Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#Ports&Shipping- The annual Environmental Report for 2018 (download) published by the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) was presented yesterday at the GreenPort Congress in Valencia, Spain. The ESPO Environmental Report includes environmental performance benchmark indicators as well as the Top 10 Environmental…

#FerryNews - Operator, Stena Line welcomed over 70,000 Chinese visitors on its Irish Sea vessels this year having become the first passenger ferry company in Europe to achieve the Chinese Tourist Welcome (CTW) Certification. The CTW is officially recognised by…

Shane Hughes from North Sails Ireland will give a winter talk to Waterford Harbour Sailing Club has at its Dunmore East clubhouse on Friday, 16 November. WHSC skipper Robert Marchant says Hughes, who played a key role in the success of the Greystones…

Three anglers have died in Ireland so far this year as a result of drowning, according to the latest figures from Irish Water Safety. The sobering news has prompted a reminder from Inland Fisheries Ireland to all anglers to follow…

#Jobs - SmartBay Ireland is seeking to recruit a community liaison co-ordinator for its marine and renewable energy test site and subsea observatory in Galway Bay. The successful candidate will have a contract with SmartBay, but the focus of the…

#HYC - The doors of Howth Yacht Club will be open next Monday 22 October to anyone curious to try sailing or boating in North Co Dublin. HYC will be one of many clubs across Ireland holding open days to…

Two of this Summer's Scandinavian entries in the Round Ireland Race are set for the RORC Transatlantic Race next month. Henrik Bergesen's Norwegian Class40 Hydra plus the class one Round Ireland winner, Arto Linnervuo's Xp-44 Xtra Staerk, the all-Finnish eight-man crew. Crew…

Dublin Port Company today announced growth in cargo volumes of 4.7% to 28.4m gross tonnes for the first nine months of 2018. Within this total, imports grew by 6.0% and exports by 3.0%. 82% of the port’s volumes are in…

#CruiseLiners - It was a record-breaking cruise season that officially ended yesterday when the Fred Olsen-owned Black Watch (docked) in the Port of Belfast. As The Irish News reports this was the 115th ship to dock in 2018, and since…

#HistoricBoats - Afloat has noted work has recently begun in Dublin's Grand Canal Dockyard to transform a former CIÉ Aran Islands passenger /freight ferry as previously covered into a floating 5-star luxury hotel on the Liffey, writes Jehan Ashmore. Commenting to…

#NewsUpdate - The First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones who visited Dun Laoghaire last week for the RMS Leinster centenary, the following day paid a visit to Anglesey in north Wales to announce the Purple option as the preferred route…

Hello and welcome to my weekly Podcast …. Tom MacSweeney here …. That the Royal Cork at Crosshaven is the oldest yacht club in the world is well-known, even if there are some elements who have challenged, though unsuccessfully, that…

#MarineWildlife - A Howth-based ferryman fears for marine wildlife on and around Ireland’s Eye when a planned sewage outfall pipe begins discharging wastewater in the area. Ken Doyle of Ireland’s Eye Ferries tells Dublin Live that any accidental contamination of…

#INSS - Anyone who wants to get certified in the use of short-range VHF marine radio should look to the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School (INSS) in Dun Laoghaire, which is running its next course from Monday. The four-evening…

#FerryNews - Trucks in their hundreds roll off the docks at Holyhead every day, bringing goods to and from Ireland in an economic lifeline for this deprived corner of Wales, which is now threatened by Brexit, reports France24.  Just 73…

The restored 1926-built 56ft ketch Ilen proudly tells us on her transom that her home port is Limerick writes W M Nixon. And while Limerick may have come to prominence as a raiding base and trading centre for the Vikings…

#DublinPort - An hour and a half before dawn and several ships are making their way to Dublin Port, reports BBC News. The biggest by far is the Delphine (see Humber story), known locally as a Brexit-buster which Afloat adds…

While some Afloat.ie readers plan to keep sailing through the colder months, and have surely taken note of UK Sails’ recent heavy weather sailing tips, most will have seen or will see their boats lifted out this month. Either way,…

#Fishing - Marine Minister Michael Creed held a key bilateral meetings on the margins of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg this week with his Danish and Spanish counterparts to discuss Brexit and fisheries priorities. Minister Creed met the…

#CoastalNotes - Wet wipes are “in abundance” around the Irish coastline as the annual Coastwatch Survey draws to a close this week. According to RTÉ News, citizen science volunteers taking part in the ‘eco-audit’ of Ireland’s coasts — which has…