Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#Tall Ships – A 21-gun salute to say goodbye to the Tall Ships, which left Dublin's docklands yesterday morning in great winds and sunshine. Footage taken by Sgmn Terry Healy, from an Air Corps helicopter shows the Mexican Ship, Cuauhtemoc,…

#squib – With more protests scheduled last night and a gale warning issued for the Irish Sea today there is some doubt about the final race of the Irish Squib championships in Dun Laoghaire this morning. The host club's Aidan…

#j24 – Lough Erne sailor JP McCaldin sailing Jamais Encore lifted the J24 title on Lough Ree last night by a three point margin. The Northern Ireland crew had a string of consistent results (full results downloadable below as jpeg…

#laser – The VonZipper Laser National Championships under International Race Officer Con Murphy concluded on Dublin Bay yesterday with two final races in a stiff SE'ly sea breeze. In the Standard (Full) rig class, Irish London Olympic Men's Single handed…

# ROWING: Thousands of spectators turned out to watch the All-Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships at Broadstrand, Courtmacsherry, Co Cork, over the weekend. Organisers estimated that from the Friday evening until tonight (Sunday), 15,000 had visited the venue. Cork clubs did…

#PORTS & SHIPPING REVIEW - Over the last fortnight Jehan Ashmore has reported from the Shipping scene where the Port of Cork Company posted an operating profit before exceptional costs of €1.3 million – down by €700,000 from 2010 –…

#PARADE OF SAIL UPDATE– A gun salute for today's Dublin Tall Ship Festival climax of the 'Parade of Sail' will now take place at Poolbeg in Dublin Port, rather then Dun Laoghaire Harbour as previously reported, however the tallships will…

#COASTGUARD - Campaigners opposed to the closure of the Clyde coastguard station in western Scotland will next Friday hold a red flare protest against the UK government's plans. STV News reports that a flotilla of boats will gather at the…

#BELFAST LOUGH NEWS - A new hub for wind turbine manufacturing at Belfast Harbour is expected to the completed by the end of this year, as the Belfast Telegraph reports. The 50-acre reclaimed site on the shores of Belfast Lough…

#squib – Vincent Delany and Fergal Gaynor sailing Femme Fatale are in charge after the first day's racing of the Irish National Squib championships on Dublin Bay. Scroll down for photos from Gareth Craig below. The Royal St. George YC…

#melges24 – Irish Melges 24 skipper Conor Clarke admits it has been a tough few days  for the sole Irish boat at the Melges 24 North Aemrican championships in San Francisco. A really difficult day on SF bay today in…

Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for 25 AUGUST 2012 BENETEAU 31.7 Echo- 1. Legally Blonde (C.Drohan/P.Egan), 2. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey), 3. Kernach (Eoin O'Driscoll) BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey), 2. Legally Blonde (C.Drohan/P.Egan), 3. Attitude (T Milner J Sugars M…

#portofcork – The Port of Cork Company has reported increased total traffic volumes of over 5% for the first six months of 2012. This is in strong contrast with recent figures released by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) which…

#GALWAY BAY - Organisers of the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Galway next weekend have given assurances that no competitors are at risk from E.coli contamination - despite concerns over elevated levels of the bacteria in Galway Bay. The Evening Herald…

#COASTGUARD - A new smartphone app from the Irish Coast Guard could save dozens of lives, as the Irish Independent reports. The new technology allows the coastguard to track vessels at sea, and automatically prompts a search and rescue effort…

#LIRICA CALLS AGAIN – Only on her second cruise call to Dublin Port, MSC Lirica (2003/59,058grt) as previously reported on Afloat.ie, docked this morning into the capital brimming with tallships, adding another attraction for cruise-goers, writes Jehan Ashmore. The $250m…

#melges24 – Ireland's only Melges 24 'Embarr' is campaigning in San Francisco bay racing for North American honours. Skipper Conor Clarke reports. Today was very hard work, hiking these boats is really tough and when it's blowing 25 knots there…

#laser – A highlight of the Laser class National championships at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire has to be Annalise Murphy's performance in her first event ever sailing the bigger standard rig as opposed to her usual Radial…

#lifeboat – Crosshaven RNLI lifeboat were called upon to assist two vessels within two days. The first call came on Wednesday afternoon (22 Aug) after a 16' motor boat suffered mechanical failure behind Haulbowline Island. The boat owner had deployed…

#IRISH TALLSHIPS – Of the 40-plus tallships participating in the Dublin Tallships Race Festival, only two vessels are Irish, and as previously reported on Afloat.ie, there have been calls to have a new cross-border national sail training flagship reinstated, writes…