Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
The forecast was for wind! The Frostbite organisers were expecting wind as they posted on Facebook that although the wind in the earlier part of the day was strong, it was due to moderate by the start of the afternoon…
Mermaid IV, a Beneteau 50, one of the biggest yachts in the 73–boat Rathfarnham Ford DBSC Turkey Shoot, held on to her overall lead in the predominantly heavy weather series to clinch the Christmas Turkey First Prize at the Royal…
“I’m that bad nobody would come with me….” That’s what Enda O Coineen told me when he confirmed that he will be completing his round-the-world voyage which he started as part of the Vendee Globe Race, alone to complete the…
#Angling - Angling clubs have until this Friday 22 December to submit their tender for rivers opening in the New Year in the State Fisheries Tender Process for 2018. Tenders will be accepted up until Friday for rivers opening in…
Francois Gabart, who left Ouessant on 4 November 10:05 (UTC+1), crossed the finishing line of his solo round the world, located between Lizard Point and Ouessant, at 02:45 (French time, UTC+1) this 17 December. For his first attempt, the MACIF…
#MarineScience - The Marine Institute awarded €108,000 in grant-aid funding to 94 recipients in 2017 under its Networking & Travel Awards. This scheme, funded under the Marine Research Programme with the support of the Government, makes awards to provide assistance…
#Property - Galway City Council has granted permission for the construction of new student accommodation on the former Topaz oil site in Galway Docks, as Galway Bay FM reports. Two blocks of seven and eight storeys each would provide 345…
Big Demands On Volvo Ocean Race Crews Gybing Close To The Iceberg Zone
17th December 2017 Ocean Race
#VOR - The leading crews in the Volvo Ocean Race are currently in the middle of the most physically demanding hours of the race to date. Dongfeng Race Team and MAPFRE are gybing back and forth and they zig-zag in…
Plastic & Nitrates Concerns For Irish Shores In Latest Coastwatch Survey
17th December 2017 Coastal Notes
#CoastalNotes - Plastic continues to litter Ireland’s coastline, with over 8,800 drinks bottles recorded around the island’s shores in the 2017 Coastwatch survey. Preliminary results from the volunteer survey conducted in September and October show that more than four-fifths of…
#RadioSurvey - Further to this summer’s tender call for a panel of radio surveyors, the panel is now established and authors to conducts statutory radio surveys on Irish seagoing vessels, including fishing vessels. Owners of vessels in the categories listed…
#ClipperRace - HotelPlanner.com crossed the finish line in Sydney Harbour on Saturday 16 December at 20:24:50 local time (09:24:50 UTC/Irish time) to officially bring Race 4: The Clipper Telemed+ Tasman Test — and the first stage of the Clipper Race’s…
#Rowing: Irish crews competing in the Atlantic Challenge race from the Canaries to Antigua have had to battle seasickness and strong winds in the first two days. Relentless, a four, and Gullivers Travels (crewed by Damian Browne) both started well.…
Beneteau Announces Special Price For Class Members For New Figaro 3 Foiling Yacht
15th December 2017 Boat Sales
#Figaro - Following this summer’s first images of its new foiling one-design, Beneteau has announced the pricing for the Figaro 3. And the French marque says it has kept its promise of an affordable boat, with a special price of…
A successful new development in the national sailing programme will inevitably be something of a revolution. Yet if those managing the event handle it in the right way, the changeover can take place without people thinking that anything really revolutionary…
#ClipperRace - Sanya Serenity Coast skipper Wendy Tuck has geared up for her 11th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race by winning the fourth leg of the 2017-18 Clipper Race late on Thursday 14 December Irish time. It was a photo…
#VOR - It’s still blowing a solid 25 knots across most of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet on Friday morning (15 December), almost five days into Leg 3 from Cape Town to Melbourne. This might seem like a bit of…
Foynes Port Company to Get Grant of €4m from EU for Development Works
15th December 2017 Shannon Estuary
#ShannonEstuary - Another boost this week for Shannon Foynes Port Company, is the news that funding worth more than €4m is on the way from the European Union. As the Limerick Leader writes the company has been cleared for almost…
2017 has been a very productive year for Dublin Port. There has been sustained, significant growth across the business, from cargo to cruise, and it has also been a year of firsts on a number of fronts. Trade Latest trade…
#Rowing: The Dam Buster Head of the River, scheduled for this Saturday, December 16th, has been cancelled. The weather forecast for Blessington was not good, and the organisers chose to abandon the event because of safety concerns. It was the…
#OceanRowing: Damian Browne has just set off to row the Atlantic. The former professional rugby player, in his boat Darien, left today from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to embark on the Atlantic Challenge race to Antigua. The fours,…
