Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#FerriesInArt – A beautiful art work depicting the current pair of Rathlin Island serving ferries will be a lovely keepsake for the operator as one of the vessels is soon to be replaced by a newbuild, writes Jehan Ashmore. The…

#EPIRB - Marine Notice No 9 of 2017 contains a product advisory for two EPIRB products manufactured by McMurdo. Under certain circumstances, signs of cracking may appear in the top dome cases of all versions of the McMurdo SmartFind EPIRB…

#SeaFoodFest - Linking in the St Patrick's Weekend is the Dublin Bay Prawn Festival (17-19 March) which offers three days filled to the brim with fun, food and delights to suit all. The festival located in the apt setting of…

#OnTV - A documentary on the wildlife of Ireland’s West Coast that’s wowed TV viewers during Seachtain na Gaeilge is now available to watch online. As Independent.ie reports, the two-part Éire Fhiáin has been compared to Blue Planet for its…

Class Two is certainly heating up and expanding this year writes Dave Cullen, Skipper of championship winning half–tonner Checkmate XV. The quality of the fleet must make it one of the most competitive with boats ranging from €15k to €150k…

Ireland will be the base for the Nigel Biggs Checkmate XVIII Half Ton campagin this season with a programme that includes the ICRA Nationals, Sovereigns Cup, Dun Laoghaire Regatta and the Half Ton Cup in Kinsale. In a previous Irish…

#Westminster - A British Royal Naval Type 23 frigate that docked in Dublin Port is half-way through a three-day courtesy call to the capital, writes Jehan Ashmore. The Duke class HMS Westminster (F237) has returned to recent active service following…

#JeanieDelayed - Once again delays to relocate tallship Jeanie Johnston to her normal home-berth closer to Dublin’s city-centre on the Liffey’s northside continue to beset the popular visitor tourist attraction, writes Jehan Ashmore. As previously reported on Afloat, the delays…

#ShippingReview - Jehan Ashmore reviews the shipping scene from among the following stories of the past fortnight. Scenic Kinsale with its marina and fishing fleet based in the west Cork harbour is widely renowned for its culinary status, however what…

On the other hand, ICRA could equally mean 'Ireland’s Cool Runnings Assembly'. In the week in which the Travelling Community was granted Ethnic Minority Status, W M Nixon finds himself among two groups which might be equally deserving of such…

Kinsale Yacht Club has announced O’Leary Life & Pensions as headline sponsors of its 2017 Sovereign’s Cup regatta. June's biennial event has a good number of spinnaker and white sail cruisers entered as well as 1720 sportsboats, a class that is holding its European…

#Coastguard - Tributes are being paid to Irish Coast Guard and Irish Air Corps helicopter winchman Daithí Ó’Cearbhalláin, who has died after a short illness, as the Clare Herald reports. With the coastguard at Shannon since 2002, Dublin native Ó’Cearbhalláin…

#WalesBrexit - The ability of Welsh ports to deliver prosperity for all in a post Brexit UK was highlighted this week to Welsh Government Assembly Members, councillors and key business leaders at a reception held in the Senedd, Cardiff. Assembly…

#ReadyDutyShip – Afloat has an update to the Belgium Navy ship which docked in Dublin Port earlier this week having carried out a commemorative service on Monday. This was to mark the 30th anniversary of a UK-Zeebrugge serving ferry that…

#SUP - South African adventurer Chris Bertish has become the first man to cross the Atlantic by stand-up paddleboard, as the Guardian reports. The big wave surfer took 93 days to traverse the ocean from Agadir in Morocco to Antigua,…

#CoastalNotes - Achill Island has been blemished by ‘tar balls’ that washed up on its Blue-Flagged Keel Beach during the week, as The Irish Times reports. Appearing as black stones from a distance, the blobs of crude oil are soft…

Now hear this, all you folk who would like to make the best of the boat-building, modifying and repair potential of the famous WEST system. A workshop is being held tomorrow in Dublin by Gary Thompson from West System International’s…

#ExportBrexit - Two thirds of Irish exporters go through Britain a survey suggests writes The Independent to get their produce to customers on mainland Europe and further afield. And 40pc said that using a longer, yet more direct, route would…

Topics for discussion at next week's SCORA AGM and Presentation of overall prizes is a proposal for better collaboration between the local South Coast Clubs, which may help address the twin problems of falling fleet numbers and the poor number of youth dinghy sailors…

Josh Porter, Newtownards Sailing Club GP14 Fleet Captain, is the first recipient of a Richard Estaugh Bursary. The 'Richard Estaugh Fund' was established from the sale of GP14 14000 which was donated by the late Richard Estaugh. Richard was not…