Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Offshore entries are building nicely for Saturday's first ISORA race of the season climbing from ten boats on Monday to 18 on  Wednesday, indicating a fleet of 20 plus is possible for the weekend's outing. It looks like quite a…

Dr John Killeen of Galway, noted engineer, businessman, national administrator and sailing enthusiast, has been elected as Chairman of Irish Lifeboats in succession to David Delamer of Howth, with the Galwayman also continuing in his role as a member of…

Lough Derg RNLI assists a family of four on a 32ft cruiser that ran aground by Parker’s Point, on the Tipperary shore. At 5.35 pm today, Wednesday, July 1, Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI to go to the…

“Many of the hotspots of the water sports community in Europe are coming to life again”, boot Director Petros Michelidakis is delighted to report. He is Greek by birth and a keen sailor – and will soon be paying another…

Six ferries of Stena Line's Irish Sea fleet will dry-dock at Harland and Wolff’s famous Belfast shipyard this summer for a range of repairs and upgrades. Currently the Stena Europe (see related relief ferry), which operates on the Rosslare-Fishguard service,…

Transportation by sea is the most important means of connecting Ireland to international markets, according to one of Ireland’s leading maritime authorities. Speaking on IALA World Aids to Navigation Day (AtoN) on Wednesday, July 1, the CEO of Irish Lights,…

Chief executive of ferry operator Irish Continental Group (ICG) has warned that any move by the new Government to extend a subsidy scheme to keep certain sea routes going during the Covid-19 pandemic would be a “waste of taxpayers’ money” and…

The UK’s coastguard is warning people of the dangers of jet skis, personal watercraft (PWC) and motorised recreational craft after a spate of incidents in recent weeks around the south west coast of England. Many were breakdowns, but these incidents…

Mark Mansfield, Quantum sails Ireland agent and Professional sailor/coach outlines the options and deadlines for those wanting new sails for this year's Round Ireland Race and Wave Regatta at Howth. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, which have now virtually been lifted…

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Barry Cowen T.D. today announced €3.4 million in new investment by 15 aquaculture enterprises, with his Department’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme providing grants of €1,282,277. Minister Cowen said, “I am…

The fully refurbished Thunderchild II was on the hoist at Crosshaven Boatyard in Cork Harbour yesterday, fuelling speculation that she is preparing for a new world record transatlantic crossing? As regular Afloat readers will know, the record bid for the…

Public consultation on developing a network of offshore wind farms to meet Ireland’s climate targets has been extended by three weeks. An original deadline of July 1st for the public’s views on how offshore wind energy should be modelled has…

North Sails Ireland has announced the opening of our new Service loft in Wicklow, close to the main Dublin sailing centres at Howth and Dun Laoghaire. Shane Hughes is the man behind the new operation and he is more than…

Four Fireballs made it to the start line of the long-awaited first Tuesday DBSC races since lockdown. The forecast was not promising much more than 2 knots but actually sailors were greeted with a very decent force 2-3 southerly. On…

Tuesday evening Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) dinghy racing got off to a great start in Dun Laoghaire Harbour tonight with a bumper Laser fleet competing. As Laser Class Captain Gavan Murphy predicted on Afloat a fortnight ago, there was a…

The pontoon mini marina situated in the picturesque village of Portmagee on the County Kerry coast will open its gates once more on July 1st. The sixteen berth pontoon which services the local Skelligs boats as well as visiting yachts…

The return of racing at yacht, sailing and boat clubs around Ireland this week is hugely welcomed by all. But as pointed out on Afloat.ie last Friday, we are being asked to make safety of a new kind our priority…

Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen has shared his dreams travelling the world by sail in a new video from X-Yachts, as he sails an Xc 38 from the Danish firm’s easy sailing Xcruising range. The fellow Dane has long been…

Viewing is highly recommenced on a 1997 Starlight 35 now for sale at Crosshaven Boatyard with a €59,500 price tag. The Bowman Yachts-built cruiser — which the broker assures to be in excellent condition — comes with six berths and…

Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI rescued an angler who had slipped and fallen into the water at Dun Laoghaire’s West Pier today (Tuesday 30 June) The volunteer lifeboat crew were paged following a report made to the Irish Coast Guard that…