Irish Cruising News. Sailing, Offshore, Ocean and Bluewater

Irish Cruising Club's Annual Shoreside Get-Together Sees Afloat.ie's W M Nixon Receive Fastnet Trophy
27th March 2023 Cruising
The 1929-founded Irish Cruising Club occasionally brings its members and their boats together for Cruises-in-Company and Rallies in home waters and abroad. Yet although there's an AGM in Dublin early in the year, and specialist Sub-Committees meet from time to…

Irish Cruising Club To Mark Centenary of Conor O'Brien's Circumnavigation at Sligo Dinner This Weekend
23rd March 2023 Cruising
The Irish Cruising Club (ICC) gathers in County Sligo for its annual dinner this weekend, at which Commodore Dave Beattie will launch a new edition of Conor O'Brien's 'Across Three Oceans' to mark the centenary of the circumnavigation. As Afloat…

The Fastnet Award is made for exceptional achievements and for excellence in or closely related to cruising under sail. This year it is made to W. M. (Winkie) Nixon who has been described by the late Theo Rye in Classic…

That headline may suggest the latest Viking television melodrama. And at times Sailing To Antarctica, this new multi-aspect book of memoirs - written moreover in an Irish sea village with strong links to the Scandinavian sea rovers - brings the…

You could over-analyse the many attractions of a round Ireland cruise. Apart from being a romantic yet manageable act of homage to our island home, it appeals equally to the adventurous - in that you are always outward bound –…

Kinsale Yacht Club Sailors Make Good Speed on Shindig's Caribbean Voyage
6th March 2023 Tom MacSweeney
“Shindig is an old boat, very traditional, down-to-earth, you wouldn’t have the luxury of the super yachts around down here, some of which are massive cruising machines with every gadget known to man, but she suits us perfectly and makes…

Duncan Sclare of Mayo Sailing Club is “Sailor of the Month (Cruising)” for February
1st March 2023 Sailor of the Month
The organisational world of dedicated cruising moves at its own leisurely pace, and the publication of the Irish Cruising Club yearly awards only really becomes official at the Annual General Meeting in February. Thus our new “Sailor of the Month…

The Cruising Association to Deal with Orcas, Windfarms and Cruising in Europe Post-Brexit in Zoom Talk
26th February 2023 Cruising
The UK-based Cruising Association (CA) is hosting a Zoom talk to feature several short presentations focusing on advice cruisers can use in practice. The talks will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&As from the audience at 1900 hrs on Wednesday,…

Daria Blackwell Of Clew Bay Brings Top International Voyaging Honour To Western Ireland
8th February 2023 Cruising
Daria and Alex Blackwell of County Mayo have been a significant power couple in global voyaging for many years now, operating from their base at Port Aleria among the many islands of the inner reaches of Clew Bay, and voyaging…

Now is your chance to secure a spot at this year’s RYA Northern Ireland Cruising Conference, which will take place on Saturday 28 January at the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club in Cultra, Co Down on Belfast Lough. The…

Gran Canaria bid farewell today to the ARC January fleet for the second edition of the 'new year rally' organised by World Cruising Club. Following the first edition in 2022, ARC January 2023 has seen 30 boats gathering to cross…

The World ARC 2023-24 fleet set off from Saint Lucia at 12 noon on Saturday, January 7, beginning their adventure of a lifetime following years of dreaming, thinking, planning and preparations. 19 yachts took the start from the 23-strong fleet…

Six Cruising Club America Awards Headlined by Kenichi Hori, 2022 Blue Water Medal Winner
4th January 2023 Cruising
This week's announcement of the 2022 Cruising Club of America awards for adventurous use of the seas puts the spotlight on achievements ranging from ocean crossings by young and old, a rescue at sea, and a new award recognising sailing…

Japan's Kenichi Hori is Named Winner of Blue Water Medal by the Cruising Club of America
3rd January 2023 Cruising
Kenichi Horie, Japan’s best-known ocean sailor, has been named winner of the 2022 Blue Water Medal by the Cruising Club of America (CCA) for a lifetime of ocean-crossing achievement. His most recent voyage began in March, 2022, when he sailed…

Ballyronan Boat Club is a small club on the Northwestern shore of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, the largest body of inland water in the British Isles, and it was from this small outfit that the Commodore, Elwyn Agnew and…

RYA Northern Ireland Gets Ready for Next Month’s Cruising Conference
24th December 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
RYA Northern Ireland is getting ready for its next Cruising Conference, which will be held at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club in Cultra, Co Down in the New Year. The conference takes place on Saturday 28 January and will…