Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine

Naval Service Offshore Patrol Vessels (P50's) to Be Tied Up as Crew Crisis Deepens
26th January 2023 Navy
A pair of Naval Service offshore patrol vessels (OPV) according to The Journal.ie are to be tied up in Haulbowline, Cork Harbour as there are not enough crew to operate the vessels. It has been confirmed by the Department of Defence…

Freight Ferry Had 'No Flames' During Incident Which Forced Stena Line Ship Return to Belfast Port
26th January 2023 Ferry
A freight ferry according to Stena Line said there was no fire on board its ship which was forced to make a return to Belfast Port on Tuesday evening. The incident led to fire crews attending the scene in the…

‘Sample Our Soup’ Returns to Shop Street to Raise Funds for Galway RNLI
26th January 2023 RNLI Lifeboats
Following a two-year break due to the pandemic, Galway RNLI’s Sample Our Soup fundraiser will return to the streets of Galway on Saturday 11 February. The fundraiser — which sees proceeds raised go towards powering the lifesaving work of the…

Tender Process Under Way to Appoint Consultants for Annacotty Fish Passage Project
26th January 2023 Angling
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has launched the tender process to appoint a consultant engineer to prepare an options report for fish passage improvement works at the Annacotty Weir on the lower Mulkear River outside Limerick. IFI is leading the Annacotty…

Local Insurer’s Support for Larne RNLI Helps Build Community Resilience
26th January 2023 RNLI Lifeboats
NFU Mutual agents and staff in East Antrim recently nominated Larne RNLI to receive a donation of more than £3,000 from its national £1.92m Agency Giving Fund. The leading rural insurer has launched this fund, now in its third year,…

RYA Northern Ireland Announces OnBoard Development Day in March
26th January 2023 RYA Northern Ireland
RYA Northern Ireland have launched an OnBoard Development Day which will be hosted by the South Lakes Leisure Centre in Craigavon on Saturday 11 March 2023. OnBoard, RYA’s grassroots programme, is relatively new in Northern Ireland. Its aim is to…

Howth Yacht Club and Royal Cork to Race Again at 2023 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup
26th January 2023 New York Invitational Cup
Two top Irish sailing teams, one from Dublin and one from Cork, will contest the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup this September off Rhode Island. Howth Yacht Club and Royal Cork Yacht Club are in the line-up of twenty…

After being buffeted by strong trade winds for the duration of the short stopover, the waters off Mindelo, Cabo Verde were relatively calm on Wednesday (25 January) for the start of Leg 2 of The Ocean Race 2022-23. The short…

Wind-Powered RoRo Vessel to Be World First Secures EU Funding of €9m
25th January 2023 Ports & Shipping
Norwegian ro-ro operator Wallenius Wilhelmsen and project partners have secured a Horizon Europe funding totalling EUR 9m to support building a RoRo sailing vessel. Over the next five years, all aspects of planning, building, and operating the wind-powered Orcelle Wind…

Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School in Dun Laoghaire Launch February Special Offers
25th January 2023 INSS
With the good weather finally starting to kick in, the team at the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School are launching a series of special offers for the month of February across adult powerboating and yachting courses. National Powerboat Certificate…
Promoted

Nautitech 44 Wins European Yacht of the Year 2023, Best Multihull
25th January 2023 J Boats & Grand Soleil
Key Yachting, Irish Agents for Nautitech Catamarans, are pleased to announce that the Nautitech 44 OPEN catamaran has won the European Yacht of the Year Award for 2023, awarded at the Dusseldorf Boat Show in the Multihull category. This was…

The Department of Defence will continue to provide funding to Sail Training Ireland for three more years from this year, 2023. This funding will provide sail training to young persons from disadvantaged backgrounds. This funding is subject to compliance with…

When the brief notice of the death of Brian Murphy at the age of 77 was posted on the Howth YC Facebook page recently, the response from members said everything about a remarkable - indeed a unique - sailing enthusiast…

Heritage Foyle Punt to be Built by Northern Ireland Student in Basque Boatyard
25th January 2023 Historic Boats
The Portaferry and Strangford Trust (PAST) is a charity, based in Portaferry at the mouth of Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland, which aims to promote an awareness of the rich maritime heritage and natural environment of the Lough and the…

Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI Lifeboat Carry Out Medical Evacuation in Dublin Bay
25th January 2023 RNLI Lifeboats
Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI lifeboat performed a medical evacuation in Dublin Bay last night after a man took ill onboard a ship. The all-weather lifeboat was requested to launch at 8.50 pm by the Irish Coast Guard. The lifeboat launched…

The National Inshore Fishermen’s Association (NIFA) has warmly welcomed its recognition as an EU seafood producer organisation (PO). The sanction by Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue was hailed by NIFA chair Michael Desmond. Desmond said it came after a “long battle”…

The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has initiated an inquiry into a recent incident on the river Corrib where up to ten people were rescued after their rowing craft were swept towards the Galway city salmon weir. The incident was…

Shifting Gears: Leg 2 of The Ocean Race Presents Challenges to IMOCA Sailors
24th January 2023 Ocean Race
After a week of solid trade wind action in Cabo Verde, the forecast for the start of Leg 2 of The Ocean Race 2022-23 on Wednesday 25 January is much more benign: light northeasterly winds of five to eight knots.…

Marine Minister Announces Public Consultation on Herring Stock Management in Northwest
24th January 2023 Fishing
Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue is launching a consultation process on a review of the 2012 Herring Management Policy. It will focus on the quantity of herring set aside from the southern North-West herring stock (Herring 6A South) for smaller/inshore fishing…

LCF Marine have planned to deploy two data buoys in Tralee Bay this week as part of dredge monitoring for Fenit Harbour. The buoys were scheduled to be deployed on Monday 23 January subject to weather and operational constraints. If…