Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Betty Amstrong explores past boatbuilding ventures in Ballyholme in the seaside town of Bangor on Belfast Lough. Did you know that before Enrico Caproni built his famous ‘Palais de Dance’ in 1928 on Seacliff Road that there was a shipyard…

The second oldest yacht club in the world, Lough Ree Athlone, has cancelled a major event planned for the celebrations of its 250th year writes Tom MacSweeney. The Club's Commodore, Garrett Leech, said that Clinkerfest, planned for three days over…

The skipper of a 40-metre J class yacht describes the damage following a collision between rivals Topaz and Svea. Peter Holmberg, the skipper onboard Topaz relayed the incident which occurred shortly before the first race on March 12: "As we…

There were several notable Irish sailing families with their names up in lights more than once at Saturday evening’s virtual awards ceremony for the annual achievements in Irish sailing. But none could match the seaborn diversity of an ancient tribe…

While we are in 'shutdown' mode due to Covid19 I have taken the opportunity to write a book about 'THE MOTOR YACHT CLUB OF IRELAND' which thrived from 1907 until its demise in about 1935. The club was active in…

What motivates a man to buy a wreck over a hundred years old and decide that he can repair her? Why bother and was he ‘mad’ to think of doing so? My Podcast this week is with a man who…

On the western edge of Europe lies a unique culture that depended and fought with the Atlantic Ocean for thousands of years. It is the native sailboat, the Galway Hooker, that sustained this poorest of communities, and the new generation…

The route for the 5th Fife Regatta plans to visit historic hidden gems along Scotland's Clyde coast, celebrating the local craftsman William Fife, whose yachts still compete around the world with a number returning to home waters this June. The…

Cork Harbour Master shipwright Mark Bushe will give a talk next week on the restoration of the 1896-built Cork Harbour One Design Elsie. The talk will take place at the Skippers and Members meeting in the Royal Cork Yacht Club…

The British Dragon Association (BDA) is proud to announce that this year’s Edinburgh Cup fleet will include the famous International Dragon Bluebottle. Hosted by the Royal Forth Yacht Club (RFYC) from 30 June to 3 July 2020 Dragon sailors from…

The Limerick ketch Ilen has received the ultimate accolade among classic and traditional boat restorations by being chosen as the cover star for the March/April 2020 issue of WoodenBoat, the American magazine which deservedly has a global reach and reputation…

The Skibbereen boatyard where Ireland’s last trading schooner was painstakingly restored has been immortalised in a new book of photography, as The Irish Times reports. Hegarty’s Boatyard, on the River Ilen near Skibbereen, is the last surviving traditional boatyard in…

There has been excellent progress on the revival of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club Twenty One project the world’s oldest intact on design keelboat class as they prepare for a new season racing again on Dublin Bay. Chris Moore of Dublin…

There is enormous interest in the revival of the International 12 Foot Dinghy Class both in Ireland and abroad, in advance of the 250th centenary regatta at Athlone Yacht Club/ Lough Ree Yacht Club at the end of May 2020.…

The latest build from the West Clare Currach Club was launched at the weekend when a replica four-hand Scattery pilot "canoe" took to the water at Kilrush on the Shannon Estuary. The Club is an umbrella organisation for a growing…

The entry has opened for July's JPF 2020 Glandore Classic Boat Regatta with a 20% discount for all entries until the end of April.  As Afloat previously reported, recognising that there will be an unprecedented ‘Gathering’ of extraordinary boats in…