Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#DivingBell - Engineers worked 82 feet beneath the surface of the North Channel to repair a seabed cable linking Northern Ireland's power grid with Scotland. According to HeraldScotland, the repair crew used a diving bell style device to safely reach…

#vor – Volvo Ocean Race's six-strong fleet finally headed out of Auckland this morning after the Leg 5 departure was delayed 67 hours to avoid the worst of Cyclone Pam. However, the crews, led out of the 'City of Sails'…

#CoastalNotes - The history of Strangford Lough stretching back some 10,000 years is the subject of a 'spiritual motorcycle journey' by local writer Peter Moore, as the News Letter reports. Moore, a motorbike enthusiast and archaeology graduate, hopes his new…

The countdown to the 2015 RYA Youth Sailing National Championships is well underway, with just six days left to enter the premier annual event for the UK's young sailing talents. Competitors have up until Sunday 22 March to sign up…

#Vanuatu – Cruising sailors are among those helping the South Pacific islands devastated by Cyclone Pam on Thursday. The  island nations of Vanuatu and the Solomon islands were left devastated by the full force of the cyclone with winds in excess of 200mph.…

#MarineWildlife - New marine protections for Northern Ireland's waters could provide a further sanctuary for our smallest marine mammal, the harbour porpoise. As the Belfast Telegraph reports, the proposed Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) for the area between Belfast Lough and…

#CarTheft - Gardaí have asked the public to be on the lookout for a black Peugeot 207 that was stolen from a Northern Irish couple while they were surfing in Brandon Bay on Friday 13 March. As The Irish Times…

#Rio2016 - Rio is turning to Dutch researchers for help in combating its water pollution problems that continue to cause concern for the Olympic sailing fleet. As the Associated Press reports, water research foundation Deltares has developed technology using data…

#Corrib - Mayo fishermen have criticised the State's response to the damaged Corrib Gas Field pipe, claiming that no Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials had yet been to the site, as The Irish Times reports. Last Friday news emerged that…

#Superyacht - Move over, Blush – there's a new contender for the superyacht crown that makes Eddie Jordan's giant look like a tugboat. Scuttlebutt Sailing News reports on the Triple Deuce, set to be the world's biggest ever superyacht at…

#CorkHarbour - Five years after Spike Island was first opened as a tourist attraction, plans are in the making for a new interpretive centre on the site that could be ready by next summer. As the Irish Examiner reports, the…

#TheEasterFerries – Ferries are gearing up in advance of the busy Easter break with vessels dry-docking or leaving their hibernation berths ready for Spring service and throughout the season, writes Jehan Ashmore. On the North Channel, P&O Ferries seasonal fast-craft…

#vor – Following latest information on the development of Cyclone Pam, Volvo Ocean Race organisers have announced that Leg 5 from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajaí, Brazil, will now start on Wednesday, 18 March at 09:00 NZDT (Tuesday 17 March,…

#fireball – According to the weather station adjacent to the HSS Terminal, yesterday's wind for the Frostbites was very consistent writes Cormac Bradley. Just before I took up my observation position it was recording a wind direction of 106˚ and as…

#CruiseLiners- Azores became the first cruiseship in 2015 to Dublin Port yesterday out of around 85 calls this season, while a further 22 such ships calling for Dun Laoghaire Harbour, are mostly to anchor offshore, writes Jehan Ashmore. This year's…

#CoastalNotes - Via TheJournal.ie, check out this breathtaking video by photographer Peter Cox, who mounted a camera to a remote operated drone to capture stunning coastal vistas on the Wild Atlantic Way. Using little more than consumer-level tech, Cox was…

#Lifeboats - Donaghadee's lifeboat station is putting out a new call for volunteers - and women are particularly welcome, as UTV News reports. The Ards Peninsula town, just outside of Belfast Lough, hosts one of Northern Ireland's nine RNLI lifeboat…

#TonnageTaxTalk - Irish Ambassador to Germany, Michael Collins opened the Irish Maritime Development Office's latest event in Hamburg held last month. Speakers included Rebecca Wardell, Business Development Manager (IMDO), Hugh Kennedy Kennedy's Law, Paul Packard Bank of Ireland and Dermot…

#420 – Irish 420 dinghy sailors  got the 2015 sailing season off to a great start with two top 5 results for Irish boats in the UK this weekend. 6 Irish 420s travelled to Rutland Water Sailing Club in Leicestershire…

#MarineWildlife - The first basking shark sightings of 2015 were logged earlier this month, as Ireland's Wildlife reports. Bridget Healy spotted two of the ocean's second-largest fish from the shore at Ardfield, near Clonakilty in West Cork last Monday 9…