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Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

A Harbour Seal photographed at Dun Laoghaire Marina on Dublin Bay, Ireland. Also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinnipeds, they are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Baltic and North seas. Photo: AfloatA photograph of a Harbour Seal taken at Dun Laoghaire Marina on Dublin Bay, Ireland. Also known as the common seal, this species can be found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They are the most widely distributed species of pinnipeds and can be found in the coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as the Baltic and North Seas. Photo: Afloat

Marine Environment, Science, wildlife, weather & Ocean energy
A view shoreward of current (August 2024) building works on the Poolbeg Peninsula on Dublin Bay
Ireland is going to have to relocate development and infrastructure away from parts of the coastline due to climate change and sea level rise, a leading academic has said. As The Sunday Independent reports, Trinity College Dublin’s (TCD) first chair…
The revived Féile na mBád Arainn planned for Inis Mór on Saturday, August 24th, has had to be rescheduled due to the forecast for this weekend
Weather has forced postponement of two key events in the west this weekend. The revived Féile na mBád Arainn planned for Inis Mór on Saturday, August 24th, has had to be rescheduled due to the forecast for this weekend. A…
Cooling down at the Omey Races at Claddaghduff
The fickle August weather has allowed a window for the return of Connemara’s coastal races off Omey island this weekend. The meet with nine races will take place from 1pm this Saturday, August 24th, on the strand separating Omey from…
Féile na mBád Árainn organiser Alanagh Ní Ghríofa (right) with her grandmother Maggie Conneely on Inis Mór.
The Aran island of Inis Mór plans to revive an annual Galway Hooker regatta which had not been held there for a number of years. Weather permitting, Féile na mBád, Árainn takes place this Saturday, August 24th, with races starting…
File image of Clifden RNLI’s inshore lifeboat alongside the all-weather lifeboat
Clifden RNLI launched on Tuesday evening (20 August) to rescue two people and their pet dog from Omey Island after they were cut off by the tide. The volunteer lifeboat crew were tasked at 8.30pm and launched their Atlantic 85…
Due to the super moon, unusually high tides are expected along with strong onshore wind, with wave overtopping and potential flooding, Met Éireann has said
Met Éireann’s yellow wind warning has prompted local authorities to take measures relating to a combination of high tides and high winds. Due to the super moon, unusually high tides are expected along with strong onshore wind, with wave overtopping…
Seen in Galway City - Ernesto
It's neither right nor proper that the lively post-hurricane climatic unpleasantness currently threatening Galway is called Storm Ernesto. Maybe it should be called Storm Englebert. Or anything else, but not Ernesto. For if you happen to go through the university…
The national corncrake population is up by 15 birds, up 7% on 2023 figures
The corncrake found along the Atlantic seaboard is at its highest level in 25 years, Minister of State for Nature Malcolm Noonan has confirmed. The Corncrake LIFE project has recorded 233 corncrake “territories”, which is up 45 per cent since…
Environmental scientist Prof Karen Wiltshire is a Trinity alumna who returns to the university from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany
An expert in coastal research has been appointed Trinity College Dublin’s (TCD) first chair of climate science. Environmental scientist Prof Karen Wiltshire is a Trinity alumna who returns to the university from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) for Polar and…
Gola Island off County Donegal - Comdháil Oileáin na hÉireann celebrates 40 years of representing Ireland’s offshore islands
Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, the Irish Islands Federation, is marking its 40th anniversary next month on Inis Oírr. The federation plans to hold its annual general meeting on the southernmost Aran island on September 19th. It will also celebrate 40…
Mike Lynch
A technology tycoon of Irish descent is among six people missing after a superyacht sank in extreme weather off Sicily early on Monday morning (19 August). According to RTÉ News, the 56-metre luxury yacht Bayesian capsized during a sudden storm…
University College Cork’s science education programme “Ireland’s Fossil Heritage” is offering prizes worth up to 400 euro for winning images.
Coastal walkers are invited to photograph fossils they come across as part of a national photography contest. University College Cork’s science education programme “Ireland’s Fossil Heritage” is offering prizes worth up to 400 euro for winning images. The contest is…
Dr Jatin Nagpal, a lecturer at UCC’s School of Pharmacy and Department of Pharmacology, has secured Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funding for his project into gut-brain communication
A University College, Cork (UCC) scientist is working with zebrafish on research into gut-brain communication. As The Sunday Independent reports, Dr Jatin Nagpal, a lecturer at UCC’s School of Pharmacy and Department of Pharmacology, has secured Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)…
The new lifeboat station at Arranmore RNLI
Arranmore RNLI has been having a busy time responding to emergency call-outs, organising the official opening of the new boathouse, saying goodbye to the coxswain after 51 years of service welcoming a new coxswain and five new crew members. From…
The Cape Clear Island International Story Telling Festival in West Cork will celebrate its 30th year with a line-up of international storytellers, music and workshops from August 30 to September. It is a major event on the southernmost offshore island of…
Vincent Doumeizel, author of The Seaweed Revolution, has managed to negotiate agreement among 30 of the world’s leading marine scientists to sign their names to a plankton manifesto
What do the Cliffs of Dover, the pyramids of Giza and oil have in common? The answer is plankton, which is the “basis of life on the planet – it all started there”, in the words of Vincent Doumeizel, senior…

