Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
On America’s East Coast around Cape Cod, there’s plenty of sea. But as the locals say, it tends to be thin – sometimes very thin - in the places where you might want to go sailing writes W M Nixon.…
#ClipperRace - It’s still tight at the top on Day 8 of Race 7: The Forever Tropical Paradise Race, with only seven nautical miles separating the lead between the top three teams Qingdao, Dare to Lead and Sanya Serenity Coast.…
#VOR - Skipper Simeon Tienpont’s Team AkzoNobel led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet away from the Hong Kong start line on Monday morning as Leg 6 got underway. Racing started in a light 8-10 knot easterly with AkzoNobel, SHK/Scallywag and…
Navico, parent company to the Lowrance®, Simrad® and B&G® brands and Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), announced today that they have ended a three-year-long legal dispute relating to sonar and auto guidance patents. The agreement…
#Rowing: The Tribesmen Head of the River, set for Lough Rynn on Saturday (February 10th) has had to be called off because of a forecast of rain and gale force gusts of wind. The organisers hope to hold a deferred…
Two time Sailing Olympian Matt McGovern (34) from Belfast Lough has abandoned plans for his third sailing Olympics at Tokyo 2020 and announced his retirement. Teamed with Carrickfergus helmsman Ryan Seaton for London and Rio, the pair became Ireland’s most…
Tom Dolan, who last November became the highest-placed Irish sailor ever in the gruelling Mini-Transat, will be giving club talks in Dublin and Dun Laoghaire next week of his adventures writes W M Nixon. It’s quite a story, the remarkable…
Dublin artist and round–the–world solo sailor Pete Hogan reviews The Mercy, the sailing movie starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz that is to be released in Ireland on Friday. I was invited to the premier of this movie in the Lighthouse cinema…
Ballycotton RNLI is looking for new volunteer fundraisers and lifeboat crew to join its community lifesaving team in East County Cork. The station’s volunteers make an invaluable contribution to the RNLI, be it through crewing the station’s all-weather lifeboat, fundraising,…
West coast sailor Simon McGibney, originally from Tarbert in Co. Kerry has been appointed the new manager at Kilrush Marina in Co. Clare. As Afloat.ie reported at the time, the marina came under new ownership in 2014 and has undergone…
Is Your Port Creating A Better Working Environment for Everyone? - ESPO Award 2018!
7th February 2018 Ports & Shipping
#Ports&Shipping - This year marks the tenth edition of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) Award on Societal Integration in which Afloat adds the Port of Dublin won in 2015. The theme for 2018 is “ports as a good work…
Irish Boatbuilder Safehaven Set to Launch New UK Royal Navy Vessel
7th February 2018 Safehaven Marine
#Boatyard - On Irish shores in Cork a boat being built for the UK's Royal Navy reports the Evening Echo has been named and is only a few weeks away from being launched. It was revealed in August that Cobh…
NI Police Investigate Alleged Assault During Recovery Of Destroyed Lough Neagh Patrol Boat
7th February 2018 Fishing
#LoughNeagh - The PSNI is investigating an alleged attack on three men as they recovered a destroyed fishing patrol boat from Lough Neagh last week, according to BelfastLive. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the patrol vessel belonging to the Lough…
#FishKill - A bio-renewables plant has been fined £1,600 over a fish kill in an important salmon and trout angling catchment in Co Derry over a year ago, according to BBC News. J&A Renewables was found to have allowed a…
RMS St. Helena Makes Final Call to Ascension Before 'Saints' Farewell Celebrations
7th February 2018 Ports & Shipping
#Ports&Shipping - According to the St. Helena Government, the passenger-cargoship RMS St. Helena returned to the island following a final round trip to Ascension Island yesterday. During her call at Ascension and in commemoration of her long and established friendship…
#RNLI - Newcastle RNLI rescued six fishermen in a callout that lasted 12 hours on Monday 5 February. At 3.10pm, Newcastle’s volunteer crew were alerted to Belfast Coastguard’s request for a lifeboat to assist a fishing vessel breakdown 15 miles…
#Rowing: The Afloat Rower of the Month for January is Sanita Puspure. The Old Collegians competitor produced a creditable time of six minutes 39.8 seconds for 2,000 metres at the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships. Sam McKeown beat his own time…
'Productive' Meeting Between Fisheries Agency & Stakeholders Says Minister
6th February 2018 Angling
Sean Kyne TD, Minister with responsibility for the Inland Fisheries Sector today welcomed Inland Fisheries Ireland‘s announcement that, at a positive and constructive meeting of its Fish Farming Working Group, it was confirmed by IFI that they will continue to…
Irish Wildlife Trust Warns Of Extinction Threat For Marine Species
6th February 2018 Marine Wildlife
#MarineWildlife - Basking sharks, stingrays and seaweeds are among nearly 50 species of marine flora and fauna faced with extinction in Ireland’s waters, according to a new report from the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT). Protecting Our Ocean Wealth outlines the…
The Royal Irish Yacht Club awarded British Olympic Sailing trialist Saskia Tidey its 'Helm/Boat of the Year Award' at its recent RIYC Sailing Awards that took place in the Dun Laoghaire Club on Saturday, 27th January 2018. The Dun Laoghaire sailor…
