Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Shipping giant DFDS which this date next month launches a new direct Ireland-mainland Europe ro-ro freight ferry route to bypass Brexit congestion, continued a decades old tradition in transporting from Norway a Christmas Tree to the UK, writes Jehan Ashmore…

CH Marine—one of Ireland's leading marine equipment supply companies—is seeking applications for full-and part-time sales personnel to join our sales team. We have vacancies in our technical sailing & general marine equipment sales departments. Preferred applicants will have the following…

European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) has welcomed the European Parliament’s own-initiative report on the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) guidelines by rapporteur Jens Gieseke (German, EPP), which was adopted yesterday, 1st December. “I would like to congratulate the…

Although the much-anticipated Galway 2020 Festival was one of the many aspects of 2020 which has been severely curtailed by the pandemic, the spirit of the great western city and its maritime traditions lives vibrantly on. A recent ceremony in…

Waterways Ireland advises the following reopening of facilities will occur on Thursday 03 December 2020. Navigational Use Shannon Navigation - Locks and Bridges will be open on Winter Hours. Times are available on the Waterways Ireland website. There continues to…

Last night Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI lifeboat station’s inshore lifeboat was requested to launch by the Irish Coast Guard to respond to reports of two missing divers near Bullock Harbour The volunteer crew of three launched swiftly into the darkness…

Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) is the first ferry firm in the UK to receive a top industry verification for its infection risk management processes. The operator of Scotland's lifeline services to west coast islands has been found compliant to a high…

National Yacht Club members were on award-winning boats in the Dublin Bay Sailing Club's list of prizewinners for the cut-short 2020 summer season. In Cruisers One IRC racing, Paul Barrington's J109 Jalapeno was the Saturday race champion while John O’Gorman's Sunfast…

I am delighted to share the latest report from Shane Hughes and our North Sails service team here in Ireland. 2020 gave us the opportunity to start a new operation in Newcastle, Co Wicklow close to the biggest sailing centres…

The Notice of Race (NOR) for next July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta has been published this morning. The NOR is downloadable below as a PDF document. As regular Afloat readers will know, what is Ireland's largest regatta will now be…

After being rescued from his liferaft by fellow Vendée Globe competitor Jean Le Cam in big seas and strong winds the early hours of this morning some 840 nautical miles South West of Cape Town, South Africa, Kevin Escoffier has…

The Beacon at Baltimore can be a miserable place. It's nice to see on a good Summer's day sailing by and bound for the harbour entrance, but it's different in nasty weather. That's what I had remembered this past week…

Afloat.ie reader Lee Maginnis has sent us images of the old minesweeper HMS Enterprise looking worse for wear in Kilkeel Harbour. The former Royal Navy minesweeper was previously anchored in Carlingford Lough, and made the news nine years ago when…

Skerries RNLI’s volunteer crew were tasked on Saturday afternoon (28 November) after a call to emergency services reported concerns over a group of sea swimmers off Donabate. The Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Louis Simson was launched shortly before 3pm to…

The election of Marcus Spillane – originally of Cork – to a Vice Presidency of World Sailing in November is the latest step in an extraordinary involvement in sailing which has seen him compete in many world championships – most…

Anyone who writes the history at the Centenary of one of his long-affiliated sailing clubs in 1984, and then writes the history of his other club at its 150th (Sesquicentennial) some 36 years later in 2020, is clearly someone profoundly…

Swedish ferry company Stena Line has officially taken ownership of its newest ferry, Stena Embla, following a handover ceremony in Weihai, China. The vessel is the third of five new next-generation E-Flexer RoPax vessels that are being constructed at the…

IRC specialist and Olympic helmsman Mark Mansfield analyses the rating rule changes agreed for next season. Following the IRC Congress earlier this month, chaired by Ireland's Michael Boyd, changes were agreed for the 2021 season. The two main areas of change deal…

Maritime artist and round the world sailor, Pete Hogan is inviting you to a virtual Open Studio tonight in Dublin by Zoom at 8 pm.  Hogan's popular sailing paintings include all manner of craft including works entitled 'Red Sails' that…

Manxman is the name chosen for the new Isle of Man Steam Packet Company ferry following an online public consultation. The announcement follows months of deliberation by the Manx ferry company, which in October announced a shortlist of four potential…