Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Afloat.ie’s W M Nixon is usually quick off the mark about firing in historical references on just about any sailing topic. With the Christmas season upon us, we asked him for a report from Dun Laoghaire in 2050, and to…
#Rowing: Gavan Hennigan has had an excellent start to the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. The Galway oarsman, rowing as Soulo Gav, is running fifth of the 12 boats and is leading the three solo boats. “It's been a hard few…
Minister Urged to Save Key Piece of Grand Canal Basin: Old Graving Docks
16th December 2016 Dublin Port
#SaveHistoricDocks - A Dublin docklands business group and waterways enthusiasts have called on Minister for Heritage Heather Humphreys to save a key piece of the Grand Canal basin’s Georgian architecture. As The Irish Times writes The Inland Waterways Association of Ireland…
#CobhChristmasCall - A quartet of cruiseships will come to Cork Harbour this festive season, including one on Christmas Day, bringing 5,000 visitors to the region. The increase writes the Evening Echo in winter cruiseships highlights a changing industry. Cork traditionally…
#FoylePort - Chris Hazzard the Ports Minister says a new departmental ‘Brexit Planning Team’ has been actively engaging with the authorities at Lisahally since the end of the summer. As the Derry Journal writes the Minister said talks will continue…
British pair, Tom Gillard and Richard Anderton, sailing GBR 15127 have only just retained their Fireball Worlds title from Pwllheli, Wales……………by winning all eight races sailed thus far in the 2016 World Championships in South Africa. In a Facebook posts…
Mr Jerome Pels, a former head of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) for 17 years, will become the new Chief Executive of Irish Hockey next month. Pels was responsible for the day to day running of the ISAF from their…
#Annalise - 2016 draws to a close with another accolade for Ireland’s Olympic hero Annalise Murphy, who was named The Irish Times/Sports Council of Ireland's Sportswoman of the Year in Dublin this afternoon. The Laser Radial silver medallist was Sportswoman…
#BerthingTrials – A pair of car ferries were on the Waterford Estuary link of Passage East-Ballyhack yesterday but only one vessel was actually operating in service, writes Jehan Ashmore. Foyle Venture (44 vehicle/300 passenger) was carrying out 'berthing trials' for…
Port Snapshot: Sligo Harbour Increase of 18% on Traffic for 2016
15th December 2016 Ports & Shipping
#SligoShip - Sligo Harbour has a general cargoship in port today, Arundo one of 18 vessels so far that docked in 2016 an increase of 18% in traffic compared to last year, writes Jehan Ashmore. Afloat had monitored the cargoship…
You would be forgiven for thinking that in the marine industry, especially with a business that is mostly on the water, that the winter would be long and dark with little activity. This Autumn has been one of the busiest for…
#AranIslands - An Oireachtas committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht were addressed (yesterday) by a group of representatives from Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands as a dispute over a ferry service to the island continues.…
Black Guillemots & Ancient Clams Gain New Protections In Northern Ireland
15th December 2016 Marine Wildlife
#MarineWildlife - The RSPB has welcomed the announcement of new marine protected areas for Northern Ireland this week. “The formal designation of four new marine protected areas will help protect a range of vulnerable species and habitats - ranging from…
#RecordWave - Nineteen metres is the height of what’s being called the world’s largest wave, recorded recently off the North West Coast of Ireland. Independent.ie reports on the record-breaking swell detected by a weather buoy in the North Atlantic between…
#Rowing: Gavan Hennigan has set off to row the Atlantic as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. The Galway man, competing as Soulo Gav, is one of three solo rowers (two men and a woman) taking part in the…
Lighthouse Tender of Almost Two Decades Directly Docks at Irish Lights HQ in Dun Laoghaire
14th December 2016 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
#DirectDock - ILV Granuaile the Commissioners of Irish Lights tender today directly docked alongside the aids to navigation authority HQ in Dun Laoghaire Harbour which involved weaving a navigation around the inner harbour’s marina, writes Jehan Ashmore. The docking of…
Jules Verne Trophy: Possible Start Tomorrow for Francis Joyon & His 45–Day Record Bid
14th December 2016 Jules Verne Trophy
The IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran has just gone to code green, meaning that their departure is imminent. They are about to make another attempt at the outright crewed round the world record, the Jules Verne Trophy. Francis Joyon and his crew…
A massive fire in in Arklow has engulfed and destroyed what most people thought was a large warehouse beside the old Inner Dock writes W M Nixon. But it was in this “warehouse” in the late 1970s and early ’80s…
For the first time ever in the non-stop solo round the world Vendée Globe race's history, a competitor has gone through Bass Strait to avoid a storm in the Southern Ocean. Frenchman Jean Pierre Dick (St Michel-Virbac) is the first…
Historic First Cruiseship Caller to Drogheda Port to Undergo Major Works to Extend Career
14th December 2016 Cruise Liners
#MajorUpgrade - Polar small cruiseship operator, Quark Expeditions’ whose Sea Adventurer under another guise made a historic first but only cruise call visit to Drogheda Port is to undergo a major renovation, writes Jehan Ashmore. The former Clipper Adventurer then…