Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine

East Antrim Boat Club Appoints Lucy Whitford as Commodore
21st December 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
East Antrim Boat Club in Larne has appointed Lucy Whitford as Commodore, only the third lady in the Club's 70-year history to enjoy that position. The others were Lilian Stewart and Anne Morris. Although Lucy is a regular sailor, and…
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Introducing an exciting, new 45’ offshore sailing yacht like no J boat before it. The J/45 is a true sailing yacht, designed and built for the sea by dedicated, life-long sailors. The J/Boats and J/Composites teams have collaborated to create…

Ferry operator Stena Line has issued an important update for passengers intending to travel on services to the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands. Due to new measures imposed by the Irish Government and the Government of the Netherlands, there…

Ferry Services Directly to Mainland Europe Government Wants Brought Forward
21st December 2020 Ferry
Ferry operators offering direct routes to continental Europe are being asked to bring forward services due to commence the first week of January, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has said. Mr Ryan told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that he believed…

Loss of Six Dun Laoghaire Men in German Bombing of Lightship Remembered
21st December 2020 Lighthouses
Six Dun Laoghaire mariners never came home for Christmas 80 years ago, when their lightship was attacked and sunk by a German bomber aircraft off the Wexford coast. Now, the grand-daughter of one of those lost has appealed to other…

Yannick Bestaven, who has been at the front of the Vendee Globe fleet for four days, passed the Antimeridian at 1337hrs UTC this Sunday afternoon with his lead now extended to 120 nautical miles over second-placed Charlie Dalin. Of the…

A new coastal park and boardwalk overlooking Greystones Marina were opened last week by Cllr Derek Mitchell, Cathaoirleach of Greystones Municipal District in the presence of Frank Curran, Chief Executive of Wicklow Council Council and Pamela Lee who set the…

1720 European Championships Planned for Waterford Harbour Sailing Club in 2021
20th December 2020 1720
The 1720 sportsboat European Championships will be hosted on the Irish South Coast in 2021. The fleet will muster at Waterford Harbour Sailing Club after the disappointment of the cancellation of its 2020 event at Royal Cork Yacht Club due…

Research Funders Review Ireland’s Progress in Marine Research & Innovation at Latest Forum Meeting
20th December 2020 Marine Science
The recent sixth meeting of the National Marine Research Funders’ Forum on 26 November followed the launch this past summer of the new National Marine Research Database. Developed in collaboration with national funders, the database displays more than 500 marine…

Claims That Would-Be Round-the-World Record-Setter’s Yacht Left to Rot by Maritime Museum
20th December 2020 Offshore
Mail Online is reporting that the yacht used by would-be round-the-world record-setter Jessica Watson has been left to rot outside the maritime museum where it has resided for almost a decade. In 2009, then 16-year-old Watson, from Australia, sailed her…

No winner in Auckland today for the Prada America's Cup Christmas Race as the breeze dropped away after the start of race 1 and there was not enough to complete the 4 races scheduled for the day. Race 1 between…

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has announced its 76th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will not be proceeding in 2020. The impact of COVID-19 that has disrupted sporting events around the globe for so much of the year has…

Yannick Bestaven Continues to Lead Vendee Globe in Light Airs of Pacific
20th December 2020 Vendee Globe
Caught up in the lighter winds at the back of a front during the hours of the European night, daytime for the leaders, has seen second-placed Charlie Dalin concede handful of miles to leader Yannick Bestaven. Looking briefly at comparisons…

RYA Northern Ireland’s 2021 Cruising Conference Goes Virtual
19th December 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
The countdown is on for the virtual RYA Northern Ireland Cruising Conference 2021, which will take place online over three separate evenings in the new year. The conference, which will be hosted via Zoom, will run on Tuesdays 19 and…

A famed adventurer who crossed the Atlantic by currach in a journey inspired by the story of Brendan the Navigator has died at the age of 80, as RTÉ News reports. Tim Severin set out in 1976 on the epic…

A DMYC Committee meeting held this weekend has decided to abandon plans for its inaugural Christmas Dinghy Challenge at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. As Afloat previously reported, the event was scheduled in anticipation of the lifting of Level 3 restrictions this weekend…

'Arrow' Brings to Five Arklow Newbuild Bulkers With One More to Follow Suit
19th December 2020 Ports & Shipping
A new bulk oriented general cargoship for Arklow Shipping took to the water for the first time yesterday as the fifth of six ships was launched by shipbuilder Ferus Smit, writes Jehan Ashmore. The 8,543dwt newbuild (NB.441) bulker was christened…

As if written into the script, the final race was the one that mattered when it came to who would take the PRADA America’s Cup World Series Auckland trophy. With Emirates Team New Zealand and American Magic on even points,…

A “giant-size” towel collage has been spread out at Blackrock’s Seapoint shoreline in Dublin Bay on Saturday to highlight the need for action over Dublin Bay water quality. Open water swimmers suspended hostilities over whether dry robes or towels were…
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Christmas is coming and MGM Boats at Dun Laoghaire Harbour is taking the opportunity to present the latest Zodiac RIB, the 'Medline 6.8 m' in detail. As regular Afloat readers will know, the first pictures of the new marque appeared…