Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine

Monkstown Bay Sailing Club Re-Elect Jacqui O’Brien as Commodore
20th November 2023 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
Monkstown Bay Sailing Club members, at their annual general meeting on Sunday afternoon in Cork Harbour, elected Jacqui O’Brien to continue as Commodore for another year in office. Vice-Commodore is Richard Harrington and Rear Commodore Alan Fehily. The blue painted…

A cold and fresh westerly wind attracted a larger turnout for week three of the RS400 Winter Series at Royal North of Ireland YC on Belfast Lough. The lucky streak of glamour sailing conditions continued for another weekend. The forecasted…

O'Leary's Star Keelboat Shines Brightly at Royal Cork's White Sails Winter League 2023
20th November 2023 Royal Cork YC
Peter O'Leary and Stephen O'Sullivan took a third win in a row this morning to be firmly atop the leaderboard of the IRC White Sails Division of the O'Leary Insurance Winter League 2023 in Cork Harbour. Blustery conditions off Roches…

Irish offshore islands are used to having to wait, whether it is for safe piers or electricity decades ago. However, they are being prioritised for pure fibre links under the national broadband plan. Three West Cork islands are due to…

Galway Bay Sailing Club (GBSC) has shared with Afloat.ie photos of before and after its clean-up operation following the devastation caused by Storm Debi last week. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, some 20 boats and dinghies parked at the club…

‘Realising Ireland’s Maritime Ambition’ - NMCI’s Seafarer’s Conference 2024 is Announced
19th November 2023 Power From the Sea
The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) has announced its third annual Seafarers’ Conference, ‘Realising Ireland’s Maritime Ambition’, which will take place on 22 February 2024 in the Castletroy Park Hotel in Co. Limerick. The conference, sponsored by Simply Blue…

A light southerly breeze and bright sunshine accompanied the 156 yachts in the 38th Atlantic Rally for Cruisers as they departed Gran Canaria bound for Saint Lucia, 2700 nautical miles away. Leading the ARC 2023 fleets were Pierre de Saint-Vincent’s…

DBSC Turkey Shoot Racing Goes Ahead For Cruisers But Strong Gusts Cancel DMYC Dinghy Frostbites at Dun Laoghaire Harbour
19th November 2023 DMYC
Although Sunday morning's third race of the AIB-sponsored DBSC Turkey Shoot racing for cruiser-racers went ahead off Dun Laoghaire Harbour, this afternoon's Viking Marine-sponsored DMYC dinghy Frostbite Series at the same venue has been cancelled due to westerly winds in…

Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière (For People) Take IMOCA First Place in the Transat Jacques Vabre
19th November 2023 Transatlantic Jacques Vabre
When they broke the finish line of the 30th-anniversary edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre off Fort-de-France, Martinique in the inky darkness of this Sunday morning at 0202hrs local time, (0602hrs UTC), Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière…

Experts Say Years Before Impact of Toxic Algal Blooms on Lough Neagh is Fully Understood
19th November 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
Warning signage is being removed from locations around Lough Neagh following this past summer’s blooms of toxic blue-green algae. But as BBC News reports, it could be years before the ecological impact on the lough is fully understood. Ulster Angling…

Scoil Chaitríona Junior in the Galway city suburb of Renmore has been crowned the national winner of the Explorers Ocean Champion School Awards 2023 for the Healthy Ocean project, ‘Caring for our Ocean’. It marks the second year the prize…

Following their fellow Northern Ireland lifeboat volunteers in Larne, as reported last month on Afloat.ie, the crew at Carrybridge RNLI will feature in the latest series of Saving Lives at Sea on BBC Two at 8pm next Thursday 23 November.…

13 Boat Fleet of Melges 15 Dinghies Set for Howth Yacht Club in Spring 2024
18th November 2023 Melges 15
After a successful demo weekend at the end of October, a full container of twelve Melges 15s will be heading to Howth Yacht Club for Spring 2024 to supplement the existing boat there. Family is a predominant theme amongst the…

There are winners and losers in every game — and never more so in the Ocean Globe Race. The 11 yachts that slipped lines in Cape Town on 5 November and who are now surfing down the five-metre waves towards…

Ferry crew working for the Isle of Man Steam Packet, BBC News reports are to be balloted on whether they would support strike action in a row over employment conditions. Seafarers who are members of the trade union, Nautilus International…

Irish Crew on ARC Yacht Tír na Nóg Ready for Transatlantic Crossing on Sunday
18th November 2023 Cruising
Robert Rendell's Oyster 565 'Tir Na nOg' from Howth Yacht Club is among over 250 international yachts that have gathered in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria this month for their transatlantic adventure to the Caribbean with the annual ARC rally.…

Could Historic Pigeon House Harbour In River Liffey Be Used to Increase Houseboat And Recreational Boat Berthing In Dublin?
18th November 2023 River Liffey
The former Pigeon House Hotel at the mouth of the River Liffey has a special place in Dublin's maritime history, as does the unused Pigeon House Harbour beside it. The Inland Waterways Association's Dublin Branch has come up with a…

Twin Newbuild Ferries in Scotland Could be Worth ‘Fraction’ of Cost when Completed, MSPs Told
18th November 2023 Shipyards
Twin newbuild ferries that are delayed and overbudget at a shipyard in Scotland and which are to serve Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) could be worth a “fraction” of the £360m taxpayers have spent on them when they are finally completed, MSPs have…

President Higgins Leads Tributes To Naval Service Seaman Found Dead on LÉ Roisín
18th November 2023 Navy
Tributes have been paid to a Naval Service seaman who was found dead on board the patrol ship LÉ Roisín while it was docked in Cork Harbour. Leading Seaman Conor Kiely (39) was found in an “unresponsive state by crewmates”…

After 50 years, there is a major change in sailmaking at Crosshaven, Cork Harbour’s dominant sailing centre..Outside the village, the loft associated with the legendary Des McWilliams and family is no longer a sailmaking centre. Barry Hayes and his wife,…