Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

There is concern in the East Cork port of Youghal about the new marina pontoon which was installed in the past few weeks. A number of boat users have claimed is not available for use, according to the local radio…

#VOR - Team AkzoNobel set a new record for the greatest distance sailed in 24 hours in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race today (Friday 25 May), eclipsing the previous mark and smashing past the 600-mile barrier as they…

#Kitesurfing - Fun, wind, water and fun are promised at this weekend’s Battle for the Bay kitesurfing and SUP competition on Dollymount Strand. The best riders in the country and from around the globe will converge on Bull Island on…

#Navy - A former Naval Service OPV is now the flagship of Libya’s military. According to the Irish Sun, top Libyan military officer General Khalifa Haftar is now in possession of the former LÉ Aisling, which was put up for…

Leading Irish Chandlery CH Marine is giving away a limited edition Crewsaver Crewfit Sport 165N Auto Lifejacket valued at €88.95 in this free to enter CH Marine/Afloat.ie competition.  The competition is part of CH Marine's annual LIFEJACKET AWARENESS WEEK that kicks off…

The Dublin Bay Dragon Fleet host their East Coast Championships at the Royal St George Yacht Club this weekend. 15 entries are expected from the Dragon Fleets in Dun Laoghaire, Kinsale, Glandore and Abersoch in Wales in the first Championship…

What a shame! The Water Wags, the largest one-design fleet in Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay have lost three out of their last five races, due to inclement weather. On 23 May the problem was, that the valiant Race Officers could…

For most of the Irish sailors who have committed to this year’s 20th staging of the biennial 704-mile Volvo Round Ireland Race on 30th June, it will be the central focus, the core pillar of their 2018 programme. And even…

The 2018 Royal Sprints Championship, double-handed dinghy regatta, was held last weekend at the Royal Cork Yacht Club writes Clayton Kohl. This first annual regatta, as previously reported by Afloat.ie here, attracted double-handed dinghy sailors ranging in age from 12 to…

Cork Harbour Festival grows each year, and its flagship event Ocean to City - An Rás Mor, now in its 14th year, has received a record-breaking entry! Over 200 boats and 600 participants from Ireland, U.S, Holland, Germany, Spain and…

#InlandWaters - A Taste of Lough Derg, now in its fifth successive year, will return this summer to feature over 30 food events taking place in villages and towns along the shores of Lough Derg. The initiative is co-ordinated and…

#VOR - The Volvo Ocean Race teams looked set to threaten the 24-hour distance record for the Volvo Ocean 65 class on Thursday (24 May) after hooking onto a classic North Atlantic depression. After a short respite from the wet…

#Rowing: Metro Regatta has been cancelled. The weather forecast was for winds to rise to 20 to 25 kilometres in the afternoon at Blessington – with gusts. The organisers felt that these conditions might have made it unsafe to row.…

#FerryNews - Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) with loan funding from the Scottish Government has agreed to acquire three Northlink passenger ferries serving the Northern Isles, writes Jehan Ashmore. The deal announced in rcent weeks, sees CMAL purchase outright the…

#RNLI - Lough Ree RNLI was requested to launch its inshore lifeboat at 6.56pm yesterday evening (Wednesday 23 May) following reports of a swimmer in difficulty at the Golden Mile south of the motorway bridge in Athlone. Inshore lifeboat The…

#RNLI - A fisherman has died after his boat capsized off Cruagh Island near Clifden in Co Galway yesterday evening (Wednesday 23 May). Volunteers from Clifden RNLI were involved in the search and rescue operation for the man after the…

#RNLI - Ramsey RNLI on the Isle of Man launched its all-weather lifeboat Ann & James Ritchie yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 23 May) to render assistance to a day angling vessel with three people on board. The 21ft vessel had broken down…

Is your lifejacket in good working order? Lifejackets have to be regularly serviced and maintained to work when needed!  Leading Irish chandlery CH Marine is playing its role in keeping sailors safe this season with its annual Lifejacket Awareness campaign starting this…

The hard-working boat building team behind the restoration of the historic ketch Ilen in West Cork have successfully launched the 1926–built vessel in time for this weekend's Wooden Boat Festival at Baltimore. As Afloat.ie reported earlier this week, the final touches were being…

#VOR - The Volvo Ocean Race fleet was beginning to converge again on Wednesday (23 May) as the Leg 9 sprint across the Atlantic continued at pace. A split of almost 300 miles had opened up early in the 3,300-mile…