Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#MARINE WILDLIFE - RTÉ News reports that a Fine Gael councillor for Co Galway has called for a seal cull along the West coast. Cllr Seosamh Ó Laoi told RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta that the increase in the seal population…

#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - Telefónica have taken the lead in the IWC Schaffhausen Speed Record Challenge and set a new speed record on the penultimate leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. Their distance of 557 nautical miles in a 24-hour…

#WINDSURFING - Ireland's top windsurfers had a big day in Castlegregory recently at the second event in the Irish Slalom Series. With a steady 20-25 knots of wind complemented by flat water, conditions were perfect on Saturday 2 June for…

#ANGLING - Premium wild Irish salmon will soon be available at fish counters around the country - but only thanks to strict conservation measures, says Inland Fisheries Ireland. The fisheries body announced a quota of less than 17,000 wild salmon that…

#SURFING - Benone Beach in Limavady hosted Northern Ireland's first ever disabled surfing festival last weekend, as the Londonderry Sentinel reports. More than 30 people with disabilities aged from 8 to 25 came together for the Long Line Disabled Surf…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - The video above shows the moment when an angling boat was surrounded by a pod of killer whales at the mouth of Lough Swilly in Co Donegal. Sea angler Kevin Doherty, whose boat was treated to the…

#RESCUE - The Evening Echo reports on the 'miracle rescue' of a man who fell from his boat in Cork Harbour after he was spotted by telescope. The incident happened on Saturday, when the 37-year-old man from Carrigaline went overboard…

#FISHING - 'Fish fight' campaigners have cautiously welcomed the EU Council's agreement to end the practice of fish discards, following marathon talks in Brussels. BBC News reports on what Europe's fisheries ministers are calling a "breakthrough" deal, but one that…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Fishermen have condemned the appalling killing of two baby seals whose heads were nailed to signs outside a wildlife sanctuary in Dingle last week. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, staff at the Dingle Wildlife and Seal Sanctuary…

#TALL SHIPS - Celtic Mist - the yacht once owned by the late former Taoiseach Charles Haughey - will soon take to the waves in its new guise as a research vessel as its refit nears completion, today's Sunday Independent…

#TOURISM - BBC News reports that Ballycastle's only major hotel has found a potential buyer 18 months after closing its doors. The reopening of the Marine Hotel - the sale of which has recently been agreed - could be a…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Conor McGuire and friends were taken by surprise when they came across a stranded minke whale in Clew Bay, Co Mayo - but thankfully this whale of a tale had a happy outcome. As the Irish Whale…

#NEWS UPDATE - A Northern Irish sailing charity has been fined by a court for failing to keep proper records, following an investigation into a sinking incident two years ago. BBC News reports that the activities of the Ocean Youth…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has called for the extension of Ireland's pioneering whale and dolphin sanctuary throughout European coastal waters. As the Clare Herald reports, the move comes on the 21st anniversary of the…

#MARINA NEWS - A new €124 million marina development in Holyhead has been given the go-ahead by Anglesey councillors, as the North Wales Chronicle reports. The residential and retail development by Conygar Stenaline will include a 500-berth marina, restaurants, a…

#BLUE FLAGS - Dollymount Strand has regained its Blue Flag status in this year's round of awards, which sees the largest ever number of Irish beaches and marinas recognised. The beach on north Dublin's Bull Island - which recently hosted…

#MCIB REPORT - The inquiry into the drowning of three men on a fishing trip off West Cork in August 2010 has concluded that their deaths could have been avoided had they been wearing lifejackets. Wolfgang 'Mike' Schmidt (70), Richard…

#KAYAKING - Cobh native Mike Jones has embarked on a challenging solo circumnavigation of Ireland by kayak to raise funds for a children's hospice. The adventurer departed on Monday 4 June in an 18-foot sea kayak, aiming to paddle up…

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Staff at the Dingle Wildlife and Seal Sanctuary were subject this morning to the gruesome sight of two baby seal heads nailed to signs outside the facility. According to the Irish Independent, the grisly scene was accompanied…

#EARTHQUAKE - The North West region experienced its biggest ever earthquake this week in an event that poses “very interesting questions for geologists”. The magnitude 4 quake on the morning of Wednesday 6 June, which was epicentred close to the…