Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Last time the Irish maritime community were paying full attention to the super-maxi Rambler 100, she was white all over, she'd no keel, and she was upside down after her capsize near the Fastnet Rock during the race of 2011…

#LoughNeagh - Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister has rejected claims that she has ignored the findings of a working group on the future of Lough Neagh that were submitted a year ago. As previously covered on Afloat.ie, the report considering the…

#Angling - Fergus O'Dowd TD, Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, has given statutory notice of his proposal to revise the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations to apply from 1 January 2014.…

#IrishMarinas - The official opening of the new Ramor Watersports Club Marina will take place this Saturday 30 November. Cavan county manager Jack Keys will handle the official duties from 2pm at the new marina facility on the shores of…

#SeaPower - The power of the Atlantic Ocean will be put to the test next year as firms are in discussion to place wave energy devices in Galway Bay. The Irish Independent reports that the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland…

#MarineWildlife - The carcass of a female common minke whale found on a beach in Norfolk on Monday marks the third such discovery on Britain's coasts in a week, as The Guardian reports. The grim discovery at Sea Palling follows…

#France-Ireland - Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has welcomed a new direct French ferry route linking Cherbourg to Dublin as good news for Irish tourism and will build on the success of The Gathering. "This weekly ferry…

#IslandNews - Residents of the Aran Islands are currently in China accompanied by the mayor of Co Galway for a worldwide competition that's doubling as an opportunity to market the West of Ireland as a tourism destination. The delegation from…

#MarineWildlife - Ireland's most famous resident dolphin appears to have made some friends, as the video above shows. TheJournal.ie reports that Fungie, who made Dingle his home 30 years ago after possibly escaping from a British dolphinarium, often shuns the…

#NewFerryRoute - Irish Ferries are to launch in 2014 a new direct passenger car ferry service linking Dublin with the French port of Cherbourg with the first sailing departing from Dublin Port on Saturday 18 January. The once-weekly, year round…

#fireball – As previously reported on this website, the Irish Fireball Class is hosting an Open Day this Saturday, 30th November, to provide people who are interested an opportunity to see what makes Fireball sailing so exciting! The intention is…

#TrawlerDetained – The Naval Service OPV L.É. Aoife (P22) detained a fishing vessel registered in the UK approximately 70 nautical miles south of Cork. The detention was in relation to an alleged breach of fishing regulations. According to the Naval…

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below. Container Market: Brussels launches anti-trust probe-The European Commission launched a formal investigation into concerns that the pricing practices of a number of major box lines…

#ISAPLAN – The Irish Sailing Association (ISA) is set for a shake–up following a year of controversy over its policies. Last night it was revealed an 'independent group' – that includes some of the association's critics – has been appointed…

#rorc – The Notice of Race for the Royal Ocean Racing Club's 2014 Race Programme will be published shortly but in the meantime please find below dates for some of the key races scheduled for next year. These include: RORC Caribbean…

#420dinghy – Eagle–eyed Afloat.ie reader and motorist Martin McNamara found 420 Mainsail Number GBR 53380 on the Dublin–Cork motorway last week near Naas in County Kildare. He has made contact with Afloat in an effort to trace the owner and also…

Following Afloat.ie's recent coverage of the new National 18 design and her maiden sail in Cork, there have been extensive trials undertaken with over 50 people in Cork harbour sailing her in the past number of weeks. The protoype is…

#DBSC – The Beneteau First 50, Mermaid V leads the overall rankings after four races of the 70–boat DBSC Turkey Shoot sponsored by Rathfarnham Ford. The series discard has been applied and this has tightened results. Full results downloadable below. Second overall…

#Rescue - TheJournal.ie reports that two climbers were rescued after falling into the water at the Upper Lake of Glendalough in Co Wicklow yesterday (Monday 25 November). The two men had managed to get themselves out of the water near…

#RNLI - The search for a lobster fisherman missing off the Wexford coast was set to resume this morning after it was suspended at sunset last night. RNLI lifeboats from Kilmore Quay, Rosslare and Fethard launched yesterday afternoon (Monday 25…