Galway City Marina is situated in the confines of Galway Harbour and is operated by the Galway harbour company. Freshwater and electrical power is available at the pontoons. Power cars can be purchased from the harbour office during the day and also from a local pub 'Bar 8' on dock located on Dock Road. A number of visitor pontoons are available for hire during the summer and for winter layup. Sailors intending to call to Galway Harbour should first make contact with the Harbour office to determine if a berth is available, as demand is high in this quiet and beautiful part of Ireland.

# ROWING: The fastest crew at the Galway Head of the River on Saturday was the Grainne Mhaol/NUIG/St Joseph’s composite eight, which covered the course in 13 minutes 21.3 seconds, over 12 seconds ahead of the NUIG intermediate eight which rowed well and finished second. The fastest four also came from Grainne Mhaol, and the fastest women’s crew was the Galway Rowing Club senior eight.

#GalwayPort - A former director of Statoil has said Galway needs to look "10, 20 or 30 years ahead" to make use of the vast potential of the marine sector amid plans for the redevelopment of the city's port.

As the Galway City Tribune reports, Stein Bredal made a six-day visit to the City of the Tribes during which he proposed that proper management of the Galway Port scheme would create thousands of long-term jobs across a number of sectors.

He posited his home city of Stavanger in Norway as an example to follow. The city - with double the population of Galway - has become a service hub for Norway's west coast oil and gas fields.

And Bredal believes Galway could become the same for Ireland's offshore reserves, not to mention tourism (in the form of local hospitality and berths for cruise liners) and aquaculture (such as the proposed deep-sea organic salmon farm off the Aran Islands).

“You need someone in this city to think 10, 20, or 30 years ahead," he said. "You need to give hope to the young generation, that they don’t need to emigrate to Australia or New Zealand, that the service jobs can be located here."

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, fast-tracking of pans for the €200 million redevelopment of Galway Port is on the cards thanks to a clause in EU regulations that allows for planning applications to be made under IROPI (Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest) legislation.

#arctic – A Galway to Greenland 2013 odyssey is underway as  Irish adventurers are setting sail for the Arctic Circle this Summer. Preparations are currently underway for an ambitious and exciting expedition from Galway to Greenland this summer. Organised by Killary Adventure Expeditions, 'North of Disko' will see a crew of sailors, kayakers, climbers, a photographer and filmmaker set sail for the northwest coast of Greenland in mid June.

The crew aim to cover the 1500nm to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, in about 14 days and then continue north, reaching Upernavik, well inside the Arctic Circle, a week later. From there, a team of four will set out on a 300km unsupported sea kayak, navigating through fjords and ice fields, while the team of three climbers will begin to tackle a series of first accents, as they follow the kayakers south.

Adding a further dimension to the expedition, photographer Daragh Muldowney aims to explore and capture the beauty of this spectacular coastline, with the aim of publishing a book and hosting an exhibition upon return. The entire expedition and its achievements will also be documented through film.

Leading the crew on board the 49ft, ex admirals cup racing yacht the 'Killary Flyer' is Jamie Young, whose previous expeditions include the successful Irish Cape Horn Sea Kayak Expedition in 1989, the Guinea Bissau Sea Kayak Expedition in 1992, and the 'South Aris' expedition, which attempted to re-enact Shackleton's epic boat trip from Elephant Island to South Georgia, in 1997.

The crew is mixed in age and experience and includes four young twenty-somethings embarking on the adventure of a lifetime, as well as seasoned kayakers Ali Donald, Kevin O'Callaghan and climber Collin Gibbon.

Further information on the expedition, crew and updates on preparations can be found at www.northofdisko.com

#FishFarm - As many as 2,000 people attended the protest in Galway against the proposed deep sea fish farm off the Aran Islands at the weekend.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the demonstration was organised by Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages on Saturday 2 March in opposition to the 500-hectare organic salmon farm proposed by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

Among the speakers on the day, as The Irish Times reports, was Icelandic salmon conservationist Orri Vigfusson, who claimed the fish farm could interfere with the migration of salmon smolts from both Ireland and the rest of Europe.

GBASC vice-chairman Tommy Casserly also spoke, referring to the fish farm project as "a toxic cloud containing seven million caged salmon with all those faeces and chemicals and lice, between the Atlantic and 15,000 wild salmon which come through these waters".

