Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#Missing - The search continues for a missing man feared to have fallen into the sea from the Cliffs of Moher. As the Irish Independent reports, the search entered its fourth day today, with Garda divers hampered by poor conditions…

#Lusitania100 - The multi-millionaire businessman owner of the Lusitania wreck claims the State has left the site vulnerable to treasure hunters while preventing his own return dive to recover artefacts. As RTÉ News reports, Gregg Bemis described as "spiteful" the…

#springafloat – Spring Afloat hits the newsstands with all the latest news and views on the Irish sailing and boating scene. To celebrate the arrival of the Tall Ships to Belfast in July, the German sailing ship Alexander von Humboldt…

#TourismRise – Central Statistics Office data released today shows the number of overseas visits to Ireland between December 2014 and February 2015 increased by 10.3% compared to the corresponding period of 2013/2014. Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Paschal Donohoe…

#BlueGrowth - The first projects funded under the EU's Horizon 2020 programme for 'blue growth' will be launched at a conference in Brussels next month. The Atlantic - Our Shared Resource: Making the Vision Reality will be held at the…

#Lusitania100Cork – This May, four coastal communities in Co. Cork are coming together to host a series of commemorative events, entitled Lusitania100 Cork, to mark the centenary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German U-boat off the coast…

#NewTourismPolicy - The Government's new tourism policy, 'People, Place and Policy: Growing Tourism to 2025' was launched by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe along with An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny at Kilkenny Castle today. The new Policy Statement…

#TitBonhomme - RTÉ News reports that the families of two Egyptian fishermen who died in the Tit Bonhomme tragedy in West Cork three years ago last week settled their civil actions in the High Court. Saled Mohamed Ibrahim Aly Eldin…

#Cork - The search for a homeless man seen falling into the River Lee in Cork city ended in his arrest, as The Irish Times reports. Valentia Coast Guard co-ordinated the search and rescue operation for the man, who was…

#CarTheft - Gardaí have asked the public to be on the lookout for a black Peugeot 207 that was stolen from a Northern Irish couple while they were surfing in Brandon Bay on Friday 13 March. As The Irish Times…

#TourismBoost - An increase of €286m or +8.8% in spending by tourists from abroad for 2014 compared to 2013, that's according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures published today. The figures confirm the trend indicated by earlier statistics that…

#seascouts – The 2015 Sea Scouting conference was held last weekend based in the Commodore Hotel in Cobh. Over 90% of the country's Sea Scout groups were in attendance, with delegates from as far away as Donegal, Louth and Galway.…

#dropped – French offshore sailing star Florence Arthaud, 57, a hugely accomplished sailor, who won the 1990 Route du Rhum, the prestigious solo Atlantic race is one of three French sports personalities among 10 people killed in a helicopter crash…

#Missing - TheJournal.ie reports that the body of a man who went missing last weekend has been found in a Cavan river. Donal Greene, 22, was last seen around 5am last Saturday morning (28 February) near Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, close…

#FACEBOOK – Over 5,000 people now 'like' Afloat magazine on Facebook, the social media site. Thanks to all our friends for your comments, suggestions and interest in Irish boating and sailing. It's a satisfying number to date because the aim…

#Zillah - The inquest into the death of a retired schoolteacher in a sailing accident off West Cork last summer has heard he was "very safety conscious". As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the body of 66-year-old Douglas Perrin was recovered…