Sunday, 1 November 2026 | The week to Saturday, 31 October — There are Sundays when Irish sailing seems to be shutting down for the winter. This is not one of them. As the Route du Rhum prepares to send solo sailors across the Atlantic, Dublin Bay and Cork Harbour are gearing up for a busy winter afloat. Meanwhile, a sobering forecast for the fishing fleet, new Coast Guard rescue craft and significant developments in harbour planning remind us that the maritime week extends far beyond the racecourse.
There is a particular contrast in the week's stories. At Saint-Malo, the biggest and fastest ocean racers are preparing to depart. At home, club sailors are dusting off winter gear and wondering what November will bring. And from Killybegs to Howth, the questions are less about finishing lines than about the future of the infrastructure and industries on which coastal communities depend.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
From Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe: an Atlantic Sunday
Much of the international sailing world's attention is fixed on the historic port of Saint-Malo, where the 13th Route du Rhum is scheduled to begin at 13.02 French time on Sunday. For Irish readers, the most compelling connection is Greystones sailor Pamela Lee, taking on the 3,542-nautical-mile solo crossing aboard her Class40 EmpowHer. WM Nixon's latest Sailing on Saturday contribution went well beyond the start line, exploring the city's corsair history, extraordinary tides and connections with St Brendan the Navigator.
It is a race with several very different stories unfolding at once. Eight giant Ultim trimarans are due to start, among them Charles Caudrelier's radical new Gitana 18, making its competitive debut. Caudrelier won the previous race aboard an older, thoroughly proven boat; this time the speed potential is considerable but so is the uncertainty. Armel Le Cléac'h has raised the prospect of a very fast crossing, while Boris Herrmann's first solo race aboard Malizia 4 carries an intriguing weather angle: IMOCA routing could bring some competitors towards waters south of Ireland. That is a forecast possibility, not an established course.
One of the pleasures of this race is its range. The leading Ultims may finish in days; the Class40 contest is a different examination of endurance and seamanship. Lee's crossing deserves to be followed on its own terms rather than being lost in the spectacle of the giant trimarans. Afloat's dedicated Route du Rhum coverage will provide the continuing thread.
Winter fleets refuse to go quietly
Closer to home, Dublin Bay Sailing Club's Turkey Shoot is set for its first gun at 10.10am on Sunday. By the latest report, 65 boats had entered, with organiser Fintan Cairns hoping for a late increase. The entry list mixes familiar J/109s and sportsboats with newer arrivals, including Ulric Kenny's Sun Fast 3300 Razor Bill, John Malone's JPK 10.30 Le Béannaire and Justin Burke's Request. The seven-race series continues to 13 December, with the Royal Irish Yacht Club providing the shoreside base.
The dinghy sailors are not being left behind. The Dún Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club reports an 81-boat entry for its Viking Marine Frostbites, up sharply from 55 earlier in the week. The ILCA 6 fleet alone accounts for 39 entries, with Fireballs and RS Aeros also well represented. That is an encouraging sign of winter activity in the harbour, although weather and actual starts still have to be checked on Sunday morning.
At Crosshaven, the Royal Cork Yacht Club is also turning the page. The club's Winter League restores spinnaker divisions alongside whitesail racing from 1 November, after a period when the winter format was whitesail-only. That follows a storm-disrupted conclusion to the Autumn League: Storm Boelo cancelled the final day's racing, but not the prizegiving. Finbarr and Colm O'Regan's Kinsale J/109 Artful Dodger collected both IRC and ECHO Spinnaker 1 honours. For those contemplating a winter campaign, the message from both harbours is that the season is far from over.
Title Defence – Cillian Dickson’s Irish J/24 world champions Headcase, pictured racing at Plymouth in 2025, are now in Melbourne preparing to defend their title. Photo: Paul Gibbins Photography
Irish champions head for an Australian defence
There is a second international Irish story worth watching closely. Headcase has reached Melbourne and is training on Port Phillip ahead of the J/24 World Championship beginning on 7 November. Cillian Dickson's crew made history in Plymouth last year and were subsequently named Afloat.ie/Irish Sailing Sailors of the Year. The Australian challenge is not simply a repeat performance: the venue's changeable spring conditions and the arrival of the other 2025 podium finishers promise a demanding title defence.
Meanwhile, the world of one-design racing has been making connections across the professional circuit. America's Cup tactician Francesco Bruni helped Torpyone win the opening race of the RS21 Worlds in Cannes, just after his move to Tudor Team Alinghi. The 2027 IRC Rule also arrived this week, with clarifications covering flying headsails, storm sails and other technical provisions rather than a wholesale reshaping of handicaps.
Fishing's figures tell a harder story
For the Irish fishing industry, the week's most consequential headline was economic rather than political. Bord Iascaigh Mhara forecasts a net loss of €65.8 million for the catching fleet in 2026, reflecting lower quotas, weaker landings and higher operating costs. The projection is a modelled outlook, not a final set of accounts, but its scale is sobering. BIM anticipates a 34% fall in landed weight and a 21% decline in fleet revenue compared with 2025.
