Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
The Sun Fast 3600 Black Sheep took the overall win in RORC's 2024 Cervantes Trophy race
RORC Racing Manager Steve Cole reported glorious conditions for the Cervantes Trophy race start off the Squadron Line with 14 knots from the north west giving a fast downwind sail through the Western Solent. The 110-mile race to Le Havre…
Competitors arrive at a robotic mark in the INSS J80 fleet of keelboats at the inaugural Irish Sailing League hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay
Kinsale Yacht Club emerged as the winner of the inaugural Irish Sailing League 2024 after 20 races sailed off Dun Laoghaire on Sunday.  The light wind league was hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club and organised by Kenny Rumball and…
LE Orla (P41) and LE Ciara (P42) depart Cork Harbour on Sunday for disposal in an overseas scrap recycling facility
On Sunday afternoon, Cork Harbour was poignantly reminded of passing times as the now decommissioned LE Orla (P41) and LE Ciara (P42) were led out of their home port for the last time, heading overseas for disposal at a scrap…
24 Fireball dinghies compeed in Cork Harbour for Munster Title honours at Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
Ewen Barry and Sandy Rimmington of the host club are the 2024 Fireball Munster Champions after a six-race regatta held at Monkstown Bay Sailing Club (MBSC) in Cork Harbour. A bumper 24-boat fleet contested the light to medium wind championships that…
File image of the d’Amico bulk carrier Cielo di San Francisco
The European Communities (Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI No 110 of 2024) entered into force on 27 March 2024. Changes to the regulations for the safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers now apply…
Mother and calf pairs in a bottlenose dolphin nursery group in Glandore Harbour sighted on Wednesday 17 April
A rare sight was caught on camera this past week with the birth of a bottlenose dolphin in Glandore Harbour. Following reports on Monday (15 April) to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) of a large gathering near Mizen…
The black-hulled Garavogue (No 4) pictured right brings the number of restored Dublin Bay 21 keelboats moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour's new bandstand moorings to four. Naneen (blue), Geraldine (white) and Estelle (yellow) are also pictured
The three-restored Dublin Bay 21 vintage one-design wooden yacht fleet on their new moorings off the bandstand at Dun Laoghaire's East Pier since a fortnight ago now have a weekend addition. The trio were joined by the black-hulled beauty Garavogue…
Helvick Head RNLI inshore lifeboat
On Sunday afternoon (21 April), the RNLI Helvick Head was called to rescue three boaters who got into difficulty near Helvick Head, southwest of Dungarvan. The Irish Coast Guard requested the assistance of the volunteer crew who launched their inshore…
Class 1 of the Axiom Spring Series at Kinsale Yacht Club was dominated by James Dwyer's Half-Tonner Swuzzlebubble
What a difference a week makes in the Axiom Spring Series for mixed cruisers at Kinsale Yacht Club. From last week's dramas in winter-like conditions to the blue skies and sunburn this week, Race Officer John Corkery and his team…
Howth J109 Indian (Colm Buckley and Simon Knowles) on port tack clears Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the way to winning Sunday's 11-boat ISORA Viking Marine coastal race
Howth Yacht Club J109 Indian (Colm Buckley and Simon Knowles) was the winner of Sunday's 11-boat Viking Marine coastal race with ISORA JPK 1030 debutante Alan Hannon finishing second. A light wind start for the third ISORA Viking Marine Coastal…
Crosshaven House PY 1000 (from left to right), race organiser Alex Barry organiser, Sponsor Noel Corcoran of Crosshaven House, with Ewan O'Keefe, Colin Chapman, Sir Robin Knox Johnston, Dave Lane and Yvonne Durcan, Rear Admiral, Dinghies
On Saturday evening (April 20), the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) honoured British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who arrived into Cork Harbour during his Round Ireland cruise. Knox Johnston, who famously completed the first single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the world…
British fans are hopeful RB3 will give them the best chance of winning the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup in 173 years
The INEOS Britannia base opened its shutters just after 5 am on Saturday, revealing the latest AC75 to be unveiled for the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup. The boat, codenamed RB3 for the past two-and-a-half years, is a sight to…
The Celtic Interconnector is a planned subsea electricity cable route between the southeast coast of Ireland and the northern coast of France
The Department of Transport has been notified by JD-Contractor that they will be performing out-of-service cutting and route clearance works on behalf of Nexans for CIDAC as part of the Celtic Interconnector Project. The works will be located at various…
Dun Laoghaire ferry terminal has been largely unused since 2015
Questions have been raised about the status of Dun Laoghaire’s ferry terminal building which remains largely unused nearly a decade after the last passenger ferry to Holyhead. In The Irish Times on Saturday (20 April), Deirdre Falvey writes about local…
23 Fireball dinghies are competing in Cork Harbour for Munster Title honours at Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
The National Yacht Club's Nicola Ferguson and Thomas Chaix are leading a record fleet of 23 Fireball dinghies gathered in Cork Harbour for the  2024 Munster Championships this weekend. Monkstown Bay Sailing Club (MBSC) is hosting the championships after a…
The new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Corrib is adjacent to the existing Regency-era Salmon Weir Bridge
Galway’s new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle crossing is to be named “Hope Bridge”. The decision has been criticised by a campaign supported by several historians and writers to have it named after a forgotten Cumann na mBan leader Julia…
John O'Gorman's Sunfast 3600 Hot Cookie from the National Yacht Club will compete in Sunday's 24-mile ISORA Viking Marine coastal race off Dun Laoghaire where light winds are expected
Crews anticipate shortening Sunday's 24-mile course in ISORA's third Viking Marine coastal race due to a light wind forecast, keeping the duration to the promised four-hour time limit.  That will be in marked contrast to last Saturday's sail-busting weather that…
The spirit of Dublin Bay. Senior Skipper Tim Goodbody helming his very successful family-owned J/109 White Mischief
There’s something special about a large organisation which is so attuned to the needs of the many services it quietly provides that it can - naturally and confidently and without fuss - move into action each year in a distinctly…
File image of Lough Derg RNLI’s inshore lifeboat Jean Spicer
Lough Derg RNLI were requested to launch on Thursday afternoon (18 April) by Valentia Coast Guard to assist two people on a 36ft cruiser reported aground inside Navigation Mark H at Gortmore Point. The inshore lifeboat Jean Spier launched at…
File image of Kilmore Quay RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat
Kilmore Quay RNLI launched on Friday afternoon (19 April) to assist five people aboard an angling charter boat southeast of the Saltee Islands when rope had become entangled in the propeller. A number of the responding volunteer lifeboat crew left…

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
quantum sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Please show your support for Afloat by donating