Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

A fire at a boatyard in Cowes on the Isle of Wight yesterday has seen the destruction of around 30 yachts and one-design dayboats, including many irreplaceable classics. Vintage boats, including a World War Two rescue vessel, are among those…

Tricky conditions have got 2016 off to an inauspicious start for Ireland's Rio Olympic sailing team with neither Laser or 49er making the gold fleet cut of the World Sailing Cup in Miami, the first major event of the Olympic year.  The…

#MarineWildlife - The 'dolphin whisperers' is what they're calling a trio of siblings from Northern Ireland who helped rescue a distressed bottlenose dolphin off the coast of Brisbane in Australia. Matthew, Joshua and Jessica Poole from Templepatrick leapt into action…

There may well be a new name for yacht racing on Dublin Bay this season as merger talks between Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) and the Royal Alfred Yacht Club (RAYC) continue. RAYC Flag Officers meet tonight in Dun Laoghaire to…

#CruiseshipLimit - The Irish Times reports that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown councillors move to limit the size of cruise ships allowed to berth in Dún Laoghaire harbour – effectively banning “supersized” cruise ships – has been opposed by council management. Members of…

The former CEO of World Sailing says he was fired for pushing to get rid of polluted Guanabara Bay as the sailing venue of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, according to an Associated Press report this morning. Peter Sowrey…

Irish Olympic class sailors were tested again yesterday in fickle Miami breezes on the second day of the World Sailing Cup on Biscayne Bay. The important regatta marks the build up to the Rio Olympics in less that 200 days.…

RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew in Ireland were kept busy in 2015 with 1,098 launches bringing 1,244 people to safety. At 45 lifeboat stations around the Irish coast and on inland waters, the charity’s volunteer lifeboat crew were on call in…

Tara McCarthy has a magnificent view out of her office windows. “You could look out there all day,” she says as we chat in the office on Crofton Road in Dun Laoghaire, looking out on Dublin Bay. Even on a…

The Marine Institute is inviting students to apply for a number of work experience placements in many exciting areas for this summer 2016. The bursaries are worth €275per week for an 8 to 12 week placement (bursary dependant).They will be…

John Laing, the sailing vessel operated by Hampshire-based charity Ocean Youth Trust South has been announced as the Sail Training Vessel of the Year by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Association of Sail Training Organisations (ASTO). John…

#RoughRide - Uncertainty about China’s economic performance and slowing trade growth will make 2016 a difficult year for shipping executives, according to one leading analyst, although he highlighted India as one possible bright spot if the Modi administration can deliver…

#Canoeing: Canoeing Ireland has appointed Karl Dunne as its new chief executive. Dunne has been the general manager of the body since March 2012. The recruitment process for the new post was, according to Canoeing Ireland, undertaken by independent HR…

#Corrib - A prime example of "how not to undertake a development" – that's how a new planning report by British engineers describes the Corrib gas field project off the Mayo coast, according to The Irish Times. Two of the…

#MarineWildlife - Four more sperm whales have beached in eastern England on the North Sea coast after the first died in Norfolk last Friday (2 January). As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the first whale died on a the beach at…

#Angling - Ireland's first salmon of the year was caught last week in Co Kerry, as The Irish Times reports. And it was a first for Lough Currane as angling guide Neil O'Shea landed 2016's maiden salmon catch nationally, a…

#FranckCammas - French America's Cup skipper Franck Cammas could be returning to the water as soon as next month after nearing losing his foot in a boating accident late last year. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Team France's top man…

#Bluefin- A Donegal TD's push for a bluefin tuna quota for local game anglers has prompted a meeting between Marine Minister Simon Coveney and the EU Fisheries Commissioner. According to Donegal Now, Thomas Pringle TD has welcomed the move to…

The inaugural Beaufort Cup will take place this July hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, Crosshaven, Co Cork, Ireland, as part of the highly successful Volvo Cork Week. It will be part of a series of Irish Government supported…

#NewFreightService – Irish hauliers trading to Iberia, will have added choice as Brittany Ferries are to charter a conro vessel to launch a new Poole-Bilbao freight route to begin service next month, writes Jehan Ashmore. The 12,079 tonnes conro Pelican…