At European level, Irish MEPs disagreed over a proposed €300 million fisheries-budget amendment. The Parliament's budget position is not yet the final EU settlement, and negotiations with the Council remain ahead. Separately, Europêche called for a targeted revision of the Common Fisheries Policy, citing concerns over quotas, the landing obligation and access arrangements with non-EU coastal states. These are distinct arguments, but they share a common background: the pressure on fishing businesses to remain viable.
First Shout – Wexford RNLI’s new inshore lifeboat Cill Dara made its first operational launch during Storm Boelo, with the windsurfer safely ashore before the crew arrived. Photo: RNLI/Nathans Williams
Rescue crews, new vessels and a difficult weekend
The practical business of maritime safety provided a reminder of what happens when the weather turns. Wexford RNLI launched during Storm Boelo after reports of a windsurfer in difficulty near Ardcavan. The windsurfer reached shore without assistance, but the return journey gave the station's new inshore lifeboat Cill Dara a challenging first operational outing in heavy weather.
There was also a major longer-term announcement: the Irish Coast Guard has awarded contracts for 38 new rescue vessels to Zodiac Milpro. The €14 million programme covers 21 RIBs and 17 inshore rescue boats, with phased deliveries expected from 2027 to 2031. That is a substantial investment in the equipment used by volunteer crews, rather than an immediate expansion of the operational fleet.
Farther offshore, Golden Globe Race leader Damien Guillou came through a South Atlantic storm involving gusts of about 60 knots. It was a harsh sequel to Pat Lawless's retirement the previous week, and a reminder that the great ocean-racing stories do not end when an Irish boat leaves the competition.
Harbours: the decisions beneath the surface
Two Dublin harbours offered contrasting forms of progress. At Dún Laoghaire Harbour, the proposed National Watersports Campus reached a public consultation stage for marine site investigations. MARA's process concerns feasibility surveys, not permission to build the campus. It follows the council's separate procurement work on dredging and ground investigations.
At Howth, long-awaited harbour dredging has moved further through procurement, with statutory approvals in place and five contractors shortlisted. The Government has indicated a possible 2027 start, but no definitive construction timetable or berthing restrictions have been confirmed. The distinction matters for fishermen and sailors who have lived with restricted depths for years. The uncertainty has already contributed to Wave Regatta being deferred until 2028.
Beyond Dublin, Galway's Murrough Lands coastal vision opened for consultation, combining housing and public amenities with flood-defence proposals. Cork, meanwhile, gained a new maritime business connection as Conor Mowlds took charge of International Registries' new office, supporting the Marshall Islands ship registry.
Harbour Outlook – Dún Laoghaire’s Coal Harbour and West Pier, where proposed marine investigations for the National Watersports Campus have entered public consultation. Photo: Michael Chester
Wildlife, protection and the ocean's wider significance
The week's most unusual marine visitor was a beluga whale filmed in Donegal Bay, an exceptionally rare sighting confirmed by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. The animal was seen swimming strongly in shallow water. It is the sort of encounter that reminds us how much can still surprise us close to shore.
Conservation policy offered a less comfortable story. Fair Seas criticised shortcomings in marine protected area management following a European Court of Auditors report. Designation alone, the organisation argued, cannot substitute for monitoring, resources and enforceable protection. The protection of another kind of underwater network also made news, with Ireland and Britain introducing a subsea cable incident-reporting protocol and undertaking a joint security exercise.
Unexpected Visitor – A beluga whale filmed in Donegal Bay on 17 October was identified as one of Ireland’s rare Arctic visitors. Photo: Sebastian Szumlański/IWDG
STILL MAKING WAVES
The Rolex Middle Sea Race may be over, but its images and Irish achievements deserve another look. Shane Hughes's second consecutive monohull line-honours success aboard Black Jack 100 and the overall victory of Django 7X provided a memorable close to the Mediterranean season. At home, a new AI-assisted PredictWind routing feature raises questions about how skippers will interpret departure advice, while former Naval Service captain Marie Gleeson's book Be Like the Sea has been shortlisted for an An Post Irish Book Award. And Cork's Ocean to City – An Rás Mór has already fixed 5 June 2027 for its next outing.
ON THE HORIZON
Sunday, 1 November, brings the Route du Rhum start, the DBSC Turkey Shoot opener, the DMYC Frostbites and Royal Cork's Winter League, all subject to conditions on the day. Barcelona's Blue Economy Congress runs from 3 to 5 November, while Headcase begins its world-title defence on 7 November. Boaters should also note Dublin Bay and Liffey security restrictions from 11 to 13 November and Irish Sea gas-interconnector survey operations from 7 November.
It has been a week in which the sea has offered both spectacle and warning. The coming one promises no shortage of either. Whether the story is a solo skipper clearing Brittany, a club boat starting off Dún Laoghaire or a harbour awaiting investment, Afloat will continue to follow it.
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