Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#watersafety – Hot weather often lulls people into a false sense of security that will place lives at risk this weekend at beaches, rivers and lakes. Knowing the dangers will reduce the chance of drowning tragedies that average five per…

#swc – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates will host the inaugural 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final through to 2017. The ISAF Sailing World Cup is the annual circuit of Olympic sailing for elite and professional sailors. Its centre-piece is…

#PlassyWreckExhibition- As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Inisheer Lighthouse on the easternmost of the Aran Islands, was installed with a new light emitting diode (LED) light by the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) last month. The Iighthouse is a highly important…

#hyc – With only a week to go anticipation is building for the inaugural HYC Sportsboat Cup at Howth in County Dublin writes Ross McDonald.Three fleets will be battling it out over two racecourses in what is promising to be…

#buoys – A vital Aid to Navigation buoy deployed by the Commissioners of Irish Lights to mark the Lucifer Bank on the South East Coast of Ireland has sustained significant damage due to a collision with an unidentified vessel on…

#hyc – Howth Yacht Club will run an open double-handed race on Saturday, August 23, 2014 for both spinnaker cruiser classes and white sail cruiser classes. The course will use the Kish Lighthouse, Rockabill lighthouse and Lambay and will start…

#marinescience – The annual Marine Institute bursary programme gets underway this month (June, 2014) with 22 third-level students. Over eight weeks the students will work in a variety of areas including fish and shellfish assessments and surveys, sampling salmon and…

#seafood – Following months of intense lobbying and negotiation, Minister Coveney today secured €148 million from this fund for the period 2014 to 2020 for the development of the Irish seafood industry and the coastal communities that depend upon it.…

#Harbours(Amendment)Bill- As previously reported the Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2014, recently announced by Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport (DTTAS) Leo Varadkar, will allow five designated Ports of Regional Significance. The ports designated under the bill are Drogheda, Dún Laoghaire, Galway,…

#olympicsailing – There appears to be little chance of a successful Irish defence of the women's Laser European radial title in Croatia this week. Annalise Murphy's scoresheet after five races places her in 60th overall from 92 competitors, relegating her to…

#lasolitaire2014 – Royal Cork's David Kenefick has completed his first leg of the 2014 La Solitiare du Figaro, arriving into the British port of Plymouth yesterday. Alexis Loison (Groupe Fiva) won his first ever leg of La Solitaire du Figaro…

#NauticalInstitute – On 17th June in Sydney, Australia the Annual General Meeting of the Nautical Institute will elect Captain Robert Mc Cabe to the Presidency of the Institute for a two year term. The Nautical Institute is the international representative body…

#RNLI - The Dunmore East RNLI lifeboat launched yesterday (Tuesday 10 June) to assist a yacht that fouled its propeller on a mooring on the northern side of Cheekpoint in the Waterford Estuary. At lunchtime the Irish Coast Guard's Marine Rescue…

#fish – Deep sea fish remove and store more than one million tonnes of CO2 from UK and Irish surface waters every year, according to a new study completed by researchers from the Marine Institute and the University of Southampton,…

#clipperrace – Sailing into Derry will be a very special moment for two Clipper Race crew on board the Swiss-sponsored entry, Switzerland as they return home for the first time in decades. Richard Greer, 45, originally from Derry-Londonderry, now lives…

#ff – Visiting former world champion Charles Apthorp showed the Dublin Bay fleet a clean pair of heels winning the two DBSC races in Frequent Flyer with Alan Green as crew. There were about ten boats training with Apthorp in…

#ArdmoreAquireTankers - Ardmore Shipping Corporation have acquisition two second-hand 47,500 Dwt MR product tankers built in 2008 at Onomichi Dockyard Co. Ltd., Japan for a purchase price of $23m each. The vessels are expected to deliver to Ardmore between July…

#TTracesFerryFigures – Following the TT2014 races, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. passenger figures showed a significant increase of 7.5% in the number of motorcycles that visited the island, making it the busiest festival since the Centenary TT in…

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below. Container Market: Further rate volatility predicted - Container shipping rates have been forecast to remain volatile for the coming months as carriers on Asia-Europe trades…

#marinepollution – New high-tech equipment that can be deployed anywhere in the UK to clean up oil spills is today being put to the test in Belfast Harbour. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has recently purchased two new pieces…