For all you need on the Marine Environment - covering the latest news and updates on marine science and wildlife, weather and climate, power from the sea and Ireland's coastal regions and communities - the place to be is Afloat.ie.

Coastal Notes

The Coastal Notes category covers a broad range of stories, events and developments that have an impact on Ireland's coastal regions and communities, whose lives and livelihoods are directly linked with the sea and Ireland's coastal waters.

Topics covered in Coastal Notes can be as varied as the rare finding of sea-life creatures, an historic shipwreck with secrets to tell, or even a trawler's net caught hauling much more than just fish.

Other angles focusing the attention of Coastal Notes are Ireland's maritime museums, which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of our nautical heritage, and those who harvest the sea using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety pose an issue, plying their trade along the rugged wild western seaboard.

Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied as the environment they come from, and which shape people's interaction with the natural world and our relationship with the sea.

Marine Wildlife

One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with Marine Wildlife. It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. And as boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify, even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat. Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse, it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to our location in the North Atlantic, there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe. From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals, the Marine Wildlife category documents the most interesting accounts around our shores. And we're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and video clips, too!

Also valuable is the unique perspective of all those who go afloat, from coastal sailing to sea angling to inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing, as what they encounter can be of great importance to organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG). Thanks to their work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. But as impressive as the list is, the experts believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves, keep a sharp look out!

Weather

As an island in the North Atlantic, Ireland's fate is decided by Weather more so than many other European countries. When storm-force winds race across the Irish Sea, ferry and shipping services are cut off, disrupting our economy. When swollen waves crash on our shores, communities are flooded and fishermen brace for impact - both to their vessels and to their livelihoods.

Keeping abreast of the weather, therefore, is as important to leisure cruisers and fishing crews alike - for whom a small craft warning can mean the difference between life and death - as it is to the communities lining the coast, where timely weather alerts can help protect homes and lives.

Weather affects us all, and Afloat.ie will keep you informed on the hows and the whys.

Marine Science

Perhaps it's the work of the Irish research vessels RV Celtic Explorer and RV Celtic Voyager out in the Atlantic Ocean that best highlights the essential nature of Marine Science for the future growth of Ireland's emerging 'blue economy'.

From marine research to development and sustainable management, Ireland is developing a strong and well-deserved reputation as an emerging centre of excellence. Whether it's Wavebob ocean energy technology to aquaculture to weather buoys and oil exploration, the Marine Science category documents the work of Irish marine scientists and researchers and how they have secured prominent roles in many European and international marine science bodies.

Power From The Sea

The message from the experts is clear: offshore wind and wave energy is the future. And as Ireland looks towards the potential of the renewable energy sector, generating Power From The Sea will become a greater priority in the State's 'blue growth' strategy.

