Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The white-water rafting course proposed for Dublin city centre is still on the agenda — though the tender for its construction has been pushed back to next year. According to TheJournal.ie, it’s emerged that “challenges” arising from the coronavirus pandemic…

Three Irish consortiums have been awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts by the Marine Institute and Enterprise Ireland to develop Ireland’s intertidal seaweed resource. The Phase 1 ‘Challenge’ contracts will run over four months, and will involve scientific observations…

A father and son were rescued by Skerries RNLI after they were stranded on Shenick Island by the rising tide yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 27 October). Pagers sounded for the lifeboat volunteers at 3pm and within minutes the Atlantic 85 inshore…

The European Parliament Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) today will discuss the draft own-initiative report on technical and operational measures for more efficient and cleaner maritime transport. The aim of MEP Karima Delli, Chair of the TRAN committee and rapporteur…

Dublin sailor Alan McMahon has published a book on his solo sailing adventures aboard a Hallberg Rassy 352 which he sailed across the Atlantic and back in 2018/19.  'Sailing Away' is an autobiographical account of one man's 13-month adventure, sailing…

Crew rostering of the Naval Service now have to frequently postpone seagoing missions due to its chronic manpower shortage and the effects of Covid-19. Within the last year the service’s six operational ships have been regularly operating with close to…

An outbreak of COVID-19 at the European Championships in Poland a fortnight ago has led organisers to contact all 300 competitors alerting them to the outbreak of the virus at the event. Sailors competing in Gdansk received an email communication…

Rescue agencies are reporting a record year for incidents on the water as thousands of people turned to the coastline, lakes and rivers during Covid-19. The Irish Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland have all been under pressure to…

When the 56ft Conor O'Brien-designed trading ketch Ilen - built in Baltimore in West Cork in 1926 - was retrieved and brought back to Ireland by Gary MacMahon of Limerick from the Falkland Islands in November 1997, it was the…

Homing in on her second anniversary Down Under, West Cork sailor Mia Connolly reports to Afloat.ie that she recently completed one of New Zealand’s biggest coastal races. Mia crews on trim as well as bow, mid-bow and pit for the…

Inland Fisheries Ireland’s (IFI) education and outreach team have been working with Foróige to get young people angling with the Go Fishing programme. Due to the latest public health-related restrictions on gatherings, the programme has now evolved into a “blended…

Ten start-ups from backgrounds including tech and AI took part in this year’s Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) Aquaculture Workshop. This year’s event, run by Hatch and supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund took place entirely online due to…

Just when proponents of Offshore Mixed Doubles sailing should be celebrating new Olympic status, the champagne is on ice this week as World Sailing debates a submission that it should not proceed with changes it agreed last year due to…

BT and Belfast Harbour today announced a landmark partnership to build a state-of-the-art 5G ecosystem within the Port. The partnership will deliver a series of 5G-led innovations to accelerate Belfast Harbour's digital transformation and help deliver its smart port strategic…

Waterways Ireland is responsible for the management, maintenance, development, restoration and promotion of the inland navigable waterway system throughout the island, principally for recreational and tourism purposes. It has responsibility for approximately 1,000km of navigable waterways. With a staff of…

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has appointed a new review board into the Air Accident Investigation Unit’s (AAIU) final report on the Rescue 116 helicopter crash. As The Irish Independent reports today, the review experienced a setback last month when…

An Irish Sea ferry crew member from Stena Line is self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus. Company bosses said the worker had no symptoms when they left the Stena Horizon on Wednesday, but later tested positive for Covid-19. The ropax…

The Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) has published its iShips Index of its Quarterly Shipping Report for the period Q2 of 2020 which covers and outlines trends within Ireland’s shipping industry, and as a result, the wider economy. Below Afloat…

Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association (ISORA) racers will agree the 2021 Race Schedule early next month but like most things to do with the 2020 offshore season it will be a little different so there is no surprise that this…

Racing a J/109 in IRC has its compromises because you're sailing with asymmetrics, you're limited to certain angles and only so much boat speed is generated both up-wind and down. While living in Hong Kong, I raced the J/109 Whiskey…