Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#IrelandMax - Containerships currently under construction in China of the 'Ireland' Max class for BG Freight Line, a subsidiary of the Peel Ports Group in the UK are due to enter service next year, writes Jehan Ashmore. BG Diamond is…

The death of Barbara Sargent of Howth after a short illness has taken from among us a much-loved and vivacious personality, whose warm family life was a heartening example of how the sea and sailing can be comfortably intertwined with…

#Rowing: Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan have been nominated for the Team of the Year at the RTÉ Sports Awards for 2017. The world champions in the lightweight pair could take over from Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan, who won…

Today was the first day of competition for 374 of the world's best youth sailors, from 60 nations, racing across nine classes on Chinese waters at the World Youth Sailing Championshps in which Ireland is contesting three classes and hoping…

There was a ding dong battle for overall prizes at Royal Cork Yacht Club's O'Leary Insurances Winter League in Cork Harbour on Sunday won out by Ted and Tom Crosbie in the X-302, No Excuse writes Bob Bateman. A festive…

It was most probably a combination of the weather forecast, the actual weather or the time of year (two Sundays before Christmas), but yesterday’s Frostbite fleet was considerably reduced and only two Fireballs answered the starter’s call writes Cormac Bradley.…

The new Executive Committee of the International Fireball Class includes Irish representation with Dublin Bay Sailor Cormac Bradley appointed as Rear Commodore, Europe West. The Committee has been confirmed as follows; Commodore: Christina Härdi-Landerer (Switzerland) Rear Commodore Australasia: Ben Schulz…

#navalvisits - A French Navy frigate docked in Cork city at the weekend having sailed from Cherbourg, Normandy though the ship is based at Brest Naval Base in neighbouring Brittany, writes Jehan Ashmore. The 1,250 tonnes full displacement Commandant L'Herminier…

After a few negative years, resulting in some despondency about the future of cruiser racing, the annual meeting of SCORA, the South Coast Offshore Racing Association, had a more positive atmosphere, with a good attendance of skippers, boat owners and…

#Doonbeg - Irish surfers have reiterated their concerns over proposed coastal defence works at US President Donald Trump’s golf resort in Doonbeg. TheJournal.ie reports that submissions from surfing groups are among dozens from environmental groups and some local residents to…

#MarineWildlife - Islanders’ attempts to rescue a seal pup stranded on Achill in Co Mayo recently were sadly not successful. But the incident has galvanised a local group set up amid growing concerns over marine wildlife strandings, who will train…

#FerryNews - An English Channel ferry with more than 200 passengers on board has run aground at Calais, according to the Guardian. Local officials in the French port town report that there were no injuries when P&O’s Pride of Kent…

#VOR - Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng Race Team and the Spanish MAPFRE squad were neck and neck leading the Volvo Ocean Race fleet out of Cape Town and towards the southernmost point of the African continent this afternoon (Sunday 10 December).…

The winner of November's Viking Marine Rash'R vest competition is Eileen Dooley of Dublin.  Congratulations to you, Eileen! Your prize of a Rash'R vest will be winging its way to you shortly!  Stay tuned for more prize competitions on Afloat.ie!  Rash'R…

#Rescue116 - British SAR contractor Heli Operations has named its latest helicopter in tribute to Capt Dara Fitzpatrick, who died in the Rescue 116 tragedy earlier this year. The Westland Sea King HAS.5, codenamed ZA116, will bear the name Dara…

#RNLI - Independent.ie reports that a fisherman with a hand injury was hospitalised after his rescue from a trawler off Salthill by Galway RNLI yesterday afternoon (Saturday 9 December). The volunteer lifeboat crew launched within 10 minutes of the alarm…

#Rowing: The awards season is proving a fruitful one for rowers. Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll were honoured at the Canon Hayes Centre awards and fellow Skibbereen man Paul O’Donovan has been nominated for the RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year…

#Rowing: The All-in-a-Row charity event on the Liffey drew a flotilla of varied craft to the Liffey in central Dublin today in aid of the RNLI and the Irish Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (IUSRU). There were over 40 boats…

#MarineScience - Millions of tiny particles of plastic have been detected in European waters in groundbreaking scientific research conducted as part of the Volvo Ocean Race. Using data collected by Turn the Tide on Plastic, which features Ireland’s own Annalise…

#StarWars - Tourism Ireland’s latest ad campaign for the Wild Atlantic Way has gone literally stratospheric, as RTÉ News reports. Skellig Michael is front and centre in what Irish tourism chiefs are calling their ‘first space tourism campaign’, which saw…