Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

You will have seen Afloat’s photos (posted this morning) of various training “clinics” emerging into sunshine yesterday in and off Dun Laoghaire harbour as people tried to get in some regulation-compliant sailing after the "ghost season” which seems to have…

Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, and Minister of State, Hildegarde Naughton TD, have today announced details of the Brexit-related Traffic Management Plan for Dublin Port and Dublin City. These contingency plans will be in place from 1st January, 2021,…

A man whose life was saved by the RNLI off the Waterford coast earlier this year, has urged people to support the RNLI’s Christmas appeal. Michael Power from Tramore had been sea swimming when he got into serious difficulty. Pulled…

Heavy lift operations are planned at Cork Dockyard in Cork Harbour today loading project cargo (Afloat understands to be Liebherr gantry cranes) onto the vessel ‘UHL Future’. Operations will occur at multiple times per day, for periods of up to…

One of Ireland's largest shipping and warehouse companies, Doyle Shipping Group (DSG) is to hire more than 250 staff as the Brexit transition period end nears. The company according to Independent.ie, has offices and warehouses in many major Irish ports,…

Coosan Point on Lough Ree is home to one of Ireland’s busiest lifeboat crews. But they operate from temporary facilities and the RNLI say they urgently need a permanent, new base to continue their lifesaving missions. The Institute is seeking…

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D. today welcomed a provisional agreement concluded between the European Council and European Parliament on the text of the new European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) which will disperse…

There was plenty of sailing at Dun Laoghaire Harbour today as Laser, RS Aeros, Toppers and Optimist dinghy fleets enjoyed some great breezes even if a sea-fog reduced visibility for a time even within the harbour confines.  Up to 30…

One of the outstanding performances of this Vendee Globe so far has been by Louis Burton on Bureau Vallee II who, despite recent auto-pilot problems, is continuing to hold his own in the top-three on the boat that won the…

Peter Ryan, who was first elected to chair ISORA in 2007, will lead the Irish Sea offshore sailing body into the 2021 season following his reelection as chairman at November's virtual ISORA AGM hosted by Pwhelli Sailing Club. Ryan, of the…

After being rescued from his liferaft six days ago by fellow Vendee Globe competitor Jean Le Cam, PRB skipper Kevin Escoffier was plucked from the Indian Ocean by the French Marine National after jumping clear of his rescuer’s IMOCA 60…

Waterways Ireland advises users of the Royal Canal in Dublin that there will be no boat passages possible on the inland waterway at the 12th Lock in Castleknock from Monday 7 December until the end of January due to works…

The developer of a wind farm where a recent bogslide led to a major pollution incident in an important salmon river system has been carrying out emergency works to reduce the risks of further peat slippage. These nearly completed works…

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s annual conference is moving online — and broadcasting live from West Clare next Saturday 12 December. Whale Tales is the annual meeting of the IWDG, where members and people interested in whales, dolphins and…

Ireland has a “vested interest” in joining fellow EU nations and shoring up support to combat the transatlantic drug trade in West Africa. That’s the message from the head of the EU’s anti-smuggling agency MAOC, who has been outspoken about…

At around 0210hrs UTC at a location in the South Indian Ocean some 360 miles north of the remote Crozet archipelago, Kevin Escoffier (PRB) was successfully transferred from Jean Le Cam's IMOCA to the Nivôse, a French Navy frigate. Escoffier…

Small fathead mainsails, where the roach of the sail is increased due to a considerably wider head of the sail, are starting to pop-up on the racecourse and they are proving to be a winner. Getting extra sail area on…

As efforts continue to agree a final Brexit deal, two Wexford fishermen have outlined on RTÉ Radio Countrywide how devastating loss of access to British waters will be. British prime minister Boris Johnson met European Commission president Ursula von der…

Seabed survey operations in the Kinsale, Greensands, Ballycotton and Seven Heads gas fields off West Cork are set to commence from tomorrow, Sunday 6 December. PSE Kinsale Energy will undertake the decommissioning works on and around the relevant subsea infrastructure…

Plans to restore Dun Laoghaire Harbour’s Coastguard Cottages for social housing are among the local authority’s list of goals and achievements throughout what’s been a tumultuous 2020. Most recently restored in 2014 and occupied by the combined Dun Laoghaire Waterfront…