Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#Galway - Irish Water Safety in engaged in talks with Galway City Council over the possibility of reinstating the liferaft at BlackrockDiving Tower. Councillors last year rejected proposals to replace the amenity after a poor health and safety assessment in…

#Piracy - Offshore cruisers are urged to be vigilant as the latest figures show a rise in sea kidnappings despite a global decrease in piracy. Practical Boat Owner has more on a recent report from the ICC’s International Maritime Bureau…

#ShipSnapshot – Lady Adriane berthed at Wicklow Port this morning in the wake of another short-sea trader, the 89m Bounder which at the weekend was loaded with scrap metal, writes Jehan Ashmore. It was a busy scene as trucks shuttled…

#MarineWildlife - A whopping 71 species of shark can be found swimming in Irish waters. That’s according to the new New Red List of Cartilaginous Fish, as reported by TheJournal.ie, which adds that half of all sharks in Europe can…

Organisers of Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Rathfarnham Ford sponsored Spring Chicken Series are expecting a last minute rush to enter Sunday's first of six races. More than 25 boats are already entered but the 2017 warm–up series usually attracts double that…

#Brexit - Concern is spreading across Ireland’s fishing industry over the impact of Brexit on Irish fishing grounds and markets, as The Irish Times reports. The potential impact of fishing vessels from elsewhere in the EU that might be expelled…

MAPFRE will be back on the start line for the Volvo Ocean Race in 2017-18, the Spanish team announced on Tuesday. MAPFRE, backed by the Madrid-based global insurance company, are the third confirmed entry for sailing’s toughest team event, which…

Premium British marine and lifestyle clothing brand, Henri Lloyd has announced a three year partnership with the FAST40+ Class. As the Official Technical Clothing Partner to the FAST40+ Class, Henri Lloyd will be working alongside the class organisers and owners to…

#RNLI - Larne RNLI launched their all-weather lifeboat Dr John McSparron and inshore lifeboat Terry on Sunday (29 January) to take part in the exercise to simulate recovery of a casualty to a helicopter in an emergency situation. The joint…

One of the UK’s top technology firms is helping one of the UK’s top sailing clubs to prepare for an event, which hopefully will never occur. Pump Technology, based in Berkshire, whose group of companies include LeeSan Marine Sanitation, contacted…

#RoyalCanal - Waterways Ireland advises that the Royal Canal towpath west of Maynooth, Co Kildare from Bond Bridge to Jacksons Bridge, a section of around 1.7km in length, will remain closed until March to undertake further cycle and pedestrian upgrade…

Dublin Port’s Masterplan 2012-2040, a framework to guide the future development and operation of Dublin Port, makes provision for periodic reviews.  This ensures that the Masterplan reflects changing circumstances such as developments in policies governing planning, national transport, the environment…

The boating community from around Scotland gathered on Saturday evening (28th January 2017) at the Glasgow Science Centre as RYA Scotland recognised the achievements and outstanding commitment of Scotland's volunteers, coaches, instructors, officials, clubs and performance sailors. The theme throughout…

#Rowing: Gavan Hennigan is producing extraordinary mileage in his battle to be the next boat to finish the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. The solo oarsman has held third since early in the 12-boat race from the Canary Islands to Antigua…

Irish Marine Artist Pete Hogan will give a personal history of marine painting in Ireland with an emphasis, he says, on 'yots'.  The Round the world sailor, artist and author will speak at the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club on the…

#Laurentic - Last Wednesday (25 January) saw Donegal commemorate the centenary of the sinking of the SS Laurentic off Lough Swilly by German mines during the First World War. Just 121 of the 475 people on board survived the tragedy,…

#FastestCrossing – A newly acquired passenger-only ferry is to offer the fastest ever crossing time to the Aran Islands, when Doolin Ferry introduce a highspeed craft just one month after the seasonal service resumes, writes Jehan Ashmore. Speaking to Afloat…

#Rowing: The high performance director of Rowing Ireland, Morten Espersen, has resigned. Espersen emailed his decision to the chief executive of Rowing Ireland, Hamish Adams.  “On behalf of the entire Board and Staff I wish Morten well in the next…

#DoverRecord – Record freight for Belfast Harbour user Stena Line on routes to Scotland and England for the year 2016 has also been achieved by other ferry operators based in the Port of Dover, writes Jehan Ashmore. Dover, Europe’s busiest…

In public perception terms, sailing had never been higher on the scale of national interest in Ireland than it was in August 2016 when Annalise Murphy’s Olympic Silver Medal victory had an entire nation and its widespread diaspora on the…