fyfe after his sudden death on Thursday night (8 February). As the Belfast Telegraph reports, the 46-year-old died at the scene of a single-vehicle crash in Cushendall, Co Antrim. His…
A studio portrait of Irish polar explorer Ernest Shackleton
Celebrations are planned for Dublin and London for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Irish Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton on Thursday (15 February). Born in Co Kildare, Shackleton led three expeditions to the icy regions of the South Pole,…
Monkstown Bay Sailing Club Yard of Ale Trophy. Jacqui O'Brien Commodore MBSC presenting the trophy to winner Chris Bateman
Monkstown Bay Sailing Club's ever-popular Laser Frostbite League concluded in Cork Harbour on Saturday afternoon (February 10th). A cold north-easterly wind and heavy rain were present on the final day of racing. This did not phase the eager competitors in…
Denis Byrne of Crosshaven is multi-tasking in 2024 as Commodore of ICRA and Vice Admiral of the Royal Cork YC
Royal Cork Yacht Club's Denis Byrne has been elected Commodore of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association at today's national cruiser conference and AGM and will lead the national cruiser-racer body for the next two years. Byrne takes over from Howth Yacht Club's Dave Cullen,…
The 2025 edition of Kinsale Yacht Club's Sovereign's Cup and ICRA National Championships will be held from June 25-28, 2025
The 2025 ICRA National Championships will be held at Kinsale Yacht Club it has been confirmed.  Newly elected ICRA commodore Denis Byrne announced at Saturday's AGM that after examining several submissions, the cruiser-racer national championships would return to the biennial…
A scene from Cork Week 2022 in Cork Harbour
Sailing event organisers from across Ireland convened on Saturday to coordinate actions on the national sailing events calendar. The high-powered meeting, described as 'informal' was held immediately after the ICRA AGM at Dun Laoghaire Harbour and was attended by representatives…
Dun Laoghaire's Royal St. George Yacht Club is seeking to recruit a Boathouse Manager. The position is a permanent full-time position with some weekends and evenings subject to seasonal demands. Who we are: Located in Dún Laoghaire, the Royal St.…
Cruiser-racing at Wave Regatta 2022 off Howth in County Dublin
Howth Yacht Club is set to host the biennial Wave Regatta in May 2024, inviting sailing enthusiasts from Ireland and beyond to compete in a showcase keelboat-racing event. The three-day regatta welcomes all cruiser-racing class boats competing under current IRC…
Urgency call for action: The Irish Sea Network is calling for more joined-up marine planning, as the Irish Sea’s wildlife and habitats face an uncertain future. With ambitious targets for net zero and 30 by 30 set by all six nations surrounding the Irish Sea, the extra demand for space in an already busy sea means there will be conflict between industries and uncertainty for sea users.
Wildlife conservation bodies numbering 13 groups across all the Irish Sea nations, known collectively as the Irish Sea Network, is urging planners in all six nations bordering the Irish Sea to collaborate and cooperate for the sake of nature. In…
Anthony Marchand (Actual) has made a technical stopover in the solo round the world Ultim Challenge race. The giant trimaran is now at anchor in Dunedin, on the east coast of New Zealand
At 0143hrs UTC Anthony Marchand notified the Ultim Challenge race direction that he had started a technical stopover. Now at anchor in Dunedin, on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, his repairs have begun. Meanwhile, Cape Horn is coming…
The Arran ferry MV Isle of Arran arrives in Troon earlier this week and where today, weather permitting, sailings will resume again with the use of the port instead of Ardrossan
The Firth of Clyde ferry route to Brodick on Arran is set to resume today (10 February) - weather permitting - but sailings to the island will be departing to and from Troon Harbour, and not the usual port of…
Sailing history comes alive in Half Ton Classic racing at Kinsale. The 1976 Farr-designed Swuzzlebubble - now owned by James Dwyer of Royal Cork – is current ICRA “Boat of the Year”, while the blue Humphreys-designed 1985 Checkmate XV won outgoing ICRA Commodore Dave Cullen of Howth the Half Ton Classics Cup in Belgium in 2018
The weather may have decided that winter is far from gone in the last couple of days, but in Dun Laoghaire this morning, the annual conference of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association at the Royal Irish YC remembers only sun-filled…
Ballyholme Yacht Club's 2024 silver medal winner Colin Leonard in race-winning form on day five of the ILCA 7 Apprentice World Championship fleet in Adelaide, Australia Photo: Jack Fletcher
Irish sailors held their nerve over the final two back-to-back races on Saturday to win ILCA 7 silver and bronze at the World Masters Championships in Adelaide, Australia. Irish champion Colin Leonard of Ballyholme Yacht Club in Northern Ireland won silver in…
A stone bridge on the Barrow Navigation​
Waterways Ireland is seeking planning permission for a five-year programme of maintenance works along the Barrow Navigation at townlands throughout counties Carlow, Laois and Kildare. The proposed works will consist of essential maintenance and repair of the navigation assets and…
Draft netting
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is seeking submissions in relation to a proposal to restrict the commercial salmon draft net season on the Loughros Estuary (Owenea/Owentocker) in Co Donegal in 2024 to fishing between 1 and 21 July. The proposed changes,…
File image of Arranmore RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat passing Arranmore Head
Just days after the Arranmore RNLI volunteer crew carried out a marathon rescue of a fishing crew in challenging weather conditions, they were again called out to assist with a medical evacuation from the island at 7pm on Thursday evening…
Carrickcraft banner
Citing efforts to lower its environmental impact on the inland waterways, Carrickcraft says it will be changing its entire fleet from diesel to HVO biofuel from the start of the 2024 cruising season. HVO is a sustainable, low-carbon replacement for…
Oscar Wilde, is to start next week operating on Irish Ferries Dublin-Cherbourg route, less than a year to when the chartered former Baltic Sea cruise ferry entered the Rosslare-Pembroke route ‘initially’ to replace the chartered Blue Star 1 for the busy summer period as announced then by the Dublin based company. Oscar Wilde’s route relocation takes place in advance of summer, and augments the service provided by the existing year-round serving W.B. Yeats which has been on the Ireland-France connection for more than five years.
Oscar Wilde, Irish Ferries chartered-in cruiseferry, is to enter the Dublin-Cherbourg route joining W.B. Yeats, with the debut of the second ship to boost capacity in the year the French capital hosts the Olympic Games, writes Jehan Ashmore. The Paris…
Hen Harrier - the species has declined by one-third in just seven years
Coastal residents are urged to support a new campaign to save the Hen Harrier and its “captivating skydance” before it becomes extinct. BirdWatch Ireland, An Taisce and the Environmental Pillar are urging people across the country to call for a…

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