Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#rshyr – It is developing into one of the most complex Rolex Sydney-Hobart Races sailed in many a long day. And as it's in the upside-down Southern Hemisphere, weatherwise everything moves in different ways. W M Nixon isn't sure he…

#TradeNews - Afloat.ie first reported in March last year on Inland Inflatables Services' planned relocation to larger premises in Collooney, Co Sligo. And now the move is finally going ahead, as the RIB service business - one of the largest…

#MarineWildlife - There's a "fantastic opportunity to witness the second largest animal on the planet close up" on Achill Island over the next few days after a male fin whale was stranded on Keel Beach on Christmas Eve. The 20-metre-long…

#Coastguard - The Howth unit of the Irish Coast Guard reports that it was tasked to assist the Dublin-based rescue helicopter with a medical evacuation landing on Christmas Eve. Rescue 116 landed at the OBI fire brigade training college on…

#WWICruiser –Repairs to vital weatherproofing have started on HMS Caroline in advance of major restorative work to turn the famous World War One fighting ship as previously reported into a floating museum in Belfast. It came dangerously close to sinking…

#storm – December storms provided Cork harbour boatbuilder Safehaven Marine with the perfect test bed for sea keeping trials with winds of Force 12 and near 30ft waves off the coast of Cork Harbour. On test was Safehaven's Interceptor 48, a…

#rshyc – Irish offshore sailors are in the leading pack of the Sydney-Hobart race today but lack of breeze is leading to tense decisions as Dun Laoghaire sailors onboard the 'Dun Laoghaire entry' Breakthrough, a Beneteau 40 skipered by Barry Hurley,…

#Safety - Bundoran RNLI is among those urging water users to exercise common sense and safety over the current holiday period as persistent stormy weather makes sea conditions treacherous around the Irish coast. With water hobby gifts like surfboards, bodyboards…

#Coastguard - Belfast Coastguard was staffed "at below risk assessed levels" on eight separate occasions last month, as the Belfast Telegraph reports. The upsetting news was revealed by Britain's Transport Minister Stephen Hammon in response to a parliamentary question on…

#Weather - Met Éireann has announced a national weather warning is in effect from later today (26 December) as storm-force winds are expected to reach speeds as high as 130km/hr in coastal areas. UPDATE: As of late this morning, the…

#rshyr– Christmas Day has come to a close on the other side of the world and for a few Irish sailors it means the last night of comfortable sleep as they are now racing in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart…

#christmasrally – Strong winds but a relatively smooth sea state provided a fast exciting start to the Christmas Caribbean Rally. The fastest boats in the rally, which set out from Lanzarote on December 16th, have about 1200 nm to go to…

#salmon – The Government has approved a suite of regulations and bye-laws that will govern the wild salmon fishery in 2014. These will come into effect from Tuesday 1 January 2014. Minister O'Dowd at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural…

#boatregistration – Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD has announced the publication of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013. The Bill is one of the Minister's legislative priorities and is part of an overall objective…

#Angling - Christmas Day will see an early start to the new salmon angling season on a select number of fisheries. As Derek Evans writes in The Irish Times, the early fisheries include the Lower Liffey - from Islandbridge to…

#lighthouses – As we face into a period of stormy weather over the Christmas period Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) stands ready to respond to any marine emergency in Irish Waters. CIL is responsible for the maintenance of physical and electronic…

#Rescue - The Irish Times reports on a "lucky escape" in Co Mayo yesterday (22 December) after a car plunged into deep water on Achill Island. The driver of the vehicle was quickly rescued by the island's Irish Coast Guard unit…

# RowerOfTheYear: Paul O’Donovan is the Afloat Rower of the Year for 2013. The scholarship student at UCD raced to a bronze medal in the lightweight single sculls the World Under-23 Championships at Linz-Ottensheim in Austria in July. The previous…

#CancelledSailings - As storms force winds and gales continue to disrupt Christmas travel plans, some Irish Sea ferry sailings are cancelled today and on Christmas Eve. To confirm the latest sailing updates it is advisable to visit the following ferry…

#CorkRowing: Fourteen Cork Boat Club rowers represented Ireland at international level in 2013, and the club marked the feat with a function recently. The club, based in Blackrock, had nine members who rowed at the Home International Regatta, four at…