Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Largest Irish Owned Flagged Ships Trading On Both Sides of the Atlantic
3rd November 2017 Ports & Shipping
#BulkerSisters - Arklow Spirit last night returned to anchor in Dublin Bay to await orders while another bulk-carrier occupies the same berth to where the Irish flagged ship is one of a pair of the largest registered in the State,…
#fastferry - The introduction next year of a new cruise ferry between Holyhead and Dublin reports Daily Post will see the last fast ferry on the route cut to a summer only service. Irish Ferries' new vessel W. B. Yeats…
Stephen Martin Steps Down as Chief Executive Officer of the Olympic Council of Ireland
3rd November 2017 Tokyo 2020
Today Dr Stephen Martin stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) to pursue other career interests. Dr Martin will, however, be the OCI Chef de Mission for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in…
Tom Dolan Up at 15th in Mini-Transat as Fleet Prefers African Coast Option
3rd November 2017 Tom Dolan
Ireland’s solo sailor Tom Dolan moved up to 15th place over-night as the fleet in Mini-Transat continues to hold closer to the African coast in search of stronger northeast breezes writes W M Nixon. However, the decision to make the…
#Rowing: The Neptune Head of the River was cancelled this morning. The event, which was due to be held at Blessington tomorrow, Saturday, fell due to a deteriorating weather forecast. The organisers apologised for the late notice, especially to those…
Solo sailor Enda O'Coineen rejoins his Vendee Globe yacht Kilcullen Voyager this weekend some 11–months after its dismasting off New Zealand on New Year's Day. That's according to the Irish Times Sailing Column this morning here. The 61–year–old flies who flies…
Ballyholme's Bill O'Hara Expected To Lay Short Course for Volvo Ocean Race In–Port Duel
3rd November 2017 Ocean Race
Principal Race Officer of the Volvo Ocean Race, Bill O'Hara from Ballyholme Yacht Club in Northern Ireland, is anticipating the course will be short, with at least three, and possibly up to four, laps. The second in-port race will be…
The annual pilgrimage of the Squib Class to the Whiskey Still Pub Lough Derg Yacht Club in the picturesque village of Dromineer on Lough Derg was somewhat interrupted/disrupted this year by the passage of Storm Brian during the weekend of…
As the debate rumbles on as to how we can engage more young people in the sport of sailing, the Royal Cork Yacht Club has witnessed 'tremendous growth' in junior dinghy sailing activity across every level over the last eighteen…
Attempts to recover a 32–foot that went aground in Schul, West Cork during Storm Ophelia get underway this morning. A recovery team is expected to slide the yacht down the rocks and back into the water using inflated rubber bags.
Irish National Sailing Club's 'Super Series' Adds SB20s to Dun Laoghaire Winter Series
2nd November 2017 INSS
The Irish National Sailing Club Super Series is expanding this year and as well as racing for RS200/400s, the Dun Laoghaire Harbour based winter series will also include racing for SB20 sportsboats. With a 10am first gun, the aim is…
Clipper Race: Greenings Partially Under Water After Grounding, Team’s Race Future In Doubt
2nd November 2017 Clipper Race
#ClipperRace - The Clipper Race office has confirmed that the Greenings yacht that ran aground off South Africa’s Cape Peninsula on Tuesday night (31 October) is partially underwater and will take no further part in the 2017-18 race. As previously…
In the Transatlantic stage of the La Boulangerie Mini-Transat 2017, which started yesterday from Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, solo sailor Tom Dolan and his rival/friend Pierre Chedeville have chosen to break from the fleet and hold well to the…
#RNLI - Skerries RNLI rescued two fishermen from a sinking razor fishing boat near Laytown early this morning (Thursday 2 November). Shortly before 5.30am, Dublin Coast Guard received an emergency call from the skipper of a razor fishing boat with…
Damian Foxall Podcast: Volvo Ocean Race Crew 'Shenanigans', Marine Debris, What it Takes to Make it Offshore & Who to Call if You Hit a Whale
2nd November 2017 Ocean Race
Ireland’s Sailor of the month for October, Damian Foxall talks (play podcast below) about Sunday's start of the Volvo Ocean Race 6,000–mile leg two to Capetown. From the deck of Vestas 11th Hour Racing, he tells about crew 'shenanigans' aboard the VOR 65s and admits Dong…
Michael O’Suillebhain Gets Junior 'Sailor of the Month' Award for October
2nd November 2017 Sailor of the Month
If you accept that West Cork begins at Kinsale, then West Cork has made a clean sweep of Irish Sailing’s All-Ireland Titles for 2017. Before Fionn Lyden of Baltimore put his stamp on the Seniors’ historic silver salver at Mullingar…
The Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” process in October is normally self-selecting, as the Senior and Junior awards go to the new Irish Sailing All-Ireland Champions. But when Fionn Lyden of Baltimore demonstrated at Mullingar in 2017’s Championship of Champions…
Alex Pella, the world-record breaking sailor, said today (Wednesday) that the Transat Jacques Vabre offshore 2017 will mark the emergence of a new future for multihulls. With all eyes on just how fast the latest 30-metre Ultime to launch is…
Over 500 boats took part in the 2017 RORC Season's Points Championship, with teams flying the flags of 30 different nations from Canada to Russia and Chile to New Zealand. Well over 4,000 sailors took part, and whilst the majority…