Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine

Octopus fishing in Tarawa, accidentally sinking a Royal Navy RIB, monitoring the Loch Ness monster and deep diving to 287 feet... That’s just a small taste of adventures experienced by scientist, author, and film producer Peter Vine, who lives in…

Sovereign's Cup 2021 Targets 50 Boat Fleet: Revised Plan & Notice Of Race Issued by Kinsale Yacht Club
17th December 2020 Sovereign's Cup
The details of a revised plan for the O'Leary Insurance Group Sovereign's Cup 2021 have been published by Kinsale Yacht Club together with a Notice of Race (NOR). The Notice of Race is downloadable below as a PDF document (2mb) Sovereign's…

The Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue T.D., has welcomed the agreement reached at the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers in Brussels overnight to set quotas for fish stocks for the first three months of 2021. The Minister said, “Our fisheries sector…

Thomas Ruyant, who is lying in second place in the Vendée Globe, has slowed his boat to a near halt after discovering that the front bow compartment of his IMOCA LinkedOut was filling with water. Shortly before 2100hrs Ruyant, who…

International Jury Decisions on Vendee Globe Rescue Operation for Kevin Escoffier
16th December 2020 Vendee Globe
The Vendee Globe International Jury published their decisions for time compensations awarded to three of the four skippers who were involved in the rescue operation for Kevin Escoffier during the period late afternoon and overnight Monday, November 30 when the…

Yannick Bestaven in Maître CoQ IV Is New Leader of the Vendee Globe Race
16th December 2020 Vendee Globe
Yannick Bestaven, skipper of Maître CoQ IV took the lead of the Vendée Globe early this morning. And though the 47-year-old from La Rochelle who is sailing a 2015 launched boat has threatened the lead before sailing an accomplished, express…

Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI Christmas Eve Public Ceremony Cancelled Due to Covid-19
16th December 2020 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the annual Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI Christmas Eve public ceremony to honour the memory of 15 lifeboat volunteers that died on service 125 years ago has been cancelled this year and will be shown online.…

Galway Corinthians RFC Raise Over €8,500 for Galway RNLI & Cancer Care West
16th December 2020 RNLI Lifeboats
What started as a small fundraiser for Galway RNLI and Cancer Care West has turned into something spectacular as the players and members of Galway Corinthians RFC have raised over €8,500 for both organisations through two fundraising efforts. The first…

Boaters Beware of Diving Operations in Carrick-on-Shannon This Friday
16th December 2020 Inland Waterways
Waterways Ireland is notifying all masters of vessels that diving operations will take place at Carrick-on-Shannon on Friday 18 December. The locations of the diving operations are 1 along the quay wall some 30 metres downstream and upstream of the…

The Irish Coast Guard has has upgraded radio equipment at a number of VHF network remote locatosn in recent months. Following these upgrades, the table below sets out the detail of the new coastguard working channels that are now in…

Ahead of the 2021-2024 Racing Rules of Sailing which come into effect on 1 January, the RYA has released an update to the World Sailing Rules App — giving sailors access to a ‘one-stop shop’ for the 2021-2024 rules and…

A young woman with cerebral palsy has become the first person to cross the Atlantic by ‘sip and puff’ sailing. Natasha Lambert — who three years ago sailed into Dun Laoghaire to complete a crossing of the Irish Sea by…

Replica Currach Set Alight in Skellig Michael’s Shadow for New Art Film
16th December 2020 Historic Boats
A replica of an ancient currach has been set alight in the shadow of Skellig Michael — and all in the name of art. The arresting image is one of the highlights of Crann, a film directed by Laura Hilliard…

Honour for Belfast Lough Sailor Chris Lindsay with SportMaker Technical Official of the Year Award
16th December 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Chris Lindsay from Carrickfergus on Belfast Lough has been awarded the Sportmaker Technical Official of the Year title through Sport Northern Ireland. Since July 2019, Chris has officiated at World Championships across various classes and countries, with the highlight of…

Ferry Covid Outbreak As 320 Stranded Passengers Bound for Ireland Overnight On Board
16th December 2020 Ferry
Passengers were stranded overnight on a ferry bound for Belfast from Liverpool due to some crew members coming down with Covid-19. The port health authorities at Liverpool instructed that the Stena Edda (introduced earlier this year) must be held at…

County Antrim Yacht Club Junior Sailor Awarded New Boat by John Merricks Sailing Trust
16th December 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Christmas has come early for 12-year-old Rory Pollard, who has been awarded a brand new boat by the John Merricks Sailing Trust. Rory, from Whitehead and a junior member of County Antrim Yacht Club, is the only sailor from Northern…

HM Coastguard N Ireland and South West Scotland have opened its recruitment window for volunteer 2021 Coastguard Rescue Officer Recruitment. The team of volunteers is made up of people from all backgrounds including other emergency services, government agencies, business owners,…

Irish Offshore Sailing's Female Two-Handed Champions Win National Sports Award Nomination
16th December 2020 Round Ireland Speed Record
The all-categories Round Ireland two-handed sailing record-holders, Greystones' Pamela Lee and shipmate Catherine Hunt, have been nominated as contenders for the Team of the Year Prize 2020 by HerSport.ie, thereby renewing sailing's position at centre stage in national womens' sport.…

Committee to Hear Hauliers Facing 'Catastrophic Consequences' Over Brexit
16th December 2020 Irish Ports
An Oireachtas Committee will hear the Irish Road Haulage Association calling for a single entity to take charge of the free movement of traffic from ports ahead of Brexit. Its President, Eugene Drennan, reports RTE News, is due before the…

Galway Bay Sailing Club Can Still Celebrate Pandemic-Plagued Golden Jubilee Year
16th December 2020 Galway Harbour
Galway Bay Sailing Club, comfortably ensconced in their fine clubhouse at Renville New Harbour near Oranmore at the head of Galway Bay, can look back at many ups and downs during the fifty years of sailing development they've experienced from…