Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

A historic gaff cutter that won the Fastnet Race in 1927 and was saved from the scrapyard in 2017 is gradually being restored to its former glory — but needs support to keep the project going. Tally Ho was built…

For many years until her transfer to Galway in 2021, the Clondalkin community-built Galway Hooker Naomh Cronan was a feature of sailing life in Dublin’s River Liffey at Poolbeg Y&BC in Ringsend, and she was a regular attendee at traditional…

To say that Rob Mason of Milford Haven has an eye for a boat is a bit like saying that the late Vincent O’Brien was quite a good judge of horseflesh. The retired Milford Haven tugboat skipper turned up from…

Darryl Hughes’ immaculately-restored 1937 43ft Tyrrell gaff ketch Maybird became both the oldest and the first gaff-rigged boat to complete the Round Ireland Race in 2018.  The historic yacht now moored in Cork Harbour on the Owenabue river is the…

It’s said that when the experimentally-minded William Petty, the compiler of the Down Survey in Ireland in the 1660s, decided to build his very innovative Simon & Jude catamaran in 1663 for testing in Dublin Bay, the decidedly odd vessel…

A new expedition to find the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance will set sail for Antarctica one month after the centenary of his death. According to The Irish Times, the Endurance22 Expedition aims to find, survey and film the…

The night before Ernest Shackleton died a century ago today (Wed Jan 5) in Antarctica, he wrote in his diary of the “lone star” Sirius which was “hovering gem-like above the bay”. A group of enthusiasts searched for the same…

The Conamara family of sailors known as Clann Johnny Jimmy Pheaitín are profiled in a documentary on TG4. Pádraig, Jimmy and Seáinín are “Na Jimmys”, associated with the Galway Hooker An Mhaighdean Mhara. The programme “Bádóirí- Na Jimmys” interviews the…

St Stephen’s Day saw the inaugural launch of traditional Currach craft on the Owenabue River at Carrigaline in Cork Harbour. Members of Naomhoga Corcaigh rowed from Wesley across to the Otter which is atop the plinth in the centre of…

Now hear this, all you sailors or rowers of Greencastle Yawls, Dublin Bay Water Wags, Foyle Punts, International 12s, Shannon One Designs, Castlehaven Ettes, Strangford Lough Clippers, Coastal Hobbler Rowing Skiffs, Dublin Bay Mermaids, Mayfly-Fishing Lakeboats, IDRA 14s, Ballyholme Insects,…

Take a walk from Donaghadee Harbour east towards the Commons on the North Down coast and you’ll see the 70-year-old Sir Samuel Kelly lifeboat in its purpose-built shed near the Harbour. Protected now from the elements, it is being restored…

This spectacular Christmas lighting design on the historic wooden sailing ship Ilen may well be the greenest in Ireland. Ireland’s last surviving wooden cargo ship, as Limerick's ambassadorial vessel, has been illuminated on her seasonal visit to Galway Docks. And…

Every year, The Clyde Maritime Trust marks the anniversary of Glenlee's launch with their annual lecture, noting 2021 has the added celebration of the historic ship's 125th year afloat having been built in 1896. The Trust for this year' lecture…

In 1974, Ireland - and particularly Cork - leapt to a new level of international sailing prominence as the fresh combination of the design talents of Ron Holland, the sailmaking skills of Johnny McWilliam, and the boat-building talents of the…

The charity Silvery Light Sailing based in Newry at the head of Carlingford Lough is passionate about the refurbishment of old boats. One of these is now temporarily berthed in Carlingford Marina on the southern shore of Carlingford Lough. She's…

In 2018 Co Down sailor Del Fairley made a wish list of boats to buy from which he would choose his favourite design, and top of the list was a Swan 36. His wife Gill knew nothing about this! But…