Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Killaloe Sailing Club in Co Clare is applying for planning permission for a new clubhouse on the shores of Lough Derg. The site notice for the proposed development at Carrownakilly seeks permission to replace the existing storage shed and portacabin…
#Windfarm - The world’s first floating windfarm is now generating power for Scotland, according to BBC News. Afloat.ie previously covered the Hywind Scotland project, backed by Norwegian energy giant Statoil, which comprises a series of giant wind turbines tethered to…
After a lively opening ceremony held on Tuesday night, the UCD Team Ireland had an exciting first day of racing today at the Student Yachting World Cup in France. Enjoying moderate winds, the Race Officer managed to run five races today,…
Dublin City is extremely vulnerable to coastal flooding which could cost at least €340 million in insurance claims alone, according to a new book, Dublin Bay – Nature and History (The Collins Press, price €24.99). Richard Nairn, one of three…
Ian Moore, originally of Carrickfergus, and Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” in October 2016 after navigating the Italian Cookson 50 Mascalzone Latino to overall victory in the Rolex Middle Sea Race last year, is not defending his Middle Sea title…
The GP14 Annual Hot Toddy event took place over the weekend of the 14th / 15th October 2017 on Lough Owel hosted by Mullingar Sailing Club. Racing began on Saturday on flat water and with the wind shifting in force…
Ophelia: Coastal Caution Advised Over Portuguese Man O’War Sightings
18th October 2017 Marine Wildlife
#Ophelia - Storm Ophelia may have brought on a repeat of last year’s infestation of Portuguese men o’war, an Irish zoologist has warned. As The Irish Times reports, Dr Tom Doyle of NUI Galway is appealing for caution along Ireland’s…
#Fishing - The Marine Survey Office (MSO) of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) wishes to appoint a panel of surveyors to conduct surveys of fishing vessels of less than 15m length overall, in accordance with the Code…
Canadian Frigate Docks in Dublin After UK-Led NATO Exercise And Storm Ophelia
18th October 2017 Naval Visits
#navalvisits- A Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Montréal made a morning arrival to Dublin Port yesterday having taken part in a major UK led exercise involving a large NATO fleet off Scotland last week, writes Jehan Ashmore. The call of…
#BrownTrout - There is a high level of genetic diversity in brown trout populations evident from all catchments studied. That’s according to the findings of a groundbreaking ‘citizen science’ research into the genetic makeup of Ireland’s brown trout and sea…
Record wave heights were captured by the Irish Weather Buoy Network during Hurricane Ophelia on Monday 16th October, causing one of the five weather buoys to break it moorings. The highest wave was recorded off the Irish coastline at 16.00…
Irish Sea-Manx Freighter Chartered In for Condor Ferries Channel Islands Service
18th October 2017 Ferry
#ferrycharter - Condor Ferries only conventional tonnage ferry on UK-Channel Islands service, Commodore Clipper recently resumed service before the English half-term break having spent over a month in dry dock in Cornwall, writes Jehan Ashmore. Whilst Commodore Clipper was away…
#RNLI - Arklow RNLI was launched yesterday evening (Tuesday 17 October) following a call for assistance from the crew of a sailing vessel reporting mechanical failure. The volunteer crew on board Arklow's all-weather lifeboat proceeded to the reported position approximately…
Dingle today is closely associated with superb hospitality, good food, the sporting entertainment of the biennial Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, and the eternal sense of the nearby presence of the mighty Atlantic in one direction, and majestic mountains soaring…
Storm Ophelia: Should Boaters Who Disobey Coastguard Warnings be Criminalised?
18th October 2017 News Update
Is it good enough that surfers, sailboarders, swimmers and yachtsmen put to sea, quite literally in the eye of a hurricane? The overwhelming response online seems to be a resounding 'No'. There are now calls for legislation to penalise people…
#freightferry - Irish Sea freight-only ro-ro operator, Seatruck Ferries has from today increased capacity by adding Tuesday morning sailings on the core Dublin-Liverpool route, writes Jehan Ashmore. Due to increased demand, Seatruck Ferries new Tuesday morning sailings on the busy…
#TransitGateway - As part of “Port Perspectives”, Transit Gateway is a project that documents the transitional changes of the shape of Dublin Port from its medieval shoreline to its current infrastructure. Transit Gateway as an artistic mapping cartography shows the…
A former hyper-active hurricane, only very recently re-classed as a severe tropical storm, hits southwest Ireland at dawn from south of southwest on a mid-October Monday morning writes W M Nixon. It spends the entire day tracking destructively across country,…
#ferry - The highest number of lorries and trailers travelling on P&O Ferries between Larne and Cairnryan was reached in the third quarter of the year than it has in any Q3 since 2011. As the News Letter writes the…
Brad Jackson Is New Skipper Of Team AkzoNobel In 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race
17th October 2017 Ocean Race
#VOR - Three-time Volvo Ocean Race winner Brad Jackson has been announced as skipper of Team AkzoNobel after the surprise dismissal of Simeon Tienpont at the weekend. Jackson, who coached the Swedish all-women entry Team SCA in the 2014-15 edition,…