Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#MaidenCall – Arklow Vale made her maiden call to Dublin Port yesterday, the newbuild is the leadship of 10 general cargoships of the Royal Bodewes 5,100dwt Trader Series built to the design of the Dutch yard, writes Jehan Ashmore. At…

Local Clipper Race bursary winner Conor Shortland from Derry’s Bogside is busy packing his bags ahead of his departure to Brisbane in Australia this week to join the crew of the Derry~Londonderry~Doire yacht for Leg 5 of the Clipper 2015-16…

Just as Dublin Bay Sailing Club announce a new initiative to combine sportsboats in a new class in April UK Sports Boats have united to form a new class association. After the success of earlier mixed Sports Boat events, like…

Dublin Port Company today published trade statistics for 2015 which show a record year for trade at Dublin Port, with growth year-on-year of 6.4%. Total throughput for 2015 was 32.8 million gross tonnes with 7,166 ship arrivals in the year,…

The International Sailing Federation now World Sailing has appointed Andy Hunt, former CEO of the British Olympic Association and a non-executive Director of the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games as its new Chief Executive Officer. It is the second…

Pontoons in Cape Clear, West Cork a small craft harbour in Killybegs, County Donegal and dredging works in Howth, County Dublin are part of an €18m Capital Investment Package in 2016 for the development of Ireland’s fishery harbour network announced…

Model Yacht Racers finally got a nice day yesterday, Sunday 10th January with a gentle breeze and a fresh but not too cold day in Howth YC for our first racing day of 2016 writes Gilbert Louis.We had all the…

#MarineWildlife - Marine wildlife fans in the Dublin Bay area will be on the lookout for a group of bottlenose dolphins that have been spotted between Killiney and Dun Laoghaire. It's the first sighting of the species off South Dublin…

Waterways Ireland continues to advise caution while extensive flooding continues across all navigations. Advice has also been issued by ESB networks in relation to available clearance under overhead or sunken electricity cables. ESB Networks is warning members of the public…

#RNLI - Portrush RNLI had their first two callouts of 2016 in quick succession yesterday today (Sunday 10 January). The all-weather lifeboat (ALB) was first launched around 2.30pm following reports of kayakers in difficulty at Kinnego Bay in Donegal. The…

Circumnavigate round Ireland on a cruising yacht and you will experience an abundance of spectacular coastal scenery, uninhabited islands, ancient settlements, incredible sea birds and endless marine mammal wildlife. Cruising Ireland’s coastline will have you exploring sheltered harbours, sailing past…

#sailoroftheyear – The Afloat.ie Irish Sailor of the Year 2015 award will be announced at the Sailing Awards celebration in Dublin on the afternoon of Thursday, February 4th at a ceremony which will also see each Sailor of the Month…

The early morning forecast told the waking masses that snow had fallen on high ground overnight and on coming ashore after two races, the hills behind Dun Laoghaire had a light dusting of the white stuff.But for the Fireballs racing…

There's been a big shout out for the Irish Marine Federation (IMF) stand at this week's London Boat Show from UK boaters who have been 'surprised to learn' of the range of sailing club and marina facilities available around the…

#RNLI - Clifden RNLI's inshore lifeboat Granuaile launched yesterday afternoon (Saturday 9 January) to assist a walker and her six dogs who had been stranded on Omey Island on the Connemara coast by the rapidly incoming tide. The popular walking…

#RNLI - Dunmore East RNLI launched on Friday (8 January) to assist a 50ft fishing vessel with five people on board. The vessel suffered engine failure eight miles from Dunmore East Harbour. Just before 5pm the volunteer lifeboat crew at…

#CruiseBerth - A final decision may take months on a planned new cruise berth in Dun Laoghaire Harbour is reached, after An Bord Pleanála deferred announcing its ruling on the project, writes The Irish Times. It had been expected that…

The Irish 420 class will stage its  2016 Munster Championships and open coaching session at Schull Sailing Centre during the February Mid-Term break. Coaching will take place from Saturday 13th (registration only) to Tuesday16th February with Ross Killian - ISA…

#MarineWildlife - The killer whale found beached on a Scottish island last weekend likely died after getting entangled in fishing gear for days, say experts. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the orca known as Lulu to researchers, who have been…

#CruiseLiners - Following the release of Dublin Port's cruise visit schedule, the Port of Cork has announced its own list of arrivals for 2016. And it features many of the same big names, with May and August particularly busy months…