Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

With 47 sailors on the water in Tralee Bay in County Kerry in the first week of January, 2017 started on a very positive note for Junior sailing in Ireland. The 17 Optimist fleet included some of the most promising…

#Fishing - Fishing rights retained in the sale of Irish supertrawler Atlantic Dawn could continue to net many millions of euro for its former owners — much to the ire of smaller operators in Ireland’s fishing fleet, as The Irish…

#MarineWildlife - The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) reports the good news of the rescue of two live common dolphins that stranded on a Co Kerry beach at the weekend. IWDG volunteers found three dolphins at Tarbert on Sunday…

The Irish Mirror sailing season starts in less than two weeks with the first weekend of the Winter Training Programme. The winter training is held, as in previous years in Lough Ree YC, and is run over four weekend sessions between…

#Angling - A Mayo man has been convicted of obstructing a fisheries officer and failing to produce a salmon licence over an incident on the River Moy. At a sitting of Castlebar District Court on 3 January, Judge Mary Devins…

#Coastguard - Safety inspectors have found no issues with the Irish Coast Guard helicopter fleet after a recent incident abroad involving an aircraft of the same model. According to The Irish Times, the Irish fleet of Sikorsky S92s was grounded…

Without a lot of public attention Birdwatch Ireland, the conservation organisation which protects Ireland's birds and their habitats, is engaged in an extensive survey of seabirds. Ireland is a very important country for seabirds which are, in my view, marvellous…

This is the time of year when boat-owners can no longer push to the back of their minds the thought that some bits of equipment aren’t working quite as well as they should, while others maybe aren’t working at all…

Today, Dame Ellen MacArthur announced today at the London Boat Show, a very special project that will see 100 young people in recovery from cancer taking part in an extraordinary challenge - sailing around Britain in a national relay, celebrating…

#PortStudio - Chief executive of Dublin Port Company Eamonn O’Reilly has told Dublin City Council he “would have an open mind” on the development of a Hollywood-style film studio on the Poolbeg peninsula. As The Irish Times writes in recent weeks…

#MarineArtist – This month of January is dedicated to the master of seacapes Turner with an exhibition of prints at the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, writes Jehan Ashmore. The British painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 –…

ISORA's Peter Ryan anticipates a 50% increase in offshore sailors into next July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta. The buoyant prediction is in step with an encouraging ' Super Early Bird' entry for the biennial event that closed on New Year's…

#Rowing: Here is the 2017 Calendar for Irish Rowers. The year ahead is a bumper one. In February, the Fisa Extraordinary Congress in Tokyo will be the focus of intense interest, as a decision will be made on the boats…

#Rescue - A Belfast Harbour policeman jumped into action on Sunday night (8 January) to rescue a young woman from the waters behind the city’s SSE Arena, as BelfastLive reports. Police constable and lifeboat volunteer Scott Harkins was part of…

Gavin Reid, 28, an amateur sailor who was born profoundly deaf, has beaten “his heroes”, Giles Scott, the Rio 2016 Gold Medalist, and Brian Thompson, Round the Island Race Record Holder, to be honoured as the boats.com 2016 YJA Yachtsman…

#Exhibition - The Commissioners of Irish Lights and the Royal Irish Academy continues to tour an exhibition around our coastline that captures the history of Irish Lights. Having first exhibited last year in Cobh as Afloat reported on the next…

#MCIB - Basic water safety precautions were not taken before a canoe capsize incident that led to the drowning of a man off Kenmare almost a year ago. That’s the main conclusion of the official report into the tragedy in…

#PortTransfer - County councillors writes The Irish Times from all the main parties of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown have expressed concern at potential financial liabilities involved in taking over responsibility for Dún Laoghaire Harbour. The debate on due diligience issues as Afloat…

#ExportsToUK - In order to prepare for a hard Brexit, Enterprise Ireland is advising firms here amid growing signs the British government may opt to quit the single market in order to regain full control over immigration. The Irish Times…

Following his dismasting on New Year’s Day shortly after he’d resumed racing as Ireland’s sole entry in the Vendee Globe, 61-year-old Irish skipper Enda O’ Coineen with the IMOCA 60 Kilcullen Voyager has succeeded in his gallant ambition of reaching…