Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

These past few days have been purest serendipity for historic Irish boatbuilders. Just two days after the 1926-vintage West Cork-built Limerick ketch Ilen was celebrated beside the River Thames in London on Wednesday, the 1937 Tyrrell of Arklow 43ft ketch…

Courtmacsherry RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Frederick Storey Cockburn was called out at 10.15pm on Wednesday night (4 May) to join a search off Garrettstown and Garrylucas beaches near the Old Head of Kinsale in West Cork. Members of the public noticed…

The camera does not lie, they say, but it depends on how you hold it and angle it, and which lens you use. If you see the Mark Mills-designed Cape 31 sailing, you'll reckon she's a reasonably beamy and sensible…

Royal Western Yacht Club has announced a new race to its four-year cycle of oceanic events. The Round Iceland Yacht Race (RIR) - first edition - will start on Sunday 14th May 2023 from Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. The…

A French yawl built from a late 18th-century replica will be on display in Galway as part of a “Mini Brittany Fest” which runs from May 7th to 14th. Mayor of Lorient Fabrice Loher will lead a delegation to Galway…

An inaugural voyage of the 'Meander and Dander', a new tourism offering from White River Charters, took place on the river Bann on Tuesday 26th April. Invited guests and visitors enjoyed the beautiful spring conditions onboard M.V. Kingfisher, a unique…

Fifty years after France's legendary Eric Tabarly was winning "just about everything" with his 60ft alloy ketch Pen Duick VI, his daughter Marie is "99% certain" to race the boat in the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race 2022 from…

The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has said she will “not apologise” for decisions taken with the aim of saving the shipyard Ferguson Marine. The Clyde yard was nationalised in 2019, but island communities are still awaiting the delivery…

Belfast Harbour has announced its launch programme of celebratory events to mark the landmark 175th anniversary year of Belfast Harbour Commissioners. Local communities and visitors alike are invited to share in a summer-long calendar of events that will mark the…

After the first Saturday was blown out due to high winds, DBSC’s subsequent fixtures have been characterised by light and fickle winds. And last night was no exception, with the addition of a strong ebbing tide on the start line…

A financial services company, IQ&Co, has been announced as Title Sponsor of Bangor Town Regatta which will be hosted by Royal Ulster Yacht Club on Belfast Lough from 23rd till 26th June. Listed entries for the regatta are not only…

28 boats, six races, eight OCS’s and a whole lotta racing got the 2022 GP14 Ireland season off to a bang on the waters off Rosses Point in County Sligo over the weekend of 30Apr/1 May writes Ryan Devitt The forecast was…

The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and the EU’s agency for the space programme (EUSPA) have signed a cooperation agreement for an initial two years. The memorandum of understanding will allow the EFCA to benefit from Galileo, the European global…

Next week, the 44Cup will return to the Portuguese sailing mecca of Cascais for event two of its 2022 season. Racing for the eight high-performance one-design monohulls will take place from Thursday to Sunday, 11-15 May. The cup features among…

I was talking to Martin Lee this morning from North Sails UK. Martin has been in charge of the sail production floor for NSUK since 1994 and is one of the world's most experienced sailmakers. We were discussing manufacturing in…

Mapping Ireland’s seabed, how scientists predict flooding and how to grow your own volcano are themes of an open day hosted by the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) and National Museum of Ireland this weekend. The free “Down to Earth”…

There was an impressive turnout of seven of the ten Cruisers Zero class yachts entered for the second Thursday Race of the AIB DBSC Summer Series on Dublin Bay tonight. The weekend winner of the light wind ISORA coastal race…

Tom Dolan and his English co-skipper Alan Roberts were taking the many positives from the seventh place finish that they secured early this morning (Thursday 5 May) when the Trophée Banque Populaire Route Sur La Route Iles Ponant finished into…

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Howth Yacht Club will be hosting a special ‘sunrise sail’ as part of this weekend’s Darkness Into Light event in aid of Pieta. They’re just one of many sailing and boating clubs around Ireland that…

Past winners of the La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe highlight their love for the race at six months before the start of the 12th edition In exactly six months and one day 138 sailors will line up off…