Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#Ophelia - With most of Ireland battening down the hatches for the second time in a week in preparation for Storm Brian’s arrival, the Marine Institute in Galway says it continues to gather and analyse data from Storm Ophelia. Despite…

#Coastguard - The late Irish Coast Guard volunteer Caitriona Lucas has been recognised in this year’s National Bravery Awards. The Posthumous Gold Medal and Certificate of Bravery were presented to Lucas’ family at Farmleigh House yesterday (Friday 20 October) a…

There is a time and a season to all things, and in some years, that time comes earlier than others. Ireland has been getting away with it in remarkable style in recent weeks, putting through 2017’s Autumn sailing fixtures in…

With nine confirmed entries already for the 2018 edition of the Beaufort Cup, Cork Week Chairman Kieran O'Connell of Royal Cork Yacht Club says it promises to be a great event. '2016 was the inaugural event and we saw 12…

The Howth Yacht Club Laser dinghy Frostbites starts on Sunday, 5th November. Two races are planned each Sunday starting at 10:45. The Laser series runs until March 10th 2018 with the 'famous' Round The Island Race to close out the…

#Rowing: Competition in the Cork Sculling Ladder has been postponed this weekend because of the forecast of bad weather. The organisers have chosen Sunday, October 29th, as the date for the next action in the event. Jack Dorney of Shandon…

Before the imminent Storm Brian starts disrupting plans tonight and over the weekend, let’s take a final look back at the recent events in wind-battered old Ireland writes W M Nixon. We have been so busy marvelling at recorded wave…

To make way for the weather bomb that is Storm Brian this weekend, the Royal St. George Yacht Club hosted Final Fling 2017 for dinghies has been delayed until Sunday 22nd with first gun at 13.00. With quick 1-2-3 starts, four…

#Wellness - The therapeutic benefits of sailing have been highlighted by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s 2017 awardees Sailing into Wellness. The Cork-based non-profit social initiative provides an opportunity for vulnerable groups to experience a completely new environment on the open sea.…

#Newbuild - A mobile crane has lowered a new workboat into the River Avoca in Arklow this week for Ireland's largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon, writes Jehan Ashmore. The newbuild constructed by Arklow Marine Services is the Croi na…

#ClipperRace - It was a close fight right up until the final stretch for ninth-placed HotelPlanner.com and 10th-placed GREAT Britain, who spent much of the Clipper Race's Leg 2: The Stormhoek Race to the Cape of Storms in a drag…

At the end of the second day of racing at the Student Yachting World Cup in Marseille, Ireland's UCD Sailing Club has moved up to fourth place overall. As Afloat.ie previously reported, the UCD team is skippered by Jack Higgins,…

The Marine Institute is hosting a two day meeting of the European Marine Board at its headquarters in Oranmore (18-19th October). Dr. Peter Heffernan, Marine Institute CEO, welcomed more than 40 marine leaders gathered for the meeting, as well the…

Barry Hurley will compete in his fourteenth Rolex Middle Sea offshore Race in a row tomorrow sailing XpAct, a Maltese Xp44. He is one of a handful of Irish crews competing in the 39th race that forecasters say is going…

#Shipping - The captain of a cargo ship that ran aground on Rathlin Island last week has been fined £1,000 over his negligence at the helm, as the Belfast Telegraph reports. The MV Ruyter, which was en route from Russia…

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…