Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#AmericasCup - The America's Cup has been rocked by news of a cheating scandal in Oracle Team USA that has seen the team docked two points and three of its members banned from the event. According to Reuters, the penalties…

#Lighthouses – As previously reported, the first ever All-Ireland Lighthouse Tourism Trail project is being lead by the Commissioners for Irish Lights (CIL). The project will see key facilities for accommodation and attractions made available along the northern coastline.As well…

#CruiseSector - The best Irish cruise liner season in 60 years has reached a 50% hike in passenger numbers at some ports. More than 100 major cruise liners have visited Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Belfast this summer, with the trade…

#tallship – A salvage operation to remove the wreck of the Tall Ship Astrid from rocks off Kinsale is underway. The operation will involve specialist marine crane equipment brought in from the UK. The 95-year-old vessel ran aground at Rocks off…

#lasereuros2013 – Annalise Murphy wins two more races today to lead the Laser Europeans in Dun Laoghaire by seven points. In bright sunshine, warm temperatures and even an unusual sea breeze, favourite Annalise Murphy remains the only sailor at the Laser European…

#greystonesharbour – Last Wednesday night (28th August) in The National Yacht Club, an audience of up to sixty people heard of the origins, design and construction of the new Greystones Harbour, presented by Councillor Derek Mitchell of Wicklow County Council…

CMI - Communications Management Institute in Dublin has received a 50% increase in applications on a new Diploma in Ports & Shipping Diploma. Since offering the course, there is enquiries coming from people from all sectors who are looking to…

#Angling - A resolution passed last week at the general assembly of the European Anglers Alliance (EAA), representing the interests of 3 million recreational anglers across 13 European nations, demands that all farmed Atlantic salmon should be produced in closed…

#DunLaoghaire - The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Annual Swim for 2013 takes place this coming Sunday 8 September. The men's and ladies' swimming races will both follow the same course starting at the RNLI boathouse, along the East Pier slipway then…

#BookFestival – This year's Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival 2013 starts today and continues through the week till next Sunday (8 Sept), writes Jehan Ashmore.  Among the venues showcasing the many events organised by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCoCo)…

#FoylePort – Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners have announced that shipping through the port increased by 27% over the past year leading to before tax profits of over £1.2m. Chairman of Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioner Mr Garvan O'Doherty announced…

#circumnavigation – Having completed a nine year sailing circumnavigation Pat and Olivia Murphy of Howth Yacht Club have been giving talks to clubs, groups and organisations throughout the country. These have proven to be very popular and always result in…

#minitransat – The small business that is the Mini does not recognise the crisis. Once more the race for these boats of just 6.50 meters was refuelled, on 30 August, with 84 competitors admitted who had met the full requirements…

#FarewellEMER – Dublin Port is to bid farewell to L.E. Emer (P21) on her final visit to the capital today.  Under command of Lt. Cdr. Alan O'Regan she is to resume her last patrol prior to de-commissioning on 20 September,…

#CruiseLiners – Dublin Port has two cruiseship callers today, Thomson Spirit (1983/33,930grt) and Ocean Princess (1999/30,277grt) both are approximately the same in tonnage terms, yet they are starkly different in design, writes Jehan Ashmore. Thomson Spirit had sailed from Belfast…

#RNLI - Wicklow RNLI carried out a medical evacuation of an unwell man from a survey vessel off the Wicklow coast in the early hours of yesterday morning (2 September). The alarm was raised after the man was suspected to…

#lasereuro2013 – Local favourite Annalise Murphy keeps her impressive form on her home waters as she leads the Women's Laser Radial European Championship by five clear points tonight. With four qualifying races sailed at the Laser European & World Championships on Dublin…

#RNLI - Wicklow RNLI carried out a search of Wicklow Bay on Saturday night (31 August) after the Irish Coast Guard received a 999 call to report a distress flare sighting. Both Wicklow's all-weather and inshore lifeboats were requested and launched…

#RNLI - Portaferry RNLI had a busy start to the weekend with two call-outs last Friday (30 August). The first call was received just before 3pm from a 5m Shetland open-top fishing vessel with two men and one child on…

#Swimming - Open-water swimmer Carol Cashell became the first person to swim around Bere Island when she completed her gruelling charity challenge on Saturday morning (31 August). As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Cork city resident had plenty of experience…