Later in the day a delegation attempted to hand a letter of protest to BIM staff attending the Skipper Expo in the city, but said it was refused.

If the Galway Bay fish farm project gets the go-ahead, it would be the largest aquaculture facility of its type in Europe and would double the State's production rate of organic salmon.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#gbsc – Nick Kats, the owner of a 39 foot steel ketch will talk about a sail from Clifden in county Galway to Iceland, East Greenland and Jan Mayen Island.

Kats, a naturopathetic Doctor from Connemara undertook the cruise in 2012 after several months of planning.

His talk takes place at Galway Bay Sailing Club (GBSC) clubhouse next wednesday night the 6th March at 8.00pm. It is the last of GBSC's Winter/Spring talks series.

#Fishfarm - Galway Bay FM reports that a major protest is set to take place in Galway this weekend against the proposed deep sea fish farm off the Aran Islands.

Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages is organising the demonstration from Eyre Square on Saturday 2 March at noon in opposition to the 500-hectare organic salmon farm proposed by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

The facility, to be located off Inis Oírr in Galway Bay, would be the largest of its kind in Europe and would double the State's production rate of organic salmon, cited by BIM as Ireland's leading organic food export.

However, the scheme has been facing strong opposition from fisheries groups and local anglers citing the potential environmental impact on wild salmon numbers and the threat to tourism in the area.

Inland Fisheries Ireland is among those bodies that have expressed concern over the fish farm plans, citing research on the effect of sea lice emanating from aquaculture facilities on the mortality rate of wild Atlantic salmon.

BIM responded to news of the protest by stating such action may be unnecessary due to the appeal mechanism available in the State's decision process.

#VOR - Newport in Rhode Island has been announced as the latest stopover for the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2014-15.

The popular sailing base in the 'Ocean State' will be the North American port on the race route for its 12th running as the end point of the leg from Itajaí in Brazil, and is hosting the event for the first time.

"It's about time the race came to the city of Newport and we are looking forward to a real festival that will delight and inspire sailing fans and those who are new to the sport," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad at the announcement.

Conveniently located between the Irish-American hotspots of New York City and Boston, the crowds in attendance are sure to feature a prominent 'green' element.

As reported at the weekend on Afloat.ie, Gothenburg in Sweden has been awarded the honour of hosting the VOR finale, much to the disappointment of Galwegians after last summer's successful event.

#maritimefestival – All Ireland Currach racing will run along the promenade of Salthill and there will also be a Galway Hooker parade of sail as part of this year's 'An Tóstal Salthill' on Sunday, May 5.

Festival Director Diarmuid Ó Conghaile says there will be a live bi-lingual commentary of the races throughout the day and live music and entertainment late into the night.

'An Tóstal Salthill' is a free festival and has been very well attended with estimated crowds of 10,000 converging on the Galway bay seafront since its revival two years ago after a gap of 50 years. Ó Conghaile is hoping to build on successes to date and attract a wider portion of the maritime community.

#VOR - Despite hopes within Galway after last summer's successful conclusion to the Volvo Ocean Race, it's been announced that the next edition of the round-the-world yachting challenge will have its finish line in Sweden.

Gothenburg was chosen last week as the final stop for the 12th running of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2014-15. It will be the second time the city - also the headquarters of the title sponsor - has hosted the race after the 2005-06 running.

"Gothenburg is the perfect place to finish a global event of this stature," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad. "It's great to know that after sailing tens of thousands of miles around the world we'll be coming to a host port with all the facilities and knowhow to make this a great event, and the history to make it feel like a real homecoming."

The deal announced on Friday also secures Gothenburg's place on the race route for the 13th edition of the race.

It is the fifth of the hosts port announced so far, after the race start at Alicante in Spain, two stopovers in Brazil and a return visit to Auckland in New Zealand.

According to Galway Bay FM, the City of the Tribes is still in the running among 100 host cities that have registered an interest to host the VOR on its next sail around the world.

This is despite claims that last summer's finale organiser Let's Do It Global could be faced with liquidation due to failure to meet its outstanding debts from the event, said to amount to almost half a million euro.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Dun Laoghaire may consider its own tender to host the race to cash in on the success of the event for local business and tourism in Galway last year.