Developments and activities in existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector, and those of the energy exploration industry, point to the future of energy requirements for the whole world, not just in Ireland. And that's not to mention the supplementary industries that sea power projects can support in coastal communities.

Irish ports are already in a good position to capitalise on investments in offshore renewable energy services. And Power From The Sea can even be good for marine wildlife if done properly.

Aside from the green sector, our coastal waters also hold a wealth of oil and gas resources that numerous prospectors are hoping to exploit, even if people in coastal and island areas are as yet unsure of the potential benefits or pitfalls for their communities.

Changing Ocean Climate

Our ocean and climate are inextricably linked - the ocean plays a crucial role in the global climate system in a number of ways. These include absorbing excess heat from the atmosphere and absorbing 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere by human activity. But our marine ecosystems are coming under increasing pressure due to climate change.

The Marine Institute, with its national and international partners, works to observe and understand how our ocean is changing and analyses, models and projects the impacts of our changing oceans. Advice and forecasting projections of our changing oceans and climate are essential to create effective policies and management decisions to safeguard our ocean.

Dr Paul Connolly, CEO of the Marine Institute, said, “Our ocean is fundamental to life on earth and affects so many facets of our everyday activities. One of the greatest challenges we face as a society is that of our changing climate. The strong international collaborations that the Marine Institute has built up over decades facilitates a shared focusing on our changing ocean climate and developing new and enhanced ways of monitoring it and tracking changes over time.

“Our knowledge and services help us to observe these patterns of change and identify the steps to safeguard our marine ecosystems for future generations.”

The Marine Institute’s annual ocean climate research survey, which has been running since 2004, facilitates long term monitoring of the deep water environment to the west of Ireland. This repeat survey, which takes place on board RV Celtic Explorer, enables scientists to establish baseline oceanic conditions in Irish waters that can be used as a benchmark for future changes.

Scientists collect data on temperature, salinity, water currents, oxygen and carbon dioxide in the Atlantic Ocean. This high quality oceanographic data contributes to the Atlantic Ocean Observing System. Physical oceanographic data from the survey is submitted to the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and, in addition, the survey contributes to national research such as the VOCAB ocean acidification and biogeochemistry project, the ‘Clean Atlantic’ project on marine litter and the A4 marine climate change project.

Dr Caroline Cusack, who co-ordinates scientific activities on board the RV Celtic Explorer for the annual survey, said, “The generation of long-term series to monitor ocean climate is vital to allow us understand the likely impact of future changes in ocean climate on ecosystems and other marine resources.”

Other activities during the survey in 2019 included the deployment of oceanographic gliders, two Argo floats (Ireland’s contribution to EuroArgo) and four surface drifters (Interreg Atlantic Area Clean Atlantic project). The new Argo floats have the capacity to measure dissolved ocean and biogeochemical parameters from the ocean surface down to a depth of 2,000 metres continuously for up to four years, providing important information as to the health of our oceans.

During the 2019 survey, the RV Celtic Explorer retrieved a string of oceanographic sensors from the deep ocean at an adjacent subsurface moored station and deployed a replacement M6 weather buoy, as part of the Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network (IMDBON).

Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the IMDBON is managed by the Marine Institute in collaboration with Met Éireann and is designed to improve weather forecasts and safety at sea around Ireland. The data buoys have instruments which collect weather and ocean data including wind speed and direction, pressure, air and sea surface temperature and wave statistics. This data provides vital information for weather forecasts, shipping bulletins, gale and swell warnings as well as data for general public information and research.

“It is only in the last 20 years, meteorologists and climatologists have really began to understood the pivotal role the ocean plays in determining our climate and weather,” said Evelyn Cusack, Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann. “The real-time information provided by the Irish data buoy network is particularly important for our mariners and rescue services. The M6 data buoy in the Atlantic provides vital information on swell waves generated by Atlantic storms. Even though the weather and winds may be calm around our shores, there could be some very high swells coming in from Atlantic storms.”