Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#BusyBunkering – Short-sea coastal ‘bunker’ tanker, Mersey Spirit now in its 21st year, has in recent days kept busy serving several ships and has almost completed a full-circle itinerary by returning to her homeport of Liverpool today, writes Jehan Ashmore.…

#CityQuarter - In a deal worth up to €14m writes The Irish Examiner, is to be signed in the coming days on a remaining investment — including the Boardwalk bar and restaurant — at Cork city’s seminal City Quarter. It…

French sailor Armel Le Cleac'h has almost doubled his Vendee Globe lead on arch-rival Alex Thomson overnight after finding breeze to the west of the Cape Verde islands. After several days of painful progress through the Doldrums that allowed Thomson…

The IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran skippered by Francis Joyon crossed the longitude of Cape Horn, the last of the three major capes in the Jules Verne trophy at 0004 UTC on Thursday 12th January. After leaving Ushant on 16th December, Joyon…

Five Royal Irish yachts won free entry into July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta following a draw from 180 'Super Early Bird entries' this week. In total 18 boats won the free entry prizes ranging from dinghies to IRC cruisers.  Among…

The British Marine Trades Association presented their annual awards, showcasing the best of the UK marine industry, at a sell-out gala dinner on Tuesday 10th January 2017. The prestigious Lifetime Achievement award was given to Gary Sutcliffe of Lee Sanitation,…

With 47 sailors on the water in Tralee Bay in County Kerry in the first week of January, 2017 started on a very positive note for Junior sailing in Ireland. The 17 Optimist fleet included some of the most promising…

#Fishing - Fishing rights retained in the sale of Irish supertrawler Atlantic Dawn could continue to net many millions of euro for its former owners — much to the ire of smaller operators in Ireland’s fishing fleet, as The Irish…

#MarineWildlife - The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) reports the good news of the rescue of two live common dolphins that stranded on a Co Kerry beach at the weekend. IWDG volunteers found three dolphins at Tarbert on Sunday…

The Irish Mirror sailing season starts in less than two weeks with the first weekend of the Winter Training Programme. The winter training is held, as in previous years in Lough Ree YC, and is run over four weekend sessions between…

#Angling - A Mayo man has been convicted of obstructing a fisheries officer and failing to produce a salmon licence over an incident on the River Moy. At a sitting of Castlebar District Court on 3 January, Judge Mary Devins…

#Coastguard - Safety inspectors have found no issues with the Irish Coast Guard helicopter fleet after a recent incident abroad involving an aircraft of the same model. According to The Irish Times, the Irish fleet of Sikorsky S92s was grounded…

Without a lot of public attention Birdwatch Ireland, the conservation organisation which protects Ireland's birds and their habitats, is engaged in an extensive survey of seabirds. Ireland is a very important country for seabirds which are, in my view, marvellous…

This is the time of year when boat-owners can no longer push to the back of their minds the thought that some bits of equipment aren’t working quite as well as they should, while others maybe aren’t working at all…

Today, Dame Ellen MacArthur announced today at the London Boat Show, a very special project that will see 100 young people in recovery from cancer taking part in an extraordinary challenge - sailing around Britain in a national relay, celebrating…

#PortStudio - Chief executive of Dublin Port Company Eamonn O’Reilly has told Dublin City Council he “would have an open mind” on the development of a Hollywood-style film studio on the Poolbeg peninsula. As The Irish Times writes in recent weeks…

#MarineArtist – This month of January is dedicated to the master of seacapes Turner with an exhibition of prints at the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, writes Jehan Ashmore. The British painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 –…

ISORA's Peter Ryan anticipates a 50% increase in offshore sailors into next July's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta. The buoyant prediction is in step with an encouraging ' Super Early Bird' entry for the biennial event that closed on New Year's…

#Rowing: Here is the 2017 Calendar for Irish Rowers. The year ahead is a bumper one. In February, the Fisa Extraordinary Congress in Tokyo will be the focus of intense interest, as a decision will be made on the boats…

#Rescue - A Belfast Harbour policeman jumped into action on Sunday night (8 January) to rescue a young woman from the waters behind the city’s SSE Arena, as BelfastLive reports. Police constable and lifeboat volunteer Scott Harkins was part of…